If you are going to open a car wash, first of all you need to analyze the market, plan the work of the future business and calculate the financial investments required.

We offer you a brief business plan for a car wash with calculations, calculated, as of 2017, for starting investment $36,900.

Project goal: opening a manual contactless car wash with two stations.

Consumer audience: the main clients will be representatives of the middle class and private entrepreneurs.

Opening hours: from 8:00 to 23:00 seven days a week.

Required investment: $36,900.

Monthly net profit: from $1,150 to $8,000.

Payback: from 8 to 10 months.

Goals and objectives

The goal of the project is to create a modern manual car wash that provides customers with high-quality and affordable services. The company will provide its founders and staff with a stable income. Through direct cooperation with suppliers, as well as the effective use of the latest equipment, the company will be able to provide services at affordable and competitive prices. Due to high service and quality of services in the medium term, the company will form a base of regular loyal customers.

Service

Providing car owners with comprehensive cleaning services:

• Contactless washing of the car body, wheels and underbody,
• Polishing,
• Engine washing,
• Cleaning the interior and trunk.

Market analysis

The constant increase in the number of cars on the roads indicates an increase in demand for car wash services. The market offers automatic portal and tunnel type washers, as well as manual ones. Manual contactless car wash services are in greatest demand, especially in 2017.

There is a fairly strong seasonal factor in this business. In summer and winter the demand for services is low, and in spring and autumn it is high.

During periods of maximum demand, there are queues in front of car washes. This suggests that competition is not very high and the market is not yet completely saturated.

Marketing plan

The car wash premises will be located in a residential area near a service station and a parking lot, which will help attract a stable flow of customers.

To increase the number of customers and increase loyalty, the following promotions are planned:

• Sale of subscriptions for 10, 20 and 50 washes,
• Every tenth wash for 50% of the cost,
• Comprehensive service at a discount.

Production plan

To organize the work of the enterprise, you will need to prepare a package of documents:

1. Certificate of registration of individual entrepreneur or LLC, registration with the tax office,
2. Coordinated and approved car wash project,
3. Lease agreement for land and premises,
4. Contract for connection to electrical networks,
5. Agreement for the purchase of water or for connection to water networks,
6. Agreement for the disposal of used water, solid household waste, and dry residue from car wash activities.

To minimize the initial investment, the premises and land for organizing a car wash will be rented. The total area of ​​the premises is 80 square meters. meters. The premises will be refurbished: repairs will be made, water will be supplied and drained.

All equipment, auto chemicals and consumables will be purchased from the official regional dealer of the manufacturing company.

Staff

To operate a car wash, you will need 4 people working in two shifts, as well as a cashier-accountant. Monthly salary expenses will be $4,200.

Required Resources

As mentioned earlier, opening a car wash will require an investment of at least $36,900. The source of financing will be investments of personal funds of the founders of the enterprise. There are no plans to attract credit funds at the initial stage. The land plot and premises will be leased for 10 years.

Financial plan and risk analysis

The initial investment to open a car wash is $36,900:

• One-time investment $28,900
• Expenses for the first month of work: $8,000

The car wash will be open seven days a week, seven days a week, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

The average check at a car wash is $10.

Accordingly, the estimated revenue for a month of work is 1,320*10=$13,200.

Profit before taxes will be 13,200-8,000=$5,200.

On average, net profit after taxes is about $4,550.

The number of cars will fluctuate depending on the season and the figures may deviate from the average by 30%. Monthly net profit – from $1,150 to $8,000.

Return on investment – ​​from 8 to 10 months.

Risks	Grade	Characteristics and solutions
Poor car wash location	High	A detailed analysis of the area, traffic flows and nearby competitors will help you avoid choosing the wrong location.
Problems with inspection authorities	Average	To minimize the occurrence of possible problems with government services, the company will cooperate and process all permits with the help of a professional law firm.
Equipment breakdown	Average	All equipment will have a warranty period and undergo periodic technical control. In the event of a breakdown, all equipment will be repaired at the manufacturer’s service center.
Lack of qualified personnel	Low	Competitive salaries will be offered to attract experienced professionals. Car washers without experience will undergo training.

Conclusion

We hope that this car wash business plan with our calculations relevant for 2017 was useful to you and was able to provide answers to key questions.

Despite all the difficulties associated with organizing and issuing permits, this business is attractive with high profitability and quick return on investment.

* The calculations use average data for Russia

1. PROJECT SUMMARY

The goal of the project is to open a self-service car wash to provide a range of affordable and high-quality services to customers in a city with a population of more than 1 million people. The establishment's main source of income is payment for the use of specialized washing equipment. Self-service car wash offers an automated service, with the help of which the client independently takes care of his car. The advantages of this business include:

Demand for this type of service;

High throughput;

The price is 1.5-2 times lower compared to conventional car washes;

Savings on personnel costs;

High level of income.

The target audience is car owners who value quality, speed and low cost of car wash services. Price segment – ​​average.

Investment costs in the amount of RUB 5,533,000. aimed at the construction of a self-service car wash, landscaping of the territory, the purchase of specialized equipment and the creation of a working capital fund.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY AND COMPANY

Every year in Russia the number of cars grows by 1.5 million units. According to the traffic police, over the past 10 years the vehicle fleet of Russians has increased by 65%.

Rice. 1 – Dynamics of the Russian passenger car fleet

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The total number of car washes in Russia is more than 12 thousand, but this is not enough to meet the demand for car wash services. The need for car washes increases by 110 units annually.

Car washes remain a fairly popular and profitable type of business. Washing market trends reflect the growing popularity of self-service car washes. In Europe, the share of self-service car washes is 50%, but in Russia it is only 10% - that is, the niche is almost empty. At the moment, the self-service car wash market is in a stage of active development, which is also explained by the investment attractiveness of the business - the initial investment pays off within 1-1.5 years, and the profitability is 85% or higher.

