How it works
How we build your plan
A business plan is only as good as its numbers. Ours come from the federal government’s own statistics for the county you’re opening in — and from you. Nothing is filled in to look busy.
1. Your county’s federal data
| What it tells you | Source | Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Competitors in your county, and growth over five years | U.S. Census Bureau — County Business Patterns | 2023 vs 2019 |
| Average yearly sales of businesses with employees | U.S. Census Bureau — Economic Census | 2022 |
| Average yearly sales of self-employed operators | U.S. Census Bureau — Nonemployer Statistics | 2024 |
| Local wages for the people you’d hire | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | May 2025 |
| County and state population and growth | U.S. Census Bureau — Population Estimates | 2024 |
| Example loan payment | Federal Reserve — bank prime loan rate (via FRED) | October 2, 2026 |
Where the Census doesn’t publish a figure for your county (to protect individual businesses’ privacy), the plan uses your metro area, then your state, then the national figure — and says which one it used.
2. Your own estimates
Prices, daily volume, equipment costs and fixed expenses are things only you can know. We start you with typical figures, you change what you already know, and every one of them is labelled “your estimate” in the plan — never presented as a fact about the market. Each starting figure is held to a range we researched from published prices, insurer cost data and trade sources, the plan prints that range next to it, and a figure outside it is flagged. Every range and source is listed below.
3. The arithmetic
From those inputs we compute your startup budget (including a cash reserve), monthly costs, break-even, a three-year projection with wages at local rates, and an example loan payment at today’s prime rate plus the SBA’s maximum 7(a) spread for a loan that size — so the example errs high, never flatteringly low. Then we hold your assumptions against the local data and print a reality check when something looks optimistic — for example, sales far above what similar businesses in your area take in.
4. The writing — with no invented numbers
The narrative sections (summary, market analysis, marketing, operations, risks and launch plan) are drafted by an AI writing system working only from your answers and the computed figures. It can’t type a number of its own: every figure in the text is inserted from our calculations, and a plan that contains any other number is rejected and rewritten before you see it.
5. Starting assumptions and where they come from
For each business, the figure we start you with, the range we found, and the pages we found it on. Where the only public evidence is weak — a vendor’s blog, an aggregator, or trade press more than ten years old — we say so. Where no reliable source exists, we say that too, and treat the figure as yours to set.
Food truck
| Assumption | Our default | Typical range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average order Toast POS data put one quick-service main at $11.26–$12.98 (Q2 2024), and the only food-truck ticket figures ($10–$18 and $15) come from calculator and aggregator sites that show no method, so $14 is inside the range but weakly sourced. | $14 | $10–$18 | Toast, Inc. · BizMetricsHQ · BackofNapkin.co Only a single-item POS benchmark and aggregator figures; no survey of food-truck tickets is public. |
| Orders per day once established No credible survey or reputable interview turned up before the web-search budget ran out; the only operator-panel figure (60–150 a day) comes from an anonymous aggregator whose worked examples match our own defaults, and Running a Food Truck For Dummies shows only an illustrative 90-a-day capacity, so 80 is inside the range but weakly sourced. | 80 | 60–150 | BizMetricsHQ · Dummies / Wiley No credible survey of daily orders exists publicly; figures come from an aggregator and an illustrative example. |
| Days open per month A vendor guide's 4–6 service days a week over 48–50 weeks works out to about 16–25 days a month, and ProjectionHub's 250-day year to about 21; all of these are vendor assumptions, not survey data. | 22 | 16–25 | VendorLoop · ProjectionHub · BizMetricsHQ |
| Months open per year The owner’s operating season. Our default assumes year-round work; enter fewer months for a seasonal market. | 12 | — | Your choice — The owner’s operating season. Our default assumes year-round work; enter fewer months for a seasonal market. |
| Food and packaging Escoffier's food-truck cost guide (28–35%; its section heading says 25–35%) and Mobile Cuisine's food-truck figure (25–38%, cited by ProjectionHub) both bracket 30%, which is also the usual restaurant target. | 30% of sales | 25–38% | Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts · ProjectionHub · HigherMe |
