A moving company in Rolling Meadows is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Arlington Heights — not on a statewide rumor multiple. CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. The statewide moving companies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Rolling Meadows file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
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Rolling Meadows market
Selling a moving company in Rolling Meadows
A moving company in Rolling Meadows is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Arlington Heights — not on a statewide rumor multiple. CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. The statewide moving companies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Rolling Meadows file.
Rolling Meadows is an I-90 Cook suburb of corporate parks and Kirchoff Road retail — office-and-flex between Arlington Heights and Schaumburg, without a destination downtown.
B2B services to the office parks are the distinctive book; household routes are the other. Office-occupancy shifts belong in the recast. Buyers treat this as fill-in between Woodfield and Arlington Heights. Do not sell a Metra-downtown story this city does not have.
Rolling Meadows has about 24,296 residents in Cook County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Arlington Heights, Palatine, Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Arlington Heights 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
Cook County
Population
24,296
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Arlington Heights, Palatine, Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village
Closing clock
CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city
Cook County and the City of Chicago add 45-day bulk-sale notices on top of Illinois Form CBS-1 (10 business days). That calendar is longer than most downstate businesses.
Buyer density is the highest in Illinois. Confidential outreach matters more here than a public ad on a recognizable storefront.
Rolling Meadows demand for moving companies is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 24,296 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Moving Company in Rolling Meadows
What a Rolling Meadows buyer will underwrite on this moving company
Rolling Meadows 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 Rolling Meadows shop. Buyers here usually argue fleet condition, customer review profile, residential vs commercial mix, crew count.
Closing clock for this Rolling Meadows file: CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. License path: Interstate work needs USDOT/MC. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Rolling Meadows application of it.
In a suburb like Rolling Meadows, owner-operators, regional moving companies, pe platforms are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Arlington Heights is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Buyer pool
Who buys a moving company in Rolling Meadows
Cook has the deepest Illinois buyer pool: SBA owner-operators, PE home-services and healthcare platforms, and strategics who already have a Chicago route. Density is an asset and a leak risk. Employees and landlords hear rumors faster here than in a downstate county. Confidential outreach is the default, not a listing-site photo of a recognizable storefront.
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 Arlington Heights, Palatine, Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village is a larger business than one that stops at the Rolling Meadows city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Rolling Meadows 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 Rolling Meadows shop. A moving company whose tax return shows $62,000 of net profit is not worth $62,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $49,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $21,500 of discretionary benefits, $12,500 of accepted one-time cost, and $5,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $20,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $130,000. At the planning range 2.5x–4.0x, enterprise value is $325,000 to $520,000. Mid-range 3.25x is $422,500 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Rolling Meadows buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 3.25 times $130,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $422,500 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 Rolling Meadows moving company — not a quote
Net profit
$62,000
Owner W-2
$49,000
Benefits
$21,500
One-time
$12,500
Personal
$5,500
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$20,000
Recast SDE
$130,000
Planning EV at 3.25x
$422,500
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.
Licenses and closing steps for a Rolling Meadows sale
Cook County adds a local bulk-sale notice on top of Illinois Form CBS-1. File the Cook County notice at least 45 days before transfer with the sales contract (revenuecompliance@cookcountyil.gov). City of Chicago businesses also file a Chicago Department of Finance bulk-sales notice at least 45 days out under Municipal Code 3-4-140, covering city taxes and Title 4 licenses. State CBS-1 is still due at least 10 business days before closing. Miss a local clock and the buyer can inherit tax or license debt.
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 Rolling Meadows
For a moving company in Rolling Meadows, the first labor question is: Local recurring commercial or storage-adjacent work.
Leases are the deal killer more often than the multiple. Loop, River North, and neighborhood retail have assignment clauses, kick-out rights, and renewal politics that collar-county industrial shops rarely see. CTA-adjacent and parking-constrained sites change buyer type. Labor is union-aware in several trades and hospitality crews turn over faster than downstate.
Cook is not one market. A bungalow-belt repair shop, a South Side contractor, and a Near North concept do not share a “Chicago premium.” O’Hare, the lakefront, and the expressway grid concentrate customers and also concentrate competing buyers. Price the business, not the skyline.
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 Rolling Meadows 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 Rolling Meadows 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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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 Rolling Meadows moving company for sale
Recast this Rolling Meadows moving company. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Rolling Meadows 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 Rolling Meadows, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Rolling Meadows 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 Rolling Meadows limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Cook County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. 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 Rolling Meadows file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Continue
Related Rolling Meadows and moving companies pages
Questions about moving companies in Rolling Meadows
Answers for owners and buyers in Cook 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.
Illinois Form CBS-1 is due at least 10 business days before an asset sale. Cook County and the City of Chicago each add a 45-day local notice when the sale meets their rules. Ask counsel which notices apply to this Rolling Meadows company.
Rolling Meadows sits in the deepest Illinois buyer pool: owner-operators, neighboring shops, and platforms that already cover Cook County. Density is why a public listing leaks. Start with confidential outreach.
No. The planning multiple for moving companies is a statewide starting point, not a Rolling Meadows appraisal. Buyers in Cook County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Moving Company Brokerage Near Rolling Meadows
We serve moving companies owners and buyers across Cook County and the surrounding region.