Quality of Earnings and CFO services for landscaping companies
Buyers pay for recurring maintenance and discount everything else. We separate the two, normalize snow and seasonality, and show the earnings a buyer and lender will actually underwrite.
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Private equity is consolidating landscaping
- Private equity accounted for 76% of landscaping deal volume as of August 2025. Source
- Buyers name recurring maintenance revenue as the top driver of landscaping valuations. Source
- Supplemental H-2B visas for FY2026 roughly doubled the annual cap, but labor remains the industry's biggest constraint. Source
- Since October 1, 2026, SBA 7(a) acquisitions of $3 million or more need an independent Quality of Earnings, and lenders size the loan on its normalized earnings. The rule explained →
We work with lenders and buyers in Utah, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Boise, Las Vegas, and nationwide.
Recurring maintenance %Contract renewal rateRevenue per crew hourGross margin by lineCustomer concentrationRoute density
A company with 70% contracted maintenance is valued very differently from one living on installs.
What buyers and lenders test in a landscaping company QoE
Maintenance vs. enhancement
We split contracted maintenance from enhancements, installs, and design-build, and test renewals by contract.
Snow normalization
Snow revenue swings with the weather. We normalize it to an average winter so one big season doesn't set the price.
Seasonality and working capital
A peg set on a December balance sheet is wrong. We build a monthly peg across the full season.
Install job margins
Percentage-of-completion on open install jobs, so profit lands in the right period.
Crew labor and H-2B
Overtime, H-2B program costs, and employee classification, normalized to what the business will really pay.
Owner dependence
Who sells, estimates, and manages the big accounts, and what it costs to replace them.
Landscaping QoE: what's included
- Revenue split by maintenance, enhancement, install, and snow
- Contract-level renewal and churn testing
- Monthly net working capital peg
- Crew and labor cost normalization
- Customer and HOA concentration
Landscaping add-ons
| Each additional legal entity | $2,500 |
| Snow season normalization over five winters | included |
Fees by deal size
| Purchase price / EV | QoE fee |
|---|---|
| Main Street QoE: owner-run deals under $1.5M | $7,500 |
| Under $3M | $11,500 (sell-side $9,000) |
| $3M to $4M | $12,500 |
| $4M to $5M | $14,500 |
| $5M to $10M | $19,500 |
| $10M to $15M | from $26,500 |
| Lower middle market & PE add-ons | typically $25,000 to $70,000 |
Larger deals are quoted from revenue, entities, inventory, and report format. Pre-LOI earnings screen $1,950. All fees →
Before an LOI, run the seller's numbers through our free add-back sanity check. Terms like SDE, cash proof, and DSCR are explained in the QoE glossary.
Where landscaping owners lose money
- Job costs not tracked by crew or property, so unprofitable contracts renew automatically
- Cash-basis books that hide margin until year-end
- Spring payroll ramps funded by a line of credit with no forecast
- Estimates that drift from actual hours
Priced for your industry
Most landscaping companies over $3M in revenue need a forecast and job costing more than another bookkeeper.
Start with a $2,500 finance diagnostic, credited to your first month. Interim CFO or controller coverage is also available, part time from $10,500/mo or full time.
Books & close
- Monthly bookkeeping and reconciliations
- Accrual close by business day 10
- Monthly financial package
- Quarterly review call
Controller
- Everything in Books & close
- KPI dashboard for your industry
- Payroll, AP, and sales tax oversight
- Quarterly 13-week cash forecast
- Monthly review call
CFO
- Everything in Controller
- Profitability by contract, crew, and branch
- Seasonal 13-week cash forecast
- Bid-to-actual estimating review
- Monthly CFO meeting
Fixed monthly fees, month to month after three months. Day-to-day bookkeeping may be done by trained staff working to our checklists, always with CPA review and sign-off by Edwin van Stam. Talk about the right package →
Landscaping engagements Edwin has led
- Buy-side QoE for a private equity investor acquiring a commercial landscaping company
- Two years of outsourced CFO and controller work for a lawn and landscape services company operating in Utah and Arizona
Includes engagements Edwin performed with prior and affiliated firms. Client names are confidential.
Landscaping questions
Does an SBA loan for this kind of acquisition need a QoE?
Under SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, a 7(a) change-of-ownership loan with a business purchase price of $3 million or more needs a Quality of Earnings, and the lender sizes the loan on the QoE's normalized earnings. Below $3 million many lenders still ask for one. Check your deal →
How do you treat snow revenue?
We show it separately, compare it to multi-year averages, and present earnings on a normalized-winter basis so buyers and lenders aren't pricing an outlier season.
What makes a landscaping company worth more?
Recurring maintenance under written contracts, low customer concentration, dense routes, and a management team that doesn't depend on the owner.
Buying, selling, or running a landscaping company?
Buying, financing, or selling? Start with a QoE conversation. Running the business? Start with a finance diagnostic.