Lawn Squad Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Lawn Squad is a lawn care franchise providing fertilization, weed control, and turf treatment programs. Franchisees run route-based operations, managing technicians, scheduling, and recurring accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A LAWN SQUAD franchise requires a total initial investment of $79K – $118K, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). 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
- $79K – $118K
- 19th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 34th pct Home Services
- Units
- 16
- 25th 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 $79K – $118K including a $45K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports company-owned outlet performance rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 68/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports company-owned outlet performance rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Lawn Squad Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- Lawn Squad HoldCo Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Authority Brands, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 7120 Samuel Morse Drive, Suite 300, Columbia, Maryland 21046
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $427.8M
- vs $417.2M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Stewart C. Vernon
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 56% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45K | $45K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $15K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $24K | $58K |
| Total initial investment | $79K | $118K |
Source: LAWN SQUAD 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
- $79K – $118K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $15K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $450 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $6K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
LAWN SQUAD did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one LAWN SQUAD unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
67%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
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
Item 19 reports company-owned outlet performance rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. We omit it from rankings.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% (near the Home Services average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports company-owned outlet performance rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
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 Lawn Squad Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 16
- Opened
- 7
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 9
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 44%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 7
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 10 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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- $300K
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (2 loans) — 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
Small, non-growing system with undisclosed going concern issues, unverifiable financial claims, and potential franchisor stability problems despite reasonable unit economics.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ 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: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 68 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status indicates franchisor financial distress or viability questions
- 02MINOROnly 16 units with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnant or declining system
- 03MEDNo Item 19 (financial performance representations) disclosed — cannot validate average revenue/net income claims independently
- 04MINORHigh royalty rate (7%) combined with seasonal lawn care business may compress margins during off-season
- 05MINORSignificant gap between average revenue ($420k) and average net income ($703k) is mathematically impossible and raises data integrity concerns
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 40 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Columbia, Maryland |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | MD |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 38 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 24 hrs
- Training location
- Virtual and Sheffield Village, Ohio
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 5 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- ServiceMinder
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ServiceMinder
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
11 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
LAWN SQUAD · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a LAWN SQUAD franchise?
The total investment to open a LAWN SQUAD franchise ranges from $79K – $118K, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do LAWN SQUAD franchise owners earn?
LAWN SQUAD does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the LAWN SQUAD 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 LAWN SQUAD FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is LAWN SQUAD's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for LAWN SQUAD (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 LAWN SQUAD franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, LAWN SQUAD has 16 total units in the United States, including 7 franchised units and 9 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is LAWN SQUAD a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates LAWN SQUAD as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 68 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.
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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.