Laundromat Water Bill Revenue Cross-Check
This laundromat water bill calculator cross-checks revenue against metered consumption, converting gallons into a range of implied washer cycles using per-cycle water use for your actual machine mix. It catches an overstated revenue claim or an undetected leak. It cannot confirm revenue to the dollar, and never produces a single ratio.
Key takeaways
- The output is a range, because per-cycle use varies by model, capacity, and cycle selection.
- It disproves rather than proves. Use it inside a six-source reconciliation, never alone.
- Rule out a leak first. Read the meter with everything off before drawing any conclusion about a seller.
- Replace the default gallons-per-cycle figures with manufacturer data for the models actually installed.
- ENERGY STAR certified commercial washers use about 45% less water than standard models (Source: ENERGY STAR) — assuming the wrong generation breaks the whole calculation.
How the Calculation Works
Step 1. Annual billed water, less an estimate of non-machine use. The low and high non-machine figures produce the two ends of the machine-water range.
Step 2. A capacity-weighted average gallons per cycle across the machine mix, computed twice — once with the low per-cycle assumptions and once with the high ones.
Step 3. Implied cycles. Note the pairing: the high cycle estimate uses the low gallons-per-cycle figure and the smaller non-machine deduction, because fewer gallons per cycle means more cycles fit into the same consumption. The low estimate pairs the opposite way. That produces a genuine bracket rather than a false midpoint.
Step 4. Implied vend revenue, using a capacity-weighted average vend price.
Step 5. Implied turns per day, as a sanity check. Turns per day is paid washer cycles divided by installed washers and days. If the top of your range implies turns far above what you observed standing in the store, something in the inputs is wrong — usually a leak or a miscounted machine.
Reading the Verdict
| Result | Most likely causes, in the order to check them |
|---|---|
| Claimed revenue above the range | Miscounted machines or wrong vend prices; then an overstated revenue claim |
| Claimed revenue inside the range | No contradiction. Continue with the other five verification sources. |
| Claimed revenue below the range | A leak or running fixture; a water heater or boiler cycling; a softener regenerating; free-cycle promotions; then unreported cash |
That ordering matters. Buyers who jump straight to "the seller is hiding cash" when consumption looks high are frequently looking at a running toilet. Read the meter with everything off before you make an accusation you cannot withdraw.
And note the trap for sellers: consumption implying materially more volume than the returns show tells a buyer there is unreported income, and simultaneously tells a lender the returns cannot be relied on. See selling a laundromat with unreported cash.
Getting the Inputs Right
Water volume. Use original bills, not a summary. If your utility bills in CCF (hundred cubic feet), multiply by 748 to get gallons. Watch for estimated reads followed by a true-up, which distort a single month badly.
Non-machine use. Restrooms if the store has them, mop sinks, cleaning, hose bibs, water heater or boiler blowdown and losses, and softener regeneration. The gap between your low and high estimates is a real source of uncertainty and belongs in the range rather than being averaged away.
Gallons per cycle. The defaults are conservative planning ranges for typical vended equipment across capacity bands. Replace them with manufacturer figures for the actual installed models — Dexter and Continental Girbau publish technical documentation publicly, and distributors supply spec sheets for anything else. This matters more than any other input: ENERGY STAR reports that certified commercial washers use about 45% less water than standard models, so assuming the wrong generation can shift the implied cycle count by nearly half.
Vend prices. Read them off the machines, and cross-check against the payment system's price-change history. For context, the CLA's 2024 survey reported mean 2023 washer vend prices of $3.57 for 18-24 lb, $5.00 for 30-35 lb, $6.32 for 40-49 lb, and $8.16 for 50-60 lb machines.
Claimed revenue. Washer vend revenue only. Exclude dryer revenue and wash-dry-fold, unless the WDF runs on the same machines — in which case its cycles are already in the water and its revenue belongs in the comparison.
What This Tool Cannot Do
- Confirm revenue to the dollar.
- Distinguish unreported cash from a leak without a physical meter test.
- Handle a machine mix that changed mid-period, unless you know the date.
- Separate another premises' usage on a shared service line.
- Account for cycle-selection behavior, which varies by trade area.
- Substitute for tax returns, deposits, processor settlements, machine exports, and attended collections.
Limits and Disclaimer
This is a screening tool that produces an illustrative range for discussion, not a revenue verification and not an audit. It is not legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice, and no result here should be treated as evidence of anyone's conduct. Confirm findings with original documents, a physical meter test, and the other verification sources before acting.
What to Do Next
Run it with the store's actual machine models and original bills. Then, on your next site visit, read the meter with everything off. Those two steps resolve more questions than any other hour of diligence.
The Next Step
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this give a range instead of a number?
Because a single answer would be false precision. Per-cycle water use varies by model, capacity, and cycle selection; non-machine use varies; and leaks, boiler losses, promotions, and machine-mix changes all move the relationship. A range that brackets the plausible answer is honest; a gallons-per-dollar ratio is not.
What does a result outside the range mean?
Above the range means the claimed revenue is likely overstated — recheck your machine count and vend prices first, then reprice or stop. Below the range means water was used that revenue does not account for: check for a leak first, then a cycling water heater, then promotions, then unreported cash.
Where do I find gallons per cycle for my machines?
Manufacturer technical documentation, which Dexter and Continental Girbau both publish publicly, and distributor spec sheets for any installed model. The defaults here are conservative planning ranges for typical vended equipment and should be replaced with figures for the actual models on the floor.
Does this prove revenue?
No. It disproves. It reliably catches a store claiming roughly double its real volume and it reliably catches a significant leak. It cannot confirm that a store did exactly the revenue its returns show, and it should never be the only verification you run.
How do I rule out a leak?
Read the meter with every machine off and the store closed, wait a measured interval, and read it again. If it moved, you have found a leak or a running fixture, and no conclusion about revenue can be drawn until it is fixed and a clean period is measured.
Sources
- Coin Laundry Association, Best Practices for Due Diligence in Laundromat Acquisitions — https://laundryassociation.org/membership-files/white-papers/Best%20Practices%20for%20Due%20Diligence%20in%20Laundromat%20Acquisitions.pdf
- Coin Laundry Association, 2024 Laundry Industry Survey — https://member.laundryassociation.org/hubfs/IndustrySurvey24.pdf
- ENERGY STAR, Commercial Clothes Washers — https://www.energystar.gov/products/commercial_clothes_washers
- Dexter Laundry, technical document library — https://dexter.com/support/technical-information/?industry=vended
- Continental Girbau, vended washers — https://continental-laundry.com/products/vended-laundry-washers/
This page is general information about laundromat transactions, not legal, tax, or investment advice, and not a guarantee of sale price, timing, or financing approval. Verify current rules with your own CPA, attorney, lender, and the relevant state or municipal agency before acting.