How much does a Automatic Door Service cost to buy?

A typical Automatic Door Service sells for 2.2x to 5.4x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $230K, expect to pay roughly $507K to $1.2M before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Automatic Door Service?

Startup costs range from $45K to $180K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Service

Automatic Door Service

Every sliding entrance is a compliance problem waiting to jam

Bottom line

Worth studying, but do not buy without strong local proof.

Automatic door service companies inspect, repair, and maintain sliding, swinging, folding, and revolving entrance systems for grocery stores, hospitals, airports, hotels, offices, schools, and retail centers. The work sits between access control, commercial doors, and life-safety compliance: when an entrance fails, customers cannot flow, ADA access suffers, and the property manager needs a technician fast.

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Acquisition score

Margin · multiple · SBA data

58Strong

Avg revenue

$720K/yr

$180K–$2.6M range

Profit margin

32%

~$230K SDE

Multiple

2.2–5.4×

of SDE

Est. buy price

$507K–$1.2M

startup: $45K–$180K

How It Works

Technicians diagnose sensors, operators, tracks, pivots, closers, activation plates, safety devices, and door hardware; replace worn parts; perform AAADM-style safety checks; and sell planned maintenance agreements to high-traffic facilities. Revenue comes from emergency repairs, annual or semiannual inspections, preventive maintenance plans, retrofit projects, parts markup, and new automatic-door installs.

BizBite verdict

Watch / verify

Automatic Door Service maps to the Automatic Door Service model. The category can work for acquisition buyers, but the right answer depends on source freshness, verified economics, and the specific red flags below.

58Strong

medium data confidence · 60/100medium financing fit

Why it may work

+Attractive 32% estimated margin profile
+5 clear operating upside levers identified

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No SBA category enrichment yet
!High owner dependency

Category operating model

Automatic Door Service

high labor

medium capex

high owner

Revenue drivers

• Emergency repair labor and travel
• Planned maintenance agreements
• Parts and operator/sensor replacement
• Retrofit and install projects
• Dense commercial portfolios

Key risks

• Founder-only diagnosis
• OEM parts access
• Warranty leakage
• Account concentration
• Unpriced project WIP

What you need to believe

The PM book transfers.
Technicians can work without seller.
Parts margin is real.
Dense routes support the calendar.

Unit economics

How one unit makes money

Modeled per one trained service technician and van. Every line shows its arithmetic — rebuild any number yourself.

Revenue build-up

Line	Low	Base	High
Repair labor, travel and emergency work3-5 billed hours/day × $145-$190 effective rate × 240 days	$200K	$340K	$520K
PM, parts and projectscontracts and projects supply the gap between one-van labor capacity and a scaled operation	$80K	$380K	$2.1M

Where it goes — cost structure

Technician labor24–38%
Qualified technicians are capacity.
Parts, freight and warranty18–32%
Markup must survive return trips.
Van, tools, insurance and training7–14%
Field equipment is not an add-back.
Dispatch, sales and admin5–11%
PM contracts need records.

SDE margin · low

24%

SDE margin · base

32%

SDE margin · high

40%

What actually swings the deal

Billed hours/day
±1 hour/day at $165 × 240 days is ±$39.6K revenue.
Parts leakage
Five points on $720K revenue is $36K SDE.
PM retention
Ten $5K contracts are $50K recurring revenue.

Benchmarks to memorize

Profile midpoint$720K × 32% = $230.4K SDE

Profile multiple2.2-5.4× SDE

Maintenance contextplanned maintenance is offered by entrance-system providers

The ceiling

One technician has about 960 paid hours at four billed hours per day. A $720K business needs multiple technicians, parts flow, or contracted project capacity; it is not one exceptional van.

Market analysis

Who owns these & where demand comes from

Commercial-door specialists, entrance manufacturers, and facilities contractors serve a local uptime market. Facilities buy response, safe completion, and records.

Tailwinds

↗ Digital maintenance records
↗ Portfolio buying
↗ Repair attach

Headwinds

↘ National competition
↘ Parts access
↘ Labor scarcity

Demand drivers

High-traffic entrances
Wear in operators and sensors
PM programs
Retail and healthcare portfolios

Regulation

Safety, accessibility, electrical, and local contractor requirements vary by work and jurisdiction; verify exact site rules.

