Wildbend Funding Group, a small-business funding service in Newark, Ohio, explains how to buy a cleaning or janitorial business in Licking County, OH: how to value the contracts, which documents to ask the seller for, and how a small business purchase is usually financed. The county had 55 janitorial employers in 2023, most of them small.
Why cleaning companies change hands
Licking County, OH had 55 janitorial services employer establishments in 2023, and 63.6% of them had fewer than five employees (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023); another 432 cleaning businesses operated with no payroll in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024). When an owner retires or moves on, a buyer who already runs crews, or wants to, can take over a book of contracts rather than winning them one bid at a time.
What you are actually buying
A cleaning company's value sits largely in its recurring contracts: offices, medical suites, schools, retail spaces and residential clients on a regular schedule. Equipment matters, but floor machines and vans are replaceable. Crews and supervisors matter too, because clients notice when the faces change.
| Part | What to check |
|---|---|
| Commercial contracts | Term, renewal date, termination notice, whether they can be assigned to a new owner |
| Residential clients | How long each has been a client and how often they cancel |
| Crews and supervisors | Who stays after the sale, and on what pay |
| Equipment and vans | Age, hours, service records, any loans against them |
| Supplies inventory | Count it at cost |
Documents to ask the seller for
- Revenue by client by month for at least two years.
- Copies of every commercial contract and any amendments.
- Payroll reports, including hours by building or route.
- Tax returns for the business for two or three years.
- An equipment and vehicle list with ages and any liens.
- Insurance certificates and any claims history.
Compare revenue by client against the contracts. If one building makes up a large share of revenue and its contract can be canceled on short notice, that risk belongs in the price.
How to finance a small business purchase like this
A small purchase can combine three sources: the buyer's own cash, a term loan repaid from the business's profits, and sometimes a seller note, where the seller is paid part of the price over time. A seller note can also tie the seller's interest to a smooth handover of client relationships.
Illustration only, with invented figures: a company billing $420,000 a year with $70,000 of owner earnings is offered at $150,000. A buyer puts in $30,000, the seller carries $30,000 over three years, and the remaining $90,000 is requested as a term loan. The partner will look at whether the business's earnings, after paying the buyer a reasonable wage, cover both the loan and the seller note. Not an offer or a valuation rule.
After closing: the first payroll gap
A new owner may find that the seller's cash went with the seller. Crews are paid weekly while commercial clients pay monthly, so the first weeks after closing need working capital. Plan it as part of the purchase, not after. The cleaning and janitorial funding page covers payroll on new contracts and equipment, and the withholding registration guide covers payroll setup if you are hiring for the first time.
Local context
24 of the county's 55 janitorial employers had a ZIP 43055 address in 2023 (U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023), the main Newark, OH ZIP. Other local counts are on the Newark, OH data page.
By Wildbend Funding Group · Updated