A moving company in Mount Zion is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Decatur — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide moving companies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Mount Zion file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Mount Zion market
Selling a moving company in Mount Zion
A moving company in Mount Zion is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Decatur — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide moving companies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Mount Zion file.
Mount Zion is a residential Macon County village on Decatur’s south edge — schools and households, not Forsyth’s mall and not downtown Decatur industry.
Home-services buyers treat this as Decatur-south density. There is no processing-plant story to sell. Owner relationships at the schools and churches are the transfer risk. Price a village route, not a Macon County industrial headline.
Mount Zion has about 5,728 residents in Macon County, inside the Decatur area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Decatur, Forsyth. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Decatur is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
2.5x–4x SDE
Typical timeline
4–9 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Macon County
Population
5,728
Metro
Decatur
Nearby comps
Decatur, Forsyth
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, Decatur, and nearby county seats sell to operators who already know the trade area. State-vendor and campus calendars matter on some books.
File CBS-1 on time. Do not paste a Naperville multiple onto a Sangamon or McLean file.
Mount Zion demand for moving companies is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 5,728 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Moving Company in Mount Zion
What a Mount Zion buyer will underwrite on this moving company
Mount Zion sits in an Illinois freight and labor map. Authority, insurance, and the yard lease are the business. A moving company that only works because the seller dispatches from a cell phone will get a haircut.
Moving Companies statewide typically plan around 2.5x–4x SDE and a 4–9 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Mount Zion shop. Buyers here usually argue fleet condition, customer review profile, residential vs commercial mix, crew count.
Closing clock for this Mount Zion file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: Interstate work needs USDOT/MC. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Mount Zion application of it.
Mount Zion is a small town market. The first serious call is often an owner-operator from Decatur, Forsyth, not a platform that needs $2 million of earnings to pay for diligence. SBA 7(a) and seller financing usually matter more here than a headline multiple.
Buyer pool
Who buys a moving company in Mount Zion
Industrial and owner-operator. Chicago PE is uncommon.
Illustration: a local household mover in Schaumburg with four box trucks, ICC authority, a thin interstate broker book, and a seller who still runs the Saturday crew. Not a closed sale.
A moving company whose customers already sit in Decatur, Forsyth is a larger business than one that stops at the Mount Zion city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Mount Zion moving company
Moving recasts on crew utilization and review-driven local volume, not a single corporate-relocation year. Add back owner-foreman hours, then isolate interstate brokered jobs and summer-only spikes. Truck capex and workers-comp on lifting crews are the costs. A 2.5x–4x SDE band assumes vans, a Google book, and crews that show up without the seller on the walkboard.
Illustration only — not a quote for any Mount Zion shop. A moving company whose tax return shows $90,000 of net profit is not worth $90,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $44,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $19,500 of discretionary benefits, $8,500 of accepted one-time cost, and $9,000 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $56,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $115,000. At the planning range 2.5x–4.0x, enterprise value is $287,500 to $460,000. Mid-range 3.25x is $373,750 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Mount Zion buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 3.25 times $115,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $373,750 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.
SDE line items
Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
+ Interest expense
+ Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
+ Depreciation and amortization
+ Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
+ Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
+ Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
− Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
= Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Mount Zion moving company — not a quote
Net profit
$90,000
Owner W-2
$44,000
Benefits
$19,500
One-time
$8,500
Personal
$9,000
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$56,000
Recast SDE
$115,000
Planning EV at 3.25x
$373,750
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for moving companies.
Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.
Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—
Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.
Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.
$
1x3.0x8x
Estimated Value Range—to—
This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.
Macon (Decatur) uses state CBS-1 and city licenses. Agri-processing and industrial businesses need environmental and union diligence.
Interstate work needs USDOT/MC. Intrastate household-goods moving in Illinois is an Illinois Commerce Commission household-goods authority issue — not the same as a general trucking MC. Those authorities do not automatically follow a new LLC. CDLs and medical cards sit with drivers. A buyer who only buys trucks without ICC or FMCSA authority cannot legally haul the book.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in Mount Zion
For a moving company in Mount Zion, the first labor question is: Local recurring commercial or storage-adjacent work.
ADM and related processing shape labor and trucking. Forsyth retail is a different buyer than a Decatur plant-services book.
Central Illinois processing city. Cash flow and customer concentration first.
Diligence
What a serious moving company buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Local recurring commercial or storage-adjacent work; Valid ICC and, if needed, FMCSA authority; Crews and a dispatcher who stay; Clean damage and workers-comp file; Fleet that does not need immediate replacement.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Mount Zion business: Local vs long-distance vs commercial mix; ICC household-goods authority and any USDOT/MC if they cross state lines; Fleet condition, liftgates, and warehouse or storage relationships; Crew tenure, workers-comp, and claim/damage history; Review profile and whether leads are the seller’s face; Peak-season subcontracting that inflates the trailing twelve.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a Mount Zion moving company buyer
Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.
SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.
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Down Payment Required—
Loan Amount—
Est. Monthly Payment—
This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.
Sale steps
How to prepare a Mount Zion moving company for sale
Recast this Mount Zion moving company. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Mount Zion buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this moving company pull a permit or see a patient in Mount Zion, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Mount Zion trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Mount Zion limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Macon County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois moving companies hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Mount Zion file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Macon County, including local closing steps.
Illinois moving companies typically sell for 2.5x–4x SDE. Fleet condition, customer reviews, and the mix of residential versus commercial moves are the primary value drivers.
Extremely important. Moving is a reputation-driven business. A strong Google rating with hundreds of reviews is a tangible asset that accelerates buyer interest. Buyers factor review profile quality into their valuation.
Buyers will review your FMCSA Safety Rating, DOT number, and carrier authority. A satisfactory safety rating and clean compliance record are prerequisites for most buyers and their lenders.
Yes, but agent agreements typically require van line approval of the new owner. We work with your van line's agent transfer process as part of managing the sale.
Yes. Moving companies are SBA-eligible businesses. SBA 7(a) loans are the standard financing structure for acquisitions in this space.
Most Mount Zion asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Macon County does not use Chicago’s 45-day city notice unless the business also operates there. Municipal licenses and the lease still need their own calendar.
The first serious call in Mount Zion is usually an owner-operator or a neighboring shop, not a coastal fund. Macon County buyers already know the trade area. Seller financing and a clean lease matter more than a headline multiple.
No. The planning multiple for moving companies is a statewide starting point, not a Mount Zion appraisal. Buyers in Macon County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Moving Company Brokerage Near Mount Zion
We serve moving companies owners and buyers across Macon County and the surrounding region.