Self-service car wash is an automated service through which the car owner can independently care for his car. For this purpose, stationary stations are installed in the car wash complex, designed for one parking space and equipped with a panel with connected equipment. A simple interface allows you to select a number of paid services, such as: washing - hot or cold water, with foam, with osmosis; waxing; drying; dry and wet cleaning of the car interior and trunk using a vacuum cleaner. Depending on the number of services chosen, the final cost of washing is determined - the average bill is 90-150 rubles. A full car wash at self-service stations takes 7 minutes, which allows you to avoid long queues and save on staff - two operators working in shifts will be enough. Thus, the phenomenon of self-service car washes consists of the following advantages:

saving time and money for the car owner;

no long queues;

traffic capacity up to 900 vehicles per day;

quick payback of the project;

low level of competition;

the ability of the car owner to wash the car himself, which eliminates complaints about the quality of services and ensures savings on personnel.

In times of crisis, this type of car wash is becoming especially popular, since traditional car wash services cost car owners 1.5-2 times more, and washing one car takes an average of 30 minutes. The obvious saving of money and time is a significant advantage of self-service car washes. In addition, such car washes are trusted by customers, since the car owner himself can control the thoroughness and quality of the wash. Another important parameter in favor of self-service car washes is their ability to service up to 900 cars per day. Table 2 shows comparative characteristics of various types of car washes according to this criterion.

Table 1 - Average productivity of various types of car washes

Based on the data presented, it becomes obvious that during a crisis, the most popular service in the car wash market is self-service car washes.

3. DESCRIPTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES

When organizing a car wash, we considered two key parameters - geographical location and equipment that provides a range of services. The profitability of a car wash depends on these two parameters.

Plot. The most significant issue when organizing a car wash is finding a suitable site and collecting all the necessary documentation for the construction of a car wash. We will choose a convenient location for the car wash, since its profitability depends on this. The most attractive areas for a car wash are those located in an area of ​​high but slow traffic:

parking lots of mega-complexes, shopping centers;

parking lots;

areas at the entrance to residential areas;

busy city streets;

entrance to the city.

The most suitable area is the area behind the traffic light. While waiting for the green signal, the driver can look around the area and will definitely notice an advertising sign or sign leading to a car wash.

After choosing a site, you must contact the local administration and inform about your intention to open a car wash in this area. You should also find out the status of the site - the land must be intended for industrial construction. Another important nuance is the presence of the necessary communications or the ability to connect power to electricity, sewage, and water supply.

The next stage is the preparation of construction and permitting documentation. The list of required documentation includes:

Permission from the SES;

Permission from the fire department;

Permission from town planning authorities;

A copy of the self-service car wash project certified by BTI;

Permission from the environmental service.

If the site is rented, the following should be added to the specified list:

Land plan;

Plan of the building to be built;

Permission from the local executive committee.

Approval of the project will take up to 6 months, the construction and commissioning stage will take 2-3 months. On average, it will take about a year to launch a car wash built from scratch.

The entire stage of car wash construction is shown in Fig. 2.

Rice. 2 – Stages of creating a self-service car wash

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It should be noted that the demand for car wash services has a pronounced seasonality - the greatest demand for car wash services is in the fall and spring, and in the summer and winter the demand decreases significantly. Therefore, the time of opening a business must be planned in advance in order to hit the peak of consumer demand.

Equipment and services. Customers will give preference to a sink that is equipped with convenient and high-quality equipment that has wide functionality at an optimal cost. Most self-service car wash machines provide the following types of services with an average price per 1 minute of use:

Water supply - knocking down dirt and foam from the car body with water (20 rubles)

Foam - applying contactless foam to the car body (50 rubles)

Air - blowing out residual moisture from locks and rubber seals with compressed air (5 rubles)

Wax – applying a protective layer of wax, which ensures quick drying and protection from dirt (30 rubles)

Osmosis - churning with water without salts to prevent marks and streaks when drying (30 rubles)

Vacuum cleaner - dry and wet cleaning of the interior and trunk of a car using a vacuum cleaner (10 rubles)

Turbo wash - washing the car body with a mixture of water and non-contact emulsion chemicals, designed to eliminate special contaminants (40 rubles)

Self-service machines allow you to choose the required set of services, which determines the cost of washing. The average cost is 150 rubles.

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Manufacturers offer various types of equipment, the cost of which depends on the set of functions and the number of expected parking spaces. The average cost of 1 set of equipment is 470 thousand rubles - manufacturers such as Avant, Alles, CW TECH fall into this price segment.

The most budget-friendly equipment option is offered by the domestic company Aqua-Group: 6 packages - from minimal to premium, differing in the range of functions. The cost of such equipment ranges from 220 to 470 thousand rubles.

It is recommended to organize a car wash with 3 or more stations - otherwise the car wash will be unprofitable. This business plan considers a self-service car wash with 4 parking spaces. To organize a car wash with 4 stations, an area of ​​about 250 m2 is required. The rent of such a site in an average Russian city will range from 50 to 150 thousand, depending on the availability of communications and the location of the facility.

Thus, fully equipping 4 self-service car wash stations will cost approximately 2 million rubles. It is also possible to purchase washing equipment for rent. For example, the Moi-sam car wash chain offers equipment with a rental fee of 44 thousand rubles/month. This business plan assumes the use of washing equipment from the manufacturer Aqua-Group, Premium package: the cost of a set of equipment for 4 posts is 1,480,000 rubles, the throughput is 576 cars per day. This equipment includes all the basic functions listed above.

4. SALES AND MARKETING

To organize a self-service car wash, we chose to create an independent enterprise with its own brand.

A memorable name is a way to attract consumer attention. The assistance of naming specialists will cost an average of 6,000 rubles - the price includes the development of a brand, logo, and name. Of course, this is an optional expense item.

