Landscaping Valuation Template

Work through the SDE Multiple Approach and Value Drivers Scorecard next, since these two sheets together determine your valuation range. The SDE normalization step separates your earnings as the working owner from what a replacement operations manager would cost — if you're managing crews, handling estimates, and running sales for $80,000/year, but a replacement general manager would cost $65,000, that gap flows into your SDE. The Value Drivers Scorecard is where landscaping businesses gain or lose the most on price: if 70% or more of your revenue comes from recurring maintenance contracts with multi-year renewal history, you'll score high on the most important factor in the matrix. If you're primarily an installation-focused company with little recurring maintenance, expect buyers to apply a lower multiple and build in more due diligence on future revenue visibility.

The typical multiple range for landscaping businesses is 2.5–5.0x SDE, but most transactions cluster in the 3.0–4.0x range for well-run small-to-mid-size operations. Getting above 4.0x requires a specific combination: 60%+ of revenue from recurring maintenance contracts with multi-year histories, crew supervisors who can run the field independently of the owner, systematic estimating and job-costing processes, and a diversified customer base where no single client represents more than 10–15% of total revenue. Equipment condition matters as well — a buyer inheriting a fleet where several trucks are approaching end-of-life will price in replacement capital expenditure and negotiate accordingly. Gross margins in landscaping typically run 40–55%, with net margins of 8–15% for owner-operated companies, so SDE as a percentage of revenue often falls between 12–22% for the businesses that sell at the higher end of the multiple range.