How should this laundromat’s funding request be prepared?
Illustrative case · Leased coin/card laundromat; no dry cleaning or wash-and-fold · Illustrative unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States; no selected premises
Explore this business · Financing options
The illustrative funding bridge is $440,000 of debt and $210,630 of owner equity against $650,630 of opening uses. This is a case assumption, not an approved structure or universal required equity share. A ten-year loan at 10.0% costs $5,815 monthly, while base first-year EBITDA coverage is 0.81x. Evidence of installation and downside funding matters as much as equipment collateral.
Observed SBA industry evidence
Lending activity in the broader category
NAICS 812310 covers coin-operated laundromats across formats and sizes. It does not isolate this case: Leased coin/card laundromat; no dry cleaning or wash-and-fold. Loan records do not establish local demand, costs or operating performance.
These are positive-amount loan records selected by approval fiscal year and PIF, CHGOFF or EXEMPT status at the stated snapshot. They are not unique firms, search volumes, approval probabilities or loans disbursed during that year.
Read this industry’s amounts, terms, lenders and outcomes.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA files, snapshot 30 June 2026. Recomputed from original records on 1 October 2026. FY2025 is the most recent complete fiscal year in these files. Definitions and exclusions.
Compare a complete opening request with an equipment-only quote
| Item | Amount | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Total project uses | $650,630 | Assets, spent contingency, expenses, deposits, stock and reserve |
| Loan principal | $440,000 | Fixed model rate, first payment month one |
| Owner equity | $210,630 | No unsupported promise of SBA minimum injection |
| Pre-tax equipment bundle | $359,000 | Washers/dryers/readers/kiosk/heater/furnishings |
| Uses outside that equipment bundle | $291,630 | Trades, tax, delivery, contingency, other uses and cash |
Equipment financing can be quoted against identified machines, but a $359,000 pre-tax equipment bundle leaves $291,630 of this case’s uses outside that bundle. A vendor financing offer must state what it actually funds, down payment, fees, security, payment start and remaining unfunded work. Avoid calling an equipment loan a complete opening budget.
The official 7(a) overview permits several mixed uses including working capital and machinery purchase/installation, subject to lender and program requirements. The loan in this case is only an illustrative mixed-use financing structure. The 504 overview distinguishes qualifying long-lived fixed assets from excluded working capital and inventory. A leased-site 504 equipment proposal needs CDC review of equipment eligibility, useful remaining life, lease/site rights and project structure; it cannot simply absorb the cash reserve. A ten-year book depreciation assumption does not establish eligibility.
Prepare a request that a reviewer can trace
Prepare an opening sources-and-uses schedule tied to quotations and paid/committed owner funds; a complete washer/dryer/reader specification; installation and delivery scope; utility service and external-upgrade confirmations; site lease and permit conditions; and monthly projected income, cash flow and balance sheets with debt amortization. Use the lender’s written checklist and version, rather than declaring these guides complete for every lender.
For an acquisition, add real operating records, customer receipts, card transaction/coin records, utility bills, machine-age/condition inspections, lease assignment rights, seller adjustments and documented purchase allocation. This package models a startup conversion and contains none of those actual seller records. Do not import a seller’s claimed cash income into the startup model without reconciling transaction counts, utility volumes and taxes.
Explain the partly attended staffing model, paid owner hours, customer response and maintenance. Owner experience, identity, credit, taxes and source of contribution are owner-provided documents; no credentials or biography have been invented. SBA’s application explanation leaves the actual documents and decision with the lender. The local business receipt process also depends on parcel jurisdiction and zoning.
Separate observed industry loans from this proposed request
FY2025 has 175 included broad-code records: 161 in 7(a) and 14 in 504. The 7(a) GrossApproval median is $500,000 with 161 valid amount values; historical initial-rate median is 9.5% with 161 valid reported rates. Both exceed the project’s 25-value median publication threshold. The 504 amount/term medians are suppressed because only 14 valid records exist.
Official aggregate evidence is as of 30 June 2026 and uses approval FY, not disbursement-year timing. GrossApproval denotes the whole 7(a) approved loan but only the SBA/CDC share for 504. Neither amount is the startup cost of this format. NAICS 812310 also covers other self-service laundry/drycleaning activity and equipment routes. Historic rates are not today’s offers, and counts cannot imply this applicant’s approval probability.
Resolve site and payment conditions before the request becomes binding
Obtain zoning/use confirmation, a responsible approval sequence, utility design/capacity letters and accepted trade scope before treating a lease as financeable. Agree who pays for meter/service increases, mains, roof penetrations, duct maintenance and restoring the premises. Have the lender and qualified advisors review lease duration/options, landlord consents, equipment security/access rights and timing before a nonrefundable commitment.
