A dental practice in Decatur is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Forsyth — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide dental practices playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Decatur file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Decatur market
Selling a dental practice in Decatur
A dental practice in Decatur is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Forsyth — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide dental practices playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Decatur file.
Decatur is a Macon County agri-processing city: ADM and related plants, lake and river industry, and a downtown that serves a factory-and-farm MSA, not a campus.
Industrial-service and trucking books track plant schedules and union history. Forsyth’s Hickory Point retail strip is a different buyer than a Decatur plant-services file. Chicago PE is uncommon; environmental and customer-concentration work come before any multiple talk.
Decatur has about 70,522 residents in Macon County, inside the Decatur area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Forsyth, Mount Zion. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Forsyth is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
60%–80% of Annual Collections
Typical timeline
6–18 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Macon County
Population
70,522
Metro
Decatur
Nearby comps
Forsyth, Mount Zion
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, Decatur, and nearby county seats sell to operators who already know the trade area. State-vendor and campus calendars matter on some books.
File CBS-1 on time. Do not paste a Naperville multiple onto a Sangamon or McLean file.
Decatur demand for dental practices is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 70,522 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Dental Practice in Decatur
What a Decatur buyer will underwrite on this dental practice
A dental practice in Decatur is a personal license plus a panel that will still drive here after the seller leaves. Parking, payer mix, and who can own the clinical entity are Illinois rules; the trade area is Decatur versus Forsyth, Mount Zion. We will not invent a ZIP premium.
Dental Practices statewide typically plan around 60%–80% of Annual Collections and a 6–18 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Decatur shop. Buyers here usually argue active patient count, hygiene recall rate, equipment age, insurance mix, associate-readiness.
Closing clock for this Decatur file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: The IDFPR dental license is personal to the dentist and does not transfer with the practice. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Decatur application of it.
In a major Illinois city like Decatur, associate dentists, dsos, recent dental school graduates are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Forsyth is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Buyer pool
Who buys a dental practice in Decatur
Industrial and owner-operator. Chicago PE is uncommon.
Illustration: a three-operatory general practice in Naperville with a strong hygiene board, the selling dentist still producing the crown-and-bridge, and a PPO-heavy schedule. Not a closed sale and not a collections appraisal.
A dental practice whose customers already sit in Forsyth, Mount Zion is a larger business than one that stops at the Decatur city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Decatur dental practice
Dental buyers still talk collections (often a 60–80 percent of trailing collections planning band) and, on smaller Main Street books, 3x–5x SDE. Recast hygiene as the transferable engine. Pull the selling dentist’s personal production if an associate will not replace it, and do not add back lab spikes or equipment promotions. Accounts receivable over 90 days are not collections.
Illustration only — not a quote for any Decatur shop. A dental practice whose tax return shows $299,000 of net profit is not worth $299,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $127,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $8,000 of discretionary benefits, $7,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $5,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $91,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $355,000. At the planning range 0.6x–0.8x, enterprise value is $213,000 to $284,000. Mid-range 0.75x is $266,250 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Decatur buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 0.75 times $355,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $266,250 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.
SDE line items
Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
+ Interest expense
+ Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
+ Depreciation and amortization
+ Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
+ Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
+ Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
− Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
= Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Decatur dental practice — not a quote
Net profit
$299,000
Owner W-2
$127,000
Benefits
$8,000
One-time
$7,000
Personal
$5,500
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$91,000
Recast SDE
$355,000
Planning EV at 0.75x
$266,250
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for dental practices.
Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.
Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—
Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.
Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.
$
1x3.0x8x
Estimated Value Range—to—
This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.
Macon (Decatur) uses state CBS-1 and city licenses. Agri-processing and industrial businesses need environmental and union diligence.
The IDFPR dental license is personal to the dentist and does not transfer with the practice. Illinois professional-entity rules constrain who can own the clinical entity. The buyer needs their own license, a DEA registration if they prescribe, and a premises path for radiology. Medicaid and PPO payor contracts are not automatic assignments.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in Decatur
For a dental practice in Decatur, the first labor question is: Hygiene recall that does not depend on the seller’s charting.
ADM and related processing shape labor and trucking. Forsyth retail is a different buyer than a Decatur plant-services book.
Central Illinois processing city. Cash flow and customer concentration first.
Diligence
What a serious dental practice buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Hygiene recall that does not depend on the seller’s charting; Associate-ready production, not 100 percent owner-produced; Payer mix a buyer can live with; Current operatories and sensors; A lease or condo the practice can stay in.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Decatur business: Active patient count, hygiene-recall percentage, and new-patient flow; Production by provider — seller vs associate vs hygiene; Payer mix, PPO write-offs, and any Medicaid exposure; Pan/CBCT and operatory age; software (Open Dental, Dentrix) ownership; Real estate or lease, and whether the practice is associate-ready; IDFPR and malpractice history on staying doctors.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a Decatur dental practice buyer
Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.
SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.
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Loan Amount—
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This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.
Sale steps
How to prepare a Decatur dental practice for sale
Recast this Decatur dental practice. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Decatur buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this dental practice pull a permit or see a patient in Decatur, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Decatur trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Decatur limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Macon County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois dental practices hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Decatur file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Macon County, including local closing steps.
Illinois dental practices typically sell for 60%–80% of annual collections. A practice generating $1,200,000 in annual collections would likely be valued between $720,000 and $960,000. Hygiene utilization, equipment age, and patient retention heavily influence final value.
Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) are group dental practices that acquire individual offices. They offer speed and certainty but often pay lower multiples than individual buyers. We present your practice to both DSOs and individual dentists so you can choose the best fit for your situation.
Most transitions include a 3–24 month transition period where the selling dentist remains clinically active to ensure patient retention. The length depends on the buyer's needs and your preferences.
Yes. Outstanding debts are typically retired at closing from sale proceeds. We work with your transaction attorney and accountant to structure the closing accordingly.
All interested buyers — individual dentists and DSOs alike — sign an NDA before receiving any identifying information. Your staff, patients, and referring physicians will not know you're considering a sale.
Most Decatur asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Macon County does not use Chicago’s 45-day city notice unless the business also operates there. Municipal licenses and the lease still need their own calendar.
The first serious call in Decatur is usually an owner-operator or a neighboring shop, not a coastal fund. Macon County buyers already know the trade area. Seller financing and a clean lease matter more than a headline multiple.
No. The planning multiple for dental practices is a statewide starting point, not a Decatur appraisal. Buyers in Macon County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Dental Practice Brokerage Near Decatur
We serve dental practices owners and buyers across Macon County and the surrounding region.