The Cleaning Authority Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Cleaning Authority is a residential cleaning franchise providing recurring, detailed house cleaning with trained teams. Franchisees run a route-based operation managing crews, scheduling, and customer retention as owner-operators.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Cleaning Authority franchise requires a total initial investment of $77K – $147K, including a $15K – $20K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.5M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 15.0% charge-off rate across 70 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $77K – $147K
- 23rd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- 27th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 14th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 244
- 75th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- 15.0%
- % 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 $77K – $147K including a $15K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.5M/year.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 56/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 15.0% across 70 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The Cleaning Authority Franchising SPE LLC
- Parent company
- AB Assetco LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Authority Brands, Inc.
- Predecessor
- The Cleaning Authority, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Jason Caiafa
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 7120 Samuel Morse Drive, Suite 300, Columbia, MD 21046
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $227.8M
- vs $226.4M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jason Caiafa
- Headquarters
- Maryland
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 40
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 64% 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 | $15K | $15K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $27K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $35K | $102K |
| Total initial investment | $77K | $147K |
Source: The Cleaning Authority 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
- $77K – $147K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $27K – $30K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 40.3%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $40 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $3K |
| Total fee load | 40.3% of rev |
At 40.3% total fee load, roughly $591K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 82% above the cleaning & maintenance norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for The Cleaning Authority until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$140K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
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 The Cleaning Authority 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 and other operating costs, 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 and other operating costs, 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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- cohort
- Sample size
- 212 territories
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $106K→$5.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 5 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 191 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Revenue is 13.1x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
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 $1.5M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 13.1x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 40.3% — above the Cleaning & Maintenance average of 9.7%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 5/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 8.9% CAGR over 3 years across 244 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 averages
How The Cleaning Authority Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 244
- Opened
- 13
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 5
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 2.0%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +8.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +8.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 13
- Closed (3yr)
- 3
- Terminated (3yr)
- 2
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 7
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 39 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.
- Total loans
- 70
- Loan volume
- $19.1M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 15.0%
- 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)
- 85.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 28
- Defaults
- 6
- Typical loan rate
- 7.2%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 15.4%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 1,599
- 8.4 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 11%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 60% went to startups / new businesses, 40% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in janitorial services, franchised businesses charge off at 15.4% vs 22.8% for independents — franchising is associated with 32% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
The Cleaning Authority charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing The Cleaning Authority franchisees
Showing 3 of 28 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 The Cleaning Authority'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
- 13-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans here charge off near the 16.0% national average.
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)
TCAF (independent franchisee association) sued the franchisor in Maryland state court alleging inadequate disclosure and marketing-fund misuse; claims were dismissed for lack of standing and the case was settled/dismissed with prejudice in Jan 2026 with no payment by franchisor. Separately, the franchisor sued a former franchisee (Cavallaro) for breach of franchise agreement/non-compete; franchisor won partial summary judgment and the parties settled with franchisee paying damages/fees.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
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: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORPending franchisee-association suit (marketing fund/vendor pricing) among 3 matters
- 02MINORVery strong financials: net worth $697.2M, net income $8.18M
- 03HIGHLow litigation count relative to 224-unit system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 40.3% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | 30,000-60,000 Designated Households (Enterprise Market) or 15,000-29,999 Designated Households (Hometown Market) |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 40 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Columbia, Maryland |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
TCAF (independent franchisee association) sued the franchisor in Maryland state court alleging inadequate disclosure and marketing-fund misuse; claims were dismissed for lack of standing and the case was settled/dismissed with prejudice in Jan 2026 with no payment by franchisor. Separately, the franchisor sued a former franchisee (Cavallaro) for breach of franchise agreement/non-compete; franchisor won partial summary judgment and the parties settled with franchisee paying damages/fees.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 37 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 45 hrs
- Training location
- Columbia, Maryland
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- TCA IQ
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: TCA IQ
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
222 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Cleaning Authority · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Cleaning Authority franchise?
The total investment to open a The Cleaning Authority franchise ranges from $77K – $147K, with an initial franchise fee of $15K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Cleaning Authority franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Cleaning Authority FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.5M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the The Cleaning Authority 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 The Cleaning Authority FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is The Cleaning Authority's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, The Cleaning Authority has a charge-off rate of 15.0% across 70 loans, meaning 15.0% 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 The Cleaning Authority franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Cleaning Authority has 244 total units in the United States, including 241 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 13 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Cleaning Authority a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Cleaning Authority as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 56 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.