Acquisition Underwriting Model — Landscaping & Lawn Care Edition

Landscaping deals fail on seasonality. Revenue concentrates into roughly seven months, working capital swings hard through winter, and buyers who size their cash against average months run dry in February. This model makes you fund the trough, not the average.

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 LANDSCAPING

Equipment-heavy depreciation treated properly, since mowers, trucks and trailers wear fast and the add-back is large. Replacement capex set accordingly. Add-back lines for owner equipment use, drought loss and seasonal credit lines. A worked $880K example at 2.77x SDE clearing 1.37x DSCR.

THE DILIGENCE TAB

Ten items to verify. Contracted versus one-off revenue mix — contracted maintenance is worth materially more. Twenty-four months of monthly revenue and cash, to expose the trough that annual figures hide. Snow removal variance, which a warm winter can erase. Equipment age, hours and liens. H-2B labour dependency. Commercial contract cancellation terms, because 30-day outs make the book thinner than it looks. Winter payroll commitments against zero revenue.

THE SBA RULES, BUILT IN

The 10% minimum equity injection on total project cost, restored under SOP 50 10 8 and not waivable. Seller note credited toward it only on full standby, capped at half. Correct guaranty fee tiering. Three pass/fail tests, plus the maximum price your cash flow actually supports.

WHO IT'S FOR

Buyers acquiring commercial or residential landscaping and lawn care businesses, roughly $400K 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.