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The most effective advertising for a car wash is outdoor advertising. It is recommended to install the sign 2 km before the car wash. The production and installation of one sign next to road signs costs an average of 15,000 rubles. To increase the effectiveness of outdoor advertising, it is planned to produce two signs that can attract the required number of customers.

5. PRODUCTION PLAN

The target audience is car owners for whom speed, quality and low price of services are important.

The work schedule is around the clock, which will increase the number of clients.

To operate a 24-hour self-service car wash, two operators are required who work in shifts. The operator advises car wash clients, monitors clients’ compliance with the rules for using car wash equipment, refills consumables, and maintains order in the car wash area. A repair specialist conducting service maintenance is also required. The specialist is expected to work part-time.

Table 2 – Optimal staff of a self-service car wash and payroll

Insurance premiums amount to 32.06% of the payroll, that is, 22,442 rubles. Thus, personnel costs, taking into account all deductions, will amount to 92,442 rubles.

The average number of car wash clients per day is 40 cars per post, that is, the car wash will receive 160 cars per day. Based on an average bill of 150 rubles, daily revenue will be 24,000 rubles, or 720,000 rubles per month. With a maximum load of a car wash at 4 stations, the daily revenue will be 86,400 rubles, or 2,592,000 rubles per month.

6. ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN

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Sample brief description of the project:

Activities: stationary car wash.

Location: you need to indicate where the service is located, the approximate population of the area, and the approximate number of potential clients.

Area: 60 square meters.

Form of ownership: rent.

Schedule: 7:00-21:00, seven days a week.

Documents for car wash

The case should be registered as IP by selecting the code OKVED 74.70.2 – “Cleaning and cleaning of vehicles.” You can begin work only after collecting a complete package of permits from government authorities. Certificates and permits for opening a car wash:

• Conclusion from the local fire safety service;
• Lease agreement and BTI plan for the premises;
• Sanitary and epidemiological conclusion. A complete list of requirements and documentation is given in Rospotrebnadzor Order No. 776 dated November 21, 2005 “On sanitary and epidemiological examination of various types of activities”;
• The list of establishment services agreed with the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision;
• Certificate from the labor protection service;
• Permission from the Nature Conservation Service. To obtain this, you will need a developed scheme for the implementation of waste discharge;
• Agreements with public utilities: on household waste disposal, disinfection, disinfestation, etc.;
• Permission to open an establishment in the selected location from Rospotrebnadzor. Issued based on consideration of all the above documents.

The approximate cost of registration and documentation is $1200.

To launch the project faster in the work, it is worth involving lawyers or special companies involved in the preparation of permits.

Production plan

A business plan for opening a car wash must begin with choosing the location and arrangement of the premises.

Where is it profitable to open a car wash from scratch?

The best places: at the entrance to the city (drivers want to wash their car after a long journey or before a trip), near border and customs posts, next to gas stations, parking lots, and car service stations. As an alternative, a location in a densely populated residential area is suitable. Such a point will serve mainly regular customers. Located near a large shopping center, you can count on visits from owners of expensive cars. There may be less clientele, but the average check is higher.

The establishment must be located at a distance of at least 70 m from residential buildings. Important condition– the service is located near major roads and must have good entry/exit and parking spaces.

Premises requirements

If the rented property has not previously been used as a car wash, you will have to take care of arranging wastewater drainage, because the water consumption at such an enterprise is very high. Ideally, the drain should lead to a central water supply system, otherwise you will have to design a waste pit. Such work costs between $700-800.

We calculate costs based on the fact that we rent a building with an equipped drainage system. Other requirements for the room: waterproofing and thermal insulation, good lighting.

An example of space distribution: the service consists of two boxes (each 4 meters wide, 6 meters long, 3 meters high). These are universal sizes that allow you to equally service cars and trucks. The remaining 12 sq. m – waiting area for clients. The administrator works here. The required area adjacent to the sink is 30-40 square meters. m.

If you rent an almost finished plot with an asphalt entrance and all the necessary communications, the monthly fee will be about $700-800. Approximately $2,500 will be required for cosmetic repairs and additional moisture insulation.

Technical base

Our car wash is focused on manual labor; such equipment is cheaper and pays for itself faster, especially in small towns.

Necessary equipment for a car wash:

1. High-pressure apparatus with water heating (two pieces) - $1200-1300. It is worth purchasing two devices of different power. One for light pollution (with a capacity of 400-500 l/hour) and one more powerful (800-900 l/hour). The best manufacturer is Karcher;
2. Professional vacuum cleaner for dry and wet cleaning (two pieces) - $1000. Elsea, Nilfisk-Alto, Baiyun;
3. Two foam generators - $650. PROCAR, Karcher, A.E.
4. Chemical cleaning apparatus - $150. Karcher;
5. Treatment plant - $1200-1300. AROS, Aqua;
6. Small equipment (cart for tools and detergents, scrapers and brushes, napkins, rags, dustpans, brushes, gloves, etc.) - $100;
7. Auto chemicals (car shampoos, windshield washes, glass cleaners, cold and hot wax, polishes) - $150.

The price of a set of washing equipment is around $4,500.

What is needed to set up a waiting area? Administrative desk with telephone and computer, sofa, 4 chairs, coffee table, LCD TV and vending machine with tea and coffee. Or you can offer customers free coffee as a bonus for ordering.

But installing a vending machine will allow you to earn additional money from visitors waiting in line. A used machine from the Necta, VendShop, Saeco brand can be purchased for $1200-1300. Arranging the foyer will require an investment of $2,500.

