Signal 88 Security Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
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: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $127K – $5.1M
- 44th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- 15th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 2nd pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 1,060
- 64th 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 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
- COSTTotal investment $127K – $5.1M including a $120K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.4M/year (median $881K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 49/100 (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).
- SCALEEstablished system with 1,060 units across 18 years of franchising. Strong brand recognition and operational playbook.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Signal 88, LLC
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 837% 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%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- -n/d
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near 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.
- 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
4.0% royalty — lower than the category average.
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 Signal 88 Security Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1,060
- Opened
- N/A
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
No multi-year history disclosed and no opening/closing activity in the last reporting year.
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%
- 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: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% 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.
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
What are you signing up for?
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 3 years |
|---|
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.
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 1,060 total units in the United States, including 1,060 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is Signal 88 Security a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Signal 88 Security as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 49 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?
If you represent Signal 88 Security, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other 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.