SignalFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Signal franchise requires a total initial investment of $127K – $5.1M, including a $120K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.4M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $127K – $5.1M
- 37th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- 22nd pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 4th pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 1,059
- 53rd pct Business Serv…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Business Services 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
At 0.5x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Large franchise systems benefit from brand recognition, supply chain leverage, and proven operations.
Bottom line
- Total investment $127K – $5.1M including a $120K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.4M/year (median $881K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 5/100.
- System growing at 24.4% CAGR over 3 years with 1059 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Signal 88, LLC
- Parent company
- Signal 88 Franchise Group, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 3880 S. 149th Street, Suite 102, Omaha, NE 68144
- Auditor
- CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $296.8M
- vs $240.9M prior year
Affiliated brands
- Peace of Mind Insurance Company
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Signal franchisees appear to operate as insurance and risk management agencies, likely selling commercial or personal insurance products and services to clients. Day-to-day activities involve client acquisition, policy placement, claims management, and potentially independent contractor field agent management.
- CEO
- Reed Nyffeler
- Headquarters
- NE
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 46
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 11 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchisee Fee (includes Lot Franchise Fee)not refundable | $120K | $5.0M | |
| Licenses | $500 | $6K | |
| Vehicle | $2K | $50K | |
| Equipment | $0 | $6K | |
| Transportation of vehicle | $300 | $2K | |
| Tax, Title, & License Fees | $500 | $5K | |
| Insurance | $250 | $3K | |
| Workers' Compensation Insurance | $150 | $800 | |
| Wages | $0 | $10K | |
| Local Advertising | $0 | $500 | |
| Additional Funds Operating Capital - first 90 days | $3K | $10K | |
| Total initial investment | $127K | $5.1M |
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.
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
$219K
16.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
8%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
12.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $127K – $5.1M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $3K – $10K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $120K – $5.0M
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- -n/d
- Total fee load
- 4.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 4.0% of rev |
A 4.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $881K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 132 units
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- N/A→$12.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $439K→$4.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Compared against 360 Business Services brands
Revenue is only 0.5x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Business Services averages
How Signal Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1,059
- Opened
- 126
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 30
- Turnover rate
- 2.8%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +10.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +24.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 14
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 111
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 19.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 43 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
- 24
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Signal presents moderate-to-cautious risk: lack of profitability disclosure, compliance/litigation history, and modest unit growth limit ability to assess true franchisee returns despite reasonable system size.
Litigation (Item 3)
6 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $500,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen 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 5 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (average net income) disclosed — inability to validate actual profitability against $126,950–$5.1M investment range
- 02HIGHMultiple litigation categories including independent contractor misclassification suit and regulatory settlement — suggests operational/compliance risks
- 03MINORRegulatory settlement regarding agency licensing in Indiana — indicates potential compliance gaps in core business operations
- 04MEDHigh franchise fee ($120,000) relative to disclosed average revenue ($1.37M) without net income transparency creates ROI opacity
- 05MINOR10% YoY unit growth is modest for a 1,059-unit system — slower than healthy franchise systems; growth trajectory unclear
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 | 3 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 3 years |
| Territory type | Zip codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory sizeℹ | 100,000 people |
| 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 |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Nebraska |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
6 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 32 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 65 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Integrated patrol and guard management system software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Integrated patrol and guard management system software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
158 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Signal · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Signal franchise?
The total investment to open a Signal franchise ranges from $127K – $5.1M, with an initial franchise fee of $120K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Signal franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Signal FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.4M. The median is $881K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Signal's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Signal (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Signal franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Signal has 1,059 total units in the United States, including 851 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 126 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Signal a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Signal as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 5 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Signal, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Business Services franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Business Services category
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.