Nationwide • CVA Certified • Fast Turn-around • Cost Effective • 30 Years Valuing
Valuing a company in Georgia is not a generic exercise. In a divorce here, either spouse can put your company's worth in front of a jury, a right almost no other state grants. Whether your customers and key people stay with the business after a sale turns on non-compete rules Georgia rewrote in 2011, reversing decades of court decisions that had run the other way. And across the production economy that has grown up around Atlanta, earned tax credits are an asset a company sells rather than cash it collects. Each of these changes what a defensible valuation report has to address.
Sun Business Valuations has spent over 20 years valuing privately held companies, and our professionals hold both CVA and ASA credentials. Whether you are selling a distribution company in Savannah, buying out a partner in Macon, dividing a professional practice in Atlanta, or financing an acquisition in Augusta, our reports are built to withstand IRS, SBA, and legal scrutiny and to be understood by everyone who relies on them.
Business Valuation Services We Offer in Georgia
Our professionals provide objective, comprehensive business valuations across a range of purposes:
- Mergers & Acquisitions Accurate valuations for buyers and sellers navigating ownership transitions.
- Shareholder & Partnership Disputes Independent reports to support equitable resolutions.
- Divorce & Marital Asset Division Fair, defensible business valuations for complex financial settlements.
- Estate & Gift Tax Planning Business valuations prepared to meet applicable IRS requirements for estate transfers and tax reporting.
- SBA & Bank Financing Appraisals that meet lender and federal compliance requirements.
- Litigation & Expert Testimony Defensible analysis and professional representation when value is challenged.
Why Georgia Businesses Have Unique Valuation Needs
Georgia presents a distinct set of legal, economic, and regulatory factors that directly affect how businesses are valued. Understanding these nuances isn't optional; it's the difference between a report that holds up under scrutiny and one that doesn't.
Divorce, Juries, and the Value of Goodwill
Georgia is one of only two states, along with Texas, in which either spouse may demand a jury trial to hear and decide issues including property division. That changes what a valuation has to accomplish here. When a closely held business is the largest asset in the marriage, the report and supporting testimony must be technically defensible and clear enough for a jury and the court to follow. We prepare Georgia valuations with both audiences in mind, laying out the reasoning plainly and tracing every conclusion to its support.
The substance of the dispute usually comes down to goodwill. Georgia courts generally distinguish transferable enterprise goodwill—value carried by the business itself through its brand, systems, staff, and returning customers—from personal goodwill attributable to an owner's individual reputation, skills, and relationships. Enterprise goodwill may be included in the marital estate; personal goodwill generally is not. For a professional practice or a founder-dependent firm, that distinction can materially affect the value subject to division, which is why opposing experts contest it so heavily and why the analysis behind it must be documented rather than asserted.
Georgia divides marital property equitably rather than evenly, so the value we establish becomes one input into a broader determination the court or the jury ultimately makes. Sun Business Valuations works alongside Georgia family law attorneys and forensic accountants to deliver court-ready valuations built to withstand challenge. We handle the valuation and the testimony; your attorney handles the case.
Non-Competes: Georgia's Shift and What It Means for Value
For most of its history, Georgia was among the least hospitable states in the country for non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. Courts declined to narrow restrictions that reached too far and instead struck them down entirely, which meant many agreements Georgia employers believed they had were worth very little. That changed with a 2010 constitutional amendment and the Restrictive Covenants Act that followed, which allow courts to enforce reasonable restrictions and to narrow those that overreach rather than void them outright. The current Act applies to restrictive covenants entered into on or after May 11, 2011; agreements predating it can remain governed by the prior law.
The practical consequence is that agreements signed before and after that date can carry very different weight, and long-established Georgia companies frequently hold both. This bears on value. Enforceable agreements with an owner and key employees can reduce key-person and transferability risk, which is one of the factors a business valuation weighs; where agreements predate the Act or were drafted without regard to it, that protection may be weaker than an owner assumes. We review what is actually in place as part of our analysis and document how it informs the conclusion; drafting and enforcing those agreements is your attorney's work.
