Padgett Business Services
Bottom line
- Total investment $9K – $117K including a $63K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $477K/year. Estimated payback in 0.4 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 41/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 75 loans (below the industry average).
- No protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Padgett Business Services unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
112%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Padgett Business Services units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$764K
on $3.8M purchase
Total debt
$3.1M
SBA $1.9M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Padgett Business Services franchisees operate as local accounting and bookkeeping service providers for small businesses, handling tax preparation, payroll processing, financial consulting, and back-office accounting. Day-to-day work involves client relationship management, tax/compliance work, and potential staff oversight as the business scales.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 12 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Padgett shows modest profitability but concerning stagnation, unprotected territories, and lack of transparent financial disclosure—moderate-to-high risk for multi-unit or undercapitalized franchisees.
Score breakdown · what drove the 41 / 100 rating
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth (0.6% YoY) suggests market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction in a 167-unit system
- 02MINORHigh franchise fee ($62,750) relative to investment range ($8,700-$117,025) creates misalignment and barrier to entry
- 03MINORUnprotected territory exposes franchisees to direct competition from same-brand operators and encroachment
- 04MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representations limits ability to validate $178k average net income claim
- 05MINORRoyalty floor of $1,500/month ($18k annually) creates break-even pressure for newer or slower-performing locations
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
66 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Padgett Business Services · FDD (2025) PDF