The seller's document checklist.

Six documents answer most of what any serious buyer will ask. Owners who have them ready move through a sale in weeks. Owners who assemble them mid-deal lose months, and sometimes the deal.

1. Tax returns, last 2 to 3 years

Returns come first, every time. They carry the most weight because the capital partners and lenders funding most deals price off filed returns, and only filed returns. Together with your P&Ls they establish the EBITDA the whole price is built on.

2. Profit and loss statements, same years plus this year

A P&L for each year your returns cover, plus this year to date, month by month if your bookkeeper can produce it. The return shows what was reported; the P&L shows where the money actually goes. Buyers read the two side by side, and the closer they line up, the faster everything after moves. Seasonality shows up here too, which helps a buyer see the store the way you know it.

3. The lease

The full document, with any amendments and extension options. Buyers read the term, the rent schedule, the assignment clause, and what the landlord can do at transfer. A store with a strong lease is worth more, and the lease is how you prove you have one.

4. Equipment list with ages and vend prices

Every washer and dryer: brand, capacity, the year it went in, and what it charges per cycle. Add the water heater and any boiler. The ages tell a buyer what the next five years of capital costs look like. The vend prices tell them whether revenue has room to grow. Download our equipment list spreadsheet, fill it in, and this item is done.

5. Recent utility bills

Twelve months of gas, electric, water, and sewer if you have them. Utilities are a laundromat's biggest cost after rent, and bills that line up with the revenue story give a buyer confidence in every other number you show them.

6. Payroll and staffing

Who works in the store, hours, and cost, including you. If the store runs unattended part of the day, say so. Buyers price an owner-operated store differently from a managed one, and clarity here avoids the wrong price in either direction.

Worth adding if you have them

Wash-and-fold or POS reports, commercial account invoices, business licenses, and insurance declarations. Every additional record that confirms the story makes the store easier to pay full value for.

What to do with the pile

Bring it to a buyer. We are one. Valemont Group acquires laundromats and dry cleaners directly from owners, and a first conversation is confidential and commits you to nothing. If you want the fuller picture first, start with what your store is worth.