Management Recruiters Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $2K – $15K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- 10.0%
- on 94 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Management Recruiters, part of MRINetwork, is an executive-recruiting franchise placing mid- to senior-level management candidates with corporate clients. Franchisees run a search firm sourcing and screening candidates and earning placement fees.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Management Recruiters franchise requires a total initial investment of $2K – $15K and an ongoing 1.0% royalty[2]. The 2023 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. SBA 7(a) loans show a 10.0% charge-off rate across 94 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2023 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - figures are from a filing two or more years old
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 scored4 of 4 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $2K – $15K
- 0th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Projection
- Royalty
- 1.0%
- 0th pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 205
- 58th pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- 10.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business 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 $2K – $15K, 1.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports per-transaction figures rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 38/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 10.0% across 94 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHNegative: net -43 franchised outlets in the latest year (6 opened, 49 closed) (Item 20).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -23.4% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- HQ MRI Corporation
- Parent company
- HireQuest, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2023 FDD
- Predecessor
- Management Recruiters International, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President and CEO
- Richard F. Hermanns
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 111 Springhall Drive, Goose Creek, SC 29445
- Auditor
- Plante & Moran, PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $31.0M
- vs $22.5M prior year
Affiliated brands
- Michelin North America
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 6
2 other brands on this site name HireQuest, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2023 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
- Richard F. Hermanns
- Headquarters
- SC
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2023
- States available
- 42
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 94% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2023 · Items 5–7
This franchisor states the initial franchise fee as a rule rather than as one amount, so the figure shown is a single point from it and not what every franchisee pays. Item 5 states it as: No initial franchise fee - Established Firm program. Item 5: "Established Firm franchises do not pay an initial franchise fee." Due at signing instead is the first installment of the ANNUAL SERVICE FEE for the chosen package ($2,000 Connection / $3,000 Customized / $4,000 Consultative), which is an Item 6 recurring fee. A $5,000 Jump Start Fee applies on a Transfer. The stored $0 is accurate, not a missing value.
Full Item 7 breakdown5 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee 1 | — | — | |
| Initial Service Fee Installment 2 | $2K | $4K | |
| Business Insurance 3 | $0 | $3K | |
| Professional Services 4 | $0 | $3K | |
| Additional Misc. Expenses and Funds (1 month) 5 | $0 | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $2K | $15K |
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
- $2K – $15K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $0 – $5K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- N/A
- Paid to franchisor at signing
- Royalty
- 1.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 1.0% of net sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.5% |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $85K – $500K |
| Total fee load | 9.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2023 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Management Recruiters 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 Management Recruiters 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, 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: 2023 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported per transaction, not per outlet
- Item 19 type
- 2022 Executive Search Placement Information for the 197 offices reporting, January 1 - December 31, 2022: 6,352 systemwide placements producing $183,057,280 of systemwide placement fees, an Average Placement Fee of $28,940.86 against a $23,750.00 median, a Highest Placement Fee of $189,062.50 and a Lowest of $196.34, and an average of 31.0 placements per office. Every one of those dollar figures is a single placement, not an office's revenue - the only office-level number in the Executive Search table is the placement count. A companion 2022 Contract Staffing table covers only the 63 offices that participated, since franchisees are not required to offer contract staffing, and reports an $85.44 average contractor bill rate, $16.26 average commission per billable hour, and an Average Commission per office of $180,983.56 against a median of just $42,984.17. The filing warns that not all franchisees are required to self-report placement activity.
- Sample size
- 197
- vs category median 37 · large
- Reporting year
- 2022
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2023
- Disclosed in the 2023 filing, covering 2022
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 296 Business 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 9.5% (near the Business Services median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports per-transaction figures rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System contracting at -23.4% 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 Business Services medians
How Management Recruiters Compares
Category median of published Business 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 2023 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 205
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 49
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 11
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 24.1%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -23.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -23.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 3
- Not renewed
- 11
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 18
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 1.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 6.9%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 23.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 41 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
187 current owners across 41 states.
