Pool Scouts Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $97K – $134K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- on 11 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Pool Scouts is a franchise providing residential and light-commercial pool cleaning, maintenance, and repairs. Franchisees run a route-based service with technicians on recurring pool-care plans in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A POOL SCOUTS franchise requires a total initial investment of $97K – $134K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 11 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2026 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - the current year's filing
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $97K – $134K
- 34th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subsetProjection
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 56th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 73
- 56th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $97K – $134K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 also discloses per-customer/per-service metrics for the franchisor's affiliate PS Local Operations: average revenue per customer $1,489 (median $931), per pool opening $462 avg, per service visit $168 avg, per pool closing $405 avg (2025); these are affiliate-level, not franchisee whole-unit averages.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 50/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 11 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHNegative: net -1 franchised outlets in the latest year (10 opened, 11 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- FLAGItem 4 discloses a bankruptcy of an officer or of a company an officer ran, not of the franchisor. Review Item 4 for details.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Pool Scouts Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Buzz Franchise Brands, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2026 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer (BFB)
- Kevin W. Wilson
- Incorporated in
- Virginia
- HQ
- 2829 Guardian Lane, Suite 100, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
- Auditor
- Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.6M
- vs $2.6M prior year
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 7
3 other brands on this site name Buzz Franchise Brands, LLC as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2026 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Kevin W. Wilson
- Headquarters
- VA
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 16
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 32% below the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $40K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $27K | $44K |
| Total initial investment | $97K | $134K |
Source: POOL SCOUTS 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $97K – $134K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $40K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 0.1%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of net sales |
| Technology fee | $395 |
| Training fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 0.1% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for POOL SCOUTS is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one POOL SCOUTS unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 also discloses per-customer/per-service metrics for the franchisor's affiliate PS Local Operations: average revenue per customer $1,489 (median $931), per pool opening $462 avg, per service visit $168 avg, per pool closing $405 avg (2025); these are affiliate-level, not franchisee whole-unit averages.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Reported per transaction, not per outlet
- Item 19 type
- historical actual
- Sample size
- 60
- vs category median 32
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 191 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 0.1% — below the Cleaning & Maintenance median of 8.3%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports historical actual rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System contracting at -11.2% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Cleaning & Maintenance medians
How Pool Scouts Compares
Category median of published Cleaning & Maintenance brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 73
- Opened
- 10
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 11
- Terminated
- 7
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 15.1%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -11.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -11.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 7
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 11
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.01 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 9 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
23 current owners across 9 states.
- TX 6
- NC 4
- FL 3
- AZ 2
- GA 2
- SC 2
- VA 2
- IN 1
- TN 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 40 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
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%
- on 11 loans · 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
- Typical loan rate
- 7.4%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 11.6%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 52
- 3.3 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 82%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 100% went to startups / new businesses, 0% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in other services to buildings and dwellings, franchised businesses charge off at 11.6% vs 20.7% for independents — franchising is associated with 44% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Pool Scouts franchisees
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Pool Scouts from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.0%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 86%
- Avg interest rate
- 7.39%
- Lender concentration
- 81.8%
- Job velocity
- 3.3 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 0.0%
- NAICS 561790
- Jobs supported
- 52
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 82% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Midwest Savings Bank National Association | 9 | $1.3M | 0.0% |
| 2 | Stearns Bank National Association | 1 | $67K | 0.0% |
| 3 | Newtek Small Business Finance, Inc. | 1 | $150K | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLFlorida | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| VAVirginia | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| AZArizona | 1 | 0 | -- |
| IDIdaho | 1 | 0 | -- |
| ILIllinois | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| TXTexas | 1 | 0 | -- |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 11 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
(1) Pool Scouts Franchising, LLC v. Stuart Road Corporation and Brent Berridge (E.D. Va., filed 2024) — franchisor sued former franchisee to enforce non-compete; defendant counterclaimed alleging fraud/DTPA violations; settled for $240,250 to franchisor, dismissed with prejudice 2025. (2) Oriole Group, LLC et al. v. Pool Scouts Franchising, LLC and Pool Scouts Services, LLC (E.D. Va., filed 2024) — former franchisee alleged fraud, RICO, DTPA, breach of contract; settled via franchisor repurchase of franchises/assets for $275,000, dismissed with prejudice 2025.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Subject: an officer. An officer’s own bankruptcy or a company an officer ran, not the franchisor’s
Dave Warn, VP of Franchise Development, and spouse filed Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy petition April 24, 2014 (E.D. Cal., Sacramento); plan confirmed August 2014; standard discharge entered January 27, 2020. Not the franchisor entity itself.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 attaches Exhibit N, the audited financial statements of Pool Scouts Franchising, LLC for the year ended December 31, 2025 (Eide Bailly LLP, March 25, 2026); FY2024 and FY2023 are restated (Note 7). FY2025 total revenue $2,566,524 (2024 restated: $2,606,746); net loss $(156,160); total assets $1,365,985; total liabilities $1,272,018 (current $318,793 plus contract liabilities, net of current portion, $953,225 - no single total line is printed); member's equity $93,967.
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 50 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOR11.3% YoY unit growth is modest for a maturing franchise; no clarification on whether growth is organic or includes acquisitions
- 02MINOR8% 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
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 0.1% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 10,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Virginia Beach, VA (mediation only; disputes in court in Virginia) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Virginia |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
(1) Pool Scouts Franchising, LLC v. Stuart Road Corporation and Brent Berridge (E.D. Va., filed 2024) — franchisor sued former franchisee to enforce non-compete; defendant counterclaimed alleging fraud/DTPA violations; settled for $240,250 to franchisor, dismissed with prejudice 2025. (2) Oriole Group, LLC et al. v. Pool Scouts Franchising, LLC and Pool Scouts Services, LLC (E.D. Va., filed 2024) — former franchisee alleged fraud, RICO, DTPA, breach of contract; settled via franchisor repurchase of franchises/assets for $275,000, dismissed with prejudice 2025.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 27 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 27 hrs
- Training location
- Virginia Beach, Virginia (HQ) and virtual/remote
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- ServiceMinder
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ServiceMinder
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
63 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
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 $97K – $134K, 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?
Item 19 of the POOL SCOUTS FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns POOL SCOUTS?
POOL SCOUTS is franchised by Pool Scouts Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is Buzz Franchise Brands, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the POOL SCOUTS FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the POOL SCOUTS FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 73 total units in the United States, including 71 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 10 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is POOL SCOUTS a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates POOL SCOUTS as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 50 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
Are you the franchisor?
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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.