Align deposits and progress payments with the actual availability of loan funds and owner funds. This model pays all opening uses before forecast month one and begins full debt service in that month. It does not simulate construction draws, interest-only periods, preopening rent beyond the allowance or a delayed lender closing. Those changes require a separate dated construction-cash schedule and a rerun.
Verify local tariffs and invoice tax treatment. The utility notice makes future escalation material even without a verified account rate. Do not solve an unfunded outside upgrade by calling it contingency when the modeled contingency is already fully spent in the opening budget.
Present the funding gap and the recovery result directly
Base Year 1 EBITDA $56,393 is below debt service $69,776. Cash reserve covers the modeled opening trough, but owner equity is not recovered over 60 months. Downside has a first-month funding gap and a 60-month additional cash need of $419,059 if the unfunded operation is analytically continued. Borrowing more could increase scheduled debt burden; it is not automatically a fix for insufficient contribution.
Test demand by size, tariff and external-upgrade exposure, paid attendance, payment-settlement timing and lease responsibility before choosing the request amount. Reducing scope only helps if demand and utility capacity remain consistent with the new machine schedule. A reserve increase can address a timing shortfall but does not create operating profit. The guides and checked input dossier support the owner’s later full-plan generation; financing approval and a site-specific investment decision remain outside these illustrative results.
Sources and scope
- Business Plan Library: planning-case methodology · Checked 2026-10-04 · Illustrative input methodology. Actual laundromat inputs live in the private checked dossier; methodology does not substantiate a local price, quote or demand forecast.
- Dexter T-300 C-Series vended washer specification, Part 0995-113-001 · Checked 2026-10-04 · 20-lb reference configuration; approximately 15.8 US gallons/cycle, 30–120 psi, 3/4-inch inlets. Technical specification is not a current sale/installation quote.
- Dexter T-600 C-Series vended washer specification, Part 0995-113-003 · Checked 2026-10-04 · 40-lb reference configuration; approximately 35.1 US gallons/cycle; selected -12 configuration shows 208–240V/60Hz, 15A branch protection and 6.2A running current. Installer determines actual circuits.
- Dexter T-900 C-Series vended washer specification, Part 0995-113-004 · Checked 2026-10-04 · 60-lb reference configuration; approximately 52.6 US gallons/cycle. Installation, slab/anchoring, drainage and electrical conditions need design.
- Dexter T-30x2 C-Series vended gas stack specification, Part 0995-113-011 · Checked 2026-10-04 · 60Hz, two 30-lb pockets; 90,000 Btu/h input and 600 cfm per pocket, 0.5 hp motor, natural-gas inlet 5–10 inches water column. Specifications are configuration-dependent.
- So Fresh N So Clean: published self-service prices · Checked 2026-10-04 · Rochester-region New York operator, checked 4 October 2026: listed 20/40/60-lb wash prices USD 4.75/7.50/9.50; 30-lb dryer 19 minutes per USD 1. Local demand and Florida prices not established.
- Florida Commerce: Florida minimum wage · Checked 2026-10-04 · Current non-tipped floor USD 15/hour effective 30 September 2026 through 31 December 2027. Case wage USD 18/hour is an assumption, not a local occupation median.
- Orange County Tax Collector: obtaining a new business tax receipt · Checked 2026-10-04 · Illustrative jurisdiction is unincorporated Orange County, Florida. Proposed new businesses require zoning approval before county BTR; municipal parcels follow their own sequence.
- Orange County: plumbing permit process · Checked 2026-10-04 · Commercial plumbing alteration/repair application route, project and contractor details. Process information does not confirm permit scope or fee for a laundromat address.
- Orange County Utilities: commercial rate increase notice, March 2026 · Checked 2026-10-04 · Notice announces changes from 1 October 2026; water/wastewater volume generally rises 11% annually for five years, with small-meter exception and separate fixed/surcharge changes. No assigned account or bill quotation.
- U.S. Census: 2022 NAICS 812310 definition · Checked 2026-10-04 · Broad Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners includes self-service facilities and equipment service/routes in others’ premises. It is broader than this leased laundromat.
- SBA: 7(a) and 504 FOIA data · Checked 2026-10-04 · Project hash-bound official extracts as of 30 June 2026. Approval FY cohorts, positive GrossApproval, PIF/CHGOFF/EXEMPT included; records are not unique borrowers, local demand or approval probabilities.
- SBA: 7(a) loans · Checked 2026-10-04 · Official program overview inspected 4 October 2026; working capital, machinery purchase/installation and mixed project uses may fit. Lender determines eligibility, documents and repayment.
- SBA: 504 loans · Checked 2026-10-04 · Official program overview inspected 4 October 2026; qualifying long-lived machinery can be eligible, remaining life at least 10 years. Working capital and inventory excluded; CDC/project conditions apply.