Q: I am thinking of buying an existing Vending route (snacks and drinks). What are the things I need to check before buying the vending route? The machines are included in the price.

A:

Typically, the most important factor to verify is the relationship that the company has with its clients, and the relationship the business has with its vendor.

Are these well established and will they rollover to you without incident? Also, what is the condition of the equipment and are there any agreements in place with either the clients or the vendors that will require you to purchase and place new machines in the near term? Plus, you want to track the sales trends by month for at least the last two years to see if the business has been losing clients to any particular competitor. Of course, you certainly need to verify the financials which are notorious for being undocumented in these businesses. Finally, you should really determine whether you’re going to like this business. In my experience, very often people who buy vending routes tire of the business very quickly. You may want to spend a day or so with the seller and see what it is that they do precisely so that you’re certain you will enjoy it as well.