FranchiseVerdict
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FV-01959·MODERATEExcellent86

Pip

Business Services - Printing & SignsFranchising since 1968Website
Investment
$247K – $274K
83rd pct Printing & Si…
Avg revenue
67th pct Printing & Si…
Royalty
Units
50
47th pct Printing & Si…
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $247K – $274K including a $55K franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100.
  • System contracting at -9.1% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
POSTAL INSTANT PRESS, LLC
Parent company
Franchise Services, LLC
Incorporated in
California
HQ
26722 Plaza, Mission Viejo, California 92691
Auditor
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$2.7M
vs $2.6M prior year

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 PIP unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: retail
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $247K–$274K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $125K–$150K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

13%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$53K
EBITDA margin
7.0%
Total invested
$398K
Payback
91 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

PIP (Printing for Less) franchisees operate printing and document services centers, offering commercial printing, promotional products, signs, and business services to local customers. Day-to-day operations include managing printing equipment, handling customer orders, overseeing production, managing staff, and building B2B client relationships in their protected territory.

CEO
Richard A. Lowe
Founded
1968
FDD year
2026
States available
19

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$247K – $274K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$125K – $150K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$55K
Royalty
From .25% to 6.5% of Gross Sales
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
27.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
50
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
2
Turnover rate
4.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-3.8%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-9.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
50-2
Franchised units
2025
52
Franchised units
2026
55
Franchised units

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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 11 states
Not registered

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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

65
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE65 / 100

Declining franchise system with regulatory compliance issues, no financial transparency, and unclear royalty structure represents meaningful investment risk requiring significant validation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDUnit count declined 3.8% YoY (50 units total) indicating system contraction and weak franchisee recruitment/retention
  2. 02MINORNo Item 19 financial performance disclosure means prospective franchisees cannot verify actual profitability claims or ROI potential
  3. 03HIGHAffiliate litigation (TeamLogic/California) for improper franchise sales practices suggests possible compliance weaknesses across parent company's franchise operations
  4. 04MINORRoyalty structure ranges from 0.25% to 6.5% with no clarity on triggers or escalation, creating uncertainty about actual cost burden
  5. 05MINORHigh initial investment ($246,690-$274,190) with 10-year commitment combined with shrinking franchise base increases franchisee financial risk

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Geographic area with Business Count
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
1
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
44 hrs
On-the-job training
216 hrs
POS system
PrintersPlan
Operating tech stack

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

18 numbers

Locked
(805) 965-••••
GOLETA,
CA
(907) 274-••••
ANCHORAGE,
AK
(407) 847-••••
KISSIMMEE,
FL

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

PIP · FDD (2026) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above