Express Employment ProfessionalsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Express Employment Professionals franchise requires a total initial investment of $131K – $599K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $5.3M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 2.0% charge-off rate across 113 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $131K – $599K
- 38th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $5.3M
- 28th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 4th pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 765
- 53rd pct Business Serv…
- SBA default
- 2.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
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
Each dollar invested generates 14.6x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1985. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 788 to 758 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $131K – $599K including a $40K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $5.3M/year (median $4.0M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 26/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 2.0% across 113 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Express Services, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- CO
- HQ
- 9701 Boardwalk Blvd., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73162
- Auditor
- RSM US LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.3B
- vs $3.2B prior year
Affiliated brands
- United Express Equity Investments
- Express Employment Professionals SA PTY LTD
- Express Services of Canada
- Alamo Franchise Services
- Express Australia Holding Pty Ltd
- Express Employment Professionals AU PTY LTD
- Express Employment Professionals NZ PTY LTD
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Express Employment Professionals franchisees operate staffing agencies that recruit, vet, and place temporary and permanent job candidates with client companies. Day-to-day operations involve client prospecting, candidate sourcing and screening, interview coordination, payroll processing, and relationship management across a protected territory, with the franchisor capturing 40% of gross margin in royalties.
- CEO
- Robert A. Funk, Jr.
- Headquarters
- OK
- Founded
- 1983
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 47
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 39 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fees (Core Occupations Services) | $20K | $40K | |
| Lease and Deposit (Core Occupations Services) | $3K | $4K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (Core Occupations Services) | $5K | $15K | |
| Utility Deposits (Core Occupations Services) | $500 | $700 | |
| Training Costs (Core Occupations Services) | $3K | $5K | |
| Office Supplies (Core Occupations Services) | $500 | $1K | |
| Office Equipment (Core Occupations Services) | $2K | $4K | |
| Computer System Hardware (Core Occupations Services) | $10K | $17K | |
| Furniture and Fixture (Core Occupations Services) | $5K | $14K | |
| Signs (Core Occupations Services) | $5K | $7K | |
| Insurance (Core Occupations Services) | $1K | $2K | |
| Professional Service Fees (Core Occupations Services) | $2K | $4K | |
| Additional Funds - 9 months (Core Occupations Services) | $75K | $175K | |
| Initial Franchise Fees (Professional Occupations Services) | $0 | $40K | |
| Lease and Deposit (Professional Occupations Services) | $4K | $6K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (Professional Occupations Services) | $5K | $25K | |
| Utility Deposits (Professional Occupations Services) | $200 | $600 | |
| Training Costs (Professional Occupations Services) | $10K | $25K | |
| Office Supplies (Professional Occupations Services) | $500 | $1K | |
| Office Equipment (Professional Occupations Services) | $7K | $8K | |
| Total initial investment | $748K | $1.4M |
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
$983K
18.4% margin
Unlevered ROIC
157%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $131K – $599K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $75K – $450K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Margin Split · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.6%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 40.6%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.6% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $630 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $250 – $1K |
| Total fee load | 40.6% of rev |
At 40.6% total fee load, roughly $2169K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $5.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $4.0M
- Item 19 type
- Historical
- Sample size
- 526 units
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $129K→$39.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Compared against 360 Business Services brands
Revenue is 14.6x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Business Services averages
How Express Employment Professionals Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 765
- Opened
- 9
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 35
- Turnover rate
- 4.6%
- Company-owned
- 7
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -3.2%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -3.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 12
- Terminated (3yr)
- 8
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 42
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 1.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 1.5%
- Units that stopped operating
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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Michigan
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 113
- Loan volume
- $36.8M
- Median loan
- $326K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 2.0%
- 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)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 7.7%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 49
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Express Employment Professionals exhibits meaningful caution-level risk due to system contraction, extraordinarily high royalty burden, undisclosed profitability metrics, and a pattern of litigation reflecting franchisor-franchisee conflict over territory quality and business fundamentals.
Litigation (Item 3)
18 case reference(s): 0 pending, 6 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $1
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · RSM US LLP
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: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 26 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-3.2% YoY with 765 units) indicates system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MINORExceptionally high royalty structure (40% of gross margin) severely limits franchisee profitability and leaves minimal cushion for operating expenses
- 03HIGHMultiple litigation patterns: fraud allegations, debt collection lawsuits against franchisees, wage/labor disputes, and territory misrepresentation claims suggest systemic franchisor-franchisee tensions
- 04MINORNo Item 19 (average net income) disclosure prevents transparent ROI analysis despite high royalty burden—critical red flag for a $131k-$599k investment
- 05MINORSettled class action on labor/wage statements raises compliance and operational risk concerns that may persist post-settlement
- 06MINORFormer franchisee allegations of territory misrepresentation directly undermine the franchise model's core value proposition
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 |
| Territory type | Geographic Area |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 30,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Oklahoma |
| Litigation count | 8 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
18 case reference(s): 0 pending, 6 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 70 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QUEST
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QUEST
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
97 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Express Employment Professionals · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Express Employment Professionals franchise?
The total investment to open a Express Employment Professionals franchise ranges from $131K – $599K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Express Employment Professionals franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Express Employment Professionals FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $5.3M. The median is $4.0M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Express Employment Professionals's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Express Employment Professionals has a charge-off rate of 2.0% across 113 loans, meaning 2.0% 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 Express Employment Professionals franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Express Employment Professionals has 765 total units in the United States, including 788 franchised units and 7 company-owned units. 9 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Express Employment Professionals a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Express Employment Professionals as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 26 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.