Startup cost calculator
Uncheck what you already own. Type over every amount as you get real quotes. The subtotal under each group updates as you go, and the full method sits under the tool.
Every number below is a placeholder, not a price. They are round figures we picked so the calculator runs out of the box. They are not quotes. Not survey data. Not a benchmark. Equipment, insurance and licensing costs swing hard by brand, by condition, by state and by the week you buy.
The build level dropdown swaps the placeholders to match renting or buying used instead of buying new. Then put in real quotes you have actually been given. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
What it costs you to start
Only the lines you left checked, at the amounts you typed.
| Category | Amount |
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The math, in full
- The total adds up every checked line at the amount in its box. Unchecking a line drops it completely. It is not hidden or discounted.
equipment and vehiclecovers grinding, application and the truck. The things you still own on day 400.everything elsecovers safety, opening materials, business setup and marketing.floors to pay it back = total / net profit per job, rounded up.months = floors / jobs per month, rounded up. Both ignore your ongoing spending while you earn it back, so treat them as a floor and not a forecast.- Nothing here is financed. If you are borrowing, put the down payment in the box and carry the monthly payment in your operating reserve.
- No taxes. No owner draw. No interest. This is cash out the door to open.
Why nobody can honestly give you one number
Three decisions move the total more than everything else on the list put together. All three are yours.
- Rent, used, or new grinding equipment. This is the widest swing on the page. Renting turns a big cash purchase into a per job cost. New equipment is the largest thing you will buy.
- Whether you already own a truck. If a good vehicle is already sitting in your driveway, you just removed one of the two biggest lines.
- How much cash you hold back. Most lists leave this off, which is exactly why it kills new shops.
Anyone quoting you a tidy startup figure has quietly picked all three for you. They almost certainly did not pick what you would. Make the choices yourself and the number starts describing your business.
The line almost every startup list leaves out
Operating cash. Not the grinder. Not the trailer. Not the insurance. Cash.
Here is the shape of it. You coat a floor on the 3rd. You invoice it. The customer pays on the 24th, or on day 45 if it is a builder. Meanwhile your helper gets paid on the 15th. The insurance drafts on the 1st. The truck payment does not care. And you have to buy material for the next job before you have been paid for the last one.
That gap is normal and survivable, as long as you funded it. Unfunded, it is the most common way a new coating business with plenty of work on the board goes under. Busy and broke is a real thing. It has nothing to do with whether your prices are right.
A quick test. Add up everything that leaves your account in a month whether or not you coat a floor. Payments, insurance, phone, software, fuel, and what you live on. Multiply by three.
If that number is not in your startup budget, you have not budgeted to start a business. You have budgeted to buy equipment.
What to buy first, and what can wait
Cash is the constraint in year one. So the order matters more than the shopping list.
Buy first, no argument
Grinder and dust extraction. Respirators and the written silica program. General liability insurance. Enough material to finish the jobs you already sold. These are what let you legally and competently do the work.
Buy early, used is fine
Trailer, racking, hand tools, mixing gear. Buying these used is not cutting corners. It is how most shops in this trade started, and a dented trailer coats exactly as well as a shiny one.
Wait on purpose
Shot blaster. Sprayer rig. Second grinder. Second truck. Every one of these is justified by a schedule you do not have yet. Buy capacity when the calendar proves you need it, not when the brochure is persuasive.
Do not wait on this one
Marketing. It is the first line people cut and the one that decides whether any of the rest earns anything. A fully loaded trailer with nothing on the calendar is the most expensive mistake on this list. It is also a quiet one. You do not notice it going wrong. You just have an empty week, then two. Getting the phone to ring is its own job, and it starts before the equipment arrives.
The costs that start after you open
This calculator covers getting on the road. It does not cover running. Those are different budgets. Once you are going, the money moves to:
- Material per job. Your biggest cost after labor, and the one that walks off job sites quietly if nobody counts it.
- Labor and payroll burden. Wages are not the whole number. Taxes, comp and the truck are part of what an installer costs you per day.
- Tooling wear. Diamonds are a consumable. Budget them per square foot, not per year.
- Overhead. Insurance, phones, software, ads, office time. As a share of revenue, this is what sets your pricing floor.
That last one is the bridge to the page you will need next. Once you know your overhead as a percentage of revenue, you can price a floor properly instead of guessing. That is what the epoxy flooring price calculator does, and the guide on how much to charge for epoxy flooring walks the whole thing through.
One line on the list costs you nothing
CoatHQ handles estimating, scheduling, materials and job costing in one place. It is free to active Resinwerks partners. You buy the resin, the software comes with it. See what it actually does before you budget for anything else.
Get the software free with ResinwerksCoatHQ is free to active Resinwerks partners. You buy the resin. No subscription and no platform fee. Resinwerks makes its money on resin, not on software.
Common questions
How much does it cost to start an epoxy flooring business?
Three choices decide most of it. Do you rent, buy used or buy new grinding equipment. Do you already own a truck. How much cash do you hold back. Those three move the total more than everything else put together. That is why a national number is useless. Make each choice yourself in the calculator above.
What is the biggest startup expense?
Usually the grinder and dust extraction, or the vehicle if you do not already have one. Those two lines eat most of the equipment budget. But the biggest expense people forget is operating cash, which covers payroll, insurance and material between finishing a floor and getting paid for it.
Can I start an epoxy business with no money?
Not with none, but with a lot less than most lists suggest. Rent the grinding equipment. Sub for an established shop while you build a customer base. Buy material job by job on deposits. Use a truck you already own. What you cannot skip is insurance and enough cash to cover the gap between doing the work and getting paid.
Should I buy or rent a concrete grinder?
Rent until the machine would have paid for itself, then buy. Renting turns a big cash purchase into a per job cost while your close rate is still unknown. That is the right trade in year one. The downside is real though. It eats margin on every floor, your schedule depends on what is available, and you cannot match tooling to the slabs in your market.
How long before a coating business pays back what it cost to start?
Divide your startup total by your net profit per job. Net profit means what is left after material, crew and overhead, not the invoice total. That gives you a number of floors. Divide by jobs per month for a rough timeline. Treat it as a floor, not a forecast, because you keep spending while you earn it back.
One thing to check yourself before you spend anything. Licensing, registration, bonding and insurance rules for coating work are set by your state and often your city. They change. Nothing on this page is legal or tax advice, and the amounts in those boxes are placeholders like all the others.
Call your state licensing board and get your own numbers. It takes an hour. It is also the one item on this list where being wrong can cost you the right to collect on a floor you already finished. More on what to ask in the guide to epoxy flooring license requirements.