FranchiseVerdict
CleanNet USA logo
FV-00561·CAUTIONStandard76

CleanNet USA

Cleaning - Commercial & JanitorialFranchising since 2000Website
Investment
$20K – $85K
6th pct Commercial & …
Avg revenue
65th pct Commercial & …
Royalty
10.0%
54th pct Commercial & …
Units
1,296
96th pct Commercial & …
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $20K – $85K including a $16K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 74/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • 13 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
CleanNet of Baltimore/Washington, Inc.
Incorporated in
Virginia
HQ
8300 Boone Blvd., Suite 500, Vienna, Virginia 22182
Auditor
Yount, Hyde & Barbour P.C.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$93.4M
vs $96.4M prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one CleanNet USA unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restoration
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $20K–$85K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $2K–$3K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

109%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%
ROIC above 100% usually means the revenue figure is a system-wide aggregate or top-cohort number rather than a single-unit average. Verify the "Revenue · per unit" field against the brand's FDD Item 19 detail tables before relying on this output.

Store EBITDA · annual
$60K
EBITDA margin
8.0%
Total invested
$55K
Payback
11 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

CleanNet USA franchisees operate commercial cleaning businesses, managing janitorial services for office buildings, retail spaces, and other commercial facilities. Franchisees typically hire and supervise cleaning crews to perform nightly or periodic cleaning, handle customer relationships, and manage billing. The business model relies on volume contracts and recurring revenue from multiple client accounts.

CEO
Mark F. Salek
Founded
2000
FDD year
2023
States available
18

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$20K – $85K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$2K – $3K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$16K
Royalty
10.0%
Gross Billings · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
11.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
1,296
Opened
23
Last reporting year
Closed
113
Turnover rate
8.7%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-6.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-10.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2021
1,296-90
Franchised units
2022
1,386
Franchised units
2023
1,455
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 12 · 18 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.

18

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
2
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

74
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION74 / 100

CleanNet USA presents HIGH RISK due to a shrinking 6.5% declining unit base, multiple active misclassification and wage-hour lawsuits, prior regulatory violations, complete lack of profitability disclosures, and unprotected territories—indicating a deteriorating franchise system with serious legal and operational red flags.

Score breakdown · what drove the 74 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORSystem declining 6.5% YoY (1296 to ~1211 units) indicates shrinking franchise base and potential saturation or dissatisfaction
  2. 02HIGHMultiple active litigation cases involving misclassification of franchisees as independent contractors raise legal/classification risk and suggest potential reclassification liability
  3. 03MINORMaryland Securities Division consent order regarding earnings representations and disclosure documentation indicates prior regulatory violations and credibility concerns
  4. 04MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosed in FDD Item 19—impossible to assess actual unit economics or franchisee profitability
  5. 05MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; franchisees can be undercut by other CleanNet franchisees in same geographic area
  6. 06MINOR10% royalty on gross billings (not net profit) is aggressive; royalties paid regardless of profitability, increasing franchisee financial stress
  7. 07HIGHWage and hour litigation suggests operational model may pressure franchisees to misclassify their own employees or violate labor laws

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Fulfillment Area
Protected territory
No
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
13
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Virginia

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
15 hrs
On-the-job training
8 hrs
POS system
Microsoft's Great Plains Accounting
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

99 numbers

Locked
(410) 459-••••
MD
(240) 586-••••
MD
(703) 732-••••
MD

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

CleanNet USA · FDD (2023) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above