Laundromat Valuation: Gross Revenue and SDE

Laundromat Valuation: Gross Revenue and SDE

Two numbers tell you almost everything about what a laundromat is worth: gross revenue and SDE. Ian Gollahon breaks down both — what they mean, how they connect, and exactly what belongs in seller discretionary earnings and what does not. This is Part 2 of a 4-part series on laundromat valuation, running alongside Ian's ongoing feature in Full Cycle Magazine from the CLA. Part 1 covered the asset sale and the lease. This episode moves to the earnings side: gross revenue as your quick gut-check, and SDE as the number brokers, the SBA, and most buyers actually price a laundromat on. You'll learn why laundromats typically sell for one to two times gross revenue, why Eastern Funding often lends on 50 to 70 weeks of revenue, and why you can never make an offer on gross revenue alone. Then Ian walks through SDE line by line — the owner's S-Corp salary add-back, and the difference between the costs you add back and the income you strip out. What's covered: • Gross revenue: why 1x to 2x is the typical range, and what it hides • The Eastern Funding 50 to 70 week rule of thumb • Why the SBA recommends SDE for businesses under $5 million in revenue • The S-Corp owner salary add-back — the single biggest SDE adjustment • What to ADD into SDE: owner salary, unnecessary personal vehicles, trade show and conference travel (Clean Show, Excellence in Laundry), redundant family payroll, lifestyle extras like magazine subscriptions • What to LEAVE OUT of SDE: non-operating interest income from cash in an investment account, one-time equipment sales, and cash windfalls like COVID-era city or state grants • Why roughly 3x SDE lands you right back at about 60 weeks of gross revenue • How SDE differs from EBITDA, and when each one matters Timestamped chapters (estimated — verify before uploading): 00:00 Introduction and Series Recap 01:30 Gross Revenue: The Big Number 03:15 The 50 to 70 Week Rule 05:00 What Gross Revenue Hides 06:15 SDE: Seller Discretionary Earnings 07:45 The S-Corp Salary Add-Back 09:15 What to Add Into SDE 11:30 What to Leave Out of SDE 13:15 3x SDE and How the Numbers Line Up 15:00 What's Coming on EBITDA Ian Gollahon is co-owner of Liberty Laundry, a three-store laundromat chain in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area that did $2.5 million in top-line revenue in 2025. He's also co-founder of Wash-Dry-Fold POS, the original point-of-sale system for laundromats, and has spoken with more than 3,000 laundromat owners over the last decade. washdryfoldpos.com [http://washdryfoldpos.com] libertylaundryok.com [http://libertylaundryok.com] laundromat-ownership.com [http://laundromat-ownership.com] laundryassociation.org/fullcycle/ [http://laundryassociation.org/fullcycle/]

Laundry Lockers - New Feature from Wash-Dry-Fold POS

Laundry lockers are one of the most requested features in laundromat software, and Wash-Dry-Fold POS just shipped them. In this episode, Ian Gollahon sits down with Cole Norton, one of the developers behind the new laundry locker system, to break down how it works and why it opens up new ways to make money. Cole walks through the full customer experience, from scheduling a locker online through the My Laundry Order app to dropping off laundry at an unattended store after hours. He explains why the system was built to work with any setup, whether you have high-tech smart lockers or just a box with a master lock on it. Ian and Cole also dig into the unattended laundromat angle: how lockers let customers drop off and pick up around the clock without staff behind the desk. If you run a laundromat and want to grow drop-off and wash-dry-fold revenue without adding labor, this conversation lays out exactly what the new locker feature does and how to put it to work. What you will learn: • How the laundry locker system works with smart lockers, simple drop boxes, or anything in between • Why lockers make unattended and after-hours drop-off possible • How customers schedule, pay, and leave instructions through the My Laundry Order app • Why the customer never sees a third-party marketplace, only your branded store • How to point customers to your locker page with a website link or a printed QR code • Why laundry lockers are included free for all Wash-Dry-Fold POS subscribers Topics covered: • The new Wash-Dry-Fold POS laundry locker feature • Drop box vs. individually numbered lockers • Running an unattended or after-hours laundromat • Online scheduling and payment through My Laundry Order • Branded, marketplace-free customer experience • Growing pickup and delivery and wash-dry-fold revenue Chapters: 00:00 Cold open 00:57 Welcome and introductions 01:58 Why laundry lockers, and how AI tools made it possible 02:50 Do you need a specific brand of locker? 04:04 Drop box vs. individual lockers 05:27 Running an unattended laundromat with lockers 07:37 The customer drop-off experience 09:04 Using lockers with or without the online app 09:39 Website links and QR codes 10:54 A branded experience with no third-party marketplace 11:28 How many lockers can you add? 13:52 Included free for all subscribers 14:10 Cole on tech support and customer feedback 15:15 Development hours and the AI advantage 16:13 Wrap-up Hosted by Ian Gollahon, co-owner of Liberty Laundry in Tulsa, Oklahoma and co-founder of Wash-Dry-Fold POS, the original point of sale system built for laundromats. washdryfoldpos.com [http://washdryfoldpos.com] libertylaundryok.com [http://libertylaundryok.com] laundromat-ownership.com [http://laundromat-ownership.com]

