How to buy a laundromat (and check the numbers before you do)
Short answer
Buy a laundromat by checking three things before you talk price: the lease (years left, options, who pays utilities), the age of the machines, and whether the reported revenue matches the water the store actually used. Water bills are the closest thing a laundromat has to an independent sales record, so use them to test the seller's figures.
Then rebuild seller's discretionary earnings yourself, counting only add-backs you can prove, and make sure the lease runs at least as long as your loan.
Laundromats look simple from the outside: machines, quarters, a lease. That simplicity is exactly why they're easy to oversell. There's no customer list to inspect and no contracts to read, and in a coin store the only record of sales may be the owner's own count. So the job is to find evidence that doesn't come from the seller and check his numbers against it.
How a laundromat actually makes money
Almost all revenue comes from three places, and you should see each one as its own line, not one lump called "sales".
- Self-service washers and dryers. Revenue is cycles times vend price. The useful measure is turns per day: how many times each washer runs on an average day. Ask for it by machine size, because the big multi-load washers usually earn far more per turn than top-loaders.
- Wash-dry-fold and pickup/delivery. Priced per pound, often growing, and labor-heavy. Profitable WDF needs staff, scales, a point-of-sale system and sometimes vans. Check whether WDF revenue is taxable for sales tax in your state.
- Commercial accounts. Gyms, salons, Airbnb hosts, small clinics. Good volume, but one or two accounts can be a big share of WDF revenue and they can leave with a phone call.
Vending, soap sales and an ATM add a little. Find out who owns the vending machines and the ATM before you count their income; often it's a third party paying the store a commission.
Test the revenue against the water bills
Every washer cycle uses water, and the water company is not on the seller's side. That makes 24 to 36 months of water and sewer bills the best independent check you have on washer revenue. Here's the method.
- Get the water used. Bills usually show usage in CCF (hundred cubic feet). One CCF is 748 gallons.
- Get gallons per cycle for each washer model from the manufacturer's spec sheets, then take a weighted average based on how often each size runs.
- Take off water that isn't vended. Restrooms, mopping and the store's own wash-dry-fold loads all use water. Ask the seller to estimate it and sanity-check against a month when WDF was small.
- Multiply estimated vended cycles by the average vend price (check price changes over the period) and compare with reported washer revenue.
Illustrative example, not a real store
Say the seller reports $410,000 of washer revenue last year. The water bills show 2,400 CCF, which is 1,795,200 gallons. The spec sheets put the store's average at about 25 gallons per cycle, so that's roughly 71,800 cycles. Take off 10% for restrooms, cleaning and WDF and you're at about 64,600 vended cycles. At an average vend price of $5.25, the water supports about $339,300 of washer revenue.
The reported figure is about 21% higher than the water supports. Maybe the gallons-per-cycle estimate is off, or prices rose mid-year. Or the revenue is inflated. You don't have to decide which on your own. You ask the seller for the card system's cycle counts by machine and see which explanation survives.
Do the same with the bank. Card and app revenue should arrive as processor deposits you can match to the system's reports. Coin revenue should show up as regular cash deposits. If the seller says he "pays the attendants and the repair guy out of the coins," that cash never touches the bank and you can't verify it. Treat it as unproven. Our guide to proof of cash shows how to reconcile deposits to reported sales month by month.
Read the lease before anything else
In most laundromats the lease is the business. The plumbing, venting, gas lines and drains are built into that unit, and moving them costs a fortune. A store with great numbers and three years left on the lease is a very different purchase from the same store with fifteen.
- Remaining term plus renewal options that you control. For an SBA 7(a) loan the lease, including options exercisable only by the borrower, should run at least as long as the loan.
- Rent escalations and how options are priced (fixed bumps or "fair market rent", which can jump).
- Who pays water, sewer and gas. If the landlord pays water today, that is a hidden subsidy that can disappear at renewal.
- Assignment clause: does the landlord have to consent, can he refuse, and will he want a personal guarantee from you?
- Exclusive-use clause, so the landlord can't rent the unit next door to another laundromat.
- Relocation or demolition clauses. Shopping centers being redeveloped have ended plenty of laundromats.
Ask for a landlord estoppel letter confirming the lease is in force, rent is current and there are no defaults. More on this in lease assignment when buying a business.
Price the machines, not just the business
Equipment age drives two things: how much you'll spend in the next few years and how fresh the store looks to customers. Get an equipment list with make, model, capacity, serial number and install date for every machine, plus the purchase invoices if the seller has them. Then ask a local distributor or technician what replacement would cost and whether parts are still available for the older models.
Watch for a seller who stopped replacing machines two or three years ago. Profit goes up when you skip capital spending, and the buyer pays for it later. If depreciation on the tax return is suddenly small, that's often why. See deferred maintenance and capex.
The add-backs that don't hold up in laundromats
Seller's discretionary earnings (SDE) starts with net profit and adds back the owner's pay and personal costs. In laundromats a few add-backs come up again and again, and some are weaker than they sound.
| Line | Seller's figure | Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income on tax return | $96,000 | Solid | Matches the return and IRS transcript. |
| Depreciation | $38,000 | Solid | On the return. But you still need a reserve for machine replacement. |
| Interest on equipment loan | $12,000 | Solid | The loan is paid off at closing. |
| Owner's personal vehicle | $7,000 | Shaky | No mileage log. Someone still has to drive to the store and the supply house. |
| "One-time" boiler repair | $9,000 | Shaky | Boilers and water heaters fail. Look at three years of repairs before calling it one-time. |
| Unreported coin income | $30,000 | Unsupported | Not on the return, not in the bank. Worth nothing to you or a lender. |
| Seller's SDE | $192,000 | ||
| SDE on solid items only | $146,000 | The number to start from. Shaky items move up only with evidence. | |
Two more traps specific to laundromats:
- The owner is the repairman. Many owners fix their own machines. SDE quietly includes that free labor. If you can't do repairs, budget for a technician or a service contract.