| Card processing Published US rates run from 2.29% + 9¢ (PayPal Zettle in person) and 2.6% + 15¢ (Square tap/dip/swipe) up to 3.3% + 30¢ (Square invoices), 3.49% + 49¢ (PayPal invoices paid through PayPal checkout) and 3.5% + 15¢ (Square keyed-in cards), so 3% is within range, but the fixed fee pushes the effective rate above 3% on small sales and on invoiced jobs. | 3% of sales | 2.29–3.5% | Square · PayPal |
| Repairs and maintenance Restaurant benchmarks put repairs and maintenance at about 1.5% of sales (National Restaurant Association, via FSR) to 1–3% of revenue; I found no figure specific to trucks, which also carry vehicle upkeep, so 2% is inside the range but not truck-specific. | 2% of sales | 1.5–3% | FSR Magazine · HigherMe |
| Commissary (central prep and parking) Escoffier budgets $400–$1,500 a month, and live commissary listings run from $700 (Fort Collins, CO, unlimited access) to $1,300 (Anaheim, CA, truck spot), so $900 is inside the range. | $900 / month | $400–$1,500 | Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts · The Kitchen Door / The Food Corridor · The Kitchen Door / The Food Corridor |
| Fuel and propane Vehicle fuel alone runs $200–$500 a month in a 2025 cost calculator and reached $1,000 a month for one NYC truck during the 2022 price spike, while a 2026 Tucson operator reports about $200 of diesel a week plus propane and generator refills, so $650 for all three is inside the range. | $650 / month | $200–$1,000 | BackofNapkin.co · Fox Business · KOLD 13 News |
| Insurance (liability, auto, workers comp) Insureon's food-truck premiums (updated Sept 2026) add up to $292 a month for general liability ($37), commercial auto ($209) and workers' comp ($46), or $351 with a BOP ($96) in place of general liability; NEXT's own general liability and workers' comp ranges agree. | $325 / month | $292–$351 | Insureon · NEXT Insurance |
| Marketing and event fees Escoffier budgets $0–$1,500 a month for marketing, a 2026 California festival charged food trucks $450 per event, and SBA-cited data put restaurant advertising at about 1.9% of revenue, so $300 is inside the range but covers few paid events. | $300 / month | $0–$1,500 | Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts · Eventeny · U.S. Small Business Administration |
| Phone, POS and software Escoffier budgets internet and POS together at $150–$500+ a month, and Square's software alone costs $0, $49 or $149 per location (Oct 2025), so $120 for phone, POS and software is just below the sourced floor and $150 is the nearest default inside the range. | $150 / month | $150–$500 | Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts · Square (Block, Inc.) press release |
| Truck, kitchen build-out and fire suppression Escoffier (2025) prices used trucks at $50k–$100k and new ones at $100k–$175k, and Square says $50k–$60k and up, so $85k is inside the range (a used or upgraded-used truck, below the new-build band). | $85,000 | $50,000–$175,000 | Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts · Square |
| Opening food and packaging inventory Escoffier puts startup inventory at $2,000–$5,000 depending on menu, and a 2025 cost calculator's default is $1,500, so $3,000 is inside the range. | $3,000 | $1,500–$5,000 | Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts · BackofNapkin.co |
| Point-of-sale hardware Square's US list prices run from $299 (Terminal) and $399 (Handheld) to $899 (Register, 2nd gen) before accessories, so $800 is inside the range, close to a Register purchase. | $800 | $299–$899 | Square · BackofNapkin.co |
| Truck wrap and signage A truck builder quotes full wraps at $3,500–$5,500 (14–16 ft) up to $5,500–$8,500 (22 ft), a 3M-certified Florida shop quotes $4,500–$6,000, and a Houston shop lists a 480 sq ft truck at $5,000, so $3,500 is the bottom of the range and $5,000 is more typical. | $5,000 | $3,500–$8,500 | Zion Foodtrucks · Florida Car Wrap · Graphics AtoZ, Houston TX |
| Food manager and food handler certificates ServSafe charges $179 for the Manager online course with an online-proctored exam and $15 per Food Handler course, and Escoffier budgets $100–$500 every 2–5 years for these permits, so $250 covers one manager certificate, a helper's card and local fees. | $250 | $100–$500 | ServSafe · ServSafe · Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts |
| LLC filing and registered agent, first year State LLC filing fees run from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts (both checked on state pages), and a first year of paid registered-agent service costs $99–$249, so the total is about $134–$749; $500 is inside that range but above a typical state, where LegalZoom puts the average filing fee at $130 and the SBA says registration usually costs under $300. | $350 | $134–$749 | LegalZoom · Montana Secretary of State · Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth · Texas Secretary of State · ZenBusiness · LegalZoom · U.S. Small Business Administration |