Services and pricing

We create an approximate price list. Each service varies slightly in price depending on the type of vehicle. Main list:

• Full body wash (with foam and drying) – $4.5-5;
• Express body wash (dirt removal without drying) – $3-3.5;
• Regular cleaning of the interior with a vacuum cleaner, washing glass and door trim – $4-5;
• Washing the engine and engine compartment – ​​$5-7;
• Washing and cleaning the trunk with a vacuum cleaner – $3-4;
• Blackening of bumper and tires – $3-4;
• Body polishing – $7.5-9;
• Body treatment with liquid wax – $3-3.5;
• Washing all windows – $3;
• Wheel washing and drying – $1.7-2.3;
• Dry cleaning of wheel rims – $2.1-3;
• Removing stains from the body (bitumen, insect marks) – $3-4;
• Disc polishing – $3-3.5;
• Carpet cleaning – $0.8;
• Cleaning the interior of fur and animal hair – $2.6-2.8;
• Cleaning and conditioning of seats – $2.5-3.3;
• Interior dry cleaning – $62-92.

Organizational plan

One worker is required for one vehicle, two workers are required for two posts. The optimal work schedule is every other day. You will need to hire six washers, an administrator, and a cleaner. Accounting is outsourced. The monthly salary fund is around $3200.

Marketing strategy

In addition to a bright sign, you should get a sign with a sign indicating the road to the car wash. It is displayed on the street during the operation of the establishment and does not require approval from the authorities, like outdoor advertising. Its cost is about $60.

You can put up a road sign indicating the direction of travel and the distance to your service. This requires coordination with the traffic police (in particular, justification for the traffic pattern in the selected area), and the production and installation of a sign costs $150-200.

Sales promotion

To attract new customers and acquire regular ones, you need to develop discounts, offer promotions and discounts. You can offer a service as a gift with the main set (for example, blackening of rubber for orders over $5). Offers like “Every fifth wash as a gift”, “25% discount on all work on the last day of the month”, etc. work well.

In the first days it’s real attract attention with signs like “We are open! 50% discount on car wash!”

A start-up business can receive visitors thanks to gift subscriptions for small services, such as cleaning the trunk, glass, and rugs.

Financial plan

Let's calculate how much it costs to open a car wash and how much you can earn. It is necessary to draw up a financial plan taking into account possible unforeseen expenses.

Capital expenditures:

1. Documentation – $1200;
2. Repair – $2500;
3. Rent for three months in advance – $2200;
4. Purchase of equipment and furniture, appliances – $7,000;
5. Signboard, investment in advertising – $300;
6. Unforeseen expenses – $500-700.

In total, a turnkey car wash for 2 stations will cost approximately 14 thousand dollars. Monthly expenses consist of utility bills, rent, purchase of auto chemicals, salary payments and amount to about $4,500.

Let's decide on profit calculations. Two posts can serve 50-55 cars in a 14-hour working day. The average check is $4.5. The car wash's monthly revenue is approximately $7,000. An additional income of $200-300 will come from a coffee machine. Net profit is around $2800.

This is a detailed description, with minimal costs. The project pays for itself in 7-8 months and begins to generate stable income. It is possible to increase profits by opening an additional post.

The car has long become the main means of transport around the world, including in Russia and the CIS countries. Every year the number of car owners is growing, and along with this, the demand for thematic services is growing: gas stations, car services and car washes. In this article we will talk about how to open a car wash from scratch with minimal investment of money.

Choosing the type of car wash

Before opening a car wash, first of all, you must decide how much money you are willing to invest in your business. The type of car wash you can open will depend on the amount of investment. Let's look at the main types that are currently on the market.

• Manual contact washing- involves manual application of detergents and cleaning with sponges. This type of car wash is the most common, since the entrepreneur does not have to spend money on expensive equipment. The downside in this case is that physical contact with the vehicle can lead to scratches and damage to the body. Another disadvantage is the long service life of the car. You will not be able to serve a large number of customers in an hour, as is the case with other types of car washes.
• Manual touchless washing— the procedure is carried out in several steps. First, most of the car is cleaned under the pressure of water. Then active foam is applied, which removes remaining dirt. Next, the foam is washed off under high pressure of water. The final step is to apply polish. The initial costs for this type of car wash will be higher than in the previous case, since special equipment will be needed for the work.
• Self-service car wash— if you want to open a self-service car wash, then this is a very right decision. This type of sink is gaining more and more popularity every year. In this case, customers do not pay for washing their car, but for the time they spend in your car wash. Thanks to the fact that your customers do everything themselves, you can save on car wash employees, since a large number of personnel will not be needed for this.
• Automatic car washes- It’s immediately worth noting that choosing this type will lead to a large initial monetary investment. You can save on the number of employees, but the minimum cost of equipment for such a car wash starts from 3 million rubles. In turn, automatic car washes are divided into two types: portal - when the car enters a box and is cleaned due to the fact that special equipment is installed around it; tunnel car washes - imply that the vehicle is installed on a moving belt and, while moving, cleaning occurs in several stages .

The best option in this case is to open a contactless car wash with employees, or on a self-service basis.

About the seasonality of business

Car washes are a seasonal business. In summer and winter, demand in this niche sharply decreases, and in autumn and spring, on the contrary, it increases. This must be taken into account when starting a business.

If you are planning to open an automatic car wash, the best time to do so is right before the start of the season.

If you plan to open a standard car wash, then it is better to do this during the off-season for the following reasons:

• Staff needs to be trained
• The customer service strategy is not well established
• The supply of consumables is not adjusted

If you open at the beginning of the season and are immediately faced with a large influx of customers, you simply may not be able to cope, either you or your employees.

What services can car washes provide?

In addition to regular body washing, this company can provide a large list of other services, which will bring greater profits. Many car washes take advantage of this and can offer their customers a wide range of services. For example, interior cleaning, as a rule, is one of the most expensive services, and one such clean is equal in profitability to several standard car washes.

