The auto glass repair launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 44 steps in 8 phases, 21 of them specific to an auto glass repair. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan44 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 auto-glass company sells skilled , glass, and now electronics calibration from its bays and vans.
Typical for one unit is $400,000 to $1,500,000 a year; the owner keeps 8 to 22% 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 shop with strong reviews, real replacement and ADAS volume, working insurance relationships, and a retainable crew when you want cash flow and lower risk; build... 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.
Opening a mobile auto glass company means buying a van, a glass rack and tools for each installer, an ADAS calibration system, and a small shop to store glass and run calibrations, then carrying...
The itemized cost to open9 lines
- Vans, glass racks & wraps: $90,000 to $210,000Used vans at the low end, new ones at the high end; leasing cuts the cash to open but adds a monthly payment
- Van sales tax, title & plates: $3,000 to $12,000
- Removal kits, setting tools & chip repair kits: $7,000 to $31,000
- ADAS calibration system & scan tools: $1,400 to $54,000No calibration frame at the low end (calibrations sent out); an all-systems package at the high end
- Shop improvements & sign: $7,500 to $50,000
- Opening glass & urethane stock: $700 to $12,000
- Tablets, safety gear & uniforms: $3,000 to $7,000
- Deposit, insurance, licenses, certification, legal & launch marketing: $24,000 to $51,000
- Initial working capital: $17,000 to $35,000Payroll, glass and van costs while referrals build; your plan works out the figure for your numbers
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 financed4 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to $5M · up to 10 yr · 75-85% SBA guarantee)The usual loan for opening or buying a glass company: it covers vans, tools, the calibration system, glass stock and working capital.
- Van loans and leases (Secured by the van)Commercial dealers finance or lease cargo vans directly, secured by the van, which keeps cash for payroll.
- Equipment financing (Secured by the equipment)ADAS calibration systems and scan tools can be financed through the equipment dealer, secured by the equipment.
- Seller financing (Often 5-20% of price · 3-7 yr)Common when buying a going company.
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 auto-glass company's "location" is its service territory and how efficiently bays and vans cover it.
What decides it for this business: dense, drive-time-efficient territory, high vehicle count and late-model mix, rough roads, gravel, or harsh weather, access to trainable installers, strong insurance-claim flow.
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:
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Permits and the vehicletwo to four weeks
An auto glass company works on safety equipment in customer cars and drives vans all day, so it answers to the city, the state and, in a few states, a glass licensing board.
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:Form your or corporation and get a city or county business license.
Glass and parts are taxable in sales-tax states, and some states tax installation too, so register to collect and remit.
A few states license the work itself: Connecticut requires an auto glass contractor license ($150) and journeyperson licenses ($90) after an apprenticeship and exam.
Title and register each van in the business name and carry commercial auto coverage before it goes on a job.
To bill insurers directly you enroll with the claims networks and administrators that handle glass claims, with proof of insurance and often installer certification.
- 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.
Routing bays and vans, scheduling installs and recalibrations, and invoicing are the operational core; they drive utilization.
Direct-billing carriers and third-party administrators is the volume engine; managing claims and approvals is a core profit lever.
Looking up the right glass, comparing OEM vs aftermarket, and controlling cost and breakage decide the per-job .
Targets, software, and documentation for camera recalibration, the high-value, safety-critical add-on on late-model cars.
Per-bay visibility, glass-margin tracking, and clean books are essential for managing and financing growth.
, garage-keepers, workers' comp, and commercial auto: non-negotiable for a safety-critical, mobile trade.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Daily: Schedule and route bays and vans, take inbound and... Weekly: Review bay and van utilization and the repair-vs-replace mix, track... Monthly: Review per-bay , glass , recalibration attach,...
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.
Heavy glass cost; Idle bay and van time; Recalibration cost and liability.
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 auto glass company is a sellable asset, and buyers range from first-time owners with SBA loans to regional glass groups.