FranchiseVerdict
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FV-00064·STRONGExcellent86

Ace Handyman Services

Home Services - OtherFranchising since 2001Website
Investment
$132K – $226K
62nd pct Other
Avg revenue
64th pct Other
Royalty
6.0%
19th pct Other
Units
401
96th pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $132K – $226K including a $70K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 53/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 198 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Ace Handyman Franchising, Inc.
Parent company
Ace Hardware Corporation
Incorporated in
Colorado
HQ
390 Union Boulevard, Suite 520, Lakewood, Colorado 80228
Auditor
Ernst & Young LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$9.1B
vs $9.5B prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one Ace Handyman Services unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restoration
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $132K–$226K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$45K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

38%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$83K
EBITDA margin
11.0%
Total invested
$217K
Payback
32 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate as independent handyman service providers, managing residential repair and maintenance calls (plumbing, electrical, carpentry, drywall, etc.) under the Ace brand. Day-to-day operations include scheduling jobs, dispatching technicians, managing customer relationships, and performing or overseeing handyman work. Revenue depends on service call volume, labor margins, and customer retention in a protected territory.

CEO
Andy Bell
Founded
2000
FDD year
2026
States available
48

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$132K – $226K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $45K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$70K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
401
Opened
40
Last reporting year
Closed
26
Turnover rate
6.5%
Company-owned
18
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
96%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+3.8%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+4.4%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
383+14
Franchised units
2025
369
Franchised units
2026
367
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 6 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 6 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
198
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

53
Risk · 0-100
STRONG53 / 100

Ace Handyman Services presents elevated risk due to undisclosed unit economics, active quality litigation, anemic growth, and historical fraud allegations within the franchise system.

Score breakdown · what drove the 53 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (average unit revenue and net income) prevents ROI validation
  2. 02HIGHActive consumer litigation for defective work quality—core business risk exposure
  3. 03MINORSlow unit growth (3.8% YoY) suggests market saturation or franchisee underperformance
  4. 04MINORTrademark infringement settlement in Texas indicates brand/operational vulnerabilities
  5. 05HIGHParent company fraud allegations involving franchisees raise system integrity concerns
  6. 06MINORHigh franchise fee ($70,000) combined with unknown profitability creates breakeven uncertainty

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Zip Codes
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
4
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Colorado

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
33 hrs
On-the-job training
24 hrs
POS system
Ace Handyman Services scheduling software
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

99 numbers

Locked
(630) 765-••••
CO
(515) 325-••••
CO
(925) 684-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Ace Handyman Services · FDD (2026) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above