Examples of services provided:

• Standard body wash, the main specialty of this business
• Interior cleaning
• Bumper and wheel drawing
• Engine cleaning
• Body polishing
• Dry cleaning
• Cleaning the trunk
• Treatment with “Anti-rain” or “Anti-fog” agents
• Washing wheels from dirt with drying
• Removing difficult stains
• etc.

Please note that the more services you want to provide, the more variety of equipment you will need. Employee salaries will also increase, as they will be engaged in providing not the most simple services.

Location

In this example, a business plan for a car wash, after you have chosen its type, the second step is to select a location. We need to decide on the place where to build our enterprise as early as possible, since obtaining permission to create a car wash will take a lot of time. You will learn about this a little later.

Mobile car wash


When choosing a location, you should immediately note that instead of building a new building or converting some garages, you can choose a mobile car wash for your business. It involves a moisture-resistant box that can accommodate one or two cars. The cost of such boxes starts from 700 thousand rubles and a huge advantage is that if you are located in some unfavorable place, you can move with all your equipment to another at any time. This is especially beneficial if you want to open a self-service car wash from scratch with minimal investment.

In garages


An excellent option would be if you can rent several garages for a car wash. In order to have a good flow of customers, they must be located near some kind of highway, or next to a large area of ​​​​residential buildings.

The main challenge here is that you will have to invest in making garages suitable for your business. You will have to asphalt the road and connect various communications.

Also, ordinary garages cannot boast of high resistance to dampness and over time they will begin to deteriorate, and this will lead to additional costs for major repairs.

On the outskirts of the city

The next option is to locate on the outskirts of the city next to some busy highway. The advantage in this case is that most likely you will not have to argue long and hard with the city administration to obtain a permit, since there will be no residential areas nearby in which there will be people unhappy with the placement of a car wash next to their home.

In the city

It is very difficult to obtain permission to operate a business in the center of a residential area. But if you can do this, then most likely you will create a business that will never need to find clients.

In some cities, industrial buildings, such as factories or warehouses, are sometimes located right in the city center. You can try to get permission to open a car wash in such places. Of course, the flow of customers will not be as large as if you locate your business in the main square of the city, but in any case, this is better than locating in small microdistricts.

In the parking lot


In many large cities, car washes in parking lots are a success. They can be placed in street parking lots of shopping centers or underground ones. The profitability of such car washes directly depends on the number of parking spaces and their load.

Also, such car washes are located in underground parking lots in luxury buildings, where people drive expensive cars and washing a car every day will not hurt their wallet.

In the village

If you want to open a car wash in a village, then you must evaluate the potential demand. As a rule, village residents do not often drive expensive cars and prefer to wash them themselves. Considering also that the population of villages is usually small, if you open a business in such a place, you may never see a profit.

The situation changes dramatically if the village is located on a busy highway. In this case, the idea has the right to life.

On your own plot in a private house

Many people wonder whether it is possible to open a car wash on your own site to save on renting premises? This is a great idea, but it should be borne in mind that according to the law, each piece of land must be used strictly for its intended purpose. Therefore, if you open a car wash at your dacha, you will not be able to use it to grow vegetables, fruits, etc.

What do you need to get permission to open a car wash?

A car wash is a rather complex business, the opening of which involves collecting many different documents and permits. So, what does it take to open a car wash?

First, we must register a legal entity, namely an individual entrepreneur or LLC. If this is your first business and you have neither one nor the other, then we recommend choosing the option of registering an individual entrepreneur. This way you will save yourself a lot of effort and time.

Next, you need to choose which tax system you will work with. We recommend a simplified taxation system (STS). It offers two options for paying taxes: 6% of income, or 15% of profit. In the case of this business, we recommend choosing to pay taxes at 15% of the organization’s net profit.

Accounting under the simplified tax system does not pose any great difficulties, so you can do it yourself or by hiring a freelance accountant.

The next step in our car wash business plan, which must be completed, is submitting a letter of petition and receiving a resolution from the city administration. You must obtain permission from the city administration to create your own enterprise. At the same time, you must already choose and decide where you want to locate your business.

After submitting your documents, you will have several weeks until you receive feedback. During this time, you must prepare a sketch of your car wash and coordinate it with:

• City administration
• Municipal architect
• Fire service

After you receive a response from the city administration and coordinate your sketch with the services described above, all received documents must be sent again to the city administration. Then you can begin to develop a full-fledged project for the premises or construction of a building.

What documents are needed to open a car wash:

• Individual entrepreneur agreement on tax registration
• Agreement on the ownership of premises or its lease
• Agreement on ownership or lease of the land plot under the premises
• Agreement on the connection of electrical networks
• Agreement on connection to water networks
• Contract for removal of solid waste and waste water

The finished project is sent for examination to the same organizations and in case of positive feedback you reach the final stage - state examination.

The procedure for obtaining permission to open a car wash is not so simple and you may need the help of professional lawyers. The cost of services will be approximately 10-20 thousand rubles.

Important Requirements

A very important requirement of this business is compliance with environmental standards. Every day, car washes discharge wastewater into the sewer system, so it is necessary to conclude an agreement with the water supply and sewerage system (municipal water supply and sewerage company), which will indicate the maximum amount of water that you can discharge and its composition.

Installing a water purification system is a must. The more water you use, the more powerful the system you need. For example, on the outskirts of the city, heavily polluted jeeps will come to you from the forests and steppes. To clean them you will need 160 liters of water; to clean an ordinary passenger car driving only in the city center, 60 liters will be enough. This means that outside the city, water purification systems must be more powerful and therefore more expensive.

Such cleaning systems reduce the volume of waste thrown into the sewer and operate only at temperatures from +5 degrees.

Equipment

After you choose a premises and obtain all the necessary permits to operate a car wash, you need to buy equipment for the wash itself. Equipment may vary depending on the services provided. As new services are added, you will purchase the necessary equipment. Below is a list of equipment for a self-service car wash business plan with employees.