- FL 20
- CA 14
- NC 13
- TX 13
- OH 10
- MI 9
- GA 8
- NJ 8
- SC 8
- IL 7
- TN 7
- IN 6
- +29 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 40 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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 94
- Loan volume
- $16.8M
- Median loan
- $80K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 10.0%
- on 94 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)
- 88.7%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 38
- Defaults
- 8
- Typical loan rate
- 6.5%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- 11.3%
- brand is below its industry ↓
- Jobs supported
- 627
- 4.4 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 18%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Vintage analysis
Management Recruiters charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Management Recruiters franchisees
Showing 3 of 38 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 Management Recruiters from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 15.1%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 71%
- Avg interest rate
- 6.48%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $267K
- Lender concentration
- 18.1%
- Job velocity
- 4.4 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 11.3%
- NAICS 561310
- Jobs supported
- 627
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 18% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bank of America, National Association | 13 | $905K | 15.4% |
| 2 | Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 6 | $416K | 0.0% |
| 3 | PNC Bank, National Association | 4 | $322K | 0.0% |
| 4 | Readycap Lending, LLC | 4 | $1.1M | 50.0% |
| 5 | The Huntington National Bank | 3 | $1.1M | 0.0% |
| 6 | Horicon Bank | 3 | $90K | 0.0% |
| 7 | Transamerica Small Business Capital, Inc. | 2 | $225K | 0.0% |
| 8 | GE Capital Small Business Finance Corporation | 2 | $977K | 50.0% |
| 9 | Firstrust Savings Bank | 2 | $90K | 0.0% |
| 10 | Fulton Bank, National Association | 2 | $1.9M | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| NJNew Jersey | 9 | 0 | 0.0% |
| WIWisconsin | 6 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
| CACalifornia | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| COColorado | 4 | 1 | 25.0% |
| FLFlorida | 4 | 3 | 75.0% |
| MNMinnesota | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| PAPennsylvania | 4 | 1 | 25.0% |
| TXTexas | 4 | 1 | 25.0% |
| OHOhio | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 10.0% — 38% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower 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
Contracting franchise system with alarming unit decline, undisclosed profitability, extremely low average revenues, unprotected territory, and prior franchisor litigation involving fund mismanagement present high-risk investment profile unsuitable for most investors.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
3 concluded cases involving predecessor franchisor Management Recruiters International, Inc.: breach of contract/royalty non-payment cases settled; largest settlement $300,000 received from Gre-ter Enterprises
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Plante & Moran, PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Audited financials are those of HireQuest, Inc., the publicly-traded parent and guarantor of the franchisor (HQ MRI Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary). Figures are for FY ended Dec 31, 2022 (most recent) and 2021, in thousands. Audited by Plante & Moran, PLLC (auditor since 2017); FY2020 and unaudited Q3 2023 also attached.
ⓘ 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
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 38 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 17.5% YoY (203 units) indicating system contraction and franchisee viability concerns
- 02MINORNo Item 19 (Net Income) disclosure prevents accurate ROI assessment and raises transparency concerns
- 03HIGHPredecessor franchisor litigation history includes $300,000 settlement for encroachment and fund mismanagement—material governance red flag
- 04MINORNo territory protection creates direct competition risk and race-to-bottom pricing dynamics among franchisees
- 05MEDRoyalty structure on disclosed average revenue ($28,940) yields only $2,604 in annual royalties—unit economics appear unsustainable
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2023 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| 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 | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Berkeley County, South Carolina |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | SC |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
3 concluded cases involving predecessor franchisor Management Recruiters International, Inc.: breach of contract/royalty non-payment cases settled; largest settlement $300,000 received from Gre-ter Enterprises
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Virtual
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Applicant Tracking System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Applicant Tracking System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
227 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 Management Recruiters franchise?
The total investment to open a Management Recruiters franchise ranges from $2K – $15K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Management Recruiters franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Management Recruiters 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 Management Recruiters?
Management Recruiters is franchised by HQ MRI Corporation. Its parent company is HireQuest, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2023 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Management Recruiters 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 Management Recruiters FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Management Recruiters's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Management Recruiters has a charge-off rate of 10.0% across 94 loans, meaning 10.0% 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 Management Recruiters franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Management Recruiters has 205 total units in the United States, including 205 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Management Recruiters a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Management Recruiters as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 38 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.