Self-service laundry profitability: is it worth setting one up?

Is it profitable to set up a self-service laundry?

It can be, but there is no single figure that fits every laundry. It depends above all on how many washes you do per day, the location, the rent and the electricity contract, which are the costs that weigh the most. Be wary of "typical" profitability figures: with the same floor area, two premises can give opposite results. What we can give you is the method to calculate it with your own numbers.

How profitability is calculated

• ✓Net revenue per month = (washing machines × washes per day × price per wash + dryers × dry cycles per day × price per dry cycle) × days open, excluding the VAT (value added tax) of your country, which is not yours.
• ✓Cost of each cycle = electricity (kWh from the machine's data sheet × the price in your tariff) + water (litres × municipal rate) + gas, if the dryers are gas-fired + detergent and softener.
• ✓Fixed costs per month = rent, the fixed part of electricity and water, maintenance, insurance, cleaning and attendance, accountancy and payment system, and the loan instalment if you finance it.
• ✓Profit per month = net revenue − cost of each cycle × cycles − fixed costs.
• ✓Break-even point = fixed costs ÷ (net price of a cycle − cost of a cycle): the cycles per month you need so as not to lose money.
• ✓Months to recover the investment = initial investment ÷ profit per month.

The feasibility calculator (in Spanish) does these sums for you and tells you, box by box, where to get each real figure. To find out how much it costs to set up a self-service laundry (in Spanish), use the same calculator.

An example to understand the formula

The numbers in this example are invented to illustrate the calculation: they are not industry data or a forecast. Washing machines only, to keep it simple.

With these assumptions, the break-even point is 1,500 ÷ (4.13 − 0.60) = 425 washes per month, about 2.4 per machine per day. And just one more wash per machine per day (case B) more than doubles the profit. That is why the figure that weighs most is real usage: ask for it from whoever is selling you the machines or the business transfer, and also calculate with a prudent figure.

The chemical cost per wash: the figure we can calculate for you

Of all the cost items, chemicals are the one we know first-hand. According to their technical data sheets, the enzymatic detergents Bluegold and Biogold Q are dosed at 5–10 g per kg of dry laundry, depending on soiling, and the softener Blue Soft also at 5–10 g per kg, in the last rinse.

For an 11 kg washing machine with a full load, that is 55–110 g of detergent per cycle, plus the softener. The cost per wash is those grams times the price per kilo in your price list. For the consumption of the whole month, use how much detergent your laundry needs.

What you can control once you are open

• ✓Well-calibrated automatic dosing: the same data-sheet dose in every cycle. The procedure is in initial dosing.
• ✓Washing machine maintenance: an empty wash with Machine Clean at about 40 g/kg, at about 60 ºC for about 30 minutes, according to its data sheet.
• ✓Programmes at the data-sheet temperature: about 40 ºC for Bluegold, Biogold Q and Eco Wash.
• ✓Price compared with the competition: check what the nearest laundries charge.

If your laundry is already running and you want to gain margin, continue with improving profitability.

Frequently asked questions