Gotcha Covered Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $123K – $167K
- Disclosed sales
- $590K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 31.8%
- on 55 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Gotcha Covered is a home-services franchise selling and installing custom window treatments, blinds, shades, shutters, and drapes, through in-home design consultations. Franchisees run a home-based operation handling consultations, orders, and installation coordination.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Gotcha Covered franchise requires a total initial investment of $123K – $167K, including a $70K franchise fee. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $590K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 31.8% charge-off rate across 55 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), 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 scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $123K – $167K
- 46th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $590K
- 12th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- Flat fee
- Units
- 172
- 73rd pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- 31.8%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home 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 $123K – $167K including a $70K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $590K/year (median $395K).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 31.8% across 55 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHPositive: net +3 franchised outlets in the latest year (24 opened, 21 closed); 3 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- FLAG18 units terminated last reporting year (10.5% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Gotcha Covered Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- FS PEP Holdco, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 10 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Princeton Equity Group, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 10 of the 2026 FDD
- Predecessor
- V2K Window Fashions, Inc. (formerly Vision 2000 Window Fashions, Inc.)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- Wanda Hoegren
- Incorporated in
- CO
- HQ
- 761 W. 1200 N., Suite 300, Springville, UT 84663
- Auditor
- Tanner LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $47.5M
- vs $38.1M prior year
Affiliated brands
- of Pr
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 10
9 other brands on this site name Princeton Equity Group, LLC as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
- 1-800-PACKOUTSA
- Bio-OneC
- Card My YardB
- D1 TrainingC
- Ellie Mental HealthB
- Five Star Bath SolutionsC
- MOSQUITO SHIELDA
- PIRTEKA
- Strickland Brothers 10 Minute Oil ChangeA
Portfolio: Princeton Equity Group (private-equity sponsor)
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2026 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Wanda Hoegren
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2009
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 36
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 14% below the typical home 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) | $20K | $35K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $33K | $62K |
| Total initial investment | $123K | $167K |
Source: Gotcha Covered 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
- $123K – $167K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $35K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $70K – $70K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- Fixed monthly flat fee: Month 1 $350, Month 2 $400, Month…
- Ad fund
- Flat monthly marketing fund fee schedule: Months 1-4 $125…
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | Flat monthly fee schedule based on months in operation, not percentage of sales. Month 37+ = $2,250/month. |
| Technology fee | $476 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $10 |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near 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 Gotcha Covered 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 royalty rate, ad fund rate, 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
$172K
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 Gotcha Covered 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 royalty rate, ad fund rate, 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 royalty rate, ad fund rate, 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
- $590K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $395K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 123 outlets
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $90K→$3.4MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 51 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 319 Home Services brands
Revenue is 4.1x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
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 $590K/year in gross sales. Median is $395K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.1x.
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 5.5% CAGR over 3 years across 172 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 medians
How Gotcha Covered Compares
Category median of published Home 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
- 172
- Opened
- 24
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 21
- Terminated
- 18
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 3
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 12.2%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +5.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +5.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 18
- Not renewed
- 3
- Signed, not yet open
- 3
- 0.02 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 25.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 37 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
150 current owners across 37 states.
