Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Business Plan Writer & Financial Projections
How to Write a Moving Company Business Plan
Every Move Is a Quote. Price It Like One.
Moving companies live on estimates, crews, and trucks that sit idle midweek. Business plan writer Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA, shows you how to plan move volume, crew hours, pricing, and claims so a lender trusts the numbers.
Last Updated: 11/09/2026 · Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
The Short Version
What Does a Moving Company Business Plan Need to Show?
Short Answer
A moving company plan needs to show how many moves you book each month, the average ticket, crew hours per move, and what your trucks cost whether they roll or not. Lenders also want your authority and insurance in order, because one damaged piano can erase a month of profit.
Profit per move = ticket − crew labor − truck cost − fuel and supplies
Doctor Owl, in Plain English
“A truck that is always busy is not the same as a truck that is always paid.”
How This Guide Works
Each question covers one part of a moving company plan and what a lender looks for in it. Dumpster Dani, a hauler from the world of Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest Business School Series, appears in short gold notes. The move math sits in one marked section.
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Business Plan Writing
FeaturedA lender-ready moving plan with move volume, crew hours, truck costs, and projections, written by Dr. Paul.
Start your plan →Business Plan Templates
Industry Word plans and Excel models you can adapt to a moving company.
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See consulting options →Small Business Education
Free guides, videos, and the Fabled Forest books on growth.
Start learning →From Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest
Meet Dani: She Will Move Anything
Dumpster Dani the Raccoon runs Dani on the Run out of a box truck piled impossibly high. Packages, couches, a whole burrow. Her line: “If it fits, I’ll haul it!”
This season Dani picked one lane: household moves. Good call. Now she needs to know what one move actually earns. Doctor Owl climbs into the cab with a clipboard.
Section 1
What Kind of Moves Will You Do?
Pick a lane. Local residential moves, long distance, office moves, labor only, or junk removal on the side. Each one prices differently and needs different trucks. State your service area, truck count and sizes, and whether you pack, store, or only haul. Name your authority. Interstate household movers need a USDOT number and MC operating authority, and many states license local movers too.
In the Fabled Forest
Dani’s flyer lists fourteen services, from piano moves to pond cleaning. Doctor Owl circles two and crosses out the rest.
Section 2
Who Hires You, and When?
Describe your customers: renters, homeowners, seniors downsizing, military families, students, and small offices. Then show the calendar. Summer is peak. Month end and weekends book first. Winter weekdays are slow. Map the competition: national van lines, local movers, and rental trucks. Explain why customers pick you: price, speed, reviews, or care with fragile items. The market analysis guide shows how to size your area.
In the Fabled Forest
Every Saturday is booked. Every Tuesday the truck sits by the stump. Doctor Owl asks who moves on a Tuesday. Dani says offices.
Section 3
How Do You Price a Move?
Most local moves are priced by the hour for a crew and truck, with a minimum. Long moves are priced by weight or volume and distance. Show your rates, minimums, and extras: stairs, long carries, packing, materials, and storage. Explain how you estimate, in person, by video, or by inventory. A bad estimate costs more than a slow week.
In the Fabled Forest
Dani quotes every job in her head over the phone. Half her moves run long and she eats the difference. Doctor Owl hands her a room by room inventory sheet.
Section 4
How Do You Handle Crews, Trucks, and Claims?
Crews are your biggest cost and your biggest risk. Show crew size per move, hourly pay, training, and how you staff peak season. List trucks owned or leased, payments, and maintenance. Explain your valuation coverage and how you settle damage claims. Lenders want cargo, liability, commercial auto, and workers’ comp in the budget.
In the Fabled Forest
Rufus and Roy, the possum brothers, drive for Dani when they feel like it. Doctor Owl asks who shows up on the busiest Saturday in June. Dani goes quiet.
Section 5
How Do You Turn the Plan Into a Funding Request?
Build monthly revenue from moves booked, average hours, and your rate. Show it rising in summer and falling in winter. Add crew pay, truck payments, fuel, insurance, marketing, and storage. List what you need: trucks, dollies, pads, a lift gate, a warehouse deposit, and working capital for slow months. The funding request guide shows how to frame the ask. For a real example, see how Dr. Paul planned a moving company expanding across Ohio on the Columbus business plan writer page.
In the Fabled Forest
Doctor Owl shows Dani that a second truck pays for itself only with a steady midweek schedule. She starts calling offices.
The Numbers
How Much Does a Moving Company Make per Month?
Example numbers only. Assumptions: two trucks, 70 local moves a month, 5 crew hours per move at $150 an hour for a three person crew, and the costs shown below.
| Line | How it is figured | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Moving labor | 70 moves × 5 hours × $150 | $52,500 |
| Packing and materials | Add-ons | $4,500 |
| Total revenue | Both lines | $57,000 |
| Crew pay | 1,050 mover hours × $22 | $23,100 |
| Truck payments | Two trucks | $3,200 |
| Fuel | Local routes | $2,800 |
| Insurance | Cargo, liability, auto, workers’ comp | $3,000 |
| Marketing | Leads, ads, reviews | $3,500 |
| Other | Yard rent, phones, software, supplies | $3,000 |
| Profit before owner pay and taxes | Revenue minus costs | $18,400 |
Step 1: Total costs. $38,600 a month
Step 2: Crew pay. about 41% of revenue
Step 3: Break even. about 29 moves a month covers trucks, insurance, marketing, and rent
Step 4: Your version. Run a February with half the moves. Make sure truck payments and insurance are still covered
Illustrative numbers. Rates, wages, and insurance vary by city and state.
In the Fabled Forest
Dani tapes the break even number to her dashboard. Twenty nine moves. Everything after that is hers.
Step by Step
How Do You Write a Moving Company Plan, Step by Step?
Six steps, pricing first.
Pick your lane.
Local, long distance, office, or labor only.
Get your authority and insurance.
USDOT, state license, cargo, liability, workers’ comp.
Set your rates.
Hourly, minimums, and extras.
Plan crews and trucks.
Crew size, pay, peak staffing, and payments.
Build seasonal numbers.
Moves by month, costs, and slow weeks.
Write the request and summary.
Trucks, equipment, and working capital.
In the Fabled Forest
Doctor Owl leaves Dani a calendar with every Tuesday circled in red.
Go Deeper
Where Can You Learn to Grow Without Losing Control?
Adding trucks, crews, and cities is growth, and growth has rules. Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest Business School teaches growth through Doctor Owl and owners like Dani who say yes to every load.
Every chapter ends with a one page worksheet.
A Business Consultant’s View
Where Do Moving Company Plans Go Wrong?
Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA · Business Plan Writer
Moving plans Dr. Paul reviews often count trucks and skip the calendar. Summer carries the year, and the plan has to survive January. He works through Organize-Plan-Grow™: organize your rates, crews, and claims, plan the busy and slow seasons, then grow with a second truck only after the first one books full.
FAQ
What Do Moving Company Owners Ask About Their Plan?
Do I need a license to start a moving company?
How do moving companies price local moves?
What insurance does a moving company need?
Should I buy or lease my first truck?
Keep Going
What Other Hauling and Service Plans Work the Same Way?
Want Dr. Paul to Write Your Moving Company Business Plan?
Dr. Paul writes moving company plans with move volume, crew costs, truck payments, and full projections for lenders and investors.
Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA, business plan writer.
Education only. Not legal, tax, or financial advice. Figures are examples. Fabled Forest characters are fictional. Confirm licensing and insurance rules with your state and the FMCSA.