Omer Khan - Laundry POS Systems and Training Attendants

Omer Khan is a second-generation laundromat owner running four fully attended Skyline Laundromats in Atlanta. He grew up pulling quarters on the weekends, spent a few years in corporate America, and came back to build the business into a 24-person operation where pickup and delivery is now starting to outgrow self-service. This conversation is loaded with operator-level detail you can actually use. Omer breaks down why he's converting his back storage into a dedicated processing facility — and why Ian has watched that model succeed for owners with existing stores but fail for people who try to launch delivery-only with no demand behind it. They get into the real logistics of running self-service and wash-dry-fold under one roof without running off your self-serve customers. Omer also tells the story of the employee who threatened to quit when he switched from Clover to Wash-Dry-Fold POS — and stayed after a Spanish-speaking coworker trained her on it in three days. Plus the night Brian built a feature request overnight at a conference, why Omer sells retail at both the counter and the vending machines, why he ripped out his ATMs, how he handles homeless activity at one tough location, and the bill breaker jams that led to Brian 3D-printing a fix. The two crazy stories at the end are worth the listen alone. • Opening a processing facility: why it works for existing operators and fails for delivery-only startups • Designing space for both self-service and pickup and delivery without losing your self-serve base • The employee who almost quit over a new POS — and why she became the best on the system • How Brian built a requested feature overnight at the Elevate Conference • Why you sell soap and snacks at both the counter and the vending machines • Why ATMs aren't worth the $2 fees and the headaches they bring • Handling homeless activity and the equipment that attracts it — including the bill breaker he left out of the wall • Bill breaker jams and Brian's 3D-printed workaround • The ceiling heist: a thief who came in through the AC unit and cut every wire • The phone scam that nearly cost $4,000 — and how to train your staff against it Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:21 Meet Omer Khan and Skyline Laundromats 03:01 Owning vs leasing the real estate 04:44 Parking lots, water lines, and the cost of ownership 06:32 Revenue mix and pickup and delivery growth 09:08 Opening a processing facility: why it works and why it fails 13:22 Dedicating space and an animal wash station idea 16:33 The employee who almost quit over a new POS 19:11 Brian builds a feature overnight at the conference 23:41 Card systems, CCI, and Laundroworks 24:33 Machine start integrations 26:39 Why sell retail at both the counter and the vending machines 29:05 Why ATMs aren't worth the $2 30:04 Dealing with homeless activity and the equipment that attracts it 32:57 Bill breaker jams and Brian's 3D-printed fix 34:38 The craziest stories: a ceiling heist and a phone scam 44:25 Train your staff: scam red flags and metal doors Ian Gollahon is the co-owner of Liberty Laundry in Tulsa, Oklahoma — three stores, $2.5M in revenue in 2025 — and co-founder of Wash-Dry-Fold POS, the original point of sale system built specifically for laundromats. washdryfoldpos.com [http://washdryfoldpos.com] libertylaundryok.com [http://libertylaundryok.com] laundromat-ownership.com [http://laundromat-ownership.com] skylinelaundromats.com [http://skylinelaundromats.com]

