Window Cleaning Business Valuation Checklist (Australia)

Window Cleaning Business Valuation Checklist — Australia

Use this checklist before making or accepting an offer on a window cleaning business. Work through each section in order. The sections build on each other — equipment condition affects SDE, which affects the multiple, which determines the offer.

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Section 1: Financial Verification

The goal here is to calculate a reliable SDE figure. Don't rely on the seller's summary — work from the source documents.

Documents to request:

• Three years of profit and loss statements (last 3 financial years)
• Three years of tax returns (matching the P&L figures)
• Last 12 months of bank statements (to verify revenue against deposits)
• BAS statements for the last 4 quarters (to cross-check GST turnover)
• Aged debtors report (who owes money and for how long)
• Any loans or equipment finance currently secured against the business

SDE calculation:

• Start with net profit before tax (from the P&L)
• Add back: owner's salary or drawings (the salary the owner paid themselves)
• Add back: owner's superannuation contributions
• Add back: any personal expenses run through the business (vehicle personal use, phone, travel)
• Add back: depreciation on equipment
• Add back: one-off or non-recurring expenses (legal fees, equipment replacement, one-time repairs)
• Deduct: any revenue that won't continue post-sale (e.g. revenue from clients who follow the owner personally)
• Deduct: any costs that will increase post-sale (e.g. replacing free labour from family members)
• Calculated SDE: $______

Revenue trend:

• Is revenue growing, flat, or declining over the three-year period?
• Are there seasonal patterns? (Window cleaning in Australia is typically stronger in spring and summer)
• Has any single client or contract changed significantly in the last 12 months?

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Section 2: Contract Quality Assessment

This is the highest-impact section. Score each factor from 1 to 5 and total them.

Commercial contracts:

• Proportion of revenue from commercial clients (strata, commercial buildings, body corporates): _____%
  • Over 60%: score 5 — Score ___/5
  • 40–60%: score 4 — Score ___/5
  • 20–40%: score 3 — Score ___/5
  • Under 20%: score 2 — Score ___/5
  • Zero: score 1 — Score ___/5

Written agreements:

• Percentage of revenue covered by written contracts (not verbal arrangements): _____%
  • Over 80%: score 5 — Score ___/5
  • 60–80%: score 4 — Score ___/5
  • 40–60%: score 3 — Score ___/5
  • 20–40%: score 2 — Score ___/5
  • Under 20%: score 1 — Score ___/5

Contract length:

• Average remaining term on written contracts: _____ months
  • Over 24 months: score 5 — Score ___/5
  • 12–24 months: score 4 — Score ___/5
  • 6–12 months: score 3 — Score ___/5
  • Under 6 months: score 2 — Score ___/5
  • Month-to-month only: score 1 — Score ___/5

Customer concentration:

• Revenue from top 3 clients combined: _____%
  • Under 15%: score 5 — Score ___/5
  • 15–25%: score 4 — Score ___/5
  • 25–40%: score 3 — Score ___/5
  • 40–60%: score 2 — Score ___/5
  • Over 60%: score 1 — Score ___/5

Contract Quality Total: _____ / 20

• 16–20: Strong — supports higher multiple
• 11–15: Moderate — average multiple
• Under 11: Weak — requires significant discount or vendor finance provision

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Section 3: Owner Dependency Assessment

Answer yes or no. Each "yes" reduces the multiple.

• Does the owner personally service any client routes? Yes / No
• Do clients contact the owner directly on their personal mobile? Yes / No
• Has the owner introduced themselves as the business owner to clients? Yes / No
• Are there written route schedules that any competent person could follow? Yes / No (No = risk)
• Does the business have staff who know all routes independently of the owner? Yes / No (No = risk)
• Has the business operated without the owner for at least two weeks in the last 12 months? Yes / No (No = risk)

Owner Dependency Score: Count the "risk" responses (owner still central to operations):

• 0–1 risk: Score 5/5 — low dependency
• 2 risk: Score 4/5
• 3 risk: Score 3/5
• 4 risk: Score 2/5
• 5–6 risk: Score 1/5 — high dependency, multiple will suffer

Owner Dependency Score: _____ / 5

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Section 4: Equipment Assessment

Window cleaning equipment has finite lives. Factor replacement costs into your offer.

