Linc Service Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $67K – $136K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (4)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Linc Service is a B2B franchise network of commercial HVAC and mechanical contractors providing installation, repair, and preventive-maintenance contracts for facilities. Franchisees run a service business managing technicians, dispatch, and recurring commercial accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Linc Service franchise requires a total initial investment of $67K – $136K, including a $65K – $75K franchise fee and an ongoing 2.5% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above 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: high - issued more than two years ago
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 scored3 of 4 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $67K – $136K
- 13th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outletsProjection
- Royalty
- 2.5%
- 1st pct Home Services
- Units
- 121
- 63rd pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
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 $67K – $136K including a $65K franchise fee, 2.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports gross profit rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 53/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -12 franchised outlets in the latest year (3 opened, 15 closed) (Item 20).
- FLAG15 units terminated last reporting year (12.4% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- ABM Franchising Group, LLC
- Parent company
- ABM Industries Incorporated
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2024 FDD
- Predecessor
- The Linc Corporation (Linc Corporation)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Senior Vice President, Franchising
- Bruce Phibbs
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 501 Technology Drive, Suite 3000, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania 15317
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $8.1B
- vs $7.8B prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 8
1 other brand on this site name ABM Industries Incorporated as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2024 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
- Bruce Phibbs
- Headquarters
- PA
- Founded
- 2003
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 29
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 40% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $65K | $75K | |
| Pre-opening Training, Travel & Living Expenses | $2K | $3K | |
| Insurance | — | — | |
| Vehicles | $0 | $4K | |
| Vehicle Markings | $30 | $400 | |
| Real Property | — | — | |
| Equipment | $0 | $8K | |
| Computer Equipment | $0 | $3K | |
| Computer Software Initial Fee/Set Up/Initial Training | $0 | $43K | |
| Additional Funds - 6 Months | — | — | |
| Total initial investment | $67K | $136K |
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
- $67K – $136K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $0 – $0
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $65K – $75K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 2.5%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- No advertising fund required
- Total fee load
- 2.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 2.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $16K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 2.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Linc Service is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Linc Service 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 annual revenue, 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.
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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Includes company-owned outlets
Reported as earnings, not sales — gross sales is not profit
- Item 19 type
- earnings
- Sample size
- 85
- vs category median 32 · large
- Reporting year
- 2022
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2022
- Transparency
- 6 / 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.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 2.5% — below the Home Services median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports gross profit rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System contracting at -11.9% 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 Home Services medians
How Linc Service 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 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 121
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 15
- Terminated
- 15
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 12.4%
- Company-owned
- 32
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 74%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -11.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -11.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 15
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 11.6%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 11.6%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 35 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
87 current owners across 36 states.
- TX 10
- CA 8
- LA 4
- MO 4
- NY 4
- OH 4
- PA 4
- SC 4
- AL 3
- GA 3
- WA 3
- WV 3
- +24 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 13 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 4 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 4
- Loan volume
- $7.0M
- Median loan
- $924K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (4)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 4 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (4)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (4)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- 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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 includes only the audited consolidated financial statements of the parent/guarantor, ABM Industries Incorporated and subsidiaries (FYE Oct 31, 2023), as Exhibit L; the franchisor (ABM Franchising Group, LLC) does not include separate statements but ABM Industries guarantees its obligations. All figures stated in millions in the FDD and converted to whole dollars (x1,000,000). FY2023 total assets 4,933.7M = liabilities 3,133.8M + stockholders' equity 1,799.9M (reconciles). Revenue yr1 = FY2023 8,096.4M; yr2 = FY2022 7,806.6M; net income FY2023 251.3M.
ⓘ 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
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 53 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 9.0% year-over-year (103 units) suggesting system contraction and franchisee struggles
- 02MEDNo average net income disclosed despite $9.75M average revenue — opaque profitability makes ROI impossible to validate
- 03MINORRoyalty range of 2.5%-4.5% lacks transparency on what determines tier placement and actual franchisee burden
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 2.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 6 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 6 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| 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 | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 90 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Governing law | PA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 232 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 136 hrs
- Training location
- Pittsburgh, PA or Atlanta, GA (or franchisee location)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 136 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 1 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- ValueBuilder
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ValueBuilder
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 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 Linc Service franchise?
The total investment to open a Linc Service franchise ranges from $67K – $136K, with an initial franchise fee of $65K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Linc Service franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Linc Service FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Linc Service?
Linc Service is franchised by ABM Franchising Group, LLC. Its parent company is ABM Industries Incorporated. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Linc Service 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 Linc Service FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Linc Service's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Linc Service (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 Linc Service franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Linc Service has 121 total units in the United States, including 89 franchised units and 32 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Linc Service a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Linc Service as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 53 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
Are you the franchisor?
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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.