Schooley Mitchell Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Schooley Mitchell is a B2B cost-reduction consulting franchise that finds savings for businesses on telecom, utilities, and other expenses. Franchisees run an advisory practice auditing bills and negotiating with vendors, earning a share of the savings, typically home-based.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A SCHOOLEY MITCHELL franchise requires a total initial investment of $75K – $263K, including a $73K – $250K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $224K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 37.9% charge-off rate across 68 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $75K – $263K
- 19th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $224K
- 4th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 21st pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 298
- 52nd pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- 37.9%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business Services avg · 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
- Total investment $75K – $263K including a $73K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $224K/year (median $132K).
- Verdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 37.9% across 68 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- 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
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- 1073355 Ontario Limited
- CEO title
- President, Director of Technical Services
- Elizabeth McMillan
- Incorporated in
- Ontario, Canada
- HQ
- 1030 Erie Street, Stratford, Ontario, N4Z 0A1
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $12.0M
- vs $11.8M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Elizabeth McMillan
- Founded
- 1994
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 37
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 36% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $73K | $73K | |
| Training Expenses | $500 | $2K | |
| Equipment and fixtures (in home office)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Equipment and fixtures (Optional office outside of home)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Security deposits, insurance, utilities, licenses, professional fees, inventory, and other prepaid expenses (in home office)not refundable | $0 | $1K | |
| Security deposits, insurance, utilities, licenses, professional fees, inventory, and other prepaid expenses (Optional office outside of home)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Rent (Optional office outside of home)not refundable | $0 | $750 | |
| Office supplies (with logo)not refundable | $800 | $800 | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Development Franchises) | $250K | $250K | |
| Training Expenses (Development Franchises) | $500 | $2K | |
| Equipment and fixtures (in home office) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Equipment and fixtures (Optional office outside of home) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Security deposits, insurance, utilities, licenses, professional fees, inventory, and other prepaid expenses (in home office) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $0 | $1K | |
| Security deposits, insurance, utilities, licenses, professional fees, inventory, and other prepaid expenses (Optional office outside of home) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Rent (Optional office outside of home) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $0 | $750 | |
| Office supplies (with logo) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $1K | $1K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months (Development Franchises)not refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Total initial investment | $328K | $348K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $75K – $263K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $1K – $2K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $73K – $250K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $120 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 83% below the business services norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$29K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
17%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $224K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $132K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Annual Secured Revenue
- Sample size
- 79 units
- vs category median 38 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $55K→$3.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $67K→$605K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 356 Business Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $224K/year in gross sales. Median is $132K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.3x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% — below the Business Services average of 11.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
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 Business Services averages
How Schooley Mitchell Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 298
- Opened
- 58
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 21
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 10.8%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 39
- Closed (3yr)
- 32
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 45.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Last reporting year only, multi-year history not disclosed in this brand's FDD.
Item 20 · 38 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 68
- Loan volume
- $8.8M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 37.9%
- 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)
- 62.1%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 31.2%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 13
- Defaults
- 11
- Typical loan rate
- 8.4%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 36.0%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 134
- 1.7 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 77%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 97% went to startups / new businesses, 3% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in other management consulting services, franchised businesses charge off at 36.0% vs 21.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 71% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Schooley Mitchell charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Schooley Mitchell franchisees
Showing 3 of 13 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Schooley Mitchell's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 10 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 9-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
A 37.9% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 37.9% — 137% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher 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
298-unit consulting franchisor with a net loss of -$417,332 and thin net worth of $740,342. Two litigation matters: a franchisee rescission case (Ontario, settled CAD $100K) and an NY Attorney General investigation. Elevated turnover of 10.77%. Multiple concerns: losses, regulatory investigation, and franchisee misrepresentation history.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $180,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNet income -$417,332, thin net worth $740,342
- 02MINORNY Attorney General investigation plus franchisee rescission/misrepresentation settlement
- 03MINORElevated turnover 10.77%
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Population-based |
| Protected territory | No |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| 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 | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 44 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Pulse
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Pulse
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
293 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
SCHOOLEY MITCHELL · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a SCHOOLEY MITCHELL franchise?
The total investment to open a SCHOOLEY MITCHELL franchise ranges from $75K – $263K, with an initial franchise fee of $73K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do SCHOOLEY MITCHELL franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the SCHOOLEY MITCHELL FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $224K. The median is $132K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is SCHOOLEY MITCHELL's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, SCHOOLEY MITCHELL has a charge-off rate of 37.9% across 68 loans, meaning 37.9% 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 SCHOOLEY MITCHELL franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, SCHOOLEY MITCHELL has 298 total units in the United States. 58 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is SCHOOLEY MITCHELL a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates SCHOOLEY MITCHELL as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 40 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
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.