Buildingstars Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $2K – $8K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Buildingstars is a commercial cleaning franchise providing office and facility janitorial services to businesses. Franchisees run the operations, managing cleaning crews, client accounts, and scheduling.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Buildingstars franchise requires a total initial investment of $2K – $8K, including a $995 – $37K franchise fee and an ongoing 10.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored3 of 4 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $2K – $8K
- 0th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subsetPartial period
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- 72nd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 1,193
- 85th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance median · 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 $2K – $8K including a $995 franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports Monthly Contract Revenue by program level and tenure band rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 83/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +119 franchised outlets in the latest year (345 opened, 226 closed) (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 29.7% CAGR over 3 years with 1193 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Buildingstars Management, Inc.
- Parent company
- Buildingstars International, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2025 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Facility Brands, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- President, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary
- Christopher J. Blase
- Incorporated in
- MO
- HQ
- 33 Worthington Access Drive, St. Louis, MO 63043
- Auditor
- UHY LLP (member of UHY International), St. Louis, Missouri
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $83.6M
- vs $76.2M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Christopher J. Blase
- Headquarters
- MO
- Founded
- 1999
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 97% below the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $995 | $995 |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $0 | $5K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $1K | $2K |
| Total initial investment | $2K | $8K |
Source: Buildingstars 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $2K – $8K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $0 – $5K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $995 – $37K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- -n/d
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 10.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $2K |
| Renewal fee | $200 |
| Inventory (initial) | $100 – $700 |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Buildingstars is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Buildingstars 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 annual revenue, ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Covers a partial period, not a full year
- Item 19 type
- Monthly Contract Revenue by program level and tenure band
- Sample size
- 1,404
- vs category median 32 · large
- 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 191 Cleaning & Maintenance 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 6.0% — below the Cleaning & Maintenance median of 8.3%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports Monthly Contract Revenue by program level and tenure band rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 29.7% CAGR over 3 years across 1,193 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 Cleaning & Maintenance medians
How Buildingstars Compares
Category median of published Cleaning & Maintenance brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Item 20 Table 1 counts the franchisor's own agreements: 1,179 franchised + 14 company-owned = 1,193 at the end of 2024 (the figures shown). The same filing's Table 6 'Systemwide Outlet Summary', which adds the master franchisees' subfranchisees, prints 1,251 franchised and 1,265 total, and Item 1 describes the system as 1,265 franchises. Owner ruling R28 (12 Sept 2026): the count is Table 1; the brand-wide figure is noted here.
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1,193
- Opened
- 345
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 226
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 19.2%
- Company-owned
- 14
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +29.7%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +29.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 1
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 350
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
7 current owners across 1 state.
- TX 7
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 327 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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
Buildingstars presents elevated risk due to undisclosed net income, tiny unit count, franchisor financial distress (Going Concern), and lack of transparent royalty clarity.
Why this reads harsher than the A grade: the grade weighs financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency across the whole filing, while this summary lists individual flags without that weighting. The flags are worth checking with current owners; neither is investment advice.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · UHY LLP (member of UHY International), St. Louis, Missouri
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Audited consolidated financial statements are of the parent/guarantor, Buildingstars International, Inc. and Subsidiaries (FYE December 31, 2024), not the franchisor Buildingstars Management, Inc. alone. Revenue is consolidated. Audit report dated March 11, 2025.
ⓘ 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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 83 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosed — cannot verify actual franchisee profitability despite $2.2M average revenue claim
- 02MINOROnly 15 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory — insufficient data on unit economics and system momentum
- 03MEDNo litigation disclosed but Going Concern status suggests financial distress that may precede legal action
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 1 year |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 1 year |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | St. Louis County, Missouri (mediation) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MO |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 14 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 7 hrs
- Training location
- Regional Office (St. Louis MO, Phoenix AZ, Tampa FL, Atlanta GA, Chicago IL, Overland Park KS, East Brunswick NJ, Charlotte NC, Raleigh-Durham NC, Pittsburgh PA, Nashville TN, Dallas TX, Houston TX, San Antonio TX)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 1 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- NetSuite
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NetSuite
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
334 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Buildingstars franchise?
The total investment to open a Buildingstars franchise ranges from $2K – $8K, with an initial franchise fee of $995. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Buildingstars franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Buildingstars FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Buildingstars?
Buildingstars is franchised by Buildingstars Management, Inc.. Its parent company is Buildingstars International, Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Facility Brands, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Buildingstars 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 Buildingstars FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Buildingstars's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Buildingstars (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 Buildingstars franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Buildingstars has 1,193 total units in the United States, including 1,179 franchised units and 14 company-owned units. 345 new units were opened in the latest reporting year. Item 20 Table 1 counts the franchisor's own agreements: 1,179 franchised + 14 company-owned = 1,193 at the end of 2024 (the figures shown). The same filing's Table 6 'Systemwide Outlet Summary', which adds the master franchisees' subfranchisees, prints 1,251 franchised and 1,265 total, and Item 1 describes the system as 1,265 franchises. Owner ruling R28 (12 Sept 2026): the count is Table 1; the brand-wide figure is noted here.
Is Buildingstars a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Buildingstars as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 83 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
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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.