Payroll Vault
Bottom line
- Total investment $77K – $112K including a $69K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $282K/year. Estimated payback in 1.2 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 32/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 22 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 1960% CAGR over 3 years with 62 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 PAYROLL VAULT unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
39%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 PAYROLL VAULT units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$394K
on $2.0M purchase
Total debt
$1.6M
SBA $1.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate payroll processing and HR compliance services for small-to-mid-market businesses. Day-to-day activities include client onboarding, payroll data entry/processing, tax filing management, and customer support. The model is B2B service-based, typically requiring minimal physical footprint and relying on client retention and upselling of ancillary HR services.
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 · 28 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
Payroll Vault presents moderate-to-cautious risk: early-stage franchise system with undisclosed financials, high upfront costs relative to net income, and royalty structures that may strain smaller locations.
Score breakdown · what drove the 32 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot verify claimed $77,925 average net income
- 02MINORHigh royalty floor of $400/month ($4,800/year) creates breakeven pressure on lower-revenue locations
- 03MINORModest unit growth of 13% YoY with only 62 total units suggests early-stage system maturity risk
- 04MINORFranchise fee of $68,500 represents 88% of average annual net income, creating slow payback period
- 05MINORTotal investment ($77,375–$111,885) requires 12–18 months to recoup at stated profitability levels
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
PAYROLL VAULT · FDD (2025) PDF