| Licenses and permits budget (confirm with your city and county) Large-city food truck permits: Chicago’s Mobile Food Preparer license plus fire permits come to ,250; LA County’s high-risk health permit plus plan check about ,502. Smaller cities often charge less. | $1,500 | $1,250–$1,502 | City of Chicago Business Licensing · Los Angeles County Department of Public Health |
| Logo, website and printed materials A do-it-yourself logo ($0–$150), Squarespace Basic at $19/month billed annually ($228) and 50 business cards ($10) cost about $238, while an entry-level freelance logo (up to $800; 99designs contests cost $249–$1,050) with the same site and cards comes to about $1,038, so $800 is inside the range. | $800 | $238–$1,038 | Style Factory · Vistaprint · 99designs · Vistaprint |
| Paid helper hours a year (if you hire) I looked for operator surveys, staffing guides and BLS hours data, and no source gives paid helper hours for a food truck; the sources found give only headcount (Escoffier about 2–8 employees; U.S. Chamber Foundation's 2018 base case of three full-time staff), which suggests one helper is lean but cannot be turned into hours without assumptions. | 2,000 | — | No reliable public source — I looked for operator surveys, staffing guides and BLS hours data, and no source gives paid helper hours for a food truck; the sources found give only headcount (Escoffier about 2–8 employees; U.S. Chamber Foundation's 2018 base case of three full-time staff), which suggests one helper is lean but cannot be turned into hours without assumptions. |
Cleaning business
| Assumption | Our default | Typical range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average price per cleaning visit HomeGuide puts the typical visit at $120–$280 (national average $200) and Fixr at $150–$250, so $150 is inside both ranges, at the low end that suits a standard recurring clean by an owner-operator. | $150 | $120–$280 | HomeGuide · Fixr |
| Visits per day once established The two credible worked examples (Jobber, Quo) model 1–2 jobs a day for an established business, and only an uncited guide (StartCosts) supports 3–4 a day, so 2 is the highest well-sourced default. | 2 | 1–2 | Jobber Academy · Quo (formerly OpenPhone) blog · StartCosts |
| Working days per month OPM counts 260–262 weekdays a year (261 in most years, so 21.75 a month), 2026 has 11 federal holidays (about 20.8 a month after subtracting them), and Jobber's model uses 20 jobs a month at 5 a week, so 21 is inside 20–21.75. | 21 | 20–21.75 | U.S. Office of Personnel Management · U.S. Office of Personnel Management · Jobber Academy |
| Months worked per year The owner’s operating season. Our default assumes year-round work; enter fewer months for a seasonal market. | 12 | — | Your choice — The owner’s operating season. Our default assumes year-round work; enter fewer months for a seasonal market. |
| Cleaning supplies Jobber's model works out to 2.5% of revenue ($300 per team on $12,000 per team) and Quo's to 6.4% ($500 on $7,800), so 6% is inside the range but at its high end; Housecall Pro's $50–$300/month would imply less. | 6% of sales | 2.5–6.4% | Jobber Academy · Quo (formerly OpenPhone) blog · Housecall Pro |
| Fuel and vehicle wear No source states travel as a % of cleaning sales, so the range is Housecall Pro's $100–$500/month for fuel, maintenance, parking and repairs divided by the recommended-default revenue of $6,300/month ($150 × 2 × 21); 5% ($315) is also inside it at the current default revenue of $9,450 (1.1%–5.3%). | 5% of sales | 1.6–7.9% | Housecall Pro · Housecall Pro · Internal Revenue Service |
| Card processing Published US rates run from 2.29% + 9¢ (PayPal Zettle in person) and 2.6% + 15¢ (Square tap/dip/swipe) up to 3.3% + 30¢ (Square invoices), 3.49% + 49¢ (PayPal invoices paid through PayPal checkout) and 3.5% + 15¢ (Square keyed-in cards), so 3% is within range, but the fixed fee pushes the effective rate above 3% on small sales and on invoiced jobs. | 3% of sales | 2.29–3.5% | Square · PayPal |
| Insurance and bonding $150 is inside Housecall Pro's $60–$200 range, but Insureon's median-based figures for exactly this coverage are $51 (general liability) plus $9 (janitorial bond), which equals $60, so the sourced figure is $60. | $60 / month | $60–$200 | Insureon · Housecall Pro · Housecall Pro |
| Marketing and listings Housecall Pro's two guides give $150–$1,000+ and $300–$2,500 a month, so $300 is inside both, though Google Local Services Ads starter budgets begin at $500 (ZenMaid's figure; Quo's example also uses $500). | $300 / month | $150–$2,500 | Housecall Pro · Housecall Pro · ZenMaid Magazine |
| Phone, scheduling and invoicing software A one-user scheduling plan with unlimited jobs costs $39–$79 a month (ZenMaid Pro, Jobber Core $49, Housecall Pro Basic) and a phone line $15–$19 a month (Quo Starter), which totals $54–$98, so $60 is inside. | $60 / month | $54–$98 | Jobber · ZenMaid · Housecall Pro · Quo |
