Guides
Starting a moving company: the real startup costs and how owners fund them
What a moving company costs to open, line by line, and which funding route, from loans to equipment financing, fits each cost without handing away control.
What to take away
- Startup costs split into three classes. One-time costs are a number, recurring costs are a rate, contingent costs are a risk with a trigger. Adding them into one figure hides the line that kills a new moving company: the recurring list in a slow month.
- Figures here are labelled illustrative, because truck prices, premiums and wages move by market, vehicle and claims history. Replace each one with a written quote from your dealer, insurer and payroll provider. Freightliner and Isuzu quote per chassis; Great West Casualty quotes movers per class code.
- The cash problem in this trade is timing, not size. Payroll runs weekly, the truck payment runs monthly, and the busy season runs for part of the year.
- Every funding route costs something that is not moneycontrol, collateral, speed or flexibility. Compare on that axis, because the cash all spends the same.
Class 1: one-time costs
Paid once to open. Each line can be cut by renting or buying used, and the shape you chose in the moving company startup and market guide decides which you need at all.
| One-time cost | Illustrative figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Used 26 ft box truck, 2016 to 2019, on a Ford F-650 or Isuzu NPR-HD chassis | $45,000 to $70,000 | The vehicle itself, before upfit. Morgan Truck Body and Wabash build most of the boxes. |
| New 26 ft box truck, same chassis class | $95,000 to $140,000 typical | New units lose the most value in year one, which is why used dominates this market. |
| Penske or Ryder full-service lease instead of purchase | $1,200 to $1,800 a month, plus $5,000 to $10,000 down | Same truck, someone else's asset, usually with maintenance included |
| Upfit: shelving, e-track, ramp or liftgate, markings | $3,000 to $8,000 | Makes the box usable and legal. Kinedyne and Ancra supply the e-track and straps. |
| Soft-goods kit | $2,500 to $5,000 | Pads, dollies, hand trucks, straps and runners. Door jamb protection and shrink wrap come from Uline or U-Haul. |
| Specialty gear | $800 to $2,500 | Piano board, appliance dolly, crating stock |
| Entity registration, permits, bond or filing | $500 to $3,000 | Texas charges $300 to form an LLC, Florida $125, California $70 plus an $800 minimum annual franchise tax. State moving permits and surety bonds sit on top. |
| Initial materials stock | $1,500 to $4,000 | Cartons, paper, tape, mattress bags, wardrobe cartons. Uline sells medium cartons for roughly $1.50 to $2.50 each in bundles of 25. |
| Software, phone, website | $500 to $1,500 | SmartMoving or Vonigo for booking, dispatch and invoicing, Grasshopper for the phone line, and a free Google Business Profile for the service area |
A single-truck local start lands near $55,000 to $95,000 before reserve. Interstate authority, a warehouse or a second truck each move that number by tens of thousands.
FMCSA charges $300 for new for-hire operating authority, and a USDOT number is free. Unified Carrier Registration fees usually run under $100 a year for a one-truck fleet. Get quotes in writing and substitute them for every figure above.
Class 2: recurring costs
Paid every month whether the phone rings or not. This list decides how long you survive a slow quarter.
- Payroll and payroll burden, including workers' compensation. Two helpers and one driver, illustrative, $6,000 to $9,000 a month. Workers' comp for movers typically runs $5 to $15 per $100 of payroll, quoted by class code. Gusto runs payroll at about $49 a month plus $6 per employee on its entry plan; ADP and Paychex quote per company.
- Vehicle payment or lease, registration, scheduled maintenance. Illustrative, $1,500 to $2,500 a month.
- Insurance across auto liability, cargo, general liability and property. Illustrative, $1,200 to $3,500 a month, and it moves with claims history. Movers buy it from carriers that write the class, among them Great West Casualty, Sentry and Northland. FMCSA sets minimum liability for household-goods carriers, commonly $750,000 for vehicles over 10,001 pounds, and the cargo minimum sits far below the value of a loaded truck.
- Yard or warehouse rent. Illustrative, $1,000 to $4,000 a month.
- Fuel and tires. Varies with work, never reaches zero. Diesel has lately run in the mid-$3 to low-$4 a gallon range on the EIA weekly on-highway index. WEX and Fuelman fleet cards add a per-gallon discount and track driver spend.
- Software, phone and advertising. Illustrative, $600 to $1,500 a month.
- Authority renewal, amortized across the year.
Total the column. That figure, not the startup number, is what you must cover in February.
Class 3: contingent costs
Not on most opening budgets, and the reason new movers run out of cash in month five.
| Contingent cost | Its trigger | How to reduce the exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Claims and deductibles | Damage on a job | Photograph pre-existing damage at the walkthrough; inspect cartons the customer packed. Interstate moves must be offered Full Value Protection or released value at 60 cents per pound per article. |
| Overtime and second crews | A stacked week you accepted | Book stacked days first and hold the buffer mid-month |
| Shuttle costs | A truck too large for the street | Record street access at the survey, not on the morning |
| Vehicle downtime | A breakdown in peak season | A maintenance schedule and a rental account opened in advance with Penske or Enterprise Truck Rental |
| Payroll before payment | Customers paying after the move | Deposit terms and payment at delivery, stated in the contract |
The first-quarter cash timeline
Costs and revenue do not arrive together. Lay the first quarter out in weeks.
- Before the first job.All one-time costs, plus month one of every recurring line. No revenue.
- Weeks one to four.The opening sequence in how to start a moving company ends here, with the first paid job. Payroll runs from the first crew hour. Materials are consumed ahead of invoicing. Deposits decide how much cash arrives before the crew is paid.
