FranchiseVerdict
FISH WINDOW CLEANING logo
FV-00943·STRONGExcellent91

Fish Window Cleaning

Cleaning - Commercial & JanitorialFranchising since 1998Website
Investment
$107K – $173K
49th pct Commercial & …
Avg revenue
65th pct Commercial & …
Royalty
5.0%
6th pct Commercial & …
Units
270
86th pct Commercial & …
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $107K – $173K including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 46/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 126 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Fish Window Cleaning Services, Inc.
Incorporated in
Missouri
HQ
217 Chesterfield Towne Centre, Chesterfield, Missouri 63005
Auditor
Fine + Associates, P.C.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$12.0M
vs $12.8M 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 FISH WINDOW CLEANING 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: $107K–$173K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $14K–$36K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

59%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$98K
EBITDA margin
13.0%
Total invested
$165K
Payback
20 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

Franchisees operate a residential and commercial window cleaning service, managing crews to provide scheduled cleaning, pressure washing, and gutter services to recurring customers. Day-to-day operations involve crew scheduling, customer acquisition/retention, quality assurance, equipment maintenance, and direct service delivery or crew supervision in a defined protected territory.

CEO
S. Michael Merrick
Founded
1998
FDD year
2025
States available
44

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$107K – $173K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$14K – $36K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
6.0%
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
270
Opened
16
Last reporting year
Closed
11
Turnover rate
4.1%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+1.9%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+1.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
269+5
Franchised units
2024
264
Franchised units
2025
264
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 22 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 22 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

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

Total loans
126
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

46
Risk · 0-100
STRONG46 / 100

Fish Window Cleaning presents moderate-to-caution risk: sluggish unit growth, undisclosed financials preventing due diligence, employment litigation exposure, and a punitive royalty floor that could strain marginal performers.

Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORStagnant unit growth of only 1.9% YoY suggests mature or declining system momentum with 270 units showing minimal expansion
  2. 02MEDNo Item 19 financial performance disclosure (Avg Revenue and Net Income not disclosed) prevents validation of ROI claims and franchisee profitability benchmarks
  3. 03HIGHJoint employment and wage violation litigation (Pope et al.) indicates potential labor classification mismanagement or compliance issues that could expose franchisees to liability
  4. 04MINORHigh initial investment range ($107,200–$172,700) combined with 5–8% royalty on minimum performance standards creates leverage risk if sales underperform
  5. 05MINORRoyalty structure based on 'greater of Gross Sales or Applicable Minimum Performance Standard' is punitive—franchisees pay minimums even if revenue lags, reducing flexibility

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population-based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
1
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
1 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Missouri

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
43 hrs
On-the-job training
47 hrs
POS system
Fish Proprietary System
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

97 numbers

Locked
(913) 648-••••
Stephen Roach
MO
(515) 223-••••
Eric Gardner
IA
(305) 265-••••
Yusuf Khan
FL

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

FISH WINDOW CLEANING · FDD (2025) PDF

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