Film, Television, and Transferable Tax Credits
Georgia ranks as one of the nation's leading states for film and television production, and its film tax credit is transferable rather than refundable. Georgia places no annual cap on the amount of credit that can be earned. Production companies that cannot apply the credit against their own Georgia liability sell it to other Georgia taxpayers through an established broker market, at a discount to face value. Credits must be certified through Georgia's required audit process before they can be claimed or transferred.
For the businesses built around that ecosystem—production services, post-production houses, stage and equipment rental, transportation and catering vendors—this creates a valuation consideration that does not exist in most states. Earned and pending credits are genuine assets, but not at face value, and the timing of their conversion to cash matters to the analysis. Revenue in this sector is also project-based and moves with production schedules, so we normalize for that volatility rather than treating a strong production year as a baseline.
We Work With Business Owners and Advisors In
Atlanta • Savannah • Augusta • Columbus • Macon • Athens • Sandy Springs • Roswell • Johns Creek • Albany • Warner Robins • Alpharetta • Marietta • Valdosta • Smyrna
Georgia Regional Markets We Serve
Metro Atlanta Business Valuations (Atlanta – Sandy Springs – Alpharetta – Marietta)
Metro Atlanta anchors the Southeast as a corporate headquarters center and a major U.S. center for payments and financial technology, professional services, logistics, and film production. The region's concentration of businesses, professional practices, and legal activity generates substantial demand for valuation work, from shareholder disputes in Fulton and DeKalb County to divorce matters involving professional practices in the northern suburbs. Sun Business Valuations works with owners, attorneys, CPAs, and lenders across the metro to deliver business valuation reports built for negotiation, financing, and litigation alike.
Key Services:
- Business Sales & M&A
- Shareholder & Partnership Disputes
- Divorce & Marital Asset Division
- Estate & Gift Tax Valuations
Savannah & Coastal Georgia Business Valuations (Savannah – Brunswick – Hinesville)
The Port of Savannah has helped make coastal Georgia a center for warehousing, freight, third-party logistics, and import-driven distribution, alongside a growing advanced manufacturing base and a substantial hospitality and tourism economy. Valuing your company here means understanding contract concentration, throughput capacity, and how much of the operating value is tied to real estate and equipment. Sun Business Valuations provides independent, lender-ready and court-ready appraisals for owners and advisors throughout the region.
Key Services:
- Business Sales & M&A
- SBA & Bank Financing
- Partnership Buyouts & Disputes
- Estate & Gift Tax Valuations
Augusta & the CSRA Business Valuations (Augusta – Evans – Martinez)
Augusta's economy is shaped by healthcare, defense, and the cybersecurity ecosystem that has grown around the Georgia Cyber Center and Fort Eisenhower. Companies in this market often combine recurring government or institutional contracts with specialized technical staff, a combination that makes contract renewal risk and key-person dependence central to the valuation. We help you and your advisors establish credible value for sales, buyouts, financing, and succession planning.
Key Services:
- Business Sales & M&A
- Shareholder & Partnership Disputes
- SBA & Bank Financing
- Litigation & Expert Testimony
Middle & West Georgia Business Valuations (Macon – Warner Robins – Columbus)
Middle Georgia's base is industrial and institutional: aerospace and defense support around Robins Air Force Base, manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, and the family-owned businesses that supply them. Ownership here often spans generations, and valuations are most frequently driven by succession, gifting, and buy-sell agreements rather than open-market sales. Sun Business Valuations delivers well-documented reports, prepared to meet applicable IRS valuation requirements, that families and their advisors can plan around.
Key Services:
Athens & North Georgia Business Valuations (Athens – Gainesville – Dalton)
North Georgia combines agribusiness and food processing around Gainesville, flooring and specialty manufacturing in the Dalton corridor, and a university-driven professional and technology base in Athens. Commodity cycles, customer concentration, and heavy fixed assets all shape value in this market. We tailor our methodology to those realities, whether the purpose is a sale, a partner buyout, or an estate transfer.