The most popular suppliers of car wash equipment in Russia are the following companies:

• Karcher
• Carebridge
• California Kleindiest
• Weidner

Of course, this is not the entire list. There are other less popular manufacturers from Europe.

In addition to specialized equipment, it is also necessary to equip a break room for employees and a waiting room for clients. If you can save money on the premises for employees and put only sofas, tables and chairs, then the waiting area for clients needs to be thought through.

It's no secret that, given the same cost of service, clients will go where they feel more comfortable. Therefore, you should try to arrange the customer waiting area well. You can install high-quality armchairs, a TV that will show car shows and a machine for dispensing hot drinks.

How much it will cost to equip a relaxation and waiting area depends only on you and your budget. This amount can be 100,000 rubles or 1 million.

Staff

After purchasing and installing all the necessary equipment, you can proceed to searching for employees. Candidates for this job do not need to have any education. It is enough that they are in good physical shape, have some knowledge of cars and are friendly with customers.

To operate a small enterprise, 2-4 employees with a salary of 20,000 rubles will be enough. Of course, if you are going to open a car wash in Moscow, then the wages should be higher.

Attracting clients

The final stage in this business plan is to attract customers. The most effective time-tested way to attract customers is promotions.

After opening your business, you can make the following promotions:

• “Free car wash from September 14 to 20!”
• “50% discount for all clients”

These promotions are the most profitable. You will attract public attention. Yes, you will have to work at a loss for some time, but a large number of people will know about your business and if they are satisfied with your service, they will come to you again and again.

You can inform people that you are open and have a super cool promotion in the following ways:

An example of unusual public involvement can be seen in the community “Car Wash St. Herzen, 94 Tyumen Behind the Voyage shopping center. This is the VKontakte community of a non-existent car wash in nature, which was created by two schoolchildren. They attracted the attention of the public through hard marketing, which was subsequently written about by major online publications. They instantly gathered 10,000 people in their community, who at first had no idea that the car wash did not exist.

An example of provocative publications from this community

How much money does it take to open a car wash?

It is very difficult to predict what costs will be when creating a car wash, since it depends on many different factors:

• Will it be a self-service car wash or not?
• Automatic or manual
• The premises are rented or owned

So, let’s demonstrate a car wash business plan with calculations, an example will be as follows:

• We have 8 employees, with a 2/2 schedule
• We are renting a room
• The car wash will provide various services described earlier in the article.
• We need to buy equipment for contactless washing
• Working hours from 12 noon to 12 midnight

Based on this, we obtain a table of expenses.

Name	Price
Initial costs
Equipment and furniture	850.000rub
Paperwork	15.000rub
Advertising	RUB 30,000
Construction of washing boxes	1,000,000rub
Total:	RUR 1,895,000
Monthly expenses
Rent and utilities	60.000rub
Consumables	15.000rub
Salary 8 employees	160.000rub
Advertising	15.000rub
Total:	RUR 250,000

As a result, the initial costs of opening a car wash are 1,895,000 rubles, and monthly costs are 250,000 rubles.

Income

Our company can serve approximately 50 clients per day. Depending on seasonality, the workload may vary; let’s assume that the workload will be 76%, then we will serve 38 clients per day. The average check will be approximately 350 rubles.

Income per day— 13.300 rub.
Income per month— RUR 399,000
Net profit for the month— 149.000rub
Payback— 13 months

Car wash franchises

There is an easier option for opening a car wash - buying a franchise. Then you won’t have to figure out what equipment to buy on your own; they will help you choose a profitable location and help you resolve legal issues. In general, life will become easier with the purchase of a franchise.

But there are also negative sides:

• You will have to share the profits
• Any organizational changes will have to be approved

A huge disadvantage is that some franchises prohibit providing any additional services. And this is a loss of profit for us. Therefore, before signing the contract, you should take into account all the points.

If these disadvantages do not scare you, then we can move on to the review of franchises.

Washing Max

This franchise offers two formats of doing business.

Mobile car wash

• Lump sum payment - 250,000 rub.
• Investment volume - 890,000 rub.
• Payback - 6-9 months
• Monthly profit - 246,000 rubles

Stationary sink

• Lump sum payment - 250,000 rub.
• Investment volume - 990,000 rub.
• Payback - 6-10 months
• Monthly profit - 260,000 rubles

To cooperate with this franchise, the following conditions must be met:

Zebra

This franchise holds the record for launching a business. After purchasing it, you can start full-time work within 10 days. Full payback won't take long either.

The investment amount is only from 300,000 rubles to 500,000 rubles

Requirements:

• 6 employees
• A room of at least 10 sq.m.

Digital Moika

The franchise has a different set of packages. The cheapest package costs only 39,000 rubles, the most expensive 549,000 rubles.

This option is good for those who do not want to invest too much in this business. You can open a very small and simple car wash and see whether customers will come to you or not. If not, then you can close without losing much money, but if there are customers, then you can expand.

Requirements:

• 3 employees
• Minimum area 2 sq.m.

I want to buy a ready-made car wash business!

There are a huge number of advertisements on the market that offer to buy you a ready-made business or rent it. I would like to note that the goose that lays golden eggs is rarely sold; the situation is exactly the same with good car washes.

Most likely, after purchasing a car wash, you will find things in it that you will need to work on. For example, unqualified personnel, repairs, lack of clients, etc.

If you still want to buy a ready-made car wash business in Moscow, St. Petersburg or some other cities, then you definitely need to check everything before purchasing.

You need to check the following:

• Does the car wash meet all the requirements of the SES, fire departments, etc.
• Documented profitability over the last year
• Documented profit for the last year
• Is the owner of the premises from whom you are renting planning to evict you?
• Are employees ready to work for the new owner?
• Does she have a good reputation among car owners?

