⬤ Business Valuation Services
Business Valuation Services in San Francisco, California
Countsure delivers independent, defensible valuations for San Francisco businesses – built to hold up in front of investors, auditors, and the IRS, and prepared under Licensed US CPA supervision with CVA certification through NACVA.
A number you can defend, for the city that prices everything in equity
San Francisco runs on private valuations. Founders raise priced rounds, issue stock options, and refresh 409A figures on a schedule. Funds mark portfolios quarter after quarter. Owners sell, merge, or hand the business to the next generation. In every one of those moments the question is the same: what is this company actually worth, and will the figure survive scrutiny? The optimistic number on a pitch deck is not the one that matters. The one that matters is the number that holds up when an investor, an auditor, or the IRS asks how you arrived at it.
The short answer: a business valuation is an independent, evidence-backed estimate of fair market value, prepared with methods matched to your company’s stage and sector. Countsure’s business valuation services in San Francisco, California are produced under Licensed US CPA supervision and CVA certification through NACVA, so the report stands on its own in front of every reader who has reason to challenge it.
⬤ Why It Matters
The moment you need a number you can defend
The same company can carry two valuations depending on which side of the table you sit on. The methods overlap, but the emphasis differs.
You are pricing a round
A defensible 409A and a supportable pre-money figure keep your cap table clean, your option grants compliant, and your next term sheet free of surprises when a lead investor runs diligence.
You are heading to a deal table
Whether you are the acquirer or the target, an independent valuation anchors price negotiations, supports purchase price allocation, and gives both sides a figure that survives the deal's own diligence.
You are moving equity to family or trusts
Gifting shares, funding a trust, or planning an estate all turn on a credible fair market value – one documented well enough to stand behind an IRS-filed gift or estate return.
Someone is checking your work
When an auditor reviews fair value marks or the IRS questions a figure, a clearly documented valuation with every assumption sourced is the difference between a quick sign-off and a drawn-out dispute.
The San Francisco sectors we defend
San Francisco does not value like anywhere else. Each of these sectors carries its own valuation pressure points, and we build to them.
AI & Software Startups
San Francisco companies pulled in the lion’s share of global AI funding, and that pace means valuations move fast. AI and SaaS founders need defensible 409A valuations to issue equity cleanly and refresh figures after every round, every up-mark, and every material event.
Biotech & Life Sciences
Mission Bay’s research-driven biotechs run on milestone-based value, long pre-revenue runways, and IP that anchors the balance sheet. Valuing them takes methods suited to companies whose worth sits in a pipeline, not in earnings.
Fintech & Financial Services
From payments platforms to lending and crypto-adjacent firms, San Francisco’s fintech sector lives under heavy regulatory and audit scrutiny. These companies need valuations and fair value marks documented to a standard that satisfies both auditors and examiners.
Venture Funds & Portfolios
The densest VC ecosystem on earth means a constant need for independent portfolio valuations. Funds rely on third-party marks that hold up through every audit and every LP reporting cycle, free of the conflicts a self-prepared figure invites.
Professional & Creative Services
Design studios, agencies, law and consulting practices across the city carry value tied to people, contracts, and reputation rather than hard assets. Valuing them for a partner buy-in, buyout, or succession takes a careful read of intangible worth.
Hospitality & Local Retail
Restaurants, hotels, and storefront businesses from the Marina to the Mission carry value in leases, location, and cash flow. Selling, refinancing, or settling a partnership turns on a grounded fair market value a lender or buyer will accept.
⬤ What We Value
Valuation Services We Offer
Eight focused engagements, each delivered under Licensed US CPA supervision and CVA certification through NACVA.
Startup Valuation
Stage-appropriate fair market value for early- and growth-stage companies, built on methods that survive investor and auditor scrutiny
Portfolio Valuation
Independent fair value marks for fund holdings that hold up through every audit and LP reporting cycle.
Purchase Price Allocation
Post-deal allocation of purchase price across tangible and intangible assets and goodwill, documented to satisfy auditors.
409A Valuation
IRS safe-harbor common stock valuations for option grants, refreshed at each round and material event to keep your equity compliant.
Intangible Asset Valuation
Valuation of patents, trademarks, technology, and other intangibles – the assets that often carry a Bay Area company’s worth.
Merger & Acquisition Valuation
Independent deal-side valuations that anchor price negotiations and survive the diligence of both buyer and seller.
Gift & Estate Tax Valuation
IRS-compliant fair market value for gifting equity, funding trusts, and estate planning – documented to withstand examination.
Compliance Service Valuation
Valuations prepared to meet specific financial reporting and regulatory requirements, mapped to the standard that applies to you.
Not sure which one you need?
Tell us what is driving the valuation – a round, a deal, a transfer, an audit – and we will scope the right engagement.
From first call to a report you can Use
A clear path with no surprises, so you always know what is happening and what comes next.
