What's your business worth?
A directional, trade-specific estimate — the starting point for weighing any exit. No email required, no sales call, no buy-side fee.
Quick estimator
Two lenses: SDE (seller's discretionary earnings) is the appraisal / small-business view for owner-operated shops; EBITDA is the PE / strategic-buyer view once you have a management team.
Share from maintenance plans / service agreements. More recurring revenue pushes you toward the top of the range.
- Owner-operated, <$1M SDE1.8×–3× SDE
- $1M–$5M EBITDA3×–5× EBITDA
Directional estimate only — multiples are deal-specific and vary with size, recurring revenue, geography, and buyer type. Sourced from advisor and valuation-firm data; not a formal appraisal.
Multiples by trade
Typical valuation multiples by trade. Recurring-revenue businesses (maintenance plans, service agreements) sit at the top of each range; owner-dependent, project-heavy shops at the bottom.
Service/repair and membership plans command higher multiples than project-based new-construction plumbing.
- ▲ Service & repair mix over new construction
- ▲ Membership/maintenance plans
- ▲ Management depth
- ▲ Strong online reviews and lead flow
- ▼ New-construction dependence
- ▼ Owner-dependent operations
- ▼ Thin or volatile margins
Service/repair and recurring commercial maintenance contracts lift multiples; project-only shops trade lower.
- ▲ Service & maintenance mix
- ▲ Recurring commercial contracts
- ▲ EV-charger / solar adjacency
- ▲ Management depth
- ▼ New-construction concentration
- ▼ Project lumpiness
- ▼ Owner-dependent estimating
Maintenance-plan / service-agreement revenue is the single biggest multiple lift in HVAC — buyers pay up for predictable recurring cash flow.
- ▲ Recurring maintenance-agreement revenue (the single biggest lever)
- ▲ Residential mix and density of the service base
- ▲ Low owner dependence — a general manager and dispatchers in place
- ▲ Clean, reviewed financials and documented SOPs
- ▼ High owner dependence (a top reason deals fail)
- ▼ Customer concentration / one-time new-construction install revenue
- ▼ Commercial new-construction exposure to macro cycles
- ▼ Customer attrition and thin technician bench
Re-roof/replacement and maintenance/warranty programs trade better than storm-chasing or pure new-construction revenue.
- ▲ Replacement over new-construction mix
- ▲ Maintenance/warranty programs
- ▲ Diversified (non-storm) lead sources
- ▲ Management depth
- ▼ Storm-dependent revenue
- ▼ High weather/seasonality cyclicality
- ▼ Owner-dependent sales
Commercial / property-management contracts (recurring) lift multiples above pure new-construction-cycle-dependent residential painting.
- ▲ Brand recognition and repeat residential customer base
- ▲ Commercial / property-management contracts (recurring)
- ▲ Skilled crew depth and low owner-dependence
- ▼ New-construction cycle exposure
- ▼ Seasonal demand volatility
- ▼ Owner is the primary sales / estimating relationship
Recurring commercial maintenance contracts are highly prized; one of the most active PE roll-up segments in the trades. Peak's independent appraisal-basis multiples run well below the FPS PE/strategic-buyer figures above — the gap reflects small-business appraisal pricing vs. platform acquisition pricing, not disagreement.
- ▲ Recurring commercial maintenance contracts
- ▲ Route density and geography (coastal, southern, urban favored)
- ▲ Maintenance vs construction/design revenue mix
- ▼ Construction/hardscape/design (non-recurring) revenue mix
- ▼ Seasonality in northern markets
- ▼ Owner-dependent sales
Project-based and lumpy; recurring service/facilities-maintenance lines trade at a premium to one-off build work.
- ▲ Recurring service/maintenance lines
- ▲ Backlog quality and diversification
- ▲ Bonding capacity
- ▲ Management depth
- ▼ Project lumpiness and concentration
- ▼ Thin construction margins
- ▼ New-construction cyclicality
- ▼ Owner-dependent bidding
Specialty (decorative, commercial, industrial) operators with contract backlogs and low owner dependence command multiples toward the top of the range.
- ▲ Specialty / decorative work with higher margins
- ▲ Commercial and government contract backlog
- ▲ Equipment ownership reducing subcontractor costs
- ▼ Commodity residential flatwork (price-competed, low margin)
- ▼ Project-based, non-recurring revenue
- ▼ Owner-dependent estimating and relationships
Flooring is largely project-based; commercial maintenance contracts and repeat builder relationships lift multiples.
- ▲ Commercial & multi-family relationships
- ▲ Repeat builder / contractor client base
- ▲ Showroom or design-center asset
- ▲ Management independence
- ▼ Residential one-off concentration
- ▼ Owner-dependent estimating
- ▼ Thin material margins on commodity installs
The highest-multiple home-services trade — recurring quarterly/annual contracts and high renewal rates drive premium pricing from acquirers like Rollins and Rentokil. The large spread between Peak's appraisal-basis figures and FPS's PE/strategic-buyer figures reflects small-business vs. platform-acquisition pricing, not disagreement.