Vehicles:

• Number of vehicles: _____
• Year and condition of each: _______________
• Estimated remaining useful life (years): _____
• Estimated replacement cost if replacing now: $______

Water-fed pole systems:

• Number of systems: _____
• Condition (new / good / fair / end of life): _____
• Estimated replacement cost: $______

Pure water filtration systems (RO/DI units):

• Number of units: _____
• Age and condition: _____
• Estimated replacement cost: $______

High-reach equipment (if applicable):

• EWP (elevated work platform) — owned or hired? _____
• If owned: age, condition, next service date, estimated replacement cost: _____

Equipment Adjustment:

• Total estimated near-term replacement costs (within 3 years): $______
• Discount this from the offer price or negotiate as a condition of sale

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Section 5: Staff and Operations Assessment

• How many employees (FTE): _____
• Are all staff aware the business is for sale? Yes / No
• Are key staff on written employment contracts? Yes / No
• What are the key staff's current entitlements (annual leave, long service leave)? $______
• Have any staff indicated they may leave if ownership changes? Yes / No
• Is the business using job management software (Fergus, ServiceM8, Tradify, etc.)? Yes / No
• Are route schedules documented in the software? Yes / No
• Are invoicing and recurring billing automated? Yes / No

Staff and Ops Score:

• Software with documented routes and automated billing: add 0.25x to multiple consideration
• Key staff not on contracts, no documentation: subtract 0.25x from multiple consideration

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Section 6: Client Attrition Risk Estimate

Before making an offer, estimate how much revenue might leave with the seller.

• Ask the seller: "If I announced tomorrow that you were leaving, which clients do you think might leave?" Note the answer.
• Check whether clients have the business phone number or the owner's personal mobile as their primary contact
• Review client tenure: what percentage of the client base has been with the business for over 3 years?
• Ask: "Have you ever had a staff member leave and take clients with them?" If yes — what happened?

Attrition discount:

• Estimated revenue at risk from seller departure: $______/year
• Apply this as a reduction to SDE, or negotiate a vendor finance arrangement where a portion of the purchase price is contingent on client retention over 12 months

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Section 7: Multiple Justification

Use your scores from the sections above to justify a multiple.

Base multiple range for Australian window cleaning businesses:

• 1.5x to 3.0x SDE

Adjustments:

• Contract Quality Total 16–20: add 0.25x to base
• Contract Quality Total under 11: subtract 0.25x from base
• Owner Dependency Score 1/5: subtract 0.5x
• Owner Dependency Score 5/5: add 0.25x
• Equipment in poor condition (significant near-term replacement cost): subtract 0.1x to 0.3x
• Fully documented operations with job management software: add 0.1x
• Revenue growing year-on-year: add 0.1x
• Revenue declining: subtract 0.25x

Justified multiple: _____ x

Indicated offer price: SDE $______ x _____ = $______

Plus/minus adjustments:

• Equipment replacement discount: -$______
• Working capital (if applicable): +/-$______
• Client attrition contingency (via vendor finance if needed): -$______

Final offer range: $______ to $______

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Section 8: Pre-Offer Checklist

Before submitting a letter of intent:

• Verified SDE against bank statements and tax returns (not just seller's summary)
• Confirmed which contracts are written vs verbal
• Estimated attrition risk and built it into pricing or vendor finance structure
• Assessed equipment condition and factored replacement costs into offer
• Confirmed staff entitlements liability
• Checked whether the business has any outstanding ATO debts (request a tax compliance certificate)
• Confirmed GST status — if going concern exemption applies, both parties should be GST registered and properly documented
• Verified all licences and insurances are current (public liability, workers comp, vehicle)
• Agreed a handover period with the seller (minimum 4 weeks; 8–12 weeks preferred)
• Engaged a solicitor and accountant before signing anything

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Related resources:

If you need to understand the SDE normalisation methodology in more detail, the EBITDA normalisation checklist walks through the add-backs and adjustments for trades businesses step by step.

For the broader deal process once you've agreed on price, the due diligence checklist covers what to verify during the formal due diligence period.