How much does a Dock & Door Service cost to buy?

A typical Dock & Door Service sells for 2.8x to 5x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $324K, expect to pay roughly $907K to $1.6M before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Dock & Door Service?

Startup costs range from $40K to $250K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Service

Dock & Door Service

Q: What are the profit margins for a Dock & Door Service?

The average profit margin for a Dock & Door Service is around 27%. Core costs are service vans, technician labor, safety gear, insurance, parts inventory, dispatch software, and after-hours service coverage. Profitability improves with contract density and fast parts turnaround.

If warehouse doors stop working, the whole building stops making money

Bottom line

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

Dock and door service businesses install, repair, and maintain loading dock equipment, overhead doors, levelers, vehicle restraints, and warehouse access systems. The surprising angle is how mission-critical the niche is: when a dock door fails, receiving and shipping can stall immediately, so customers buy preventive maintenance contracts and pay emergency rates without much debate.

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Acquisition score

Fair

Avg Revenue

$1.2M

Profit Margin

27%

Acquisition Multiple

2.8x - 5x

Startup Cost

$40K - $250K

How It Works

Technicians perform scheduled preventive maintenance, emergency repairs, parts replacement, and new equipment installs for warehouses, manufacturers, food distributors, and logistics centers. Revenue comes from maintenance contracts, hourly service calls, parts markup, and project installs. Once a site is under contract, churn tends to stay low because safety and uptime matter more than shaving a few dollars.

Revenue Range

Low End

$300K

Typical

$1.2M

High End

$4.0M

Real Acquisitions in This Category

SBA 7(a) change-of-ownership loans · NAICS 811310 · Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance

Deals tracked

142

59 in last 24 mo

Median loan

$779K

$250K–$1.6M p25/p75

Implied deal size

$916K

median · ~85% LTV

Charge-off rate

—

not enough resolved loans

Deal Size Distribution

<$150K

$150K–500K

$500K–1M

$1M–2M

>$2M

Deal Flow Over Time

12-month momentum

-31.4%

deal volume vs prior 12 mo

Median loan Δ

+64.4%

24 recent · 35 prior

Financing Profile

Median rate

9.50%

22% fixed · last 24 mo

Median term

120 mo

standard 10-yr

Collateralized

of loans secured

Median jobs

supported per deal

Top lenders in this space

Live Oak Banking Company18

The Huntington National Bank15

First Internet Bank of Indiana5

First National Bank of Pennsylvania5

Beacon Bank and Trust5

Where deals happen

TX20

CA13

PA8

CO8

FL7

MI7

IL6

OH6

OR5

MO5

Recent Comparable Deals

Closed	State	Loan	Implied deal	Jobs	Franchise
Mar 2026	NY	$3.3M	$3.8M	15	—
Mar 2026	FL	$2.8M	$3.2M	25	—
Feb 2026	WA	$900K	$1.1M	12	—
Feb 2026	AZ	$1.4M	$1.7M	2	—
Feb 2026	TX	$1.2M	$1.4M	7	—
Feb 2026	TX	$250K	$294K	7	—
Jan 2026	TX	$200K	$235K	1	—
Jan 2026	NY	$500K	$588K	6	—
Jan 2026	TX	$1.3M	$1.5M	1	—
Jan 2026	MD	$965K	$1.1M	20	—

Volume rank #54/544Deal-size rank #229/544Momentum rank #275p90 loan: $2.4MData as of Mar 2026

Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA dataset, filtered to acquisitions (loans where business age is "Change of Ownership"). Implied deal size assumes an 85% loan-to-purchase ratio, a common SBA change-of-ownership structure. Charge-off rate shown only when 10+ loans have resolved (paid in full or charged off). Interest rates reflect last 24 months only. Actual deal values vary with equity injections, seller financing, and working capital terms.

Pros

+Strong recurring maintenance revenue from industrial customers
+Emergency repairs command premium pricing
+Customer relationships are sticky once equipment records and schedules are in place
+Natural cross-sell into doors, levelers, restraints, and access systems

Cons

-Requires technicians comfortable with industrial safety risks
-Parts inventory and dispatch complexity can grow quickly
-Sales often require trust with operations managers and facility teams

Best For

Industrial service operators who like contract revenue and mission-critical repair work

Operating Costs

Core costs are service vans, technician labor, safety gear, insurance, parts inventory, dispatch software, and after-hours service coverage. Profitability improves with contract density and fast parts turnaround.

SBA Financing Estimator

Adjust the deal — see if it cash flows after debt service

$-3357/mo

after debt service

Deal price — $2.8M

Range: $2.8M (2.8×) to $7.2M (5×+)

Down payment — 15% ($414K)

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

Interest rate — 9.50%

SBA median for this category: 9.5%

Loan term — 10 years (120 mo)

SBA median for this category: 120 months

Down payment

$414K

15% equity injection

Loan amount

$2.3M

85% SBA-financed

Monthly payment

$30K/mo

$1.3M total interest

Monthly profit

$27K/mo

at 27% margin

Monthly cash flow after debt service

$-3357/mo

Margin does not cover debt service at these terms. Lower the deal price, increase the down payment, or extend the loan term.

Estimates only. Excludes owner compensation, capex, working capital draws, and taxes. Margin assumes average occupancy and volume. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower profile.