| Vacuums, caddies and cleaning tools Housecall Pro gives $200–$2,000 for basic equipment and says the high end is for commercial tools, while Connecteam puts equipment plus supplies at $300–$900, so a residential owner-operator default of $900 sits inside both and the current $2,500 is above every source (floor machines are a commercial item). | $900 | $200–$2,000 | Housecall Pro · Connecteam · Housecall Pro |
| Opening supplies and chemicals Housecall Pro's opening-supplies line is $100–$500, and Connecteam's $300–$900 already includes equipment, so $600 is above the supplies-only range and its top, $500, is the closest sourced default. | $500 | $100–$500 | Housecall Pro · Connecteam |
| Uniforms and safety gear Connecteam gives $100–$300 per person for uniforms and PPE, and Housecall Pro gives $25–$100 for gloves and PPE alone, so $300 is inside the range at its upper bound. | $300 | $25–$300 | Connecteam · Housecall Pro |
| LLC filing and registered agent, first year State LLC filing fees run from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts (both checked on state pages), and a first year of paid registered-agent service costs $99–$249, so the total is about $134–$749; $500 is inside that range but above a typical state, where LegalZoom puts the average filing fee at $130 and the SBA says registration usually costs under $300. | $350 | $134–$749 | LegalZoom · Montana Secretary of State · Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth · Texas Secretary of State · ZenBusiness · LegalZoom · U.S. Small Business Administration |
| Licenses and permits budget (confirm with your city and county) A general local business license costs a year in San Francisco (under k in receipts) and for two years in Chicago; trade-specific permits (pesticide, hauling) add to this where they apply. | $500 | $59–$500 | City of Chicago BACP · San Francisco Treasurer & Tax Collector |
| Logo, website and printed materials A do-it-yourself logo ($0–$150), Squarespace Basic at $19/month billed annually ($228) and 50 business cards ($10) cost about $238, while an entry-level freelance logo (up to $800; 99designs contests cost $249–$1,050) with the same site and cards comes to about $1,038, so $800 is inside the range. | $800 | $238–$1,038 | Style Factory · Vistaprint · 99designs · Vistaprint |
| Paid helper hours a year (if you hire) In-home maids average 26.2 hours a week (EPI analysis of Census CPS data; 52 weeks gives 1,362 hours a year) and OPM's full-time work year is 2,087 hours, so 1,500 is inside the range; note the EPI data is pooled 2016–2018, older than the 2024–2026 window. | 1,500 | 1,362–2,087 | Economic Policy Institute · U.S. Office of Personnel Management · Jobber Academy |
Landscaping business
| Assumption | Our default | Typical range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average price per service visit Three 2026 cost guides put a standard residential mow at $44–$90 per visit, with central figures of $57–$60; LawnStarter and Lawn Love share an author and an update date, so they are not fully independent of each other. | $60 | $44–$90 | LawnStarter · Lawn Love · Housecall Pro |
| Visits per day once established The only published rule of thumb found, from a software vendor in 2024, gives 10–15 average properties a day for a 2–3-person crew, and Lawn & Landscape's crew reporting agrees, which puts 10 at the conservative edge; the web search budget ran out before a second independent benchmark turned up. | 10 | 10–15 | Service Autopilot · Lawn & Landscape |
| Working days per month US calendars give 20–23 weekdays a month (260 a year), and Huston's lawn-care budget uses 22; neither source subtracts rain-outs, which would push real mowing days lower. | 21 | 20–23 | Lawn & Landscape · PaycheckCity |
| Months worked per year Mowing runs from about late March to mid-November in the North (7–8 months), early March to late November in the Deep South (about 9), and close to year-round in frost-free Florida and south Texas, so 9 fits a southern or transition-zone business but overstates a northern one. | 9 | 7–12 | University of Delaware Cooperative Extension · Lawn Love · Lawn Love · Lawn & Landscape |
| Fuel Industry benchmarks put fuel at 2–4% (Huston) to 2–7% (TaskEasy) of sales, and LawnStarter's ~$5,000 a year for a single-truck company comes to about 4.4% of the plan's implied $113,400 revenue (60×10×21×9), so 8% is above every source and 4.5% is recommended. | 4.5% of sales | 2–7% | Lawn & Landscape · TaskEasy · LawnStarter |
| Equipment maintenance Huston's Lawn & Landscape equipment benchmark puts repairs, parts and mechanic labor at 3–5% of sales, so 5% is inside the range but at its top; his mowing-inclusive example puts total truck and equipment cost at 13% of revenue. | 5% of sales | 3–5% | Lawn & Landscape · Lawn & Landscape |