Also, check when this car wash opened. The less it lasted, the more likely it was that something was wrong with it.

The cost of a profitable car wash will start from 1 million rubles; you can find these advertisements on Avito.

Approximate data:

• Monthly income – from 210,000 or 165,000 rubles.
• Net profit - from 39,100 or 28,475 rubles.
• Initial costs – from 728,800 rubles.
• Payback – from 1 year 9 months.

This business plan, like all others in the section, contains calculations of average prices, which may differ in your case. Therefore, we recommend that you make calculations for your business individually.

In this article we will draw up a detailed business plan for a small stationary car wash with calculations.

The car wash provides services for car washing, polishing, chemical cleaning of the interior, and engine washing. Please note that the work will be performed by people, this is not an automated car wash. But professional equipment will be used for the work, allowing the work to be completed faster than usual. This will be a relatively small car wash.

In general, a car wash as a business is considered only by those who have their own premises for this activity or have the opportunity to build one on their land. Then this business is profitable. If you rent a room, it turns out to be less profitable, and such a room is not easy to find. Nevertheless, to draw up this business plan, we considered the option of rented premises.

Market analysis

The market analysis of this industry was covered in. I would like to dwell on the consideration of competitors and methods of combating them.

The main competition will be from large, well-known enterprises throughout the city. Fortunately, there are few of them. The main methods of dealing with them are better offers, promotions, discounts, quality services, and their availability. Advertising will also be an important factor. A properly planned business always begins with the development of an advertising campaign.

Small car washes won't cause much harm. If they are far from our location, they will not have any effect at all. But you will have to compete with those car washes that are located nearby. Here the main tool of struggle will be advertising. You will have to spend a lot of money on outdoor advertising. Moreover, these will not only be signs, but also various signs and posters. It is very important to think through promotions and change the price in accordance with seasonal demand. This flexibility will allow you to stay in the black even in times of calm, attracting more and more new clients.

If speak about potential buyers , then these will be people with cars, naturally. Mostly men aged 20 to 55 years. This contingent gives preference to the quality of service; consumers in this segment do not pay special attention to interior decoration. The income of potential buyers is average and above average. Low-income citizens tend to wash their cars on their own.

Women also use car washes. They pay attention to the appearance of workers, their grooming, and the presence of signs. Today, women driving have become significantly younger. It is worth focusing on ladies aged 20-45 with average and high incomes.

SWOT analysis

When opening your own hand car wash, you need to do thorough research. It is worth resorting to SWOT analysis. This technique allows you to study a business comprehensively, point out shortcomings and opportunities.

It is customary to divide factors into external and internal. The former cannot be influenced or changed. These include:

1. Possibilities:

• An increase in the number of cars and, as a result, an increase in the number of potential clients and demand for the service.
• Growing income of the population.
• Reduced level of competition.
• Free entry to the market, no barriers.
• Possibility of opening a related business (car service, for example).
• Providing related services.
• Sale of spare parts, car care products, etc.

1. Threats:

• Increased competition.
• Increase in tax burden.
• Legislative changes (eg reintroduction of licensing).
• Decreased demand due to economic downturn and less purchasing power.
• Forced move to a new place.
• The need to comply with SES requirements (especially those related to water and premises maintenance).
• Seasonality of business, a sharp decline in income as a result.

Internal factors can be changed, shortcomings can be worked on, and eliminated. And use your strengths to your advantage and enhance their influence. Internal factors include:

1. Strengths:

• Relatively low level of competition in the selected territory.
• Favorable location.
• Opportunity to hire experienced workers.
• Search for favorable conditions for renting premises.
• Low costs for providing services (especially raw materials).
• Acceptability and availability of prices for customers.
• The cost of the service may change.
• Low follow-up costs.
• Almost all costs are directly related to the volume of work, which reduces possible losses to a minimum.

1. Weak sides:

• Lack of experience in this field.
• Lack of regular customers.
• Zero business reputation of the organization.
• The limited demand is due to the area of ​​the rented premises.
• Working with water requires constant cleaning and maintaining cleanliness, which is very difficult in these conditions.
• Unprofessionalism of workers.
• Lack of training courses and specialist training.
• Lack of motivation among employees.
• Quite a long and serious stage of preparing the premises.

All this must be taken into account when opening your own car wash.

Opportunity Assessment

In this type of business, the greatest demand occurs in the spring-autumn period. There is a lull in the cold season. But this does not mean that people do not use car wash services at all. They just do it a little less often. During such a period, it makes sense to reduce the cost of services provided, increase advertising costs, and make it more aimed at the “casual” consumer.

Our manual car wash will operate according to the following schedule:

Total: 79 hours per week and 338 hours per month.

Specialists will be needed for the work. There will be 2 teams working, each consisting of 2 people. The senior is responsible for working with clients, that is, he makes calculations and accepts payments. At the end of the working day, the premises are cleaned using hand washes by both workers. They will work 2 through 2 to achieve greater efficiency and proper rest between working days.

You will not need a secretary or administrator to work. In fact, the administrator will be the senior person in the team, and there is no need to receive phone calls - specialists will work on site. If it is necessary to receive calls for recording, then it is advisable to appoint an administrator, who can also be the entrepreneur himself.

As such, there is no need to develop your own website either. Unless you can limit yourself to a business card website or a group on social networks, which the entrepreneur himself can run, adding information about ongoing promotions, discounts, offers, and prices.

An accountant is also not necessary for an entrepreneur. You can either use the services of specialized companies, or. Moreover, today there are many auxiliary services for working and submitting reports directly via the Internet.

