Chem-Dry Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Chem-Dry is a carpet- and upholstery-cleaning franchise using its proprietary hot-carbonation extraction process. Franchisees run a route-based service, scheduling jobs, dispatching technician crews, and building a local client base in a protected territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Chem-Dry franchise requires a total initial investment of $92K – $250K, including a $18K – $36K franchise fee. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $319K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 29.7% charge-off rate across 98 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $92K – $250K
- 30th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $319K
- 6th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 963
- 85th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- 29.7%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance 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 $92K – $250K including a $36K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $319K/year (median $215K).
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 38/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 29.7% across 98 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- FLAG70 units terminated last reporting year (7.3% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Chem-Dry, Inc.
- Parent company
- BFG Holdco, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- ASP BF Intermediate Sub, LLC
- Predecessor
- Harris Research, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer of BELFOR Franchise Group, LLC
- Sheldon Yellen
- Incorporated in
- UT
- HQ
- 5405 Data Court, Ann Arbor, MI 48108
- Auditor
- BDO USA, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $30.1M
- vs $29.5M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Sheldon Yellen
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 1977
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 48
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 45% below the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $36K | $36K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $3K | $9K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $54K | $205K |
| Total initial investment | $92K | $250K |
Source: Chem-Dry 2026 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
- $92K – $250K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $3K – $9K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $18K – $36K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- Tiered 4%-7% of Gross Sales: 7% on first $500K, 6% on $50…
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $450 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
| Inventory (initial) | $44K – $78K |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 64% below the cleaning & maintenance norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
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
$32K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Chem-Dry unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
18%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Chem-Dry units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$192K
on $958K purchase
Total debt
$766K
SBA $0.5M + senior + seller note
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
- Avg gross sales
- $319K
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
- Median gross sales
- $215K
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
- 226 franchisees
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $75K→$1.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 192 Cleaning & Maintenance 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 $319K/year in gross sales. Median is $215K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.9x.
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 contracting at -24.9% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 averages
How Chem-Dry Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 963
- Opened
- 23
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 40
- Terminated
- 70
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 50
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 16.6%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -24.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -24.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 23
- Closed (3yr)
- 40
- Terminated (3yr)
- 70
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 50
- Transfers (3yr)
- 19
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 98
- Loan volume
- $10.8M
- Median loan
- $65K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 29.7%
- 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)
- 70.3%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 57
- Defaults
- 27
- Typical loan rate
- 6.5%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 16.6%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 326
- 3.0 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 7%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 50% went to startups / new businesses, 50% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in carpet and upholstery cleaning services, franchised businesses charge off at 16.6% vs 18.5% for independents — franchising is associated with 10% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Chem-Dry charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Chem-Dry franchisees
Showing 3 of 57 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 Chem-Dry'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
- 28-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 29.7% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 29.7% — 85% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher 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
Chem-Dry presents HIGH RISK due to accelerating unit decline, hidden profitability metrics, active litigation targeting franchisees, and no Item 19 financial transparency—indicating a contracting system with deteriorating franchisor-franchisee relations.
Litigation (Item 3)
3 pending cases (1 franchisee vs CDI alleging breach of contract/TCPA/fraud re Green Certification; 2 CDI vs former franchisees for post-termination covenant violations/trademark infringement); 3 prior cases (2 settled trademark/competition matters, 1 settled for $225,000 involving breach of contract/fiduciary duties allegations by former franchisee)
Largest disclosed settlement: $225,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · BDO USA, P.C.
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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 38 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDSystem contraction: 12.5% unit decline YoY indicates accelerating franchisee departures and loss of confidence
- 02MINORNo financial disclosure: Franchisor refuses to disclose average net income despite $319k average revenue, suggesting profitability concerns
- 03HIGHAggressive litigation posture: Franchisor actively pursuing breach and IP claims against franchisees; three prior trademark/covenant disputes indicate systemic relationship deterioration
- 04MINORUnprotected territory: No exclusive territory protection creates direct competition risk between franchisees and corporate locations
- 05MINORPending arbitration over program changes: Active dispute regarding franchisor-mandated operational changes signals potential forced costs or compliance burdens
- 06MINORShort 5-year term: Renewal uncertainty combined with declining system size increases reinvestment risk
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Source: FDD 2026 · 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 | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 125,000 |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 26 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 17 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Ann Arbor, MI |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | MI |
| Litigation count | 6 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
3 pending cases (1 franchisee vs CDI alleging breach of contract/TCPA/fraud re Green Certification; 2 CDI vs former franchisees for post-termination covenant violations/trademark infringement); 3 prior cases (2 settled trademark/competition matters, 1 settled for $225,000 involving breach of contract/fiduciary duties allegations by former franchisee)
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 27 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 17 hrs
- Training location
- BFG headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan (or another designated location); JumpStart conducted at franchisee's location (virtual)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisor approves territory; franchisee selects specific site within territory; franchisor does not assist with site selection or lease negotiation
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Customer Service Management (CRM) software system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Customer Service Management (CRM) software system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
96 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Chem-Dry · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Chem-Dry franchise?
The total investment to open a Chem-Dry franchise ranges from $92K – $250K, with an initial franchise fee of $36K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Chem-Dry franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Chem-Dry FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $319K. The median is $215K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Chem-Dry 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 Chem-Dry FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Chem-Dry's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Chem-Dry has a charge-off rate of 29.7% across 98 loans, meaning 29.7% 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 Chem-Dry franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Chem-Dry has 963 total units in the United States, including 963 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 23 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Chem-Dry a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Chem-Dry as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 38 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Chem-Dry, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.