Pool ScoutsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A POOL SCOUTS franchise requires a total initial investment of $103K – $135K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $292K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 11 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $103K – $135K
- 35th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $292K
- 7th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 39th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 81
- 58th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
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
Only 0.0% of 11 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
172% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $103K – $135K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $292K/year, with an estimated 172% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 43/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 11 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 61.2% CAGR over 3 years with 81 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Pool Scouts Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Buzz Franchise Brands, LLC
- Incorporated in
- VA
- HQ
- 2829 Guardian Lane, Suite 100, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
- Auditor
- Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.7M
- vs $2.5M prior year
Overview
About
Pool Scouts franchisees operate residential pool maintenance and cleaning services, managing weekly/bi-weekly customer visits for chemical balancing, equipment inspection, and debris removal. Day-to-day involves scheduling service calls, managing technician teams or performing solo service work, customer relationship management, and seasonal upsells (equipment repairs, opening/closing services). Revenue scales with customer roster size and geographic territory density.
- CEO
- Brian M. Garrison
- Headquarters
- VA
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 16
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $40K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $33K | $45K |
| Total initial investment | $103K | $135K |
Source: POOL SCOUTS 2024 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$26K
9.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $103K – $135K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $40K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 0.6 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $395 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $292K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $204K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 171.6%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Average and Median Revenue and Metrics
- Sample size
- 60 units
- vs category median 31
- Range (low → high)
- $47K→$1.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- none
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 9 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 204 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
vs Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Pool Scouts Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 81
- Opened
- 13
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 5
- Turnover rate
- 6.2%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +11.3%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +61.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 11
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 16 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
16
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 11
- Loan volume
- $1.6M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 3
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Pool Scouts's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 3 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 7 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 7-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 11 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Moderate risk profile with opaque financial disclosures, corporate stability questions, and non-standard royalty structure offsetting otherwise solid unit growth and no litigation.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Score breakdown · what drove the 43 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot independently verify claimed $292k average revenue or $203k net income figures
- 02HIGHGoing Concern = False suggests potential financial instability at corporate level despite unit growth
- 03MINOR11.3% YoY unit growth is modest for a maturing franchise; no clarification on whether growth is organic or includes acquisitions
- 04MINOR8% royalty on Net Revenue (unusual metric — most use Gross Revenue) creates ambiguity in actual franchisor take and incentivizes cost manipulation
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 | Zip Codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| 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 | 7 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Virginia |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 31 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- ServiceMinder
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ServiceMinder
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
POOL SCOUTS · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a POOL SCOUTS franchise?
The total investment to open a POOL SCOUTS franchise ranges from $103K – $135K, 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 POOL SCOUTS franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the POOL SCOUTS FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $292K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is POOL SCOUTS's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, POOL SCOUTS has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 11 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many POOL SCOUTS franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, POOL SCOUTS has 81 total units in the United States, including 49 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 13 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is POOL SCOUTS a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates POOL SCOUTS as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 43 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.
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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.