Organizational and legal aspects

1. Registration of your own company. This could be an individual entrepreneur or an LLC. The cost of registration on your own will be 800 rubles (payment of state duty). The OKVED code will be 20.3 — Provision of other types of vehicle maintenance services. This code is also valid for 2016.
2. An entrepreneur can choose the simplified tax system or UTII. In the second case, two options are possible - simplified tax system “Income” 6% or simplified tax system “income minus expenses” 6-15% (the rate is determined depending on the region).
3. If you need to accept payment from a client using bank cards, then.
4. Order of Rospotrebnadzor No. 776 dated November 21, 2005 (clause 19) specifies the documents required to obtain a SEZ.
5. Car wash services do not have to be certified. This is a purely voluntary matter.
6. When purchasing the necessary equipment, you need to take care of the availability of documents that will greatly simplify opening the sink. This includes an environmental agreement “Environmental Protection”, a license, certificates, and a standard expert opinion.
7. It is important to comply with all sanitary and fire regulations. This will simplify the procedure for obtaining the appropriate permits.
8. When using a cash register, its registration is required before the organization’s work begins.
9. It is worth obtaining an agreement with the appropriate company for the removal of solid household waste. In this case, cleaning the surrounding area will not be necessary. The environment will not be polluted; all work will be carried out indoors (a large garage, fenced on all sides and preventing water and dirt from entering the external environment).
10. There must be an agreement for the provision of utilities (electricity, water).
11. The rental agreement must be official!

The success of a car wash is half (if not more) dependent on the right location. Most often, owners locate their car washes near city entrances, highways, near major city roads, and border posts.. Such places are very successful. After all, we must not forget that almost all clients will be “random”; in this type of business it is quite difficult to form your own client base. But we need to work on this.

It is also worth thinking about the size of the room. In our case, 2 cars can be serviced at the same time. Therefore, you will have to equip 2 workplaces. You can rent a slightly larger space, which will provide the possibility of future expansion.

Marketing plan

Price policy:

There is no point in lowering the cost during the “season”. People use car wash services here and now. Almost none of them compare prices, but stop at the one that is located along the route. But in the cold season, you can reduce the cost, but at the same time advertise throughout the city, offer promotions, discounts, and favorable conditions.

The high level of competition in this type of business necessitates the use of advertising, and a lot of money will have to be spent on this.

The main types of advertising that really “work” include ( don't forget about its quality!):

• Use of billboards. They should be as informative, vivid and memorable as possible.
• Posting information at nearby gas stations. The method is relatively cheap, but very effective.
• It is worth thinking about holding promotions. For example, “Only today you get interior cleaning with a 50 percent discount if you wash your car with us!”.
• Handing out business cards. You don’t need to dwell on this, but it’s better to give it to customers who have already arrived to you, so that they visit the car wash again.
• Placement of sign board. This is especially true when located near a highway or near a large supermarket. Such a shield should be colorful, catchy, and quite large.
• You might think about providing your clients with a corner for leisure, free tea, coffee (this will be especially important in winter, when any visitor will not mind warming up).

Calculation of projected income

We will make calculations for winter time and the rest of the period separately.

Production plan

We have already mentioned the location of the premises. It is worth choosing a garage in a suitable location. The ideal option would be if it has already been prepared for car wash operation.

It is very important to establish a system for water supply, its subsequent filtration, purification, and removal. All this costs a lot. We must not forget that filters can operate at temperatures not lower than +5 degrees. This means that you need to take care of heating the room. All this will be included in the refurbishment. But if you have a central water supply, then filters are not needed.

The necessary equipment includes tools such as vacuum cleaners, hand washers (usually from Karcher), compressor units, etc. Don't forget that we are equipping 2 workplaces.

The work of specialists was mentioned above. Their income will be formed as follows:

1. Foreman - 33% of shift revenue.
2. Assistant foreman - 27% of shift revenue.

Interest includes tax deductions and insurance premiums.

Organizational plan

Financial plan

Period	December January February	Other months
Monthly income	210,000 rubles	227,500 rubles
Expenses
Rent	15,000 rubles	15,000 rubles
Advertising	4,500 rubles	5,000 rubles
Wage	90,000 rubles	95,000 rubles
Purchasing detergents and necessary supplies	2,500 rubles	3,000 rubles
Communal payments	5,000 rubles	5,000 rubles
Taxes, insurance premiums (approximately)	45,000 rubles	48,000 rubles
Total:	162,000 rubles	171,000 rubles
Net profit	48,000 rubles	56,500 rubles
Profitability	17,2%	18,6%

Payback: 21 months, that is, 1 year and 9 months. We remind you that if you have your own premises, the payback will come faster.

Risks

The main risks will be:

• High SES requirements, fines. You can eliminate possible losses by following all the necessary standards.
• High level of competition. Offering quality services, pursuing a serious advertising policy. Developing a clientele (even though it’s difficult).
• Wrong location choice. Before starting work, it is necessary to conduct geomarketing research that will help you choose the most profitable location for a car wash.
• Unqualified personnel. It is important to carefully select candidates, conduct some kind of training, and hire them for a probationary period. You can motivate workers with piecework wages (in fact, as in our example).
• Force majeure. This may include equipment failure and possible natural disasters. In the first case, it is necessary to timely check the equipment, repair it and re-equip the car wash, which will reduce the risk of breakdowns to a minimum. The second factor is related to weather conditions; here it is important to strengthen your own car wash and isolate it from external influences. This can also include pipe breaks and temporary water outages. Here, unfortunately, it is almost impossible to protect yourself. It will not be possible to store water in such large quantities. Yes, and it will take up a huge amount of space.

Important: Remember that you can independently create a business plan specifically for your business. To do this, read the articles:

One last request: We are all human and can make mistakes, leave something out, etc. Do not judge strictly if this business plan or others in the section seem incomplete to you. If you have experience in this or that activity or you see a flaw and can add to the article, please let me know in the comments! This is the only way we can jointly make business plans more complete, detailed and up-to-date. Thank you for your attention!