Party Rental Business Plan Template

[BUSINESS NAME] is an inflatable and bounce house rental company based in [CITY], owned and run by [OWNER NAME]. It starts with 1 inflatable and 1 delivery vehicle, delivering to [TOWNS YOU DELIVER TO].

Starting the business takes $12,000. At 45 rentals in year 1 and an average of $225 a rental, revenue is $10,125. After direct costs, running costs and the startup spending, year 1 ends at -$3,675. Year 2, with nothing left to buy, has an operating result of $8,325.

Each rental leaves $225 after its direct costs, so 8 rentals a year cover the running costs, and 62 rentals in year 1 cover the startup spending as well.

This draft has no figure yet for cost per rental. Each counts as zero, so the results above are better than they will be.

[BUSINESS NAME] rents bounce houses, combo units and water slides for backyard birthdays, school fun days, church picnics and community events in [CITY] and the towns around it. Every rental is delivered, set up, checked and collected by our own crew.

Owner: [OWNER NAME]. Legal structure: [SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP, PARTNERSHIP OR CORPORATION]. Registration ([STATE OR PROVINCE]): [REGISTRATION NUMBER].

What we do better: [ONE OR TWO REAL REASONS A CUSTOMER WOULD CHOOSE US OVER THE COMPANIES ALREADY SERVING THE AREA, SUCH AS ON TIME DELIVERY, CLEAN EQUIPMENT OR BOOKING ONLINE IN A MINUTE].

We start with 1 inflatable. The average rental is planned at $225. [CHECK IT AGAINST THE PRICES OF THREE LOCAL COMPETITORS.]

• Delivery: [INCLUDED UP TO A DISTANCE, OR CHARGED BY ZONE. WRITE YOUR FEES.]
• Deposit: [AMOUNT OR PERCENT] holds the date, with the balance due [WHEN].
• Packages: [TWO OR THREE BUNDLES OF YOUR MOST BOOKED ITEMS, WITH THEIR PRICES].
• Weather: inflatables are not set up in high wind or rain. Above [WIND LIMIT], we [RESCHEDULE OR REFUND].

Service area: [CITY], and [TOWNS YOU DELIVER TO].

Customers: parents planning backyard birthdays, schools and daycares, churches, sports leagues and neighborhood events.

Competitors: [THREE TO FIVE COMPANIES THAT DELIVER IN THE AREA, WITH THEIR PRICE FOR YOUR MOST BOOKED ITEM AND HOW THEY TAKE BOOKINGS].

Season: [FIRST AND LAST MONTH YOU RENT, AND HOW MANY WEEKENDS THAT IS].

Customers find a rental company on a phone map, a few days before the event, so the first effort goes where they look.

• A Google Business Profile with photos of our own setups and every town we serve.
• A website with a page for each town we deliver to and online booking that shows real availability.
• In person visits to [FIVE VENUES, PLANNERS, SCHOOLS OR CHURCHES] in the first 90 days.
• A review asked for after every rental, and an offer for repeat customers: [YOUR OFFER].

Budget: [AMOUNT BEFORE LAUNCH] before launch, then [AMOUNT] a month.

• Delivery: 1 delivery vehicle, out to [DELIVERY RADIUS] from [CITY]. Each order is loaded from a pull list and delivered in a window agreed with the customer.
• Setup: each inflatable is staked on grass or weighted with sandbags on hard ground, checked before use, and the customer is walked through the safety rules.
• Cleaning: every unit is cleaned and dried after each rental and before storage, so it never goes out wet or dirty.
• Storage: [WHERE, AND WHAT IT COSTS]. Many first year operators start in a garage and lease space only when the calendar needs it.
• Insurance: general liability at $1,800 a year with [CARRIER AND LIMITS], and commercial auto for the delivery vehicles.
• Permits and registration: the business registered in [STATE OR PROVINCE], sales tax registration where it applies [YOUR RULE], and a local business license if [CITY] requires one.
• Inflatables: some states and provinces register or inspect them as amusement devices. [CHECK YOURS.]

Spent once, before the first rental. A sourced default stands in for a line left empty, until you enter a real quote.

Rentals = 1 × 45 rentals a season = 45, the published figure for an inflatable, used until you enter your own weekends.

Revenue = rentals × average price of $225 = $10,125.

Direct costs = rentals × cost per rental of $0 = $0: fuel, a helper, cleaning and card fees.

Running costs = insurance $1,800 + 12 × storage $0 + 12 × marketing $0 + other $0 = $1,800 a year.

Year 2 = year 1 rentals unchanged, so 45 rentals, at the same price and costs, with no startup spending.

Every figure is before income tax and before the owner's pay.

Each rental leaves $225: the average price of $225 less $0 of direct costs.

Running costs of $1,800 ÷ $225 = 8 rentals a year to cover them.

Add the startup spending of $12,000 and year 1 needs 62 rentals to pay everything back.

At the year 1 operating result of $8,325, the startup spending pays back in about 1.4 years.

• Before launch: register and insure the business, buy 1 inflatable, and set up online booking and a Google Business Profile.
• First month: [NUMBER] bookings, and a review asked for after every one.
• Middle of season 1: on pace for 62 rentals, the year 1 break even.
• End of year 1: 45 rentals and $10,125 in revenue.
• Year 2: 45 rentals and $10,125 in revenue. Add inventory for the dates turned away, not before.

Where a line was left empty, the plan uses the figure the startup cost calculator is built on, at the top of its published range so it errs on the cautious side. Replace each one with a real quote:

• Inflatables at $3,000 each, the top of the $1,500 to $3,000 range for a standard commercial bounce house in the startup cost guide (Ginflatables, Hero Kiddo, Tent and Table).
• Blower, anchoring and cleaning supplies at $1,100 a unit, plus $900 of cords, the top of each range in the startup cost guide.
• A trailer or van at $5,000 each, the top of the $1,500 to $5,000 range in the startup cost guide.
• Registration at $500, the top of the $50 to $500 range in the startup cost guide.
• Software and website at $1,500, the top of the $0 to $1,500 range in the startup cost guide.
• General liability at $1,800 a year, the top of the $904 to $1,800 range in the insurance guide.
• An average rental of $225: a standard bounce house's $10,125 a season over 45 rentals, from the revenue guide (JumpOrange).
• 45 rentals per inflatable per season, from the revenue guide (JumpOrange).

No figure yet for cost per rental. Each counts as zero, so the results are better than they will be.

No industry profit margin is assumed anywhere: the margins quoted in this industry have no survey behind them. The result is your figures, added up.