Neat Method Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
NEAT Method is a luxury home-organization franchise that designs and implements custom, styled storage and decluttering solutions for homes. Franchisees run a service business handling client consultations, on-site organizing, and product sourcing in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Neat Method franchise requires a total initial investment of $38K – $45K, including a $30K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $163K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $38K – $45K
- 2nd pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- $163K
- 1st pct Automotive
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 94
- 29th pct Automotive
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Automotive · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Automotive 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 $38K – $45K including a $30K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $163K/year (median $134K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 83/100 (higher is better).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- NM Franchise Operations, LLC
- Parent company
- Neat Method Strategies Holdings, LLC (NMSH)
- Ultimate parent
- AMM Holdings, LLC
- Predecessor
- Neat Method, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Ashley Murphy
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 8 White Birch, Littleton, Colorado 80127
- Auditor
- Lenahan, Smith and Bargiachi, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $8.3M
- vs $8.2M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Ashley Murphy
- Headquarters
- CO
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 34
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 96% below the typical automotive franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $2K | $3K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $6K | $12K |
| Total initial investment | $38K | $45K |
Source: Neat Method 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $38K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $2K – $3K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8%-20% of Service Revenue (service billings excluding pro…
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 89% below the automotive 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
$28K
17.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
64%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
19 mo
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 Neat Method unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
64%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
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 Neat Method units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$327K
on $1.6M purchase
Total debt
$1.3M
SBA $0.8M + 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
- $163K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $134K
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 Service Revenue by Tier, Quartile, and Year of Operation
- Sample size
- 81 outlets
- vs category median 70
- Range (low → high)
- $15K→$600K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $46K→$331K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- 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 167 Automotive 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 $163K/year in gross sales. Median is $134K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.0x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% (near the Automotive 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 roughly stable (+4.4% 3-year CAGR) with 94 units.
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 Automotive averages
How Neat Method Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 94
- Opened
- 7
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 5
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 7.4%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +4.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +4.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 7
- Closed (3yr)
- 5
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 6
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 11 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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
Neat Method presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to missing profitability data, regulatory compliance history, opaque fee structures, and uncertain system growth metrics.
Litigation (Item 3)
One consent order: April 2018, State of Washington Department of Financial Institutions alleged Neat Method Inc. sold franchise without permit and without providing disclosure document; predecessor agreed to cease and desist and pay $500 investigation costs
Largest disclosed settlement: $500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Lenahan, Smith and Bargiachi, P.C.
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
Score breakdown · what drove the 83 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosed — impossible to validate the $163,424 average revenue claim or actual profitability
- 02MINORRegulatory violation in 2018 (Washington State Consent Order) indicates compliance weaknesses in franchise sales and disclosure practices
- 03MINORWide royalty range (8-20%) based on opaque tier/revenue targets creates uncertainty about true cost structure and franchisee profitability at different performance levels
- 04MINOROnly 94 units with unknown growth trajectory — system size unclear; no disclosure of unit closures or attrition rates
- 05MINORHigh royalty ceiling (20%) combined with unknown net income makes ROI on $37,500-$44,500 investment difficult to assess
- 06MINOR5-year term is relatively short; renewal risk and unit economics post-year-5 unknown
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% 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 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Jefferson County, Colorado |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | CO |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One consent order: April 2018, State of Washington Department of Financial Institutions alleged Neat Method Inc. sold franchise without permit and without providing disclosure document; predecessor agreed to cease and desist and pay $500 investigation costs
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 28 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 16 hrs
- Training location
- Virtual and Nashville, Tennessee
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 0 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Not applicable - home-based business
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Designated CRM software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Designated CRM software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
12 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Neat Method · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Neat Method franchise?
The total investment to open a Neat Method franchise ranges from $38K – $45K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Neat Method franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Neat Method FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $163K. The median is $134K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Neat Method 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 Neat Method FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Neat Method's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Neat Method (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 Neat Method franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Neat Method has 94 total units in the United States, including 94 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Neat Method a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Neat Method as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 83 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.