How pool routes are valued

Most route sales are priced as a multiple of monthly recurring service revenue, commonly 10–14×. A route billing $10,000 a month typically trades between $100,000 and $140,000. Only count recurring service revenue. One-off repairs, equipment sales and green-to-clean jobs don't transfer with the accounts.

What pushes the multiple up

Density: accounts close together mean more stops per day for the buyer.
Long-tenured customers on weekly full service.
Rates at or above market, recently raised without losing accounts.
Clean records: service history, chemistry logs and autopay billing.

What pulls it down

Scattered accounts or long drives between stops.
Chemicals billed separately or at below-cost flat rates.
Many new or month-to-month accounts likely to leave after a change of ownership.

The retention guarantee

Most deals include a guarantee period, often 30–90 days. Accounts that cancel during it are refunded or replaced, so the buyer isn't paying for customers who leave with the old owner. Expect to negotiate it. To see what each account really earns, run the pricing calculator.

This is a rule-of-thumb estimate, not an appraisal. Larger companies with staff, equipment and commercial accounts are usually valued on profit (SDE or EBITDA multiples) instead.