| Materials (mulch, plants, seed) The only mowing-inclusive figure found is Huston's lawn-maintenance example at 7.5% of revenue, while landscaping firms in general run 10–20% (TaskEasy), so 6% is below every source and 7.5% is recommended for a business that is mostly mowing with light landscaping. | 7.5% of sales | 7.5–20% | Lawn & Landscape · TaskEasy |
| Card processing Published US rates run from 2.29% + 9¢ (PayPal Zettle in person) and 2.6% + 15¢ (Square tap/dip/swipe) up to 3.3% + 30¢ (Square invoices), 3.49% + 49¢ (PayPal invoices paid through PayPal checkout) and 3.5% + 15¢ (Square keyed-in cards), so 3% is within range, but the fixed fee pushes the effective rate above 3% on small sales and on invoiced jobs. | 3% of sales | 2.29–3.5% | Square · PayPal |
| Insurance (liability, commercial auto) Insureon and Next put general liability at $36–$57 a month and Insureon puts commercial auto at $204–$255 a month, so the two together run about $240–$312; this default does not cover workers' comp for the paid helper, which Insureon puts at $123–$169 a month. | $250 / month | $240–$312 | Insureon · Insureon · NEXT Insurance |
| Marketing and listings Published benchmarks run from 1–3% of revenue (TaskEasy) to 5% for maintaining and 7–10% for aggressive growth (marketing-agency guidance in Lawn & Landscape), with Huston citing up to 6% for lawn care; at the plan's implied $113,400 revenue that is $95–$945 a month, and $300 is about 3.2%. | $300 / month | $95–$945 | TaskEasy · Lawn & Landscape · Lawn & Landscape |
| Phone, scheduling and invoicing software Jobber's own pricing runs $29–$49 a month for its one-user Core plan ($99–$139 for Connect), and Google Voice adds $10–$30 per user a month, so software plus a business line spans about $39–$169 a month, which agrees with LawnStarter's $30–$50 for software suites. | $80 / month | $39–$169 | Jobber · Google Workspace · LawnStarter |
| Pickup truck (used) — enter 0 if you already own one Kelley Blue Book lists tow-capable used pickups under $15,000 and under $20,000, while CARFAX's average used-pickup price was $33,757 in late 2025, so $20,000 buys an older truck that can tow, not an average one. | $20,000 | $15,000–$33,757 | Kelley Blue Book · Kelley Blue Book · NIADA |
| Utility trailer One dealer lists Big Tex landscape trailers at $2,499–$2,899 (6×12, single axle) and $4,499–$4,999 (7×16, tandem, 7,000 lb GVWR), and LawnStarter cites about $1,000 for a generic open trailer, so $3,500 sits between a light single-axle trailer and a tandem landscape trailer. | $3,500 | $1,000–$4,999 | Trailer Superstore · Trailer Superstore · LawnStarter |
| Commercial mower Exmark's own cash prices run $6,699–$10,549 across its Radius and Lazer Z zero-turns, Toro lists a 60-inch Z Master 2000 at $9,999 before a tariff surcharge, and LawnStarter cites $6,000–$10,000+ for ride-on mowers. | $8,000 | $6,699–$10,549 | Exmark · Toro · LawnStarter |
| Trimmers, blowers and hand tools STIHL's US list prices add up to about $1,360 for one pro trimmer, backpack blower and edger, about $1,890 with a gas hedge trimmer, and about $2,270 with a second trimmer for the helper, so $2,000 sits inside that range before hand tools. | $2,000 | $1,360–$2,270 | STIHL USA · STIHL USA · STIHL USA · STIHL USA |
| LLC filing and registered agent, first year State LLC filing fees run from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts (both checked on state pages), and a first year of paid registered-agent service costs $99–$249, so the total is about $134–$749; $500 is inside that range but above a typical state, where LegalZoom puts the average filing fee at $130 and the SBA says registration usually costs under $300. | $350 | $134–$749 | LegalZoom · Montana Secretary of State · Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth · Texas Secretary of State · ZenBusiness · LegalZoom · U.S. Small Business Administration |
| Licenses and permits budget (confirm with your city and county) A general local business license costs a year in San Francisco (under k in receipts) and for two years in Chicago; trade-specific permits (pesticide, hauling) add to this where they apply. | $500 | $59–$500 | City of Chicago BACP · San Francisco Treasurer & Tax Collector |
| Logo, website and printed materials A do-it-yourself logo ($0–$150), Squarespace Basic at $19/month billed annually ($228) and 50 business cards ($10) cost about $238, while an entry-level freelance logo (up to $800; 99designs contests cost $249–$1,050) with the same site and cards comes to about $1,038, so $800 is inside the range. | $800 | $238–$1,038 | Style Factory · Vistaprint · 99designs · Vistaprint |
| Paid helper hours a year (if you hire) BLS reports that landscaping employees averaged 39.0 paid hours a week in 2025; multiplying that by the sourced 7–12-month season gives about 1,180–2,030 hours a year, a derived range because no source publishes annual helper hours directly, and it agrees with Huston's 40 hours a week for seven months. | 1,400 | 1,183–2,028 | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Lawn & Landscape |
