Expense Reduction Analysts Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $76K – $106K
- Disclosed sales
- $388K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (9)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Expense Reduction Analysts is a B2B consulting franchise that finds cost savings for organizations across purchased goods and services. Franchisees run a consultancy auditing client spend and negotiating with suppliers, earning a share of the savings, typically home-based.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Expense Reduction Analysts franchise requires a total initial investment of $76K – $106K, including a $70K franchise fee and an ongoing 15.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average revenue per franchisee was $388K. This franchisor reports Item 19 per franchisee rather than per outlet, so the figure is not comparable with per-outlet averages[2]. 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: low - issued within the last 12 months
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 scored5 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $76K – $106K
- 25th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $388K
- Per franchisee, not per outletNet sales
- Royalty
- 15.0%
- 48th pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 196
- 57th pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business Services 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 $76K – $106K including a $70K franchise fee, 15.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage revenue per franchisee of $388K/year. Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 85/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +35 franchised outlets in the latest year (43 opened, 8 closed) (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 34.2% CAGR over 3 years with 196 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Expense Reduction Analysts, Inc.
- Parent company
- Evercertain Limited
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- UK Pluto Topco Limited
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2026 FDD
- CEO title
- Global CEO, ERA Group
- Mark Taylor
- Incorporated in
- California
- HQ
- 16415 Addison Road, Suite 410, Addison, Texas 75001
- Auditor
- CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA)
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $5.3M
- vs $5.4M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Mark Taylor
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2002
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 22
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 32% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $70K | $70K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $3K | $6K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $3K | $30K |
| Total initial investment | $76K | $106K |
Source: Expense Reduction Analysts 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
- $76K – $106K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $3K – $6K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $70K – $70K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 15.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 18.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 15.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% |
| Technology fee | $2K |
| Training fee | $10K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $0 – $1K |
| Total fee load | 18.0% of rev |
At 18.0% total fee load, roughly $70K per year per franchisee goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 43% below the business services norm.
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
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 Expense Reduction Analysts 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
$95K
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 Expense Reduction Analysts 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
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
- Avg gross sales
- $388K
- Per franchisee, per year — not per outlet
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- historical
- Sample size
- 86 franchisees
- vs category median 37 · large
- Quartile band
- $55K→$901K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%, per franchisee
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 296 Business Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
The average franchisee generates $388K/year in gross sales.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 18.0% — above the Business Services median of 9.0%.
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 expanding at 34.2% CAGR over 3 years across 196 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 Business Services medians
How Expense Reduction Analysts Compares
Per franchisee, not per outlet - the category median is per-outlet only, so no comparison is shown
Category median of published Business Services 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 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 196
- Opened
- 43
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 8
- Terminated
- 8
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.1%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +34.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +34.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 8
- 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
- 55
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
4 current owners across 4 states.
- CA 1
- CT 1
- FL 1
- GA 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 194 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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 9 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 9
- Loan volume
- $1.1M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (9)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 9 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (9)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (9)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 4
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
Modest growth trajectory, opaque profitability metrics, unprotected territory, and high fixed royalty minimums create meaningful financial and competitive risks that warrant detailed franchisee validation.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
One matter involving international affiliate E R Associates (Switzerland) Ltd as defendant (not ERA Group/franchisor itself); former Area Developer sued after termination; resolved via confidential settlement in 2017. No litigation against Franchisor itself disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA)
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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
Score breakdown · what drove the 85 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosed — cannot verify profitability claims against $76k-$106k investment
- 02MEDSlow unit growth of 5.9% YoY with only 146 units suggests limited scalability or market saturation
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees and company-owned locations
- 04MINORHigh royalty floor ($1,000-$1,250/month minimum = $12k-$15k annually) creates break-even pressure on franchisees below $80k revenue
- 05HIGHInternational litigation history (Germany, Switzerland) raises questions about franchisor's dispute resolution practices and affiliate management
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 18.0% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Dallas, Texas (mediation under AAA auspices, at franchisor's option) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One matter involving international affiliate E R Associates (Switzerland) Ltd as defendant (not ERA Group/franchisor itself); former Area Developer sued after termination; resolved via confidential settlement in 2017. No litigation against Franchisor itself disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 92 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- ERA Academy, Kent, England (and/or online)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Athena (ERA Management Information System)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Athena (ERA Management Information System)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
198 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 Expense Reduction Analysts franchise?
The total investment to open a Expense Reduction Analysts franchise ranges from $76K – $106K, with an initial franchise fee of $70K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Expense Reduction Analysts franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Expense Reduction Analysts FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $388K. Important context: Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures; Reported as net sales, not gross sales. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Expense Reduction Analysts?
Expense Reduction Analysts is franchised by Expense Reduction Analysts, Inc.. Its parent company is Evercertain Limited. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is UK Pluto Topco Limited. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Expense Reduction Analysts 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 Expense Reduction Analysts FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Expense Reduction Analysts's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Expense Reduction Analysts (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 Expense Reduction Analysts franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Expense Reduction Analysts has 196 total units in the United States, including 196 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 43 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Expense Reduction Analysts a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Expense Reduction Analysts as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 85 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.
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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.