Autism Center of ExcellenceFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Autism Center of Excellence franchise requires a total initial investment of $220K – $499K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.4M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $220K – $499K
- 47th pct Healthcare
- Avg gross sales
- $2.4M
- 42nd pct Healthcare
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 5th pct Healthcare
- Units
- 5
- 18th pct Healthcare
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Healthcare · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Healthcare avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 6.6x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Started franchising in 2025. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
Bottom line
- Total investment $220K – $499K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.4M/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 29/100.
- Emerging franchise: only 1 year of franchising with 5 units. Early-stage systems carry higher risk but may offer better territory availability.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- AutismCOE Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Managing Member
- Esha Bhasin
- Incorporated in
- WY
- HQ
- 1000 Park 40 Plaza, Suite 110, Durham, NC 27713
- Auditor
- Omar Alnuaimi, CPA
- Audited financials
Overview
About
Franchisees operate autism therapy and intervention centers providing behavioral, speech, and occupational therapy services to children with autism spectrum disorder. Day-to-day operations include patient scheduling, clinical service delivery supervision, staff management, billing/insurance processing, and parent communication. Centers typically employ licensed therapists and operate from physical clinic locations.
- CEO
- Esha Bhasin
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Rent and Lease Security Deposit | $6K | $25K | |
| Utilities | $500 | $1K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $40K | $200K | |
| Market Introduction Programnot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipmentnot refundable | $25K | $50K | |
| Computer Systemsnot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $4K | $8K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $2K | $10K | |
| Office Expensesnot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Licenses and Permitsnot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Initial Labornot refundable | $40K | $60K | |
| Professional Fees (lawyer, accountant, etc.)not refundable | $1K | $3K | |
| Travel, lodging and meals for initial trainingnot refundable | $3K | $6K | |
| Additional funds (for first 3 months)not refundable | $50K | $75K | |
| Additional initial franchise fees (Multi-Unit Development Agreement)not refundable | $20K | $78K | |
| Business planning and miscellaneous expenses (MUDA)not refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $241K | $582K |
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.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$448K
19.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
106%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
11 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $220K – $499K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $75K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Company Owned Outlets
- Sample size
- 3 units
- vs category median 12 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $1.2M→$3.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 6 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 201 Healthcare brands
Revenue is 6.6x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Healthcare averages
How Autism Center of Excellence Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 4
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Small, financially unstable franchise system with limited transparency on profitability and unclear unit growth trajectory—suitable only for risk-tolerant investors with operational autism services expertise.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Omar Alnuaimi, CPA
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 29 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status indicates franchisor financial instability despite $2M+ average unit revenue
- 02MINOROnly 5 units in system with unknown growth trajectory raises sustainability questions
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents ROI validation and profitability assessment
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($220k-$499k) relative to small franchise system size increases risk concentration
- 05HIGHNo litigation disclosure combined with going concern status suggests potential undisclosed disputes or operational challenges
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 5 mi |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Durham, North Carolina |
| Governing law | North Carolina |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 32 hrs
- Training location
- On-site at franchisee location
- Field support
- 32 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- POS system
- Electronic Health Records (EHR)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Electronic Health Records (EHR)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
14 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Autism Center of Excellence · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Autism Center of Excellence franchise?
The total investment to open a Autism Center of Excellence franchise ranges from $220K – $499K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Autism Center of Excellence franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Autism Center of Excellence FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.4M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Autism Center of Excellence's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Autism Center of Excellence (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Autism Center of Excellence franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Autism Center of Excellence has 5 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 5 company-owned units.
Is Autism Center of Excellence a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Autism Center of Excellence as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 29 out of 100, 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.
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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.