Junk removal business
| Assumption | Our default | Typical range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average price per job The cost guides put a typical job at $150–$600 and give national averages of $225 (LawnStarter), $250 (This Old House) and $300 (Fixr), so $350 is inside the range but above every published average, and Fixr's $300 is the better-supported default. | $300 | $150–$600 | This Old House · Fixr · LawnStarter |
| Jobs per day once established Published figures run from 1.5–3 jobs a day for a single truck and 2–4 larger jobs a day for independents up to an illustrative 3–5, so 3 is inside the range, but every source is a blog, a vendor or franchisor marketing, and none is measured data. | 3 | 1.5–5 | College HUNKS Hauling Junk · Dropcurb · MUJGOS Published job counts come from a franchisor and blogs, not measured data. |
| Working days per month Working days are the owner’s schedule: OPM counts 260–262 weekdays a year (about 21.75 a month); Saturday work, common in junk removal, takes a six-day week to about 26. | 22 | 20–26 | U.S. Office of Personnel Management |
| Months worked per year The owner’s operating season. Our default assumes year-round work; enter fewer months for a seasonal market. | 12 | — | Your choice — The owner’s operating season. Our default assumes year-round work; enter fewer months for a seasonal market. |
| Dump and disposal fees A full truck holds about 2 tons, which costs 2 × $62.28 = $124.56 to tip at EREF's national average; that is 11.3% of $1,099 and 20.8% of $600, the ends of 1-800-GOT-JUNK's large-load band, so 20% sits at the top of the range (2 tons is maximum capacity, and local fees vary widely, for example Dallas $43.60/ton against King County WA $243.38/ton). | 20% of sales | 11–21% | Waste Advantage Magazine · 1-800-GOT-JUNK? · 1-800-GOT-JUNK? |
| Fuel One operator's blog puts fuel and oil at 5–10% of gross revenue and a consultant's single-truck P&L shows 6%; neither shows a method, and no credible survey or trade-press figure was found. | 7% of sales | 5–10% | J&S Hauling & Junk Removal · MUJGOS Weak evidence: vendor or aggregator sources only. |
| Card processing Published US rates run from 2.29% + 9¢ (PayPal Zettle in person) and 2.6% + 15¢ (Square tap/dip/swipe) up to 3.3% + 30¢ (Square invoices), 3.49% + 49¢ (PayPal invoices paid through PayPal checkout) and 3.5% + 15¢ (Square keyed-in cards), so 3% is within range, but the fixed fee pushes the effective rate above 3% on small sales and on invoiced jobs. | 3% of sales | 2.29–3.5% | Square · PayPal |
| Insurance (commercial auto, liability) General liability plus commercial auto adds up to $138 + $268 = $406/month on Insureon's debris-removal medians and $142 + $198 = $340/month on MoneyGeek's junk-removal benchmarks (its auto figure is minimum coverage), so $350 is inside but near the low end, and workers' comp for the helper ($175–$322/month) is extra. | $350 / month | $340–$406 | Insureon · MoneyGeek |
| Marketing and lead listings Housecall Pro says most junk removal firms spend $500–$2,500/month on advertising, and an uncited startup guide gives $200–$500/month for a two-person crew, so $600 is inside the range at its lower end; neither source shows a method. | $600 / month | $200–$2,500 | Housecall Pro · StartCosts |
| Phone, booking and invoicing software Official prices for single-user field-service software (Jobber Core $29–$49, Housecall Pro Basic $59–$79) plus a Google Voice line ($10–$30 per user) total $39–$109/month. | $80 / month | $39–$109 | Jobber · Housecall Pro · Google Workspace |
| Truck maintenance and registration An uncited guide gives $150–$400/month for a two-person crew and a truck dealer gives $8,000–$15,000/year ($667–$1,250/month) for medium-duty work trucks, so $250 is inside the range but only the weaker source supports it, and no source covers registration. | $250 / month | $150–$1,250 | Signature Truck Center · StartCosts |
| Box or dump truck (used) A dealer prices used box trucks at $15k–$28k (10–14 ft), $24k–$38k (16 ft) and $32k–$55k+ (24–26 ft), and a startup guide gives $15k–$25k for a used 14-ft truck, so $35,000 suits a 16-ft-class truck. | $35,000 | $15,000–$55,000 | Signature Truck Center · Durable |
| Dollies, straps, tarps and tools Startup guides put dollies, straps, gloves and tools at $300–$1,500 (StartCosts) and basic gear at $300–$500 (Durable); both are weak sources, and no retailer-based kit cost was found. | $1,000 | $300–$1,500 | StartCosts · Durable Weak evidence: vendor or aggregator sources only. |
| Truck wrap and signage A sign company plans full commercial wraps, box trucks included, at $2,500–$7,000+ (partial wraps $1,000–$3,500+), and a startup guide gives $2,000–$5,000 for a truck wrap, so $3,000 is inside the range at its lower end. | $3,000 | $2,000–$7,000 | BlinkSigns · StartCosts |
