Tools · Normalisation

Owner Compensation Benchmark

Estimate a market-rate management salary for your SME by role, sector, revenue and country. The first and largest EBITDA normalisation in a Benelux sale.

Your situation

Your role

Country

Annual revenue

Your current total package (€/year, optional)

Gross salary + benefits + employer charges. Optional: leave blank for benchmark only.

Market-rate manager salary

€70,000

Indicative gross package for a replacement manager filling your role. Source: condensed 2024-2025 Hudson + Korn-Ferry Benelux surveys.

Conservative (p25): €55,000
Median: €70,000
Strong package (p75): €88,000

Roll this into your full valuation

Upswitch automates owner-comp normalisation against the live benchmark and exposes the EBITDA bridge in your branded PDF.

Run a full Upswitch valuation Glossary: owner-comp normalisation

Embed this tool

Drop the snippet on your accountant blog, client portal, or any page where SME owners might land. Free, no registration required.

<iframe src="https://www.upswitch.app/en/embed/tools/owner-compensation-benchmark" width="100%" height="820" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Owner Compensation Benchmark"></iframe>

How to use it

Pick your role (full-time operational, hands-on owner, or part-time figurehead), the country, a revenue band, and optionally your sector. The calculator surfaces an indicative salary band (p25 / median / p75) based on Hudson and Korn-Ferry Benelux surveys. Compare with your actual draw: the delta is your EBITDA normalisation (positive or negative).

Frequently asked

What does this calculator do differently from a normal salary benchmark?: Standard benchmarks show salaries for employed managers. This tool shows what a replacement manager would cost in your role: what M&A buyers use to normalise your EBITDA. A €30-80k delta on your salary line typically translates into €100k-€400k of enterprise-value impact at a 4-5x multiple.
Which role do I pick?: Full-time operational = you run daily operations (sales, deliveries, customers). Hands-on owner = you set strategy + run some key operations, with an operational management team underneath. Part-time figurehead = you do ~10-20% strategy, the business runs without you.
How accurate is the estimate?: Good enough for orientation. The numbers are condensed from Hudson and Korn-Ferry Benelux surveys for 2024-2025. For a sale-grade valuation have an M&A advisor validate the specific benchmark with up-to-date data.
What about benefits and perks?: Always count the full package: gross salary + employer charges + bonus + car + insurance + pension. An owner drawing €40k salary but running €30k of perks costs the market €70k. Compare like-for-like.

Go deeper

Glossary: EIGENAARSBELONING-NORMALISATIE

Embed this tool

Drop the snippet on your accountant blog, client portal, or any page where SME owners might land. Free, no registration required.

<iframe src="https://www.upswitch.app/en/embed/tools/owner-compensation-benchmark" width="100%" height="820" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Owner Compensation Benchmark"></iframe>

How to use it

Frequently asked

What does this calculator do differently from a normal salary benchmark?

Standard benchmarks show salaries for employed managers. This tool shows what a replacement manager would cost in your role: what M&A buyers use to normalise your EBITDA. A €30-80k delta on your salary line typically translates into €100k-€400k of enterprise-value impact at a 4-5x multiple.

Which role do I pick?

Full-time operational = you run daily operations (sales, deliveries, customers). Hands-on owner = you set strategy + run some key operations, with an operational management team underneath. Part-time figurehead = you do ~10-20% strategy, the business runs without you.

How accurate is the estimate?

Good enough for orientation. The numbers are condensed from Hudson and Korn-Ferry Benelux surveys for 2024-2025. For a sale-grade valuation have an M&A advisor validate the specific benchmark with up-to-date data.

What about benefits and perks?

Always count the full package: gross salary + employer charges + bonus + car + insurance + pension. An owner drawing €40k salary but running €30k of perks costs the market €70k. Compare like-for-like.