Brain Balance Achievement Centers Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Brain Balance Achievement Centers is an education franchise offering a drug-free cognitive and sensory-motor program for children with attention, learning, and behavioral challenges. Franchisees run a center delivering the assessment-based program with coaches and managing enrollment.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Brain Balance Achievement Centers franchise does not disclose total investment in its current FDD and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $687K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- N/A
- Avg gross sales
- $687K
- 22nd pct Education
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 44th pct Education
- Units
- 65
- 57th pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education 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 N/A, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $687K/year (median $559K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 68/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 64.8% CAGR over 3 years with 65 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- BB Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- Brain Balance Holdings, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- BB InvestCo, L.P.
- Predecessor
- Brain Balance, Inc. (BBI)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Director and President
- Ajay Sunkara
- Incorporated in
- Illinois
- HQ
- 135 E. Algonquin Road, Suite B, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60005
- Auditor
- Accutax Bizsolutions LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $5.8M
- vs $5.7M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchisee Advisory Board
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- BB
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Ajay Sunkara
- Headquarters
- Illinois
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 29
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown22 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $45K | $45K | |
| Computer Software Program License Fee | $15K | $15K | |
| In Center Program Kits | $2K | $2K | |
| Virtual Program Kits | $1K | $1K | |
| Business License, Incorporation, etc. | $500 | $3K | |
| Commercial Space (2-4 months security) | $4K | $21K | |
| Utility Deposits and Fees | $3K | $3K | |
| Insurance | $4K | $6K | |
| Construction and Remodeling, including Architect Design | $10K | $175K | |
| Furniture, Inventory, and Equipment (lease deposit and installation) | $40K | $55K | |
| Technology Costs | $36K | $39K | |
| Start-up Supplies | $4K | $4K | |
| Signage | $0 | $13K | |
| Call Center | $0 | $2K | |
| Brain Balance Program CRM System and Annual Maintenance | $2K | $2K | |
| Credit Card System | $0 | $400 | |
| Email and Other Collaboration Tools | $0 | $746 | |
| Organization Productivity and Collaboration Tools | $70 | $105 | |
| Accounting Software & Bookkeeping | $2K | $2K | |
| Additional Funds for Three (3) Months | $30K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $215K | $464K |
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
- N/A
- All-in to open one unit
- Liquid capital req'd
- $0 – $6K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- N/A
- Paid to franchisor at signing
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $40 |
| Training fee | $4K |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $1K – $11K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 21% below the education norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Brain Balance Achievement Centers unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy, other operating costs and initial investment, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy, other operating costs and initial investment, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $687K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $559K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 61 outlets
- vs category median 16 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $187K→$2.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $350K→$1.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 204 Education brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $687K/year in gross sales. Median is $559K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% (near the Education average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 64.8% CAGR over 3 years across 65 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Education averages
How Brain Balance Achievement Centers Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 65
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 8
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 12.3%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +64.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +64.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 39
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 6
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 11
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 3.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 12.3%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 30 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 3 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 3
- Loan volume
- $331K
- Median loan
- $110K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (3 loans) — rate not shown below 10
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
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
None disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Accutax Bizsolutions LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 68 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 5.8% YoY (65 → ~61 units), indicating system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MEDHigh initial investment range ($214K-$463K) relative to disclosed average revenue ($686K) creates thin margin for error; 8% royalty on $686K = $54.9K annual fee
- 03MINORNo going concern statement is positive, but absence of net income disclosure raises questions about actual unit-level profitability and sustainability
- 04MINORCompetitive market (children's learning/neuro development) with established players; no clear differentiation metrics provided
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Cook County, Illinois |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
None disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 34 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 10 hrs
- Training location
- Chicagoland area, Illinois
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 7 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee_with_franchisor_approval
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Brain Balance Program CRM (currently Salesforce-hosted)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Brain Balance Program CRM (currently Salesforce-hosted)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
77 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Brain Balance Achievement Centers · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What do Brain Balance Achievement Centers franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Brain Balance Achievement Centers FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $687K. The median is $559K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Brain Balance Achievement Centers 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 Brain Balance Achievement Centers FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Brain Balance Achievement Centers's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Brain Balance Achievement Centers (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 Brain Balance Achievement Centers franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Brain Balance Achievement Centers has 65 total units in the United States, including 65 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Brain Balance Achievement Centers a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Brain Balance Achievement Centers as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 68 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
Are you the franchisor?
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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.