Card My YardFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Card My Yard franchise requires a total initial investment of $10K – $19K, including a $9K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $20K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $10K – $19K
- 2nd pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $20K
- 1st pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 545
- 51st pct Business Serv…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Business Services 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
126% cash-on-cash return (based on Gross Margin). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $10K – $19K including a $9K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $20K/year (median $15K), with an estimated 126% cash-on-cash return (based on Gross Margin). Note: this is gross profit, not take-home income.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 43/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- CMY Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- CMY Holdco, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- FS PEP Holdco, LLC
- Predecessor
- entity
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 761 W. 1200 N., Suite 300, Springville, Utah 84663
- Auditor
- Tanner LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $47.5M
- vs $38.1M prior year
Affiliated brands
- Ellie Fam
- Five Star Connect
- Mosquito Shield Franchise
- and Predecessor
- SB Oil Change Franchising
- Career Transition Leads
- International Franchise Professionals Group
- Gotcha Covered Franchising
- Ringside Development Company offers hazardous material cleaning service franchises
- Five Star Bath
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate a seasonal yard decoration service, primarily installing holiday-themed large greeting cards and lawn displays in residential neighborhoods. Day-to-day activities include customer acquisition, scheduling installations, managing inventory of display materials, and performing installation labor. The business model is highly weather and season-dependent, concentrating revenue in fall/winter months.
- CEO
- Joshua Arnold
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 1997
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 45
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $9K | $9K | |
| Lease Expenses (three months) | $0 | $500 | |
| Furniture and Fixtures | $150 | $500 | |
| POS/Computer Hardware and Software | $0 | $2K | |
| Initial Training Costs (per person) | $0 | $1K | |
| Utility/Security Deposits | $0 | $300 | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $250 | $500 | |
| Business Permits/Licenses (first year) | $0 | $500 | |
| Office Equipment/Supplies | $0 | $500 | |
| Insurance Deposits and Premiums (first six months) | $700 | $2K | |
| Professional fees | $0 | $2K | |
| Additional Funds (three months) | $500 | $2K | |
| Cardference Fee | $250 | $250 | |
| Total initial investment | $10K | $19K |
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
$3K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $10K – $19K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $500 – $2K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $9K – $9K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of 25% of Gross Sales or applicable minimum month…
- Ad fund
- Greater of 0.5% of Gross Sales or monthly minimums
- Total fee load
- 25.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 0.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $0 – $0 |
| Total fee load | 25.5% of rev |
At 25.5% total fee load, roughly $5K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $20K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $15K
- Avg gross margin
- $18K
- Reported as Gross Margin in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 125.7%
- Based on Gross Margin / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 505 units
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $1K→$113K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Compared against 360 Business Services brands
vs Business Services averages
How Card My Yard Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 545
- Opened
- 33
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 20
- Turnover rate
- 3.7%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +2.1%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +6.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 55
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 19 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Card My Yard presents a caution-to-high-risk profile: the 25% royalty structure is predatory relative to thin margins, unit growth is stagnant, and no financial disclosures mask true earnings potential.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 3 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Tanner LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 43 / 100 rating
- 01MINORPredatory royalty structure: 25% of gross sales is extremely high and leaves minimal margin given avg net income of $18,160 on $19,721 revenue
- 02MINORAnemic unit growth of 2.1% YoY suggests market saturation, franchisee struggles, or weak system support in a 545-unit system
- 03MINORAvg net income of $18,160 annually is below poverty line; after 25% royalty (~$4,930/year) franchisee nets ~$13,230—inadequate ROI on $10,350-$18,550 investment
- 04MINORNo Item 19 financial performance disclosure indicates franchisor unwilling to substantiate earnings claims or hide poor performance data
- 05HIGHGoing Concern = False is positive but contradicted by stagnant growth; suggests financial instability or system contraction risk
- 06MED5-year term is short; limited payback window given low profitability and high royalty burden
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 |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Zip codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Utah |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 3 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 9 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 11 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
105 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Card My Yard · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Card My Yard franchise?
The total investment to open a Card My Yard franchise ranges from $10K – $19K, with an initial franchise fee of $9K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Card My Yard franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Card My Yard FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $20K. The median is $15K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Card My Yard's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Card My Yard (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 Card My Yard franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Card My Yard has 545 total units in the United States, including 508 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 33 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Card My Yard a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Card My Yard as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 43 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.