How Much is My Plumbing Business Worth? Your Plumbing Business Is Worth More Than You Think—And Less Than You Hope

The gap between those two numbers? That's where fortunes are made or lost.

The Conversation I've Had 25 Times

An owner walks into my office. Three trucks. Six employees. Half a million in revenue. Built from nothing.

"What's it worth?"

My answer: It depends.

Not on some formula. On what an acquirer actually cares about. Recurring revenue from maintenance agreements. Certified technicians. Clean financials.

Here's the problem: most owners ask this question when they're ready to sell.

By then, they've already left hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table.

Part 1: What Your Business Is Actually Worth

Your business isn't worth what you feel it's worth. Acquirers care about one thing: cash flow and its predictability.

Most owners make a critical mistake—they get a single EBITDA number from their CPA and call it a day.

That's dangerous. One method doesn't tell the whole story.

The Five Methods You Need to See Side-by-Side

Your Exit Value runs all five automatically—using your actual NAICS code and recent transaction data, not some generic rule of thumb from a three-year-old book. Here is a quick overview of what each of the methods mean and how to

Plumbing Business Benchmarks (2024 & 2025)

• SDE multiple: 2.0x – 4.0x

• Revenue multiple: 0.30x – 0.60x

• Each truck: $20,000 – $40,000

• Maintenance contracts: 80% – 120% of annual revenue

The Factor Most Owners Miss

It's not just what your business is worth today. It's whether that number is trending up or down—and why.

The owners who command the highest premiums? They run valuations continuously. They make deliberate decisions to increase value over time.

Owner Benefit Adjustments Will Trip You Up

What's your market-rate salary? Company truck for personal use? Cell phone through the business?

Each one affects your EBITDA calculation.

Your Exit Value walks you through every adjustment—so there are no surprises when an acquirer starts due diligence.

When you sit down with a buyer, you need more than a number on a cocktail napkin. You need a professional Broker Opinion of Value with methodology and industry comparables. That's what signals you're serious—and gives both sides common ground to negotiate.

Part 2: Exit Strategy (You're Thinking About It Backwards)

Most owners think exit strategy means: find a buyer when I'm ready to sell.

Wrong.

You should start thinking about your exit three to five years before you sell.

Here's the Uncomfortable Truth

Over 70% of businesses don't sell.

Not because there are no buyers. Because owners didn't prepare them to be sold.

The 8 Factors Acquirers Actually Evaluate

1. Owner dependence

2. Financial performance

3. Growth capability

4. Customer concentration

5. Strength of systems

6. Depth of management

7. Legal and compliance

8. Strategic position

Your Exit Value scores your business across all eight through an Exit Readiness Scorecard. You'll see exactly where you're strong, where you're weak—and the dollar value each weakness is costing you.

Not Every Dollar You Invest Returns the Same

You can't make smart investments without understanding the impact on your value.

Your Exit Value shows you the ROI for each improvement you can make.

Plumbing-Specific Value Drivers

• Technician certifications

• Recurring revenue streams

• Age and condition of equipment

• Transferability of licenses

The platform automatically generates a prioritized task list with estimated value increase for each item—so you know exactly where to focus.

See the Whole Picture

Your Exit Value creates a Value Acceleration Roadmap showing:

• Where you are today

• Where you want to be at exit

• Exactly what to do each year to get there

When an owner can see a clear path from $600,000 today to $950,000 at exit—that's what keeps them on track.

Part 3: The Gap Nobody Talks About

Here's where most "business valuation" advice fails.

It assumes you only care about selling.

But you care about what happens after.

I've worked with owners who sold, celebrated—and eighteen months later realized they were going to run out of money.

The Asset Gap

The difference between:

• What you'll have after you sell

• What you'll need to fund retirement

The Math Most Owners Get Wrong

Think you'll sell for $1 million and have $1 million?

Think again.

Will that—combined with your other assets—fund 25 years of retirement?

Your Exit Value's Asset Gap Calculator

Input your:

• Takes your current business value and then estimated the net sale proceeds

• Retirement accounts, home equity, investments

• Personal liabilities

• Retirement income goal

The system tells you: enough, or shortfall. And if there's a shortfall, exactly how much.

Run the Scenarios

• What if you sell in 3 years instead of 5?

• What if you get 15% more? Or 15% less?

• What if you adjust your retirement lifestyle?

You might find that waiting two more years closes the gap. Or that modest lifestyle changes do.

Monte Carlo Simulation: Know Your Odds

Instead of assuming a flat 6% return, model 1,000+ market scenarios to understand probability.

"Based on 1,000 simulations, you have an 85% chance of not running out of money before age 90."

If that number is only 65%? You know you need to increase sale proceeds, reduce retirement spending, or delay your exit.

The Compensation Complication

Pay yourself below market? Your SDE looks artificially high. Pay yourself above market? Your SDE looks artificially low.

You need to understand how your compensation compares to market—for both your valuation and your retirement planning.

The Bottom Line

Your plumbing business is worth more than you think and less than you hope.

The difference is preparation.

Here's what you need:

✓ Understand your value today: through a multi-method approach with real transaction data

✓ Know your exit readiness: and have a strategy to close the gaps

✓ Calculate your asset gap: and model what it takes to close it

The owners who win aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest businesses.

They're the ones who treated their exit as a project with a defined beginning, end, data, and accountability.

Whether You're 5 Years Out , Just Getting Started, or selling this year

The time to start is now.

Your Exit Value gives you the complete picture: valuation, exit readiness, gap analysis, and a roadmap to the retirement you've earned.