Merry Maids Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $127K – $170K
- Disclosed sales
- $348K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 5.0%
- on 115 loans
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 →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
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 scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $127K – $170K
- 49th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $348K
- 7th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 38th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 802
- 84th 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 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 $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 54/100 (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).
- GROWTHNegative: net -82 franchised outlets in the latest year (8 opened, 90 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- 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)
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2025 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- RW Parent LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2025 FDD
- 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
- $325.2M
- vs $344.7M prior year
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 9
4 other brands on this site name RW Parent LLC as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 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
- 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 12% 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 by sales volume · 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 35% below the cleaning & maintenance norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Merry Maids until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$189K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own 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?
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 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.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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→$1.8MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 61 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- 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 191 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 median).
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 medians
How Merry Maids Compares
Category median of published Cleaning & Maintenance 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 2025 · Item 20
This franchisor's Item 20 states that its outlet tables count territories rather than individual premises, so the figure above is a count of territories. We label a brand here only where its filing says so, and a brand that counts territories without stating it cannot be identified from its text — so this is not a complete list.
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 802
- Opened
- 8
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 90
- 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
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 10
- Not renewed
- 7
- Transferred
- 35
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 7
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
0 current owners across 0 states; 56 former (terminated, transferred or not renewed) listed separately.
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. 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
- 115
- Loan volume
- $31.4M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 5.0%
- on 115 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)
- 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.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Merry Maids from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.7%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 74%
- Avg interest rate
- 6.67%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $57K
- Lender concentration
- 11.3%
- Job velocity
- 5.8 per $100K
- Startup risk premium
- 0.0pp
- NAICS benchmark
- 16.8%
- NAICS 561720
- Jobs supported
- 1,823
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 11% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Byline Bank | 13 | $6.8M | 9.1% |
| 2 | Customers Bank | 9 | $5.4M | N/A |
| 3 | Bank of America, National Association | 8 | $2.3M | 0.0% |
| 4 | Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 6 | $1.2M | 16.7% |
| 5 | The Huntington National Bank | 6 | $792K | 25.0% |
| 6 | Simmons Bank | 5 | $1.3M | 0.0% |
| 7 | Capital Bank, National Association | 4 | $1.1M | 0.0% |
| 8 | Columbia Bank | 3 | $227K | 0.0% |
| 9 | Zions Bank, A Division of | 3 | $504K | 0.0% |
| 10 | Stearns Bank National Association | 3 | $803K | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXTexas | 12 | 1 | 12.5% |
| CACalifornia | 11 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MIMichigan | 6 | 1 | 33.3% |
| NJNew Jersey | 6 | 0 | 0.0% |
| WIWisconsin | 6 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FLFlorida | 5 | 0 | 0.0% |
| WAWashington | 5 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MNMinnesota | 4 | 1 | 33.3% |
| MOMissouri | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NVNevada | 4 | 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 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)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
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.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 designates the audited financial statements of the direct parent and guarantor ServiceMaster Systems, LLC ('SM Systems') as the primary statements (owner ruling R47): FY2024, in millions - revenue $325.2M (2023: $344.7M), net income $113.4M, total assets $1,685.6M, total liabilities $39.9M, member's equity $1,645.7M. The consolidated statements of the indirect parent ServiceMaster OpCo Holdings, LLC ('SM Manager': revenue $344.1M, net income $52.1M, total assets $1,751.0M) are supplied for disclosure only.
ⓘ 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 54 / 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 territory |
| 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
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.
Who owns Merry Maids?
Merry Maids is franchised by Merry Maids SPE LLC. Its parent company is ServiceMaster Systems LLC (SM Systems). The ultimate parent named in the FDD is RW Parent LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
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 54 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.