A landscaping business typically sells for 1.8 to 2.8 times the owner's true annual earnings. On revenue alone, most landscaping and lawn care companies trade between 0.45 and 0.85 times yearly sales. Routes, contracts, and equipment decide where you land inside that range.
Your tax returns almost always prove a higher number.
Upload three years of tax returns, about 15 minutes of your time. A real person reads every page and your package is delivered within 48 hours. If your package isn't right, you don't pay: full refund any time before we deliver, and after delivery we fix the numbers or refund you.
Not ready yet? Get the checklist of every document a buyer will ask you for, free.
| Business type | Revenue multiple | Owner-earnings (SDE) multiple |
|---|---|---|
| Hair salon / Barbershop | 0.35 to 0.65 times yearly revenue | 1.5 to 2.5 times owner earnings |
| Cleaning service | 0.5 to 0.9 times yearly revenue | 1.8 to 2.8 times owner earnings |
| Landscaping / Lawn care | 0.45 to 0.85 times yearly revenue | 1.8 to 2.8 times owner earnings |
| Restaurant / Cafe | 0.25 to 0.45 times yearly revenue | 1.3 to 2.2 times owner earnings |
| Auto repair / Detailing | 0.4 to 0.75 times yearly revenue | 1.9 to 3.1 times owner earnings |
| Retail shop | 0.3 to 0.6 times yearly revenue | 1.8 to 3 times owner earnings |
| Other service business | 0.35 to 0.7 times yearly revenue | 1.5 to 2.5 times owner earnings |
A weekly mowing route under agreement is recurring income. A one-time patio install is not. Both bring in money, but buyers pay more for the mowing route, because it repeats next month without any new selling. If your mix leans toward maintenance routes, you sit near the top of the range.
Your true earnings drive the price, the same as any trade. Salary, plus profit, plus the personal costs the business pays. The truck you also drive on weekends and the fuel card count as add-backs. List every one before you multiply, because each add-back raises the number a buyer starts from.
Start with three years of business tax returns. SBA lenders require three years of business tax returns to finance a buyer. Add your equipment list, your route or contract list, and payroll records for any crew. If customers pay you by the season, include those agreements too.
Do not clean up your books by hiding cash work. Buyers pay for income they can see on a tax return. Money that never hit the return cannot be part of your price, and that is the most expensive bookkeeping habit in this trade.
A salon owner in central Pennsylvania guessed her business was worth $35,000. Her own tax returns supported $95,000. Different trade, same lesson: the proven number beats the guess. See what goes in the package.
Most main-street businesses sell for 1.5 to 2.5 times the owner's true yearly earnings, or their replacement value, whichever is higher and can be proven. True earnings means salary plus profit plus the personal things the business pays for. Most owners forget those add-backs count, so most owners guess low.
SBA lenders require three years of business tax returns to finance a buyer. Three years also shows a trend, not a snapshot. We saw a salon whose latest year looked like decline. Three years proved it was one expensive staffing year, and that was worth tens of thousands on her price. Fewer years looks like hiding. More rarely changes the number.
Tax returns, a profit and loss statement, your lease, payroll records, and an equipment list. Start with the returns. We tell you what is missing and why each piece adds dollars to your price.
No. Most small business sales use seller financing or an SBA loan. Your package includes the payment math, so you can show your buyer exactly what they would pay each month.
Until your next tax return is filed, which is usually about a year. Your package is built from your real returns, so it stays accurate as long as those are your most recent ones. A buyer's lender will ask for current financials anyway, so a package built on last year's returns is exactly what they expect to see. Two things age it early: a new tax year, and a material change like losing a large client, buying major equipment, or signing a new lease. If either happens before you sell, we rebuild your package from the new numbers for $99. Most sellers never need it.