Signal 88 Security Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $127K – $5.1M
- Disclosed sales
- $1.4M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 21.1%
- on 23 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Signal 88 Security franchise requires a total initial investment of $127K – $5.1M, including a $120K – $240K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.4M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 21.1% charge-off rate across 23 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
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 scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $127K – $5.1M
- 44th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- 14th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 2nd pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 191
- 56th pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- 21.1%
- % 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 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 $127K – $5.1M including a $120K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.4M/year (median $881K).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 21.1% across 23 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHPositive: net +9 franchised outlets in the latest year; 51 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Signal 88, LLC
- Parent company
- Signal 88 Franchise Group, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2024 FDD
- Predecessor
- Signal 88 Holdings, LLC (also Signal 88 Franchise Group, Inc. / Signal 88 Security Group, LLC)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- CEO, Director, President, and Treasurer
- Reed Nyffeler
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 3880 S. 149th Street, Ste. 102, Omaha, Nebraska 68144
- Auditor
- CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $296.8M
- vs $240.9M prior year
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
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 1863% above the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $120K | $120K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $3K | $10K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $4K | $5.0M |
| Total initial investment | $127K | $5.1M |
Source: Signal 88 Security 2024 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
- $127K – $5.1M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $3K – $10K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $120K – $240K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- No advertising fund existed during the most recently conc…
- Total fee load
- 0.1%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Total fee load | 0.1% of rev |
A 0.1% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 99% above the business services norm.
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Signal 88 Security until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for ad fund rate, 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.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$2.6M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Signal 88 Security 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 ad fund rate, 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.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for ad fund rate, 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.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $881K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Avg. revenue per open and operating franchised business unit, Table 1.1 Total Gross Revenue (Additional Disclosures), 2023
- Sample size
- 191 outlets
- vs category median 37 · large
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
Compared against 296 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.
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 $1.4M/year in gross sales. Median is $881K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.5x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 0.1% — below the Business Services median of 9.0%.
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 medians
How Signal 88 Security Compares
Category median of published Business Services 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 2024 · Item 20
This franchisor's Item 20 states that its outlet tables count territories rather than individual premises, so the figure above is a count of territories. We label a brand here only where its filing says so, and a brand that counts territories without stating it cannot be identified from its text — so this is not a complete list.
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 191
- Opened
- N/A
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- N/A
- Turnover rate
- 2.8%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Signed, not yet open
- 51
- 0.27 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 58
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
149 current owners across 42 states; 9 former (terminated, transferred or not renewed) listed separately.
- FL 22
- CA 16
- TX 15
- IL 8
- GA 7
- SC 5
- TN 5
- VA 5
- AZ 4
- NC 4
- AL 3
- CO 3
- +30 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 23
- Loan volume
- $3.2M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 21.1%
- on 23 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)
- 78.9%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 10
- Defaults
- 4
- Typical loan rate
- 6.8%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 5616
- Jobs supported
- 255
- 8.0 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 61%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 13% went to startups / new businesses, 87% to established operators
Top lenders financing Signal 88 Security franchisees
Showing 3 of 10 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.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Signal 88 Security from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 13.7%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 82%
- Avg interest rate
- 6.80%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $109K
- Lender concentration
- 60.9%
- Job velocity
- 8.0 per $100K
- Jobs supported
- 255
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 61% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | N/A | N/A | |
| 2 | 1 | N/A | N/A | |
| 3 | 1 | N/A | N/A | |
| 4 | 1 | N/A | N/A | |
| 5 | 1 | N/A | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXTexas | 7 | 1 | 20.0% |
| FLFlorida | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| ILIllinois | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| CACalifornia | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| KYKentucky | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| LALouisiana | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MAMassachusetts | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NENebraska | 1 | 0 | -- |
| NVNevada | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
A 21.1% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 5 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 21.1% — 31% 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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
2 current actions (insurance company breach-of-contract claim vs. Signal and franchisees for >$500K; Signal's own suit against a terminated franchisee for declaratory judgment/damages, with counterclaims), 2 prior actions (software vendor dispute resulting in $109,666.67 arbitration-related liability confirmed on appeal to Nebraska Supreme Court; franchisee class-type suit settled for $43,000), and 1 regulatory action (Indiana security license surrender + $2,500 fine in 2018).
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total Security Revenues line includes Security Revenue-Franchisee (pass-through), Royalty Fees, and Fleet Service and Other Revenue; other_revenue field reflects Fleet Service and Other Revenue ($3,872,201 in 2023), which is also the disclosed required-purchase supplier revenue amount
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: Yes
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 0.1% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 3 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 3 years |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 75 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 7 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Douglas County, Nebraska |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Nebraska |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
2 current actions (insurance company breach-of-contract claim vs. Signal and franchisees for >$500K; Signal's own suit against a terminated franchisee for declaratory judgment/damages, with counterclaims), 2 prior actions (software vendor dispute resulting in $109,666.67 arbitration-related liability confirmed on appeal to Nebraska Supreme Court; franchisee class-type suit settled for $43,000), and 1 regulatory action (Indiana security license surrender + $2,500 fine in 2018).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- On-the-job training
- 65 hrs
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 65 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- HubSpot (CRM); proprietary integrated patrol and guard management system software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: HubSpot (CRM); proprietary 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
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Signal 88 Security franchise?
The total investment to open a Signal 88 Security 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 88 Security franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Signal 88 Security 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.
Who owns Signal 88 Security?
Signal 88 Security is franchised by Signal 88, LLC. Its parent company is Signal 88 Franchise Group, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Signal 88 Security 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 Signal 88 Security FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Signal 88 Security's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Signal 88 Security has a charge-off rate of 21.1% across 23 loans, meaning 21.1% 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 Signal 88 Security franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Signal 88 Security has 191 total units in the United States, including 191 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is Signal 88 Security a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Signal 88 Security as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 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
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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.