Looking for a Gas Station for Sale in the USA? Here’s Some Tips You Should Know

Currently there are more than 145,000 gas stations in the United States with about 127,000 of them are also convenience stores. Looking at the car culture in America and how the demand for gas is increasing, a gas station is considered to be a business that always has a good prospect especially for small business.

While gas stations and convenience stores could be lucrative investments since the United States is relying so much on gasoline for either transporting goods or personal use like going to work, there are also some risks you should consider before finally committing to this investment. Here’s some tips you should know before you’re looking for gas station for sale in USA to buy.
 

Purchase Criteria

You should thoroughly consider your priorities, objectives, and goals before deciding to look for a gas station to buy. When it comes to risks and rewards, buying a gas station is basically similar to other investments. You will also need accounting software to help you run your small business, and there’s some good free accounting software out there you can download.

During this process, you should write some specific questions and ask yourself like: do you want active or passive investment, how much money you want to make annually with this investment, how long do you want to be a gas station owner, do you want your gas station to be in your state of residence or out of state, how much do you need to buy and run a gas station and the most important one, do you have the budget for it.

Location is also very important to be considered when you want to buy a gas station. To make sure you can manage it effectively, it is highly recommended to buy one near your residence. But, if you want to buy a gas station outside of your state, you should consider the amount of costs and time every time you travel there and back. You will also need the best accounting software to help you manage your gas station.
 

Research Current or Future Road Construction

The success rate of a gas station is dependent on the traffic patterns on the road around it. So while you are looking for a gas station to buy, make sure to check whether there’s any future road construction project. If needed, you can also check the city or county records.

If there is a project of road will be done near the location you’re about to choose, find out how long will the project be going on. If it’s going to take several months or even years, it’s better to look for other options of gas station business for sale USA.
 

Analyze the Financial Records

Make sure to get the financial records provided by the previous owner and verify it. You should for specific documents like tax returns, profit and loss statements, and the station’s balance sheet. Gas stations for sale in USA have a lot of cash transactions so the income reported on the document might not be accurate, so try to obtain the receipts of at least the previous 2 years.

Also make sure to check how much cash and credit transactions are going in on a daily basis. The sales breakdown should also include the inventory sales, lottery ticket sales, and car wash sales. To run a gas station business, you need to set up a separate entity for it so you will also be dealing with incorporation of company.
 

Environmental Reports

In order to register a business, you will need the complete report, and one of them is the environmental report, so make sure you check the environmental report of the gas station you’re about to buy. You should hire the experts on this that have the knowledge about the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

Ask the consultant you hire to complete the ESA or Environmental Site Assessment to assess the possible environmental risks and then provide the necessary protections. You also need to find out if there was any issue on this from the previous owner.
 

Inventory List

To register a company, you need to have your inventory list especially if you’re buying a gas station that comes with a convenience store. You have to make sure all the items on the inventory list are really in the store. It’s also important to know who the suppliers are, timeline for the delivery, how they fulfill the orders, and the delivery process.
 

Use an Accounting Software

Running a small business could be a hassle, so you need accounting software to help you manage your accounting needs. You need a small business software for accounting and Quickbooks is one of the best available out there.

Quickbooks is small business accounting software specifically designed for small business and is really great to help you manage it. You can use it for free from the start, and when you need more sophisticated features while your business is growing, you can subscribe to paying plans to have access to those features.

Quickbooks self-employed accounting software is really great to use when you only have none or just a couple of employees, which is perfect to help you run a gas station where you usually only need a couple of employees to run it and the convenience store.
 

Crime Reports

You will need small business funding plus the money you already have when you want to start a gas station business. Because you have to give a high stake upfront, you obviously don’t want all of that money to go to waste when an act of crime happens.

So, while you are looking for gas stations for sale in USA, make sure you also check the crime reports around the location, to make sure it’s safe to run a business there. You can do this online or by going to the police station.
 

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