Valuations for Melbourne cleaning and facilities businesses, built on the contract book and the labour behind it.
For selling or buying a cleaning company, a partner exit, bringing in an investor, or restructuring. Fixed fee, set by turnover.
A Melbourne cleaning or facilities business is valued on the margin its contracts earn after paying award wages, supervision and consumables, and on how likely those contracts are to stay once the owner leaves. Our valuers read the contracts for term and notice, check client concentration, reconcile site hours to what each client pays, and confirm the business holds a labour hire licence where Victorian law requires one. A contract book that is spread, documented and properly priced is what a buyer pays for.
The contract book is the business
A cleaning company owns very little that a buyer would pay for apart from its client relationships and the systems that deliver them. The valuation therefore starts with a schedule of every contract: client, site, monthly value, start date, term, notice period and when it was last repriced. Many commercial cleaning agreements can be ended on short notice, and a buyer reads that as risk. A book of office, medical and retail sites across the south east, with no client above a modest share of revenue, is a different asset from one that depends on a single shopping centre or a CBD tower. Contracts won through tenders, such as schools or councils, are looked at against their renewal dates, because a contract due for retender soon after settlement may not be there in a year.
Margins live in the labour line
Wages are the largest cost, so the valuer tests whether each contract actually earns money once the hours are paid at the correct award rate with penalties, leave and superannuation. Where the books show strong margins, the first question is whether site hours have been under-recorded or cleaners underpaid, because a buyer who finds that will either walk away or carry the back pay. Subcontracted crews get the same check: who are they, are they paid properly, and are they licensed where they need to be. Growth brings Victorian payroll tax into view. The State Revenue Office's annual tax-free threshold is $1 million from 1 July 2025, it phases out for employers and groups with taxable wages between $3 million and $5 million, and there is no threshold above $5 million. A business bought into a larger group may lose its threshold. That position is for your accountant or the SRO; the valuer records the cost it gives us.
Labour hire licensing in Victoria
The Labour Hire Authority says companies that supply workers to clean commercial premises, such as offices, shops, factories and schools, are labour hire providers and need a licence. Its guidance gives exceptions, including an owner who does all the cleaning personally and a business that cleans only private homes. Hosts must engage only licensed providers, and a provider's subcontractors must be licensed too. Penalties for providing labour hire without a licence can exceed $660,000 for a corporation. The rules tightened from 1 June 2026 with a stricter fit and proper person test, a financial viability declaration and new standard licence conditions for commercial cleaning applicants, rolling out to existing licence holders from late 2026, and the Authority's cleaning guidance notes the definition of labour hire services was amended from 1 October 2026. A missing or lapsed licence can cost a business its clients, so the valuation records the licence status of the business and its subcontractors. How a licence is dealt with in a sale is a question for the Labour Hire Authority and your lawyer.
Facilities maintenance and specialist work
Many cleaning businesses add facilities work: grounds, minor maintenance, waste, window cleaning at height, carpet and hard-floor restoration, or high-standard cleaning in medical and food settings. Recurring periodic work under contract is valued differently from one-off project jobs, which are less predictable and often depend on the owner winning them. Specialist services can lift margins, but they bring equipment, training and insurance costs, and work at height raises safety exposure. The valuer separates recurring from project revenue, checks the equipment register and asks what accreditations or inductions the main clients require, because losing one can mean losing the site.
When Melbourne cleaning businesses are valued
- ·Sale of the business or a block of contracts to another operator
- ·A co-owner leaving or being bought out
- ·Bringing in an investor or a key manager as a shareholder
- ·Moving from a sole trader structure into a company or trust
- ·Disputes between shareholders about value
- ·Market value evidence for small business CGT concessions on exit (your accountant applies them)
Common questions.
How do you value a cleaning business with contracts?+
We value the profit the contract book earns after correctly paid wages, supervision, consumables and overheads, including a market wage for the owner's role. Then we weigh how secure that profit is: contract terms and notice periods, how spread the clients are, retender dates and how long clients have stayed. The result is a value a buyer could test against the same contract schedule.
Does my cleaning business need a labour hire licence before I sell it?+
If you supply workers to clean commercial premises, the Labour Hire Authority says you generally need one, with exceptions such as an owner who does all the cleaning personally or a domestic-only service. A buyer and their lawyer will check this early. The valuation notes your licence status. Whether you need a licence is for the Labour Hire Authority or your lawyer to confirm.
What if most of my revenue comes from one client?+
The business can still be sold, but a buyer will price the risk of that client leaving after settlement. The valuation looks at how long the client has stayed, the contract terms and notice, how the relationship is managed and whether it depends on you. A strong record helps; a contract on short notice tied to the owner weighs on value.
Are subcontracted cleaners a problem for a buyer?+
Only if the arrangements are loose. Buyers want to know who the subcontractors are, how they are paid, whether they are licensed where required and whether the margin holds once they are paid correctly. Clear agreements and records make subcontracting an ordinary cost. Unclear ones become a discount, because the buyer may inherit back pay or licensing problems.
Is a domestic cleaning business valued the same way?+
The method is the same: maintainable profit and how secure it is. The inputs differ. Domestic work is usually many small, regular customers with no written contract, so retention history and how bookings are managed matter more than contract terms. The Labour Hire Authority's guidance says a domestic-only service does not need a labour hire licence.
How much does a cleaning business valuation cost?+
The fee is fixed before work starts and set by annual turnover: $1,495 + GST under $2 million, $2,495 + GST for $2 million to $3 million, $3,495 + GST for $3 million to $10 million, and a written quote above $10 million. Small reports take 2 business days and medium and large reports 3 business days, counted from when payment and all required information have been received.
- ·Commercial cleaning industry, Labour Hire Authority
- ·Changes to labour hire laws: what providers need to know, Labour Hire Authority
- ·Payroll tax threshold and phase-out rate, State Revenue Office Victoria
Talk to a valuer
Tell us what you need valued.
A fifteen-minute call confirms the package, the fixed fee and the delivery date, before you commit to anything.
03 8375 4177Mon to Fri, 9am to 5:30pm Melbourne time
Send the form and we reply within one business day. No documents needed to start.
Small Business Valuation
$1,495 + GST
For a business with annual turnover under $2 million. Signed report in 2 business days. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. The fee is fixed in writing before we start and never tied to the outcome.
Larger business? Tell us in the form and we recommend the right package. All fees
Last reviewed 11 November 2026 by Business Valuations Melbourne, Level 7, 55 Collins Street, Melbourne.