Bonus: Speed Queen and Huebsch Integration with Wash-Dry-Fold POS

Ian Gollahon and Brian Henderson join Randy Radtke on Alliance's Laundry Nerd Podcast to break down the new Speed Queen and Huebsch Alliance Insights API integration with Wash Dry Fold POS — the first point-of-sale system with direct machine-level access to Alliance washers and dryers. This is a recast of the Laundry Nerd episode, shared here for owners running Speed Queen, Huebsch, or Quantum machines. Brian and Ian explain how Wash Dry Fold POS negotiated with Alliance to become the first POS partner granted this integration — it was not a public API release — and the specific employee theft and efficiency problems it solves on the wash-dry-fold side. You'll also hear the 10-year origin story of Wash Dry Fold POS, why the company stayed "an inch wide and a mile deep" on laundromats, and the real-world results customers like Philip in Missouri are getting after enabling the integration. Topics covered: • How the Alliance Insights API integration with Wash Dry Fold POS actually works • Why WDFPOS is the first and currently only POS with this level of machine integration • Starting Speed Queen and Huebsch machines by credit card at the register • Tracking the vend-to-wash-dry-fold ratio (around 37% benchmark) to catch employee theft • Closing the loop between order tracking and machine starts • The 10-year history of Wash Dry Fold POS and the 2020 cloud rebuild • How to enable the integration (API key + equipment pairing) • What's next on the roadmap Chapters: 00:00 Intro from Ian — why this Alliance recast matters 02:00 Welcome to the Laundry Nerd Podcast 03:00 How Wash Dry Fold POS got started 07:00 Inch wide, mile deep on laundromats 10:00 What separates WDFPOS from dry cleaning and delivery systems 14:00 The equipment problem log and why the Alliance API fit 16:00 Why most manufacturers stayed closed — and how WDFPOS became the first partner 18:00 Top use cases: credit card starts and attendant efficiency 21:00 Philip's store in Missouri — real-world example 23:00 Connecting the two systems 25:00 Going live at Clean Show 2025 — Sharon Brinks as the pilot store 27:00 Shoutout to Alliance's digital product team 28:00 What's next — development never finishes 29:00 Where to find Wash Dry Fold POS and the podcast Ian Gollahon co-owns Liberty Laundry in Tulsa, Oklahoma (three stores, $2.5M in 2025 revenue) and co-founded Wash Dry Fold POS, the original POS built specifically for laundromats. Over 1,200 systems sold in all 50 states. Wash Dry Fold POS: https://www.washdryfoldpos.com [https://www.washdryfoldpos.com] Liberty Laundry: https://www.libertylaundryok.com [https://www.libertylaundryok.com] Laundromat Ownership Podcast: https://www.laundromat-ownership.com [https://www.laundromat-ownership.com] Alliance Laundry Systems: https://alliancelaundry.com [https://alliancelaundry.com] Speed Queen: https://speedqueencommercial.com [https://speedqueencommercial.com] Huebsch: https://huebsch.com [https://huebsch.com]

Best Business Entity for Laundromats: LLC vs S-Corp vs C-Corp

Sole proprietorship, LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp — which business entity actually makes sense for a laundromat owner? Ian Gollahon walks through every structure he's personally owned and breaks down when each one is the right call. This episode is for anyone buying their first laundromat, scaling to multiple stores, or staring at a tax bill wondering if there's a smarter way to be set up. Ian covers why an LLC is non-negotiable before you sign a lease, the exact net profit threshold where filing as an S-Corp starts saving real money, and why C-Corp status almost never makes sense for a laundromat unless you have a very specific exit plan. Topics covered: • Why sole proprietorships are the most common and most underrated entity • Why a general partnership for a laundromat would be "psychotic" • The asset protection reason every laundromat needs an LLC before closing • How an S-Corp election cuts the 15% self-employment tax on distributions • Why $80K–$100K in net profit is the realistic S-Corp threshold (not the $60K marketing pitch) • How the salary vs. distribution split actually works inside an S-Corp • When a C-Corp makes sense — QSBS, five-year flips, and distributor showroom stores • Why most laundromat owners should never convert to a C-Corp Chapters: 00:00 Intro and why this matters 00:35 Sole proprietorships explained 03:00 Why partnerships are off the table for laundromats 03:45 LLCs — the asset protection vehicle every operator needs 05:15 S-Corp basics: tax filing status vs. business entity 06:30 The self-employment tax problem 08:00 How the S-Corp salary plus distribution split works 10:30 Why C-Corps rarely fit laundromats 11:15 QSBS, five-year flips, and distributor exceptions 13:00 C-Corp double taxation explained 14:30 The evolution: sole prop to LLC to S-Corp to C-Corp 16:00 Wrap-up Ian Gollahon is the co-owner of Liberty Laundry (Tulsa, Oklahoma — 3 stores, $2.5M revenue in 2025) and co-founder of Wash Dry Fold POS, the original point-of-sale system built for laundromats. https://www.washdryfoldpos.com [https://www.washdryfoldpos.com] https://www.libertylaundryok.com [https://www.libertylaundryok.com] https://www.laundromat-ownership.com [https://www.laundromat-ownership.com]