- FL 20
- TX 20
- CO 9
- MN 9
- NC 7
- VA 7
- WI 7
- AZ 6
- OH 5
- IL 4
- MI 4
- NJ 4
- +25 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. 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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 55
- Loan volume
- $7.0M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 31.8%
- on 55 loans · 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)
- 68.2%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 25.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 19
- Defaults
- 7
- Typical loan rate
- 8.7%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 16.1%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 145
- 2.1 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 56%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 100% went to startups / new businesses, 0% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in window treatment stores, franchised businesses charge off at 16.1% vs 29.1% for independents — franchising is associated with 45% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Gotcha Covered charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Gotcha Covered franchisees
Showing 3 of 19 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.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Gotcha Covered from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 8.0%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 83%
- Avg interest rate
- 8.71%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $79K
- Lender concentration
- 56.4%
- Job velocity
- 2.1 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 16.1%
- NAICS 442291
- Jobs supported
- 145
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 56% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Midwest Savings Bank National Association | 31 | $4.3M | 50.0% |
| 2 | The Huntington National Bank | 4 | $351K | 0.0% |
| 3 | Harborstone CU | 2 | $145K | 100.0% |
| 4 | Celtic Bank Corporation | 2 | $250K | 100.0% |
| 5 | Readycap Lending, LLC | 2 | $227K | N/A |
| 6 | BancFirst | 1 | $100K | 0.0% |
| 7 | U.S. Bank, National Association | 1 | $25K | 0.0% |
| 8 | First National Bank Ames, Iowa | 1 | $47K | 0.0% |
| 9 | Sunwest Bank | 1 | $51K | 100.0% |
| 10 | Coastal States Bank | 1 | $84K | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLFlorida | 8 | 0 | -- |
| TXTexas | 8 | 1 | 25.0% |
| GAGeorgia | 5 | 0 | 0.0% |
| ILIllinois | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| INIndiana | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 3 | 0 | -- |
| WAWashington | 3 | 2 | 100.0% |
| MDMaryland | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NMNew Mexico | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| PAPennsylvania | 2 | 0 | -- |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
A 31.8% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 31.8% — 99% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Gotcha Covered presents cautionary risk: stagnant unit growth, undisclosed profitability, unprotected territory, recent breach litigation, and opaque royalty burden relative to disclosed revenue.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (plaintiff).
Franchisor as plaintiff: 1 case — Gotcha Covered Franchising, LLC v. Geipel Enterprises LLC and Dennis Geipel (Civil Case No. 250405387, Utah Fourth District Court, filed Oct 27, 2025). Breach of franchise agreement for premature termination, abandonment, and failure to refund customer deposits. Default judgment entered in franchisor's favor.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Tanner LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 financials are the audited consolidated statements of the parent, FS PEP Holdco, LLC (an affiliate of Princeton Equity Group), as of Dec 31, 2024 and 2023; the parent guarantees franchisor performance. FY2024 (most recent) revenues $47,493,372; FY2023 $38,119,222. Net loss $(12,250,006) in 2024 and $(15,967,953) in 2023; members' equity declined from $61.3M to $47.3M. Statements retrospectively combine the March 2024 common-control acquisition of CMY Holdco (Card my Yard Franchising). Auditor address 3300 N. Triumph Blvd., Suite 410, Lehi, UT 84043; firm name not present in extracted text. GCF's own standalone audited statements (as of Dec 31, 2023) are also included but the parent consolidated is the primary disclosure.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
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 40 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo average net income disclosed despite $580k avg revenue — profitability opaque
- 02MINORMinimal system growth (1.8% YoY) with only 172 units suggests market saturation or unit underperformance
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk within service area
- 04HIGHRecent litigation (Oct 2025) for breach and customer deposit non-refund indicates franchisee financial distress and operational compliance issues
- 05MINORFixed royalty structure ($350-$2,250/month) may not scale fairly with seasonal revenue fluctuations typical in window coverings
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
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 | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 30,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Utah County, Utah |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | UT |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Franchisor as plaintiff: 1 case — Gotcha Covered Franchising, LLC v. Geipel Enterprises LLC and Dennis Geipel (Civil Case No. 250405387, Utah Fourth District Court, filed Oct 27, 2025). Breach of franchise agreement for premature termination, abandonment, and failure to refund customer deposits. Default judgment entered in franchisor's favor.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 100 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Virtual / Denver, Colorado (Week 5 in-person)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Gotcha Linked
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Gotcha Linked
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
150 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 Gotcha Covered franchise?
The total investment to open a Gotcha Covered franchise ranges from $123K – $167K, 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 Gotcha Covered franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Gotcha Covered FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $590K. The median is $395K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Gotcha Covered?
Gotcha Covered is franchised by Gotcha Covered Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is FS PEP Holdco, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Princeton Equity Group, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Gotcha Covered 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 Gotcha Covered FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Gotcha Covered's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Gotcha Covered has a charge-off rate of 31.8% across 55 loans, meaning 31.8% 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 Gotcha Covered franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Gotcha Covered has 172 total units in the United States, including 172 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 24 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Gotcha Covered a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Gotcha Covered as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 40 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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If you represent Gotcha Covered, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.