Three categories of pre-sale moves move your multiple up, most can be executed in 60–120 days before listing.
1. Convert one-time to recurring. A buyer pays roughly 10x for $100/mo recurring revenue. They pay 1x, at most, for $1,200 of one-time work. Audit every account: any "as-needed" customer who actually services every 2–3 weeks should be converted to a flat monthly rate. Any seasonal-only account should be repriced as an annual recurring contract.
2. Tighten geography. Hand off your two outlier accounts to a friend (or trade them to a neighbor route for two of theirs that fit your zone). A dense route closes faster and at higher multiples, the buyer's drive-time math improves and so does the perceived risk profile. A 50-stop route in 4 zip codes sells better than a 50-stop route in 11.
3. Get on auto-pay. Routes with >80% credit card or ACH billing close 30% faster and at meaningfully higher multiples. Friction at billing scares buyers because they know inherited collections problems become *their* collections problems. Run a 60-day campaign: small discount or one-time credit for any account that switches to auto-pay before the deadline.
Bonus levers:
- Document your SOPs. A simple Google Doc with a per-account quirks list, a chemical-mix cheat sheet, and a "what to do if [pump fails / customer complains / it rains all week]" runbook adds real value. It signals the route is a system, not a personality.
- Lock in a backup tech or contractor. A buyer who sees you have a vetted backup person already in the network is buying less risk.
- Renew commercial and HOA contracts. A 3-year contract starting in month 2 of new ownership is worth meaningfully more than a month-to-month arrangement.
- Clean up your online presence. Respond to old Google reviews. Make sure your business profile is accurate. Buyers Google you; what they find affects what they offer.
- Right-size your pricing. If you've been undercharging out of habit, a 5–10% increase 90+ days before listing will hold through diligence and increase the value at multiple.
What NOT to do in the 60 days before listing:
- Don't take on sketchy one-time work to pump revenue, buyers spot it and assume the rest is dressed up too.
- Don't fire problem customers right before listing, let the buyer make those calls so you don't tank your trailing churn number.
- Don't defer maintenance or skimp on chemicals; a "tired" route shows in the water.
Your goal is to present a route that looks the way it actually runs on a good week, not better, not worse.