Selling a Cleaning Services Business

Most cleaning businesses sell based on seller’s discretionary earnings, which is the owner’s yearly cash flow after adding back one-time and personal expenses. The multiple usually shifts with recurring revenue, route density, re-clean and refund rates, and how the labor setup is structured. For a quick range, use Rejigg’s free valuation calculator, then tighten it up with job-level margin and retention proof.

Yes, but buyers will dig in because they are buying both cash flow and operating risk. Expect questions about how you set standards, how re-cleans and credits are handled, who provides supplies, and how scheduling works. In some states, heavy day-to-day control can raise contractor classification concerns. The best way to reduce uncertainty is to document your model and share it during diligence using a secure process like Rejigg’s due diligence checklist.

No. Brokers usually charge 5–10% of the sale price for process work you can handle yourself with the right tools and buyer access. Rejigg gives you pre-vetted buyers, digital NDAs, direct messaging, a built-in data room, and side-by-side offer comparison. Start with the preparation guide, then list once your core documents are ready.

Most cleaning businesses take about 2–6 months from “ready to go” to closing, but it varies by how organized your financials and ops proof are. The timeline usually stretches when buyers cannot verify payroll hours against jobs, or when your labor setup and re-clean history are unclear. Rejigg keeps NDAs, document sharing, buyer questions, and offer tracking in one place, which cuts down the slow back-and-forth.

Start with 2–3 years of profit and loss statements, balance sheets, tax returns, bank statements, payroll reports, and a simple owner add-backs list. Then add cleaning-specific items like service mix, major customer and contract summaries, insurance certificates, claims or incident logs, an equipment list, and your QA checklists or photo rules. Rejigg’s due diligence guide lays out a buyer-friendly order, and the data room controls access.

SBA 7(a) loans are common in cleaning because the business is usually light on hard assets and lenders focus on cash flow. Buyers and lenders want clean deposits, consistent payroll, believable add-backs, and proof that the schedule does not fall apart when the owner steps back. You can model a buyer’s likely payment using Rejigg’s SBA loan calculator to sanity-check whether your asking price pencils out.

Working capital is the cash cushion needed to run the business day to day, like paying cleaners before invoices are collected and keeping supplies stocked. It matters more in commercial janitorial and property manager work, where you might bill net-30 while payroll hits weekly. Buyers often ask for a normal level of working capital to stay in the business at closing so they are not immediately funding operations out of pocket.

It can be fine if the scope and billing are tight. Consumables like trash liners, paper goods, and soap can add profit, but they can also quietly wreck margins when usage is uncontrolled or the contract language is vague. Buyers like clean rules: what is included, how replenishment is measured, and how price changes get passed through. Be ready to show an account-by-account scope summary and how you track and bill supplies.

Buyers usually focus on cancellation notice, service failure language, price increase terms, and who provides supplies and equipment. They also want the real scope spelled out, including nights versus days, floor care add-ons, and how extra work gets approved. A one-page summary for each major account saves a lot of diligence time. Rejigg’s data room makes it easy to share contracts after an NDA and keep questions organized.

An earnout means part of the price gets paid later if the business hits targets, often revenue over 6–24 months. In cleaning, they show up when a buyer is nervous about churn after the owner exits or when lead flow depends heavily on paid ads. If you consider one, get specific about what counts as revenue, how re-cleans and refunds affect the numbers, and what happens if the buyer changes pricing. Rejigg’s negotiation guide helps you pressure-test the terms.

Seller financing means you receive part of the price over time, usually with interest. It can widen your buyer pool and help bridge a valuation gap, especially when the operations are strong, but the buyer wants extra comfort around transition and retention. The trade-off is obvious: you get paid only if the buyer runs the business well and keeps enough cash in it. If you do it, require clean monthly reporting and strong security terms.

A non-compete is your promise not to start a competing cleaning business in the same market for a set period. Buyers want it because client relationships and reputation are a big part of what they are paying for, especially with recurring residential routes and property manager accounts. The details vary by state and should be written by an attorney. Most buyers push for a geography that matches your service area and a term measured in years.

Treat it like an operations change with a tight plan, not a big announcement. Buyers want to see who gets told first, what you say to keep cleaners from leaving, and how you introduce the new owner to key accounts without spooking them. In cleaning, churn can spike in the first 60–90 days if crews or customers feel uncertainty. Rejigg’s transition guide helps you map the timeline and responsibilities.

General liability is the baseline, and workers’ comp matters if you have W-2 cleaners. Bonding comes up when you advertise “bonded” service or work with clients that require it. Commercial clients and property managers often require certificates of insurance and may ask to be listed as additional insured. Buyers also care about claims history and whether you have a repeatable incident process, not just a clean record.

Most buyers value cleaning businesses mainly on cash flow, not equipment, because equipment is replaceable and depreciates fast. Still, a clean equipment list prevents surprises, especially for commercial work that relies on floor machines, carpet extractors, vehicles, or supply lockers. Buyers will ask age, condition, and replacement plans because that drives near-term cash needs. A simple list with purchase dates and photos is usually enough.

Many deals include 30–90 days of hands-on transition, then lighter support for a few more months. The right timeline depends on how much the owner currently handles dispatch, quoting, and service recovery. Buyers care about schedule stability, keeping crews from churning, and keeping quality consistent while new management learns the playbook. Put the transition expectations in writing. Rejigg keeps those commitments tied to the deal terms and timeline.

Start with what you get at closing versus later, then compare earnouts, seller financing terms, working capital expectations, and the buyer’s diligence and financing timeline. Cleaning adds an extra layer because delayed payments only happen if retention and quality hold up after the handoff. Ask how the buyer plans to manage staffing, re-cleans, and route density. Rejigg’s offer comparison dashboard shows the trade-offs side by side so you are not guessing.

The common ones are labor classification concerns that a buyer cannot get comfortable with, unclear job-level economics, weak proof of quality control, and lead flow that depends heavily on one channel or one property manager. Owner dependence is another big one, like the owner acting as dispatcher and complaint desk every day. Most fixes are practical: document how the business runs and share proof in a clean order through a secure diligence process like Rejigg.