Acquisition Underwriting Model — Commercial Cleaning Edition

Commercial cleaning is asset-light and cash-flow steady, which is why it looks attractive. It also trades at the lowest multiples of any service trade, because barriers to entry are near zero and most contracts cancel on 30 days' notice. The whole underwriting question is whether the contract book survives your first year.

Ten linked tabs. You type in one of them.

Inputs, SDE Bridge, Sources and Uses, Debt Schedule, Projections, DSCR, Returns, Summary — plus an Industry Diligence tab built for this trade.

WHAT'S SPECIFIC TO JANITORIAL

Working capital set heavier than buyers expect, because you pay crews weekly and collect on 45-day terms — the gap is the most common cash surprise in this sector. Minimal capex, reflecting the asset-light model. Add-back lines for the line of credit most owners use to bridge payroll. A worked $710K example at 2.50x SDE clearing 1.58x DSCR.

THE DILIGENCE TAB

Ten items to verify. Contract cancellation notice periods. Average client tenure and annual churn, where above 20% means replacing a fifth of revenue every year. Top-five customer concentration. Days sales outstanding, which drives your working capital. Staff turnover and wage rates against local market, because below-market wages mean a cost increase lands on you. Worker classification — employee versus contractor misclassification is a material inherited liability. Workers compensation mod rate. Supervisor retention, since supervisors usually hold the client relationships, not the owner.

THE SBA RULES, BUILT IN

The 10% minimum equity injection, the full-standby seller note rule, correct guaranty fee tiering, three pass/fail tests, and the maximum price the cash flow supports versus your offer.

WHO IT'S FOR

Buyers acquiring commercial janitorial and facility services businesses, roughly $300K to $3M, financed with SBA 7(a).

WHAT IT ISN'T

A financial model, not advice. Not a quality of earnings report, not a certified valuation, not tax or legal counsel. Sector multiple ranges are rules of thumb, not market data. Rates current to November 2026 — confirm with your lender.

FORMAT

Excel (.xlsx). Instant download. Arrives with a fully worked example deal.