Smart Carpet Cleaning Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $111K – $178K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
SMART Carpet Cleaning is a cleaning franchise providing carpet and upholstery cleaning for homes and businesses. Franchisees run local operations, managing technicians, scheduling, and accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A SMART CARPET CLEANING franchise requires a total initial investment of $111K – $178K, including a $34K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2024 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - figures are from a filing two or more years old
Evidence: partial✓ 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 scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $111K – $178K
- 43rd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned onlyn=1
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 14th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 2
- 9th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance 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 $111K – $178K including a $34K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 disclosed $509K from 1 affiliate-owned outlet across 2 total units. This reflects franchisor operations, not franchisee performance.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 44/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +1 franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- FLAGAuditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Smart Franchise LLC
- Predecessor
- Smart Franchise Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Robert E. Valois
- Incorporated in
- Colorado
- HQ
- 609 Gyrfalcon Court, Suite A, Windsor, Colorado 80550
- Auditor
- Soukup, Bush & Associates, CPAs, P.C.
- Audited financials
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2024
- Status as of 2024; may have been resolved in a later filing we don't yet have.
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Smart Carpet Care
- Smart Supply Co
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Robert E. Valois
- Headquarters
- CO
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 14% below the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $34K | $34K | |
| Pre-Opening Travel | $2K | $5K | |
| Leasehold Improvements, Fixtures | $2K | $10K | |
| Office Equipment | $2K | $6K | |
| Vehicle | $25K | $45K | |
| Vehicle Graphic Wrap and Custom Interior Racks | $9K | $10K | |
| Training Package | $16K | $19K | |
| Van Stock Package | $3K | $3K | |
| Commercial Pad Washer | $2K | $20K | |
| Liquid Inventory - First Year | $9K | $11K | |
| Shop Equipment and Supplies | $2K | $3K | |
| Business Permits and Licenses | $25 | $25 | |
| Rent | $600 | $3K | |
| Employee Uniforms | $600 | $700 | |
| Professional Fees | $1K | $2K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $4K | $8K | |
| Total initial investment | $111K | $178K |
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
- $111K – $178K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $4K – $8K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $34K – $34K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $290 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $12K – $14K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for SMART CARPET CLEANING is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one SMART CARPET CLEANING 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 annual revenue, 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.
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
Item 19 disclosed $509K from 1 affiliate-owned outlet across 2 total units. This reflects franchisor operations, not franchisee performance.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single reporting unit - not a system average
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate-Owned Business
- Sample size
- 1
- vs category median 32 · small
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 191 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Cleaning & Maintenance median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
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 Cleaning & Maintenance medians
How Smart Carpet Cleaning Compares
Category median of published Cleaning & Maintenance 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
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 50%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 100.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
The auditor flagged going-concern doubt (Item 21) — the single biggest risk here.
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: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Soukup, Bush & Associates, CPAs, P.C.ⓘ Going-concern language present, but this is an early-stage franchisor with limited operating history — common for new systems and not necessarily a sign of distress.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNegative net worth -$402,759
- 02MINOROnly 2 units total
- 03MEDNo litigation, no bankruptcy; audited, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 187,500 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Colorado |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 47 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 32 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and franchisor facility
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 32 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Smart Carpet Salesforce software system and QuickBooks
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Smart Carpet Salesforce software system and QuickBooks
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a SMART CARPET CLEANING franchise?
The total investment to open a SMART CARPET CLEANING franchise ranges from $111K – $178K, with an initial franchise fee of $34K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do SMART CARPET CLEANING franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the SMART CARPET CLEANING FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns SMART CARPET CLEANING?
SMART CARPET CLEANING is franchised by Smart Franchise LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the SMART CARPET CLEANING 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 SMART CARPET CLEANING FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is SMART CARPET CLEANING's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for SMART CARPET CLEANING (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 SMART CARPET CLEANING franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, SMART CARPET CLEANING has 2 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is SMART CARPET CLEANING a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates SMART CARPET CLEANING as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 44 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.