Documented to the last assumption
Each conclusion is traceable to its inputs, so the report survives audit, due diligence, and investor review.
IRS-aware preparation
Reports are prepared with IRS expectations in mind, giving you clean support for 409A, gift, estate, and transfer matters.
Documented to the last assumption
Each conclusion is traceable to its inputs, so the report survives audit, due diligence, and investor review.
IRS-aware preparation
Reports are prepared with IRS expectations in mind, giving you clean support for 409A, gift, estate, and transfer matters.
Documented to the last assumption
Each conclusion is traceable to its inputs, so the report survives audit, due diligence, and investor review.
IRS-aware preparation
Reports are prepared with IRS expectations in mind, giving you clean support for 409A, gift, estate, and transfer matters.
⬤ Local Ground Truth
What makes a San Francisco valuation different
Three local dynamics a generic template would miss – and that we build into every San Francisco engagement.
California does not honor QSBS
A founder exit can be fully tax-free at the federal level under Section 1202 yet remain entirely taxable in California, which decouples from QSBS and taxes the gain at rates as high as 13.3%. That gap reshapes how equity transfers, gifts, and exits should be valued and timed, and it is a planning trap that catches Bay Area founders who only learn of it weeks before a sale.
Value sits in equity, not earnings
San Francisco's economy is built on pre-profit, venture-backed companies whose worth lives in projections, IP, and round pricing rather than a track record of earnings. Valuing them well takes stage-matched methods and a clear read of the cap table – not the earnings multiples built for mature businesses.
A fast market means stale numbers
With the densest startup ecosystem on earth and rapid funding cycles, a San Francisco valuation can go stale quickly. Material events – a new round, a pivot, a large hire wave – trigger the need for a fresh 409A or updated mark, and we build engagements to be refreshed on that rhythm.
⬤ Why Countsure
Why Choose Countsure ?
An independent valuation is only worth what it can withstand. Four reasons San Francisco owners and funds trust us with the number.
Independent, CPA-supervised
Every engagement runs under Licensed US CPA supervision with CVA certification through NACVA – an outside number with no stake in the outcome.
One accountable lead
Your valuation is led by Parth Shah, US CPA and CVA through NACVA – one credentialed name behind the figure, not an anonymous team.
A full-service partner
Valuation sits alongside tax, audit, and advisory under one roof, so the figure connects to the rest of your compliance picture instead of standing alone.
Built for the San Francisco market
We build for the city's realities – California's QSBS treatment, fast funding cycles, and equity-heavy value – not a one-size template.
Across New York and the metro area
We serve businesses throughout New York City and the surrounding region:
- Financial District
- SoMa
- Mission Bay
- Hayes Valley
- The Mission
- Potrero Hill
- Dogpatch
- Jackson Squaret
- Oakland
- Palo Alto
- South Bay & Silicon Valley
- Marin County
Valuation questions San Francisco owners ask us
As a rule, at least every 12 months and again after any material event, a new priced round, a secondary sale, a significant pivot, or an acquisition offer. In a market that moves as fast as San Francisco’s, those events come often, which is why we structure engagements to be refreshed quickly when one lands.
Because California does not conform to the federal QSBS exclusion, a gain that is fully excluded on your federal return can still be taxed by the state. That changes the after-tax math on exits, gifts, and equity transfers, so the timing and structure behind a valuation matter as much as the figure itself. We flag it early rather than letting it surface weeks before a sale.
With methods suited to companies whose worth is in a pipeline or a model rather than current earnings. That means looking at recent financing terms, comparable transactions, milestone progress, and the value of underlying IP, then applying the approach that best fits the company’s stage, not forcing an earnings multiple onto a company that does not yet have earnings.
Yes. Independent third-party fair value marks are exactly what auditors and LPs want to see, because they remove the conflict baked into a self-prepared figure. We document each mark to the standard your audit applies, so the valuation holds up through the review rather than inviting questions.
An IRS-compliant fair market valuation that supports the gift on your filed return. Family equity transfers and trust funding draw scrutiny, so the figure needs to be documented well enough to stand behind a gift or estate filing if it is ever examined. That is the standard our gift and estate valuations are built to.
A typical draft is ready in two to four weeks once we have the documents we need, with timing depending on the engagement’s complexity and how quickly information comes together. If you are working against a financing or filing deadline, tell us up front and we will work the schedule around it.
Your engagement is led by Parth Shah, a Licensed US CPA and Certified Valuation Analyst through NACVA, who also holds Indian FCA credentials with the ICAI and IBBI. One accountable, credentialed lead stands behind the number from scope to signed report.
Get Started
Put a number you can defend on your San Francisco business
Independent, audit-ready valuations under Licensed US CPA supervision and CVA certification through NACVA. Tell us what is driving the number and we will scope the right engagement.
- Free 30-minute consultation with a CPA
- Fixed-fee, fully transparent pricing
- 100% remote - no travel or visa required
