Merry Maids Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Merry Maids is a residential cleaning franchise providing recurring house-cleaning service with trained teams. Franchisees run a route-based operation managing crews, scheduling, quality, and customer retention in a local territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Merry Maids franchise requires a total initial investment of $127K – $170K, including a $55K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $348K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 5.0% charge-off rate across 115 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $127K – $170K
- 49th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $348K
- 7th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 30th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 802
- 85th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- 5.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance 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 $127K – $170K including a $55K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $348K/year (median $263K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 56/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 5.0% across 115 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -15.2% 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
- Merry Maids SPE LLC
- Parent company
- ServiceMaster Systems LLC (SM Systems)
- Ultimate parent
- RW Parent LLC
- Predecessor
- Merry Maids Limited Partnership
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Jon Nobis
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- One Glenlake Parkway, 14th Floor, Atlanta, Georgia 30328
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $344.1M
- vs $361.2M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jon Nobis
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 45
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 53% below the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $55K | $55K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses During Training | $3K | $7K | |
| Real Estate and Improvements | $2K | $4K | |
| Software and Hardware | $2K | $4K | |
| Office Equipment | $5K | $7K | |
| Opening Inventory | $7K | $8K | |
| Insurance | $3K | $9K | |
| Employee Screening | $80 | $160 | |
| Telephone Answering Service | $50 | $300 | |
| Opening Marketing | $6K | $8K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $1K | $10K | |
| Professional Fees | $5K | $15K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $38K | $43K | |
| Total initial investment | $127K | $171K |
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
- $127K – $170K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $38K – $43K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $55K – $55K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- tiered · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.3%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.3%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.3% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $499 |
| Transfer fee | $14K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Inventory (initial) | $7K – $8K |
| Total fee load | 8.3% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 61% below the cleaning & maintenance norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$37K
10.7% margin
Unlevered ROIC
20%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Merry Maids unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
20%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Merry Maids units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$258K
on $1.3M purchase
Total debt
$1.0M
SBA $0.6M + senior + seller note
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
- Avg gross sales
- $348K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $263K
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
- 725 outlets
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $10K→$1.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 192 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
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 $348K/year in gross sales. Median is $263K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.3x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.3% (near the Cleaning & Maintenance average).
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 contracting at -15.2% 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 Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Merry Maids Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 802
- Opened
- 8
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 73
- Terminated
- 10
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 7
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 11.2%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -15.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -15.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 8
- Closed (3yr)
- 73
- Terminated (3yr)
- 10
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 7
- Transfers (3yr)
- 35
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 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
- 115
- Loan volume
- $31.4M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 5.0%
- 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)
- 95.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 56
- Defaults
- 4
- Typical loan rate
- 6.7%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 15.4%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 1,823
- 5.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 11%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 28% went to startups / new businesses, 72% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in janitorial services, franchised businesses charge off at 15.4% vs 22.8% for independents — franchising is associated with 32% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Merry Maids charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Merry Maids franchisees
Showing 3 of 56 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 Merry Maids'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
- 29-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 5.0% — 69% 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
Established brand with solid unit base, but undisclosed profitability metrics, corporate litigation exposure, and slowing growth warrant careful validation of actual franchisee earnings.
Litigation (Item 3)
Three affiliate actions disclosed: (1) California v. Arby's Restaurant Group re no-poaching provisions (settled 2019); (2) California v. Dunkin' Brands re no-poaching provisions (settled 2019); (3) New York v. Dunkin' Brands re credential-stuffing data breaches (consent order 2020, $650,000 penalty). No litigation against Merry Maids SPE LLC directly required to be disclosed.
Largest disclosed settlement: $650,000
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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — cannot validate profit claims against $487K average revenue
- 02MINORParent company litigation involving affiliate brands (no-poaching, cybersecurity) signals corporate governance and legal exposure risks
- 03MINOR7% YoY unit growth is modest for a 802-unit system; suggests market saturation or franchisee churn concerns
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($126.8K–$170.1K) plus 7% royalty leaves thin margins if net income is below 20–25% of revenue
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.3% 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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 40,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 45 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | GA |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Three affiliate actions disclosed: (1) California v. Arby's Restaurant Group re no-poaching provisions (settled 2019); (2) California v. Dunkin' Brands re no-poaching provisions (settled 2019); (3) New York v. Dunkin' Brands re credential-stuffing data breaches (consent order 2020, $650,000 penalty). No litigation against Merry Maids SPE LLC directly required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Memphis, Tennessee (or designated location); includes online self-paced and virtual classroom components
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Franchisor designates territory; franchisee selects office location within Territory
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Merry Maids 360 (MM360)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Merry Maids 360 (MM360)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
56 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Merry Maids · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Merry Maids franchise?
The total investment to open a Merry Maids franchise ranges from $127K – $170K, with an initial franchise fee of $55K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Merry Maids franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Merry Maids FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $348K. The median is $263K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Merry Maids 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 Merry Maids FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Merry Maids's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Merry Maids has a charge-off rate of 5.0% across 115 loans, meaning 5.0% 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 Merry Maids franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Merry Maids has 802 total units in the United States, including 802 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 8 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Merry Maids a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Merry Maids as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 56 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.
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.