- ▲ Recurring residential/commercial service contracts
- ▲ Route density and customer retention
- ▲ Strategic-buyer interest (most buyers are strategic)
- ▼ One-time / one-off treatment revenue
- ▼ Owner-dependent operations
- ▼ Agricultural/industrial mix (lower multiples than residential)
Larger operators with preferred/exclusive insurance-carrier relationships and $2M+ revenue command materially higher multiples than the appraisal average.
- ▲ Preferred / exclusive insurance-carrier relationships
- ▲ Diversified service mix (water, fire, mold) and scale
- ▲ 24/7 response capability and crew depth
- ▼ Dependence on a single carrier or TPA program
- ▼ Owner-led sales and estimating
- ▼ Sub-$2M revenue scale
Mandatory annual inspections and recurring monitoring contracts make fire-protection businesses highly attractive to buyers — regulatory mandate provides a recurring revenue floor.
- ▲ Mandatory annual inspection contracts
- ▲ Sprinkler monitoring/service agreements
- ▲ Commercial account base
- ▲ NICET-certified technician team
- ▼ New-construction install concentration
- ▼ Technician shortage and certification bottleneck
- ▼ Single-market concentration
Monitoring and maintenance agreements add recurring value; pure install businesses are more volatile due to incentive-driven demand cycles.
- ▲ Monitoring/maintenance agreement attach rate
- ▲ Battery + storage adjacency
- ▲ Commercial/C&I focus
- ▲ Established utility relationships
- ▼ Policy and incentive dependency (ITC, net metering)
- ▼ Pure residential install concentration
- ▼ Customer acquisition cost volatility
High repeat-service rate (spring/opener replacements) and low average ticket create consistent volume; PE roll-up activity accelerating.
- ▲ High volume of repeat service calls
- ▲ Residential route density
- ▲ Commercial/HOA service agreements
- ▲ Low customer concentration
- ▼ Single-trade concentration
- ▼ Owner-dependent sales and service
- ▼ Seasonal and weather sensitivity
Fencing is almost entirely project-based with minimal recurring revenue; commercial/HOA contracts are the main valuation lift.
- ▲ Commercial and HOA account base
- ▲ Backlog and repeat developer relationships
- ▲ Multiple materials (wood, vinyl, aluminum, chain-link)
- ▲ Management independence
- ▼ Residential one-off project concentration
- ▼ No recurring service revenue
- ▼ Material cost volatility
- ▼ Highly fragmented competition
Weekly pool-service route businesses are highly recurring and command premium multiples — route value is the primary asset. Construction-only shops trade significantly lower.
- ▲ Recurring weekly service routes
- ▲ Low customer churn / high stickiness
- ▲ Route density
- ▲ Chemical supply integration
- ▼ Construction-only focus (no service routes)
- ▼ Heavy seasonality in cold climates
- ▼ Owner-dependent service and upsell
Service-plan / extended-warranty partnerships with retailers or home warranty companies provide recurring revenue that commands a premium.
- ▲ Home warranty / retailer service-plan contracts
- ▲ Multi-brand factory authorization
- ▲ Route density and technician efficiency
- ▲ Fleet and tool investment
- ▼ Pure break-fix / one-call concentration
- ▼ Manufacturer parts availability risk
- ▼ Owner-dependent diagnostic expertise
Commercial master-key and access-control contracts provide recurring revenue; automotive and safe work are typically one-call.
- ▲ Commercial / property management recurring contracts
- ▲ Access control and security system integration
- ▲ B2B account concentration
- ▲ Multi-technician operation
- ▼ Pure residential break-in emergency calls
- ▼ Owner-dependent expertise and licensing
- ▼ Highly fragmented local competition
New-construction relationships and retrofit commercial contracts (energy-efficiency programs) are key value drivers.
- ▲ Builder program relationships
- ▲ Energy-efficiency retrofit programs
- ▲ Commercial spray-foam specialization
- ▲ Management depth
- ▼ Pure residential new-construction concentration
- ▼ Material cost pass-through risk
- ▼ Owner-dependent quoting
Replacement-window programs with financing and manufacturer relationships provide more predictable revenue than pure new-construction install.
- ▲ Replacement-window / retrofit focus
- ▲ Manufacturer dealer program relationships
- ▲ Showroom presence
- ▲ Repeat referral network
- ▼ New-construction concentration
- ▼ High owner-dependent sales
- ▼ Seasonal demand peaks
How to read these numbers
These are directional ranges drawn from published advisor and valuation-firm data, not formal appraisals or transaction-verified comps. Real multiples are deal-specific and vary widely with size, recurring-revenue mix, geography, margin quality, and buyer type. Public comps for large acquirers trade far higher than a private $5M-EBITDA contractor will. Use this to frame the conversation — then get a real valuation before you act.