How do I check what a bounce house rental business really earns?

Most of a bounce house company’s year can be squeezed into a handful of warm weekends. That makes the seller’s summary easy to misread, because a strong season and a typical season can look alike on paper. The way to check is to follow the money from the booking to the bank. The equipment rental profitability page looks at tool and construction fleets. These questions are for inflatables.

Match bookings to deposits

Ask for the booking system export and the bank statements for the same months. Pick a few busy weekends and match each booking to a payment. Count how many times each unit went out. A unit that rents rarely may not be earning its place in the fleet, and one that rents every weekend will wear out faster.

Weather, refunds and held deposits

Rain cancels bookings. Ask how the business handles those: refunds, credits or rebooking, and how often each happened. Ask whether deposits for future dates sit in the business account, and whether the seller has treated them as earned already. Ask your accountant how this affects the books and your lawyer what it means for customers after closing.

Costs that hide in the weekend

Delivery takes labour, fuel and vehicle wear. Ask who sets up, how they are paid, and how much of the work the owner does without a wage. Ask what was spent on repairs, replacement vinyl and blowers over the last few years. If the owner’s weekends are free labour, a buyer who hires help will see different results.

• Bookings per unit, by month
• Refunds and cancellations, with reasons
• Deposits held for future dates
• Repair and replacement records
• Delivery labour and vehicle costs

Have your accountant go through the numbers with you. They can tell you what the figures mean for you.