Key Services:
Our Process
Our process is designed to make complex financial analysis straightforward from start to finish.
- Consultation & Engagement – We discuss your needs, determine the scope of work, answer your questions, and provide a fixed-fee quote before any work begins.
- Information Gathering – We provide access to our secure client portal for uploading the financial and business information needed for your valuation. Our team guides you through the process.
- Intake Call – We review your financial information, discuss your valuation goals, and learn more about your operations to ensure a well-supported valuation. Your report is delivered within 10 to 15 business days of this meeting.
- Analysis & Report Delivery – Our valuation experts analyze your business, apply the appropriate valuation methodologies, and deliver a clear, defensible report you can rely on. We then walk you through the conclusions and remain available for follow-up questions or representation.
Ready to get started? Contact us to schedule a consultation with a valuation expert.
Why Choose Sun Business
Sun Business Valuations combines technical expertise with personal service. Our team includes Accredited Senior Appraisers (ASA), Certified Valuation Analysts (CVA), and CPAs with ABV credentials, each bringing deep experience in business and financial analysis. We take a methodical, transparent approach—grounded in data, guided by professional judgment, and informed by over 20 years of specialized practice.
Georgia clients trust us because our reports are defensible, our process is clear, and our communication is straightforward. We understand that behind every valuation is a business someone has built, grown, or invested in, and we approach that responsibility with care.
Industries We Serve Across Georgia
Our team serves privately held businesses throughout Georgia, including:
Frequently Asked Questions (Georgia)
Fees depend on the size and complexity of the company and the purpose of the valuation. We provide a fixed-fee quote during a no-charge initial consultation, so you know the full cost before any work begins. There are no hourly surprises.
We typically deliver a completed valuation within 10 to 15 business days of receiving the requested financial and operational information. If a court date, closing, or filing deadline requires a faster turnaround, tell us up front and we will work to meet it.
Georgia currently has no state estate tax or inheritance tax, so transferring a business to the next generation carries no state-level death tax. Federal estate and gift tax rules still apply, and transfers of closely held stock need an independent, defensible valuation. We prepare valuations for gift and estate tax reporting purposes; your attorney or tax advisor handles the filing.
Georgia is one of only two states where either spouse may demand a jury trial to hear and decide issues including property division, and that jury weighs the valuation evidence presented. We write and present our conclusions so they remain clear and credible to a jury as well as to a judge.
SBA requirements are federal and apply the same way in Georgia as everywhere else. Under current SBA guidance, a lender must obtain an independent business valuation from a qualified source when the amount being financed, less the appraised value of any real estate and equipment being financed, exceeds $250,000, or when a close relationship exists between the buyer and seller. The SBA sets out what qualifies a source to perform that valuation; CVA and ASA credentials are among those that can satisfy the requirement. Our professionals hold both and regularly prepare valuations for SBA-financed transactions.
Yes. We serve clients statewide, from Atlanta and Savannah to Albany and Dalton, and we can handle the entire engagement remotely through secure document upload, video conferences, and phone interviews. In-person meetings are available when a matter calls for them.
Yes. Our professionals provide expert testimony supporting our valuation reports, and we are frequently engaged to review and critique opposing valuations in shareholder disputes, divorce proceedings, and other corporate litigation matters.
Get Started
When your business represents years of work and personal investment, accuracy isn't optional; it's essential. Whether you're planning a sale, dividing assets in a divorce, transferring a company to the next generation, or financing an acquisition, the value of your Georgia business deserves more than an estimate. Whether you're in Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, or anywhere across Georgia, Sun Business Valuations is ready to provide the clarity and precision your business decisions deserve.
To discuss your situation and receive information about the process, time frame, and cost, call Stephen Goldberg, Managing Partner, at 800.232.0180, or complete the form, and we will get back to you shortly.
Serving clients across Georgia and nationwide
Sun Business Valuations provides Business Appraisal Services throughout Georgia and the United States.