How much does a Light Industrial Staffing Agency cost to buy?

A typical Light Industrial Staffing Agency sells for 2.3x to 3.7x annual revenue. With average revenue of $1.5M, expect to pay $3.4M to $5.5M.

How much does it cost to start a Light Industrial Staffing Agency?

Startup costs range from $50K to $250K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Service

Light Industrial Staffing Agency

Q: What are the profit margins for a Light Industrial Staffing Agency?

The average profit margin for a Light Industrial Staffing Agency is around 16%. Largest costs are temporary labor payroll, recruiters and account managers, workers' comp insurance, payroll funding, office overhead, and bad-debt risk. Spread management matters more than vanity revenue.

A payroll-heavy middleman business that can print cash when client concentration stays sane

Light industrial staffing agencies recruit and place temporary warehouse, production, and logistics workers for employers that need fast labor coverage. BizBuySell's staffing-agency benchmarks show median revenue of $1.31 million, median owner earnings of $301,147, and average earnings multiples of 2.74x. The surprising angle is that buyers are often really purchasing customer contracts, recruiter workflows, and working-capital discipline more than a traditional service brand.

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Avg Revenue

$1.5M

Profit Margin

16%

Acquisition Multiple

2.3x - 3.7x

Startup Cost

$50K - $250K

Difficulty

4/5

How It Works

The agency signs B2B clients, recruits hourly workers, handles payroll and workers' comp, and earns the spread between bill rate and pay rate. Revenue scales with filled shifts and retention, while good operators stay obsessive about gross margin by account, client concentration, and back-office billing accuracy.

Revenue Range

Low End

$600K

Typical

$1.5M

High End

$5.0M

Pros

+Can scale revenue quickly once clients and recruiters are in place
+Recurring demand from warehouses, manufacturers, and logistics firms
+Asset-light model compared with most million-dollar businesses
+Specialized local relationships create defensibility

Cons

-Working-capital needs can be painful because payroll comes before collections
-Customer concentration risk can crush value
-Labor market downturns or hiring freezes hit fast

Best For

Operators comfortable with B2B sales, back-office discipline, and working-capital management

Operating Costs

Largest costs are temporary labor payroll, recruiters and account managers, workers' comp insurance, payroll funding, office overhead, and bad-debt risk. Spread management matters more than vanity revenue.