- The owner is the attendant. If the seller covers 30 hours a week of attendant shifts and you plan to hire for them, that wage comes out of your earnings. SDE assumes one owner working in the business; it doesn't pay for a manager you add.
For the full method, see add-backs and seller's discretionary earnings.
Documents to ask for
| Document | What you're checking |
|---|---|
| Three years of business tax returns, plus year-to-date P&L | The baseline. SBA lenders verify returns against IRS transcripts. |
| 24 to 36 months of bank statements | Deposits match reported revenue; coin deposits are regular. |
| 24 to 36 months of water/sewer, gas and electric bills | The water test above; utility cost trend; who pays what. |
| Card or app system reports (exported, by machine) | Cycles, turns per day, price history, peak hours. |
| Coin collection logs | Consistency with deposits; who collects. |
| Equipment list with install dates and invoices | Age, replacement timing, ownership (not leased). |
| Lease, amendments, landlord contact | Term, options, utilities, assignment. |
| Repair and service records | Recurring problems, "one-time" repairs that aren't. |
| WDF and commercial account list, payroll records | Concentration, labor cost, how many hours the owner covers. |
| Sales tax returns (if WDF is taxable in your state) | Another independent record of WDF sales. |
Licences, permits and the handover
Local business licences generally don't transfer; you apply in your own name. Some cities and sewer districts also regulate wastewater discharge or require grease and lint traps to be maintained, so ask the seller for any inspection letters. Change the card system, payment processor and utility accounts into your name at closing, and get the seller's help with the first few weeks of repairs and coin collection. A laundromat runs on routines, and the seller knows which machine jams on Sundays.
If the numbers survive all of this, you're in a good position to make an offer and start formal diligence. If you're financing with SBA money, read SBA 7(a) loans for buying a business next, because the lender will run its own checks and order its own valuation.
Laundromat valuation multiples: what actually moves the number
Laundromat values depend most on the lease (years remaining plus options, and rent), equipment age, and how reliable the revenue is. Utilities, who pays them, whether the store is attended, card-system data versus coin-only records, and wash-dry-fold revenue all shift where a store lands. Laundromats are often discussed as a multiple of net earnings, but a short lease or old machines can cut value sharply regardless of earnings.
We don't publish ranges we can't verify. For a real figure, ask a credentialed appraiser; for SBA deals, the lender orders one.
Laundromat sellers love to quote a multiple. Laundromat buyers should love to quote the lease, because nothing moves a laundromat's value more.
What moves the multiple
| Factor | Supports higher | Pulls lower |
|---|---|---|
| Lease | Long remaining term plus options, fixed escalations | Short term, uncertain renewal, market-rent resets |
| Equipment | Recent machines, parts available | Old machines due for replacement |
| Revenue evidence | Card/app data matching water use and deposits | Coin-only, unexplained gaps |
| Utilities | Efficient machines, stable rates | Landlord-paid water that may end; rising rates |
| Operation | Runs with attendants and routines | Owner does repairs and covers shifts |
| Wash-dry-fold | Profitable, diverse accounts | One commercial account dominates |
| Location | Dense renters, parking, visibility | New competitor nearby |
Before thinking about any multiple, test the revenue with the water-bill method and rebuild SDE on solid add-backs only.
Frequently asked questions
Can I really check laundromat revenue with water bills?
Roughly, yes. Washers use a fairly predictable amount of water per cycle, which you can get from the manufacturer's spec sheet for each model in the store. Divide the gallons on the water bills by gallons per cycle and you get an estimate of washer cycles. Multiply by the average vend price and compare it with the washer revenue the seller reports. It won't be exact, because restrooms, cleaning and wash-dry-fold all use water too, but a gap of 20% or more needs an explanation.
The seller says the store makes more in cash than the tax return shows. Should I pay for that?
No. Income that isn't on the tax return can't be verified, an SBA lender won't count it, and you'd be paying for a tax problem that belongs to the seller. Price the business on what the returns and bank deposits support.
How long should the lease be?
For an SBA 7(a) loan, the lease term including renewal options you alone can exercise should be at least as long as the loan term (SOP 50 10 8.1). Most buyers want more than that, because a laundromat that has to move loses most of its value. Get the landlord's consent to assign the lease in writing before you close.
Is a card-only laundromat easier to check than a coin laundromat?
Usually. Card and app systems record every cycle by machine, so you can see turns per day, peak hours and price changes. Coin stores depend on the seller's collection logs and bank deposits, which are easier to fudge. Ask for the system's own reports exported directly, not a spreadsheet the seller retyped.
Does OKtoBuy tell me what a laundromat is worth?
No. OKtoBuy never gives a value or price. It checks the earnings: revenue against bank deposits, each add-back rated solid, shaky or unsupported, and the questions to put to the seller. For a formal value, an SBA lender orders its own independent valuation.
How do you value a laundromat?
Typically on verified net earnings (SDE or EBITDA) times a multiple, adjusted heavily for lease term and equipment age. Revenue should be tested against water usage and bank deposits first.
Sources
- SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, Lender and Development Company Loan Programs (effective Oct 1, 2026) — lease term vs loan term; Appendix 15 change-of-ownership rules
- SBA: Buy an existing business or franchise
- IRS Publication 946, How to Depreciate Property — why depreciation on the return can be large after machine upgrades
Related guides
General information, not legal, tax, financial or investment advice. Rules and lender practices change; check the linked sources and talk to your attorney, CPA and lender about your deal. Examples with named numbers are illustrations, not real businesses. OKtoBuy does not value businesses or give price opinions.