The appliance repair service launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 45 steps in 8 phases, 22 of them specific to an appliance repair service. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan45 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
An appliance-repair service sells skilled diagnostic and parts from its vans.
Typical for one unit is $300,000 to $900,000 a year; the owner keeps 10 to 18% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of all new U.S. employer businesses are still operating after five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: buy an established service with real warranty dispatch and a retainable crew when you want cash flow and lower risk; build from one van when capital is tight and you can patiently. Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
An appliance repair shop has no storefront to build; the van is the shop.
The itemized cost to open9 lines
- Service vans (lease down payments & upfit): $19,500 to $36,000Three vans with shelving and parts bins; buying all three outright adds about $140,000
- Meters, hand & power tools, dollies & safety gear: $4,500 to $15,500Clamp meter, gas leak detector, appliance tool kit, hand truck, floor protection, uniforms
- Sealed-system & refrigerant recovery tools: $0 to $14,500Gauges, vacuum pump, scale, leak detector, brazing kit and a recovery machine; lean shops refer this work out at first
- Starter parts stock: $3,500 to $10,500Belts, fuses, igniters, pumps, relays, switches and elements for the brands in your area
- Registration, EPA 608 & setup fees: $500 to $4,500Business license, state registration where required, EPA 608 cards, entity and legal setup
- Insurance (liability, commercial auto & workers’ comp): $3,000 to $9,000First premiums and deposits; warranty companies ask for proof before they dispatch
- Tablets, card readers & office setup: $2,500 to $7,500Field tablets with card readers, plus a small office and parts room
- Branding, van wraps, website & launch marketing: $9,500 to $46,000Wraps, logo and site, door hangers and the first 60 days of ads
- Initial working capital: $20,000 to $60,000Payroll, fuel, parts and float on warranty receivables for two to three months
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed5 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to $5M · up to 10 yr (25 with real estate) · 75-85% government-guaranteed)The workhorse for buying an existing shop or funding a startup’s tools, parts and working capital.
- SBA Microloan or small 7(a) (Microloans up to $50,000 · up to 6 yr)For a one or two van start, an SBA microloan through a local nonprofit lender or a small 7(a) loan can cover tools, parts and the first months of payroll.
- Van leasing & equipment financing (Secured by the vans and equipment · 3-6 yr)Lease or finance the vans and the recovery and sealed-system equipment, secured by the assets themselves.
- Seller financing (Often 5-20% of price · 3-7 yr)Common when buying a shop.
- SBA 504 loan (Up to 25 yr · owner-occupied real estate)Only if you later buy a building for an office, parts room and van parking.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/4Open
The territory and the vehiclea week or two
An appliance-repair service's "location" is its service territory and how efficiently vans cover it.
What decides it for this business: dense, drive-time-efficient territory, large installed base of appliances, homeowner, middle-income base, access to skilled diagnostic techs, reliable local parts supply.
Mobile businesses still answer to city rules: where the vehicle can be kept overnight, whether you can run the business from home, and what the state licenses.
The van or truck is the shop. Price it, outfit it, insure it, and brand it before the first job. The quotes go into the loan application.
Commercial auto for the vehicle, for the work. Customers and any lender will ask for the certificate.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the vehicle and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
The lender funds against the quotes and the insurance; the money goes to the vendors and the build.
After:
- 06Not started0/8Open
Permits and the vehicletwo to four weeks
Appliance repair is lightly licensed in most states, but it is not unregulated: you handle refrigerant the EPA controls, work on gas appliances inside homes, and in some states register as a service dealer.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:With the money in hand: the vehicle, the , the branding, and the state inspection most cities require before it can work.
After:Register your or corporation and get a city or county business license.
State registration to collect and remit tax on parts you sell, where parts are taxable.
A few states register appliance repair dealers; California’s Bureau of Household Goods and Services charges $190 per location and requires written estimates.
by home-warranty companies and manufacturers before they dispatch work, and by many customers and landlords.
coverage for every van used for business.
Recover refrigerant before scrapping or opening a sealed system and keep records of recovery and disposal, per EPA rules.
- 07Not started0/10Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
Dispatch, scheduling, invoicing, and warranty-dispatch tracking are the operational core; they drive utilization and conversion.
Google Local Services, reviews, and local SEO are the lead pipeline; managing cost per acquired job is a core profit lever.
Fast field payments plus reliable OEM/aftermarket parts accounts protect the same-day premium and the parts .
Tech pay, spiffs, and parts/attach incentives get complex; you need this the moment you have a crew.
Per-van visibility and clean books are essential for managing the business and financing growth.
, workers' comp, and commercial auto for the fleet, non-negotiable for a field trade.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Daily: Dispatch and route vans, handle inbound calls and same-day requests,... Weekly: Review van utilization and diagnostic-to-repair conversion,... Monthly: Review per-van , warranty-dispatch and contract penetration,...
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/6Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
Idle van & dead trips; Parts & callbacks; Lead cost & supply.
Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Register as an employer and carry workers’ comp before the first payday.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
An appliance repair shop is a sellable asset when it runs without its founder.