Is Your Moving Company Ready to Sell?

Engage a CPA experienced in business sales to recast your P&L for the past 3 years. Add back owner salary above market replacement cost, personal vehicle expenses run through the business, owner health insurance, and any one-time costs. Buyers and SBA lenders will require a Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) or EBITDA schedule that clearly justifies every adjustment. Cash-basis accounting is common in moving companies, but accrual-adjusted statements will significantly increase buyer confidence and lender approval odds.

Moving company owners frequently wear the hats of dispatcher, lead estimator, and sales manager — all compensated informally or inconsistently. Document your actual market-rate replacement cost for each function you perform. If you're running dispatch and sales, show buyers what it would cost to hire a dispatcher ($45K–$60K) and a sales coordinator separately. This prevents buyers from over-discounting SDE and makes your add-backs defensible.

Break out revenue by residential moves, commercial moves, corporate relocation contracts, military/GSA accounts, and storage. Buyers pay a premium for diversified, recurring revenue and will discount businesses that can't show this breakdown. If storage or ancillary services represent even 10–15% of revenue, make sure they're visible — they carry higher margins and improve business quality scores.

Many moving company owners have accelerated depreciation on trucks and equipment that creates deferred tax liabilities. Review with your CPA whether any balance sheet cleanup is warranted before marketing. Buyers in asset purchase structures will also want to understand which assets transfer, so prepare a clean fixed asset schedule listing each truck, trailer, and major equipment item with acquisition date, book value, and condition.

Hire a certified commercial vehicle appraiser to assess the fair market value of your entire fleet — typically 3–10 trucks for a lower middle market moving company. This gives buyers an independent baseline for asset value and helps SBA lenders determine collateral coverage. It also forces you to identify trucks that are significantly undervalued on your books or that need immediate repairs before sale.

Address brake work, transmission issues, tire replacements, and any deferred DOT-required repairs on every truck before going to market. Compile all maintenance logs, oil change records, annual inspection certificates, and repair invoices organized by vehicle. Buyers and their mechanics will inspect your fleet during due diligence — a truck with a $15,000 repair need becomes a $30,000–$50,000 price reduction in buyer negotiations.

Create a complete inventory of all dollies, moving pads, straps, packing materials, GPS units, and other operational equipment. Buyers expect a fully operational business at closing — missing or undervalued equipment creates friction. Include photos and estimated replacement value for each category. If your storage facility is owned, prepare separate documentation on square footage, occupancy rates, and lease or ownership terms.

If any trucks are 10+ years old or approaching 300,000+ miles, prepare a realistic 3-year capex schedule showing replacement timelines and costs. Buyers will model this into their SBA loan projections and cash flow forecasts. Proactively presenting a capex plan — rather than having buyers discover aging vehicles during diligence — demonstrates transparency and reduces the risk of deal re-trades.

Pull your DOT safety rating, FMCSA operating authority, and state-level moving permits. Confirm each license is in good standing with no pending violations, fines, or safety audits. Determine which licenses transfer with the business entity versus those that require new applications by a buyer. In an asset sale — the most common structure for SBA-financed deals — the buyer will need to apply for their own DOT and FMCSA authority, so document the process and timeline clearly.

Worker misclassification is one of the most common deal-killers in moving company acquisitions. Review whether your drivers and movers are properly classified as employees vs. independent contractors under IRS, DOL, and state labor standards. If you've been treating W-2 employees as 1099 contractors, consult an employment attorney before going to market. Buyers and their lenders will scrutinize this closely, and undisclosed classification liability can result in significant indemnification demands or a failed SBA loan.

Gather 3–5 years of certificates of insurance, claims logs, and your current workers' compensation experience modification rate (EMR). A workers' comp mod rate above 1.0 signals above-average claims frequency and will concern buyers and insurers. If your mod rate is elevated, work with your broker to understand the contributing claims and whether any risk mitigation steps can begin improving it before sale.

If you use owner-operator trucks or subcontract moves during peak season, review all written agreements for compliance with current labor and transportation law. Ensure certificates of insurance, vehicle registrations, and contractual terms are current and on file. Buyers will want to understand your subcontractor model and whether those relationships transfer or need to be re-negotiated post-close.

Compile every written contract with corporate HR departments, third-party relocation management companies (RMCs), military installation transportation offices, and GSA-approved accounts. Note contract expiration dates, renewal terms, volume commitments, and any assignment or change-of-control clauses that could affect transferability. These accounts represent your most valuable recurring revenue and buyers will scrutinize them closely — having clean documentation protects their value.

If a single corporate account or relocation contract represents more than 25–30% of your annual revenue, buyers will apply a significant concentration discount or require an earnout tied to that customer's retention. Begin diversifying your customer base 12–18 months before your target sale date by actively building residential volume, adding commercial accounts, and pursuing additional relocation program approvals. Even modest diversification improvement materially reduces buyer risk perception.

Create a written summary of all referral relationships — real estate agents, property managers, relocation coordinators, storage facilities, and senior move managers — including contact names, estimated annual referral volume, and the nature of each relationship. Buyers want to understand whether referral volume is tied to the owner personally or to the brand and business. Introducing key referral partners to your operations manager before the sale strengthens transferability.

Compile your current ratings across Google, Yelp, the BBB, and moving-specific platforms like Moving.com, HireAHelper, and MyMovingReviews. If you're below a 4.5-star average on Google, develop a systematic review solicitation process immediately — buyers use online reputation as a proxy for brand quality and customer loyalty. Respond to all unanswered negative reviews professionally and document any unresolved complaints and their resolution.

Document your entire operating workflow in writing: how moves are booked and confirmed, how estimates are generated and priced, how crews are assigned and dispatched, how claims are handled, and how seasonal staffing is managed. This manual is one of the most valuable deliverables in your sale package because it demonstrates that the business can run without you. A buyer using SBA financing will also find this critical for transitioning operations on day one.

If you are the sole dispatcher, estimator, and operations manager, you must begin delegating before going to market. Identify your most capable employee — often a lead driver or dispatch coordinator — and begin formally transitioning operational responsibilities. A buyer using SBA financing will typically require you to stay on for 3–6 months post-close; having a second-in-command dramatically reduces transition risk and makes your exit cleaner.

Work with your M&A advisor or broker to compile a comprehensive CIM that includes your recast financials, fleet appraisal, contract summary, customer concentration analysis, operations overview, and transition plan. This is the primary document buyers use to evaluate your business and decide whether to submit an LOI. A well-prepared CIM shortens the diligence process, reduces re-trade risk, and signals that you are a serious, prepared seller.

Write a clear, actionable 90-day plan outlining how you will introduce the buyer to corporate accounts, referral partners, key employees, and subcontractors. Include a schedule for transferring dispatch software access, fleet records, and licensing. Buyers — especially first-time operators using SBA loans — will evaluate your willingness and ability to support a clean transition as a significant factor in their purchase decision and in how they structure the seller note or earnout.