Signarama Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Signarama is a B2B franchise producing custom signs, banners, vinyl lettering, and promotional graphics for local businesses. Franchisees run a sign shop handling design, production, and customer accounts in a protected territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Signarama franchise requires a total initial investment of $245K – $345K, including a $25K – $50K franchise fee. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $916K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 29.5% charge-off rate across 276 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $245K – $345K
- 58th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $916K
- 12th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 684
- 62nd pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- 29.5%
- % 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 $245K – $345K including a $50K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $916K/year (median $593K).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 29.5% across 276 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- TERMSNo 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
- Sign*A*Rama Inc.
- Parent company
- United Franchise Group (Starpoint Brands division)
- Ultimate parent
- United Franchise Group
- Predecessor
- Speedy Sign*A*Rama, USA
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Ray Titus
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Florida
- HQ
- 2121 Vista Parkway, West Palm Beach, FL 33411
- Auditor
- Milbery & Kesselman, CPAs, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $20.1M
- vs $20.9M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Ray Titus
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 1986
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 44
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about average for a business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50K | $50K | |
| Travel and Living expenses while at training school | $245 | $566 | |
| Real Estate (Rental payments) | $4K | $8K | |
| Real Estate Service Charge | $0 | $2K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $2K | $44K | |
| Architectural Services | $0 | $10K | |
| Standard Equipment Package | $150K | $166K | |
| Insurance | $1K | $2K | |
| Security Deposit/Utility Deposits/Licenses | $0 | $3K | |
| Additional Funds (0-6 mos.) | $39K | $61K | |
| Total initial investment | $245K | $345K |
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
- $245K – $345K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $39K – $61K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of $500 per month or 6% of gross sales up to $1,0…
- Ad fund
- 1.0
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | greater of $500 per month or 6% of gross sales up to $1,000,000 and 4% over $1,000,000 |
| Technology fee | $467 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $40K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 39% below the business services norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · 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
$128K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
37%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
32 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Signarama unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
37%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Signarama units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.3M
on $6.4M purchase
Total debt
$5.1M
SBA $3.2M + senior + seller note
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
- Avg gross sales
- $916K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $593K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- historical financial performance (average/median/high/low gross sales by segment)
- Sample size
- 313 outlets
- vs category median 35 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $32K→$10.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 296 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 $916K/year in gross sales. Median is $593K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 3.1x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — 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 Signarama Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 684
- Opened
- 23
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 20
- Terminated
- 15
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.9%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 16
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 15
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 35
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 7.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 97.2%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 2.2%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 40 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
- 276
- Loan volume
- $64.7M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 29.5%
- 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)
- 70.5%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 25.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 111
- Defaults
- 56
- Typical loan rate
- 7.3%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 20.4%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 910
- 2.0 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 14%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 47% went to startups / new businesses, 53% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in sign manufacturing, franchised businesses charge off at 20.4% vs 17.9% for independents — franchising is associated with 14% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Signarama charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Signarama franchisees
Showing 3 of 111 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 Signarama's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 16-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 29.5% 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 29.5% — 84% 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
Established system since 1987 with strong financials (net worth $17.5M, net income $750,109, 684 units) and Item 19 disclosed. Only one recent franchisee royalty suit plus old historical regulatory orders (1993 FTC, 1996 MD); franchised units dropped notably (390 of 684).
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation information is required to be disclosed in this Disclosure Document.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Milbery & Kesselman, CPAs, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOR1 recent franchisee royalty suit; old 1993 FTC/1996 MD orders
- 02MINORFranchised units 390 vs 684 total
- 03MEDStrong financials, long history, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 35 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 35 years |
| Territory type | non_exclusive |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| 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 | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Palm Beach County, Florida |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation information is required to be disclosed in this Disclosure Document.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 80 hrs
- Training location
- West Palm Beach, Florida
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 80 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- POS system
- Corebridge
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Corebridge
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
321 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Signarama · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Signarama franchise?
The total investment to open a Signarama franchise ranges from $245K – $345K, 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 Signarama franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Signarama FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $916K. The median is $593K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Signarama 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 Signarama FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Signarama's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Signarama has a charge-off rate of 29.5% across 276 loans, meaning 29.5% 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 Signarama franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Signarama has 684 total units in the United States, including 684 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 23 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Signarama a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Signarama 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
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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.