Free calculator for car wash owners

How much can a car wash owner pay themselves?

A car wash owner often carries a large equipment loan. What you can take depends on profit after loan payments, and on keeping enough cash for a breakdown.

Average monthly profit, before you pay yourself$ Cash in the business bank today$ Payroll per run, all-in$ Fixed bills per month$ Big payments due in the next 3 months (tax, equipment, loan balloon)$

Steady monthly pay

80% of average profit

Extra draw you could take now

cash above what the business must keep

Cash the business must keep

2 payrolls + 1 month of bills + big payments

The starting numbers are an example for a car wash. Replace them with yours.

Three rules for paying yourself from a car wash

Pay yourself from average profit across the year.
Keep a repair reserve on top of the safe line. Equipment does not fail on schedule.
Personal taxes come out of what you take. Ask your accountant how much to set aside.

What changes the answer for a car wash

A car wash throws off cash every day, which makes it easy to take too much. The equipment does not care. Set aside a repair reserve before deciding what is left for you.

The worked example

In the example, the business keeps $63,000. That covers $18,000 for two payrolls, $30,000 of monthly bills and $15,000 due soon. Steady pay comes to $9,600 a month. Anything above $63,000 in the bank is spare.

A common question

How much should a car wash owner keep for repairs?

Enough to cover your largest likely repair without missing a loan payment. Your equipment supplier can tell you what the common failures cost.

Know what is safe to take, every week

One Page CFO shows the cash above your safe line every Monday, from your QuickBooks, checked by a CFO.

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