| LLC filing and registered agent, first year State LLC filing fees run from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts (both checked on state pages), and a first year of paid registered-agent service costs $99–$249, so the total is about $134–$749; $500 is inside that range but above a typical state, where LegalZoom puts the average filing fee at $130 and the SBA says registration usually costs under $300. | $350 | $134–$749 | LegalZoom · Montana Secretary of State · Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth · Texas Secretary of State · ZenBusiness · LegalZoom · U.S. Small Business Administration |
| Licenses and permits budget (confirm with your city and county) A general local business license costs a year in San Francisco (under k in receipts) and for two years in Chicago; trade-specific permits (pesticide, hauling) add to this where they apply. | $500 | $59–$500 | City of Chicago BACP · San Francisco Treasurer & Tax Collector |
| Logo, website and printed materials A do-it-yourself logo ($0–$150), Squarespace Basic at $19/month billed annually ($228) and 50 business cards ($10) cost about $238, while an entry-level freelance logo (up to $800; 99designs contests cost $249–$1,050) with the same site and cards comes to about $1,038, so $800 is inside the range. | $800 | $238–$1,038 | Style Factory · Vistaprint · 99designs · Vistaprint |
| Paid helper hours a year (if you hire) OPM's full-time work year is 2,080–2,096 hours (2,087 on average), and BLS average weekly hours in waste management (NAICS 562), 41.8–42.3 × 52 weeks, come to 2,174–2,200, so 2,000 is below both; 2,087 also matches 21.7 days a month × 8 hours × 12. | 2,087 | 2,080–2,200 | U.S. Office of Personnel Management · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
Vending machine business
| Assumption | Our default | Typical range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average sales per machine per week The only trade-press anchor is an old $100-per-service collection goal (2014, framed as weekly sales), and a machine seller's blog (an interested party) gives $75–$300/week for a good location and $30–$50 for a poor one; Automatic Merchandiser's per-machine survey data is members-only, so no current public average exists. | $90 | $75–$300 | Vending Market Watch · VMFS USA Industry survey data per machine is members-only; public figures are an older trade-press goal and a machine seller’s range. |
| Machines once established The size of route the owner plans to build. Our example grows from 5 to 15 machines. | 15 | — | Your choice — The size of route the owner plans to build. Our example grows from 5 to 15 machines. |
| Snacks and drinks (cost of goods) Vending Market Watch worked examples, operator profiles and a model built on NAMA's operating-ratio report put product cost at 45–50% of sales, but all are from 2007–2014; no current public figure was found because NAMA's Operating Ratio Report and the State of the Industry detail are paywalled. | 45% of sales | 45–50% | Vending Market Watch · Vending Market Watch · Vending Market Watch Trade-press figures date from 2007–2014; current industry ratios are paywalled. |
| Location commission Vending Market Watch reports 10–15% at an apartment account, 10% at convalescent centers, and 10% snacks / 20% soda in a columnist's worked example, with institutional contracts higher (28% at a transit authority); all of these sources date from 2007–2014. | 10% of sales | 10–20% | Vending Market Watch · Vending Market Watch · Vending Market Watch Trade-press figures date from 2007–2014. |
| Cashless payment fees Current published rates are 5.95% of card transactions (Cantaloupe; Nayax via a reseller) and trade press cites 5–7%; because only 71% of vending sales are cashless (Cantaloupe, 2024 data), charging 5% on total sales is a reasonable, slightly conservative default. | 5% of sales | 5–7% | Cantaloupe, Inc. · Kleen-Rite Corp. · Vending Market Watch · Cantaloupe, Inc. |
| Fuel and vehicle costs for restocking No credible source gives a monthly fuel or vehicle cost for a small vending route; searches of Vending Market Watch, Vending Times, seller and planning sites found only blog figures with no stated basis, and the IRS per-mile rate cannot be turned into a monthly cost without a route mileage, which no source provides. | $250 / month | — | No reliable public source — No credible source gives a monthly fuel or vehicle cost for a small vending route; searches of Vending Market Watch, Vending Times, seller and planning sites found only blog figures with no stated basis, and the IRS per-mile rate cannot be turned into a monthly cost without a route mileage, which no source provides. |
| Insurance Insureon's vending-specific medians are $37/month for general liability and $58/month for a business owner's policy (BOP), and The Hartford's vending BOP customers average $141/month, so $100 falls between general liability alone and a BOP that also covers the machines. | $100 / month | $37–$141 | Insureon · The Hartford |
