Step 1 — annual revenue
$10,000 MRR is $120,000 of annual recurring revenue. This is the last time revenue matters on its own; from here everything runs on earnings.
Step 2 — owner earnings
At 85% gross margin, less a 15%-of-revenue operating allowance for what a new owner inherits, owner earnings are $84,000 a year. If you pay yourself a salary, add it back — the buyer is pricing the business without you in it.
Step 3 — the size-band multiple
$10,000 MRR sits in the $10,000–$25,000 MRR band, which carries a base multiple of 3.2x on owner earnings. That is $268,800 before any adjustment for how this particular business behaves.
Step 4 — the five adjustments
| Adjustment | This business | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly revenue churn | 3.2% a month against a 3.2% reference for your size | neutral |
| Growth rate | 2.5% per month, about 34% a year | neutral |
| Gross margin | 85% gross margin | +12% |
| Operating history | 30 months live | neutral |
| Customer concentration | your largest customer is 15% of revenue | neutral |
Combined, the five adjustments multiply out to 112% of the base. The combined move is bounded at both ends: no combination of six self-reported numbers earns a strategic premium, and no amount of risk gets a buyer under the price of simply keeping the cash flow.
What would change it most
Two levers dominate at this size. Take churn from 3.2% to 4.7% — one and a half points — and the same business is worth $211,000 — $90,000 less. Let one customer reach 42% of revenue and it is $235,000. Neither of those changes the revenue on your dashboard by a cent.
Size matters too, but less than founders expect. The same metrics at $3,000 MRR value at $67,500; at $30,000 MRR, $1.0M. Tripling revenue roughly triples the price. Fixing concentration takes a quarter and costs nothing.