- Weeks five to eight.The first insurance adjustment, the first maintenance event, and the first claim, if there is one.
- Weeks nine to twelve.Seasonality asserts itself. Open outside peak and this quarter tests the recurring list. Open into peak and the test is deferred to the first quiet month, which is worse, because busy-quarter habits are wrong for a slow one.
The reserve you need is not a percentage of the startup total. It is the recurring list multiplied by the slow months you can foresee.
The seasonality section of the moving company plan should already have named them.
Funding options, compared by what they cost besides money
Figures below are typical as of 2026. The SBA caps the spread a lender may charge on a 7(a) loan. Private lenders set their own.
Funding options, compared
What it costs besides money
- Own savings
- All of the risk, and the option value of that money
- Equipment finance or lease, through Crest Capital, Stearns Bank, or a full-service lease from Penske or Ryder
- Collateral, and a fixed payment that ignores the season. Terms typically run 36 to 60 months.
- Term loan from a bank or credit union
- Collateral, a personal guarantee, and time to arrange
- SBA 7(a) loan through a lender such as Live Oak Bank
- Collateral, a personal guarantee from every owner of 20% or more, and weeks of paperwork. Up to $5 million, with the SBA guaranteeing 85% of loans of $150,000 or less.
- SBA Microloan through a CDFI such as Accion Opportunity Fund or DreamSpring
- The intermediary's own underwriting, and a ceiling of $50,000
- SBA 504 loan through a certified development company
- A second lender, a longer process, and equity in the deal. The usual split is 50% bank, 40% CDC and 10% from you.
- Kiva US crowdfunding
- Time, and a public listing
- Line of credit, from a bank or from online lenders such as Bluevine and OnDeck
- An ongoing relationship and covenants, plus the temptation to fund losses. Online pricing runs higher.
- Invoice factoring on commercial work, through RTS Financial or TriumphPay
- A fee per invoice, typically 1% to 5%, and your customer pays the factor
- Business credit card, such as Chase Ink Business Cash or Amex Blue Business Plus
- A personal guarantee, and a rate that jumps when the 0% intro period ends after 12 months
- Investment from a partner
- Control, and a permanent share of the business
- Customer deposits
- Nothing financial, but an obligation you must honor
Best suited to
- Own savings
- A labor-only or single-truck start
- Equipment finance or lease, through Crest Capital, Stearns Bank, or a full-service lease from Penske or Ryder
- A truck, where the asset secures the debt
- Term loan from a bank or credit union
- A planned opening with a written plan
- SBA 7(a) loan through a lender such as Live Oak Bank
- A planned opening with a written plan
- SBA Microloan through a CDFI such as Accion Opportunity Fund or DreamSpring
- Gear, materials and the first marketing spend, rather than a truck
- SBA 504 loan through a certified development company
- Real estate, such as a warehouse or a yard
- Kiva US crowdfunding
- Up to $15,000 at 0% interest, to bridge the gap before the first peak
- Line of credit, from a bank or from online lenders such as Bluevine and OnDeck
- Seasonal working capital, the mover's real need
- Invoice factoring on commercial work, through RTS Financial or TriumphPay
- Office and corporate moves billed on 30 to 60 day terms
- Business credit card, such as Chase Ink Business Cash or Amex Blue Business Plus
- Cartons, software and small gear, never payroll
- Investment from a partner
- A larger opening or a second market
- Customer deposits
- Smoothing the gap between crew payroll and payment
Match the term of the money to the life of the thing it buys. A truck is financed over years, a slow February is bridged with working capital. Treat the seasonal gap as the thing to fund, because the recurring line, not the truck, runs a new mover out of cash.
The Small Business Administration's business guide covers the general funding routes and what lenders ask for. Most 7(a) lenders want a FICO score in the mid-600s or better, and every owner of 20% or more signs a personal guarantee.
The Internal Revenue Service's guidance on starting a business covers the entity and tax setup a lender expects to see settled. Neither site can tell you what a truck costs in your market. Dealers and lessors can, in writing.
Costs that arrive with the shape you chose
Interstate work adds documents, filings and often insurance that local work does not. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Protect Your Move materials describe the framework a household-goods carrier operates inside. State licenses stack on top, and California movers answer to the Bureau of Household Goods and Services.
Storage adds a facility and a different insurance form.
A second market duplicates the whole recurring list. The expansion and market guide treats it as a funding decision as much as an operating one.
Crew growth adds recruiting and training time before capacity, as the hiring and training guide sets out. That lag is a cash cost that never appears as a line item. Compress year one ambition and the recurring list stays short.
Common questions
What is the single largest startup cost for a mover?
Usually the vehicle. A used 26 ft truck from 2016 to 2019 runs $45,000 to $70,000 before upfit, and a new one typically lists from $95,000 to $140,000. Over the first year the largest cost is payroll, and it recurs monthly. The truck is a decision; the crew is a rate.
Can I open with a rented truck to cut the one-time cost?
Many do, at roughly $1,200 to $1,800 a month. Penske and Enterprise Truck Rental quote 26 ft units by the month. U-Haul rents its 26 ft truck by the day plus mileage, which suits peak weekends but not a standing schedule.
Confirm with your insurer what coverage applies to a rented vehicle and to goods inside it. Treat the rental as a recurring line rather than a saving.
Should I take deposits?
Where your contract and your state authority allow it, deposits are the cheapest working capital available. Say in writing what the deposit covers and when it is returned. Some states cap what you may collect up front. Confirm the terms with a licensed transportation attorney before you print them.
How much reserve is enough?
Enough recurring months to reach your next peak with the crew you want to keep. Work it from your own recurring list. A rule of thumb ignores your seasonality, which is the whole problem.
