Net Positive Pool ServicesFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES franchise requires a total initial investment of $71K – $222K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.4M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $71K – $222K
- 18th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- 43rd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 39th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 6
- 17th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Cleaning & Maintenance avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 9.7x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchised units fell from 5 to 2 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
191% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $71K – $222K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.4M/year, with an estimated 191% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 31/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- ESCAPE POOL SERVICES, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Matthew Holzbaur
- CEO experience
- 6 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NC
- HQ
- 9735 Northcross Center Ct., Ste. B, Huntersville, NC 28078
- Auditor
- DA Advisory Group PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- Most recent fiscal year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate pool maintenance, cleaning, and chemical management services for residential and commercial clients within a protected territory. Day-to-day operations include equipment servicing, water testing, chlorine/chemical application, customer acquisition, and team management. The business model relies on recurring monthly maintenance contracts and seasonal demand fluctuations.
- CEO
- Matthew Holzbaur
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Travel Expense for Initial Trainingnot refundable | $3K | $8K | |
| Vehiclenot refundable | $0 | $44K | |
| Rent (3 months, plus security deposit)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Local Area Advertising Requirement (3 months)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Grand Opening Marketingnot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Computer Systemnot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Vehicle Wrapnot refundable | $1K | $3K | |
| Furniture and Fixturesnot refundable | $0 | $1K | |
| Equipmentnot refundable | $6K | $10K | |
| Inventory and Suppliesnot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Apparelnot refundable | $0 | $200 | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $400 | $600 | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $2K | $5K | |
| Permits and Licensesnot refundable | $75 | $150 | |
| Additional Funds (3 months)not refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Total initial investment | $71K | $141K |
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.
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
$142K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
89%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
13 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $71K – $222K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 0.5 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $300 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $280K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 191.1%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Actual
- Sample size
- 4 units
- vs category median 31 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $234K→$4.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 204 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Revenue is 9.7x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Net Positive Pool Services Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 6
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 83%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +66.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +150.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Early-stage pool services franchise with minimal unit count, undisclosed financial performance data, and aggressive royalty structure creates moderate-to-elevated risk for franchisees lacking validated revenue benchmarks.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DA Advisory Group PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 31 / 100 rating
- 01MEDOnly 6 units in system with 66.7% YoY growth indicates very early-stage franchise with limited track record and unproven scalability
- 02MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot independently verify claimed $279,636 average net income or validate if all units achieve similar returns
- 03MINORWide investment range ($70,975–$221,700) suggests inconsistent startup costs or territory-dependent pricing, creating uncertainty around actual capital requirements
- 04MINORFranchise fee of $49,500 on $70,975 minimum investment represents 70% of entry cost for a brand with only 6 operating units
- 05MINORAggressive 8% royalty tier (vs. 7% above $1M) on average $1.42M revenue creates $113,561 annual royalty burden — reducing net income visibility and franchisee profitability predictability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Population-based using zip codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | North Carolina |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 8 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 44 hrs
- Training location
- Huntersville, NC or another location designated by Franchisor
- Field support
- 44 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- POS system
- Management and Technology System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Management and Technology System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
7 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES franchise?
The total investment to open a NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES franchise ranges from $71K – $222K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.4M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES (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 NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES has 6 total units in the United States, including 5 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates NET POSITIVE POOL SERVICES as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 31 out of 100, 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
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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.