How do I prepare a bin rental business for sale?

A buyer of a bin rental business wants to see what the trucks and bins do, for whom, and without you. Most of that can be shown on paper if you start early. Give yourself months, not weeks. Each piece below is something a careful buyer will ask for, so having it ready shortens their questions and keeps the sale moving.

Bins and trucks

Build a bin register that lists every bin, its size, its condition and where it is today. Walk the yard and the job sites to make sure the register matches. For each truck, collect maintenance and inspection records, and note which ones are owned, financed or leased. Gaps in the paperwork are what buyers notice first.

Jobs, disposal and customers

Keep records at job level: the date, the customer, the bin, what was hauled and where it went. Sort customers into contractors who call repeatedly and homeowners who call once. Then list the disposal arrangements and note which are in your own name. Ask your lawyer what can be transferred and what the buyer would need to arrange again.

Taking yourself out of the driver’s seat

If you drive, dispatch and answer the phone, the buyer is buying you as much as the business. Start handing those jobs to others now. Introduce a second driver or a manager to your best contractors. A business that runs a few weeks while you are away is easier to describe, and a lender will set its own terms.

Before you talk to buyers

• Ask your accountant to tidy the books and explain your add-backs.
• Decide what you will say about why you are selling.
• Choose who will handle buyer questions.

The equipment rental sale guide covers fleet rental more generally.