Management Recruiters Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
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 →
Data last verified · figures per the 2023 FDD issuance
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 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 $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).
- 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.
- 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).
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 97% 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 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Real Estate and Improvements | $0 | $2K | |
| Computer Hardware | $0 | $5K | |
| Applicant Tracking System | $900 | $2K | |
| Online Recruiting Software | $1K | $6K | |
| Cabling for Office | $0 | $2K | |
| Internet | $0 | $300 | |
| Office Furniture | $0 | $3K | |
| Licensing Fees | $0 | $300 | |
| Initial Office Supplies | $300 | $500 | |
| Business Insurance | $2K | $2K | |
| Professional Services | $0 | $3K | |
| Miscellaneous | $0 | $500 | |
| Salaries: Researcher | $0 | $6K | |
| Salaries: Account Executive | $0 | $9K | |
| Salaries: Project Coordinator | $0 | $9K | |
| Printer (all in one) | $0 | $150 | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $0 | $6K | |
| Total initial investment | $44K | $96K |
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% — below the Business Services average of 12.0%.
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 averages
How Management Recruiters Compares
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
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 6
- Closed (3yr)
- 25
- Terminated (3yr)
- 4
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- 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.
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%
- 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.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Management Recruiters's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 24-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
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)
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
Largest disclosed settlement: $300,000
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
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status of 'False' suggests franchisor financial instability or restructuring concerns
- 06MEDRoyalty 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 | none |
| 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
FDD download
Management Recruiters · FDD (2023) PDF
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?
No average owner earnings figure for Management Recruiters is on file. Item 19 — where a franchisor may disclose what its outlets earn — is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and we have not established what this brand's FDD says. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
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.