Who you bid against

Door dealers, facilities firms, and strategics pay up only for dense contracts and retained labor.

Competitive advantage

What protects the good ones

strongPM records
Asset history and due dates make renewal visible.
strongTechnician skill
Safe diagnosis and first-visit completion protect uptime.
moderateRoute density
Travel falls across commercial corridors.
moderateParts availability
Stock avoids a second visit.

Who wins — and who loses

The winner knows each opening, charges diagnosis and travel, carries the likely part, and turns breakdowns into PM work. The loser chases emergencies across the metro and discovers after close that parts margin funded callbacks.

How this niche degrades

↘ OEM/national-account bundling
↘ Technician scarcity
↘ Parts restrictions
↘ Portfolio rebids

Consolidation status

Fragmented beneath manufacturer and national-service networks; dense PM accounts and technicians are the acquisition asset.

Valuation framework

How these actually get priced

Value normalized SDE using 2.2-5.4×. Premiums require written PM accounts, diversified customers, and retained technicians; gross parts sales do not deserve a multiple.

Basis: SDE

What moves the multiple

▲ PremiumWritten PM book
Makes revenue visible.
▲ PremiumNon-owner technician capacity
Makes service transferable.
▼ DiscountSeller-only diagnosis
Requires replacement labor.
▼ DiscountWarranty/capex leakage
Deduct before valuation.

Worked example

$720K × 32% = $230.4K SDE. At 2.2-5.4×, value is $506.9K-$1.244M. The high end needs documented PM work, retained technicians, and clean job costing.

Common buyer mistakes

✕ Multiplying revenue
✕ Adding back the owner technician
✕ Ignoring returns and callbacks
✕ Calling repeat emergencies recurring contracts

Deal Calculator

Priced off $230K SDE — can this deal service its own debt?

1.90×

DSCR · Lender-comfortable

Purchase multiple — 3.6× SDE ($830K)

Category range: 2.2×–5.4× SDE

Down payment — 10% ($83K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 10.50%

Typical SBA 7(a) range: 9.5–12% (prime-based)

Loan term — 10 years

Standard SBA 7(a): 10 years for business acquisition

Purchase price

$830K

3.6× of $230K SDE

Cash to close

$108K

$83K down + ~3% closing

Debt service

$10K/mo

$121K/yr on $747K loan

Cash-on-cash

101%

cash back in ~12 mo

Debt service coverage · what the lender sees

1.90×+$9K/mo after debt

Most SBA lenders want ≥1.25× coverage; 1.5×+ is a strong file.

SDE = revenue × margin estimate for this niche; it includes owner compensation, so budget your salary out of cash flow. Excludes working-capital injection, capex reserves, and taxes. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower.

Due diligence checklist

Before you sign anything

01
Export invoices by account, door, PM/repair, labor, travel, parts, return, warranty, and callback.
Tests paid hours and leakage.
Red flagWork cannot be tied to assets or cost.
02
Reconcile PM contracts to asset roster, renewal and assignment.
Tests recurring revenue.
Red flagBook is repeat phone calls.
03
Audit technicians and seller-free coverage.
Tests transferable capacity.
Red flagSeller handles every diagnosis.
04
Inspect vans, tools, parts and replacement needs.
Tests hidden capex.
Red flagCritical assets do not transfer.
05
Rebuild fifty repairs through collection.
Tests warranty leakage.
Red flagNo callback record.

Pros

+Urgent failures create high-intent commercial service calls
+Planned maintenance agreements turn scattered repairs into recurring accounts
+AAADM-certified technician credibility helps small operators compete locally
+Good adjacency to commercial door, glass, locksmith, and access-control routes

Cons

-Requires specialized parts knowledge and safety-compliance discipline
-Technician availability can bottleneck growth
-Large national brands compete for hospital, airport, and big-box accounts

Best For

Commercial door, locksmith, glass, access-control, or facilities-service buyers with technician management discipline

Operating Costs

Costs include trained technicians, service vans, door operators and sensors, safety-check tools, ladders, parts inventory, insurance, dispatch, and manufacturer training. June 2026 research found Vortex emphasizing certified automatic-door inspection and maintenance, Door Services Corporation marketing AAADM-certified repair across sliding/revolving/industrial doors, and STANLEY Access selling planned maintenance agreements for automatic entrances.