How much does a Portable Appliance Testing Service cost to buy?

A typical Portable Appliance Testing Service sells for 1.7x to 3.5x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $68K, expect to pay roughly $116K to $239K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Portable Appliance Testing Service?

Startup costs range from $8K to $45K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Service

Portable Appliance Testing Service

Safety stickers, audit trails, and recurring electrical checks

Bottom line

Accessible entry point; validate local supply before buying.

Portable appliance testing services inspect and test plug-in electrical equipment for offices, schools, landlords, event venues, construction sites, healthcare facilities, and industrial customers. It is more common and formalized in the UK and Commonwealth markets, but the same buyer need exists anywhere insurers, safety managers, and facilities teams require documented electrical safety checks.

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Acquisition score

Margin · multiple · SBA data

71Strong

Avg revenue

$180K/yr

$60K–$600K range

Profit margin

38%

~$68K SDE

Multiple

1.7–3.5×

of SDE

Est. buy price

$116K–$239K

startup: $8K–$45K

How It Works

Technicians visit customer sites with appliance testers, visually inspect cords and plugs, run electrical safety tests, tag compliant items, log failures, and deliver a digital asset register. Revenue is usually per item, per site, or recurring annual/semiannual contract, with add-ons for minor repairs and replacement leads.

BizBite verdict

Watch / verify

Portable Appliance Testing Service has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

71Strong

low data confidence · 40/100medium financing fit

Why it may work

+Attractive 38% estimated margin profile

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No SBA category enrichment yet
!No category operating model yet
!Low data confidence

Deal Calculator

Priced off $68K SDE — can this deal service its own debt?

2.76×

DSCR · Lender-comfortable

Purchase multiple — 2.5× SDE ($170K)

Category range: 1.7×–3.5× SDE

Down payment — 10% ($17K)

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

$170K

2.5× of $68K SDE

Cash to close

$22K

$17K down + ~3% closing

Debt service

$2K/mo

$25K/yr on $153K loan

Cash-on-cash

197%

cash back in ~7 mo

Debt service coverage · what the lender sees

2.76×+$4K/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.

Pros

+Low equipment cost compared with most field-service niches
+Recurring compliance-style visits create repeatable routes
+Digital reports and asset registers make switching providers sticky
+Can sell into schools, landlords, offices, events, labs, and facilities teams

Cons

-US demand is less standardized than UK-style PAT markets
-Per-item pricing can become low-margin without route density
-Requires careful documentation to avoid safety and liability disputes

Best For

Detail-oriented solo operators or facilities-service firms that can bundle electrical safety testing with inspections and maintenance

Operating Costs

Costs include portable appliance testers, calibration, labels, reporting software, insurance, transportation, and technician time. Margins depend on dense site visits and standardized reporting workflows.