Family Financial Centers Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Family Financial Centers is a financial services franchise offering check cashing, prepaid cards, bill pay, and money transfers. Franchisees run retail centers, managing transactions, cash handling, and compliance for underbanked customers.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Family Financial Centers franchise requires a total initial investment of $224K – $309K, including a $41K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $262K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $224K – $309K
- 82nd pct Financial Ser…
- Avg gross sales
- $262K
- 9th pct Financial Ser…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 52
- 45th pct Financial Ser…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Financial Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Financial Services 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 $224K – $309K including a $41K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $262K/year (median $153K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 59/100 (higher is better).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -8.8% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Family Financial Centers, LLC
- Parent company
- Family Financial Centers, Inc. (FFCI)
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Paul W. Eckert
- CEO experience
- 2004 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 99 Lantern Drive, Suite 101, Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901
- Auditor
- BKC, CPAs, PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.2M
- vs $2.3M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Paul W. Eckert
- Headquarters
- PA
- Founded
- 2004
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 11
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 104% above the typical financial services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $41K | $41K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $5K | $34K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $179K | $235K |
| Total initial investment | $224K | $309K |
Source: Family Financial Centers 2025 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
- $224K – $309K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $34K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $41K – $41K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of (1) $275 per month, or (2) the sum of (a) 2/10…
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 3.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | Minimum $275/month; percentage component is 0.2% of check/debit face amount + 5% of Gold fees + 5% of Loan fees |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $70 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $37K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Inventory (initial) | $50K – $60K |
| Total fee load | 3.0% of rev |
A 3.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the financial services norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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
$39K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
14%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
7.3 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 Family Financial Centers unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
14%
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 Family Financial Centers units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$419K
on $2.1M purchase
Total debt
$1.7M
SBA $1.0M + 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $262K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $153K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- check fee revenue
- Sample size
- 51
- vs category median 72
- Range (low → high)
- $11K→$999K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $80K→$355K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 0 / 10 · above
Compared against 45 Financial Services brands
Revenue is only 1.0x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
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 $262K/year in gross sales. Median is $153K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.0x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 3.0% — below the Financial Services average of 17.0%.
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 contracting at -8.8% 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 Financial Services averages
How Family Financial Centers Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 52
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 5
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 17.3%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -8.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -8.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 5
- Closed (3yr)
- 9
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 9.6%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 11 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.
11
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $150K
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (1 loan) — rate not shown below 10
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
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- 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
Declining franchise system in a commoditized, heavily regulated industry with undisclosed profitability and complex, tiered royalty structure creates moderate-to-high investment risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · BKC, CPAs, PC
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
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 59 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORSystem declining 5.5% YoY with only 52 units—suggests market headwinds or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19—impossible to validate true profitability claims against $261,757 average revenue
- 03MINORComplex royalty structure with multiple tiers (fixed + percentage of checks cashed + fee-based) creates unpredictable monthly obligations and potential disputes
- 04MINORAverage revenue of $261,757 leaves minimal margin if royalties consume 5-10% and overhead is high in financial services
- 05MINORCheck cashing and payday lending face regulatory headwinds, consumer backlash, and digitalization pressures from banking competitors
- 06MINOR15-year term is lengthy for a declining niche business without demonstrated path to unit growth
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 3.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 6 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | PA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 39 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 38 hrs
- Training location
- Doylestown, PA (corporate headquarters) + on-site at franchisee location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 38 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects site within approved Site Selection Area; franchisor approves within 30 days
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Power Check or Tier3
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Power Check or Tier3
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
51 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Family Financial Centers · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Family Financial Centers franchise?
The total investment to open a Family Financial Centers franchise ranges from $224K – $309K, with an initial franchise fee of $41K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Family Financial Centers franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Family Financial Centers FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $262K. The median is $153K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Family Financial Centers 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 Family Financial Centers FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Family Financial Centers's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Family Financial Centers (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 Family Financial Centers franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Family Financial Centers has 52 total units in the United States, including 52 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Family Financial Centers a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Family Financial Centers as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 59 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
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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.