| Cashless reader service fee (per machine, per month) When the reader is bought outright, per-device service fees are $7.95–$9.99/month (Nayax US shop $9.99, Cantaloupe $9.95, Nayax via Kleen-Rite $7.95); $15 or more appears only under Cantaloupe One's $18.95/month rental, which includes the hardware and would set the readers line to $0, so $9.99 (Nayax's own US price, top of the range) fits a plan that buys readers. | $9.99 / month each | $7.95–$9.99 | Nayax · Cantaloupe, Inc. · Kleen-Rite Corp. · Cantaloupe, Inc. |
| Vending machines (per machine) Dealer prices run from $2,200 (refurbished AMS snack) and $4,000–$4,800 (refurbished combos) up to $5,350–$8,600 for new combos, so $3,500 is inside the range but buys only refurbished equipment, since new snack machines start at $3,850. | $3,500 each | $2,200–$8,600 | Capital Vending · Capital Vending · Capital Vending · vending.com |
| Cashless card readers (per machine) Official list prices are $289–$399 for the Nayax VPOS Touch (depending on quantity; $314 each for 5–14 units) and $329–$369 for Cantaloupe G11 kits, so $300 is inside the range, but only at Nayax's 15+ unit price. | $300 each | $289–$399 | Nayax · Cantaloupe, Inc. · Cantaloupe, Inc. |
| Opening product inventory (per machine) Only sources with a sales interest or blog-level quality exist: vending.com (a machine seller) gives $300–$1,500+ and ProjectionHub (a financial-projection software blog, 2022) estimated $150–$200 for a snack machine, so $300 is inside the range but weakly sourced. | $300 each | $150–$1,500 | vending.com · ProjectionHub Weak evidence: vendor or aggregator sources only. |
| LLC filing and registered agent, first year State LLC filing fees run from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts (both checked on state pages), and a first year of paid registered-agent service costs $99–$249, so the total is about $134–$749; $500 is inside that range but above a typical state, where LegalZoom puts the average filing fee at $130 and the SBA says registration usually costs under $300. | $350 | $134–$749 | LegalZoom · Montana Secretary of State · Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth · Texas Secretary of State · ZenBusiness · LegalZoom · U.S. Small Business Administration |
| Licenses and permits budget (confirm with your city and county) A general local business license costs a year in San Francisco (under k in receipts) and for two years in Chicago; trade-specific permits (pesticide, hauling) add to this where they apply. | $500 | $59–$500 | City of Chicago BACP · San Francisco Treasurer & Tax Collector |
| Logo, website and printed materials A do-it-yourself logo ($0–$150), Squarespace Basic at $19/month billed annually ($228) and 50 business cards ($10) cost about $238, while an entry-level freelance logo (up to $800; 99designs contests cost $249–$1,050) with the same site and cards comes to about $1,038, so $800 is inside the range. | $800 | $238–$1,038 | Style Factory · Vistaprint · 99designs · Vistaprint |
| Paid helper hours a year (if you hire) Only used if the owner adds a helper; no source gives helper hours for a vending route. Enter your own. | 800 | — | No reliable public source — Only used if the owner adds a helper; no source gives helper hours for a vending route. Enter your own. |
Every business: cash reserve and the example loan
| Assumption | Our rule | Typical range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash reserve at opening The SBA's Business Resilience Guide suggests keeping 3–12 months of emergency funds, so 3 months is within range at its low end; it is still well above the 27 days of outflows the median small business actually held in the JPMorgan Chase Institute data. | 3 months of fixed costs and wages | 3–12 | U.S. Small Business Administration · JPMorgan Chase Institute |
| Example loan rate The example loan uses the SBA 7(a) maximum variable spread for its size: +6.5 up to $50,000, +6.0 to $250,000, +4.5 to $350,000, +3.0 above. Using the cap makes the example payment err high; most lenders charge less. | Prime + SBA maximum for the loan size | prime + 3 to 6.5 points | U.S. Small Business Administration · Federal Reserve Board |
| Example loan term A standard 7(a) loan for equipment or working capital can run up to 10 years, a Working Capital Pilot loan up to 60 months and an SBA Microloan up to 6 years, so a 7-year term fits a 7(a) equipment or startup loan. | 7 years | 5–10 | U.S. Small Business Administration · U.S. Small Business Administration |
Ranges reviewed October 12, 2026. Prices change; if you find a better source, write to us.
6. What it isn’t
A plan is a planning tool, not legal, tax or investment advice, and projections are estimates rather than promises. Confirm licenses and fees with your city, county and state. Main Street Plans is not affiliated with the SBA or any government agency.
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