Garage Force Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Garage Force is a home-services franchise installing durable concrete-coating floors and garage-organization systems. Franchisees run a crew-based operation handling consultations, floor coatings, and installations in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Garage Force franchise requires a total initial investment of $133K – $201K, including a $25K – $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $423K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $133K – $201K
- 51st pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $423K
- 7th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 8th pct Home Services
- Units
- 306
- 81st pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home 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 $133K – $201K including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $423K/year (median $319K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 59/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 38.4% CAGR over 3 years with 306 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Ilfrich Integrated Solutions, Inc.
- Predecessor
- Garage Force International, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President, Chief Executive Officer, Treasurer, Secretary and Director
- Michael J. Peterson
- Incorporated in
- Wisconsin
- HQ
- 700 Stonebridge Avenue, Onalaska, Wisconsin 54650
- Auditor
- Pitzl & Pitzl, PA
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $16.1M
- vs $12.1M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Independent franchisee associations
- Independent Franchisee Association
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- of the Franchisor
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Michael J. Peterson
- Headquarters
- Wisconsin
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 40
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 27% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Initial Equipment Packagenot refundable | $65K | $65K | |
| Initial Coating Productsnot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Wages, Travel and Living Expenses for You and Your General Manager During Initial Training Programnot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Computer Hardware and Softwarenot refundable | $600 | $5K | |
| Office and Storage Space (3 Months)not refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Vehiclenot refundable | $2K | $42K | |
| Office Furniture, Supplies and Equipmentnot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Insurance (3 Months)not refundable | $300 | $2K | |
| Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Payroll Services, etc.)not refundable | $900 | $2K | |
| Opening Assistance and Travel Expensesnot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $500 | $500 | |
| Additional Funds (3 Months)not refundable | $4K | $12K | |
| Total initial investment | $133K | $201K |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $133K – $201K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $4K – $12K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $10K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 66% below the home services norm.
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 Garage Force 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
$175K
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 Garage Force 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
- Avg gross sales
- $423K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $319K
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
- 69 outlets
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $125K→$1.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 319 Home Services brands
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 $423K/year in gross sales. Median is $319K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.5x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Home Services average of 8.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 38.4% CAGR over 3 years across 306 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 Home Services averages
How Garage Force Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 306
- Opened
- 95
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 21
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 6.9%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +38.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +38.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 95
- Closed (3yr)
- 13
- Terminated (3yr)
- 3
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 4
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 0.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 0.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 7.9%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 34 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 35
- Loan volume
- $5.3M
- Median loan
- $150K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- no resolved loans yet — rate needs a terminal outcome
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
- 25.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 9
- Defaults
- 2
Vintage analysis
Garage Force charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Garage Force franchisees
Showing 3 of 9 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Garage Force's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 9 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 20 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
Instant access. No subscription.
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
Caution-level risk: Recent regulatory violation involving licensing violations, absence of profitability disclosure, and rapid growth metrics warrant deep due diligence before committing $132K-$200K investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Nevada State Contractors Board investigated Franchisor's contractor license and its franchisee's use of that license; Franchisor pled guilty to two statutory violations, paid $21,146 in fines/costs, and was placed on one year probation (settled Feb 2023).
Largest disclosed settlement: $21,146
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Pitzl & Pitzl, PA
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
- 01MINORRegulatory violation: Nevada State Contractors Board guilty plea to improper licensing and unauthorized operation under franchisor's license (Feb 2023) — suggests compliance/operational oversight issues
- 02MINORHigh initial investment ($132.9K-$200.6K) + 5% royalty on gross with unverified net income creates cash flow risk if average revenue doesn't translate to adequate margins
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 0 |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 15 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 17 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 11 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Onalaska, Wisconsin |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Law of the state in which the Franchised Territory is located (variable, not fixed) |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Nevada State Contractors Board investigated Franchisor's contractor license and its franchisee's use of that license; Franchisor pled guilty to two statutory violations, paid $21,146 in fines/costs, and was placed on one year probation (settled Feb 2023).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 33 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 18 hrs
- Training location
- La Crosse, WI or another location designated by the Franchisor
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
97 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Garage Force · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Garage Force franchise?
The total investment to open a Garage Force franchise ranges from $133K – $201K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Garage Force franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Garage Force FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $423K. The median is $319K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Garage Force 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 Garage Force FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Garage Force's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Garage Force (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 Garage Force franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Garage Force has 306 total units in the United States, including 301 franchised units and 5 company-owned units. 95 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Garage Force a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Garage Force as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 59 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.
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.