Ace Handyman Services Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Ace Handyman Services is a home-services franchise providing residential repair, maintenance, and small-project work, carpentry, drywall, plumbing, and electrical. Franchisees run an operation dispatching skilled craftsmen and managing customers in a protected territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Ace Handyman Services franchise requires a total initial investment of $132K – $226K, including a $70K – $100K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 3.2% charge-off rate across 94 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $132K – $226K
- 51st pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 15th pct Home Services
- Units
- 401
- 85th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- 3.2%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $132K – $226K including a $70K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 21 financials are the audited consolidated statements of Ace Hardware Corporation (ultimate parent), not the franchisor standalone. FY ending January 3, 2026 (53 weeks). Ace Hardware guarantees franchisor's obligations.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 79/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 3.2% across 94 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- DATAItem 19 reports gross and expenses rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Ace Handyman Franchising, Inc.
- Parent company
- Ace Services Holdings LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Ace Hardware Corporation
- Predecessor
- Handyman Matters Franchise Corporation
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- Chris Bue
- Incorporated in
- Colorado
- HQ
- 390 Union Boulevard, Suite 520, Lakewood, Colorado 80228
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $10.0B
- vs $9.5B prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Chris Bue
- Headquarters
- Colorado
- Founded
- 2000
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 48
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 20% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $70K | $100K | |
| Travel and living expense while trainingnot refundable | $4K | $5K | |
| Lease Deposit | $1K | $3K | |
| Rent for first 3 monthsnot refundable | $4K | $5K | |
| Leasehold Improvements and Signagenot refundable | $600 | $4K | |
| Furnishingsnot refundable | $600 | $4K | |
| Tools and equipmentnot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Truck or Vannot refundable | $0 | $9K | |
| Computer Hardware and Office Equipmentnot refundable | $3K | $6K | |
| Initial Marketing Spendnot refundable | $11K | $20K | |
| Utility deposits and feesnot refundable | $500 | $1K | |
| Licenses and permitsnot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $6K | $7K | |
| Professional feesnot refundable | $500 | $6K | |
| Miscellaneous opening costsnot refundable | $2K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months)not refundable | $30K | $45K | |
| Total initial investment | $132K | $226K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $132K – $226K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $45K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $70K – $100K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $599 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Ace Handyman Services did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Ace Handyman Services unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
38%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 21 financials are the audited consolidated statements of Ace Hardware Corporation (ultimate parent), not the franchisor standalone. FY ending January 3, 2026 (53 weeks). Ace Hardware guarantees franchisor's obligations.
- Item 19 type
- gross and expenses
- Sample size
- 309
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $155K→$2.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $251K→$775K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 0 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 321 Home Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Home Services average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports gross and expenses rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+4.4% 3-year CAGR) with 401 units.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Home Services averages
How Ace Handyman Services Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 401
- Opened
- 40
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 14
- Terminated
- 10
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 2
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 6.8%
- Company-owned
- 18
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 96%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +4.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +4.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 40
- Closed (3yr)
- 14
- Terminated (3yr)
- 10
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 2
- Transfers (3yr)
- 19
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 0.5%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 49 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).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 94
- Loan volume
- $14.7M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 3.2%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 96.8%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 14.3%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 21
- Defaults
- 3
- Typical loan rate
- 8.1%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 17.1%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 619
- 4.2 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 72%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 93% went to startups / new businesses, 7% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in residential remodelers, franchised businesses charge off at 17.1% vs 22.4% for independents — franchising is associated with 24% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Ace Handyman Services franchisees
Showing 3 of 21 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Ace Handyman Services's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 7-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 3.2% — 80% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Ace Handyman Services presents elevated risk due to undisclosed unit economics, active quality litigation, anemic growth, and historical fraud allegations within the franchise system.
Litigation (Item 3)
Item 3 discloses 5 distinct cases. Involving the franchisor: (1) Elizabeth Hessler v. Ace Hardware Corp. et al. (2025, Cook County IL) — pending consumer/construction-defect action naming franchisor, parent, and two franchisees; motion to dismiss filed. (2) Ace Handyman Services, Inc. v. Ace Hardware Corp. et al. (2020, Bexar County TX) — concluded trademark dispute, settled April 2020 for $150,000 paid to plaintiff. Parent (Ace Hardware) actions: (3) Cathay Bank v. Ace Hardware Corp. (LA Superior Court) — concluded, settled May 2022 ($1.1M total, $650,000 by Ace Hardware). (4) Advanced Caregivers/Hialeah Ace Hardware v. Ace Hardware Corp. (S.D. Fla.) — concluded class action, settled $25,000 each plaintiff, dismissed 2017. (5) The Hessler and Ace Handyman Services TX cases are cross-referenced under the parent's litigation but are the same cases as above.
Largest disclosed settlement: $1,100,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 79 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (average unit revenue and net income) prevents ROI validation
- 02HIGHActive consumer litigation for defective work quality—core business risk exposure
- 03MINORSlow unit growth (3.8% YoY) suggests market saturation or franchisee underperformance
- 04MINORTrademark infringement settlement in Texas indicates brand/operational vulnerabilities
- 05HIGHParent company fraud allegations involving franchisees raise system integrity concerns
- 06MINORHigh franchise fee ($70,000) combined with unknown profitability creates breakeven uncertainty
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 70,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 90 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Denver, Colorado |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Colorado |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Item 3 discloses 5 distinct cases. Involving the franchisor: (1) Elizabeth Hessler v. Ace Hardware Corp. et al. (2025, Cook County IL) — pending consumer/construction-defect action naming franchisor, parent, and two franchisees; motion to dismiss filed. (2) Ace Handyman Services, Inc. v. Ace Hardware Corp. et al. (2020, Bexar County TX) — concluded trademark dispute, settled April 2020 for $150,000 paid to plaintiff. Parent (Ace Hardware) actions: (3) Cathay Bank v. Ace Hardware Corp. (LA Superior Court) — concluded, settled May 2022 ($1.1M total, $650,000 by Ace Hardware). (4) Advanced Caregivers/Hialeah Ace Hardware v. Ace Hardware Corp. (S.D. Fla.) — concluded class action, settled $25,000 each plaintiff, dismissed 2017. (5) The Hessler and Ace Handyman Services TX cases are cross-referenced under the parent's litigation but are the same cases as above.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 33 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 24 hrs
- Training location
- Denver, Colorado metropolitan area (or another location designated by franchisor, or virtually via video conference)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 24 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Ace Handyman Services scheduling software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Ace Handyman Services scheduling software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
236 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Ace Handyman Services · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Ace Handyman Services franchise?
The total investment to open a Ace Handyman Services franchise ranges from $132K – $226K, with an initial franchise fee of $70K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Ace Handyman Services franchise owners earn?
Ace Handyman Services does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Ace Handyman Services FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Ace Handyman Services FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Ace Handyman Services's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Ace Handyman Services has a charge-off rate of 3.2% across 94 loans, meaning 3.2% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Ace Handyman Services franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Ace Handyman Services has 401 total units in the United States, including 383 franchised units and 18 company-owned units. 40 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Ace Handyman Services a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Ace Handyman Services as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 79 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.