SmartBooks Partners Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
SmartBooks Partners is a financial services franchise providing outsourced bookkeeping and accounting to small businesses. Franchisees run practices, managing client accounts and financial service delivery.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A SmartBooks Partners franchise requires a total initial investment of $58K – $79K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. The 2021 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2021 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $58K – $79K
- 27th pct Financial Ser…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned onlyn=1
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 5th pct Financial Ser…
- Units
- 1
- 0th pct Financial Ser…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Financial Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Financial 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 $58K – $79K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports Historical Revenue rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 34/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports Historical Revenue rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- SmartBooks Partners, LLC
- Parent company
- SmartBooks Corp. and Provestments LLC
- Ultimate parent
- SmartBooks Corp.
- CEO title
- Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Calvin Wilder
- CEO experience
- 15 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- South Dakota
- HQ
- 2352 Main Street, Suite 200, Concord, MA 01742
- Auditor
- Reese CPA LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- Most recent fiscal year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Calvin Wilder
- Headquarters
- MA
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2021
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 48% below the typical financial services franchise.
Source: FDD 2021 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown7 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Travel Expenses during initial trainingnot refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Computer Hardware; Software; Other Office Equipmentnot refundable | $2K | $2K | |
| Supplies & Miscellaneous Expensesnot refundable | $0 | $500 | |
| Insurance - 3 monthsnot refundable | $500 | $1K | |
| Legal Feesnot refundable | $1K | $3K | |
| Additional Funds - first 3 months after you begin operationsnot refundable | $5K | $20K | |
| Total initial investment | $58K | $79K |
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
- $58K – $79K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 11.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $175 |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Total fee load | 11.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2021 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
SmartBooks Partners did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one SmartBooks Partners unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
111%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
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: 2021 FDD
Financial Performance
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single reporting unit - not a system average
- Item 19 type
- Historical Revenue
- Sample size
- 1
- vs category median 72 · small
- Reporting year
- 2021
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2021
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 0 / 10 · above
Compared against 45 Financial Services 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 11.0% — below the Financial Services average of 17.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports Historical Revenue rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
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 Financial Services averages
How SmartBooks Partners Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2021 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
No multi-year history disclosed and no opening/closing activity in the last reporting year.
Item 12 · 1 state 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.
1
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?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Small young franchisor (2021) with only 1 company-owned unit and 0 franchised units, and very thin net worth of $17,572. No litigation, no bankruptcy, no going-concern; audited financials with Item 19 disclosed.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Reese CPA LLC
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
Score breakdown · what drove the 34 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORThin net worth $17,572
- 02MINOROnly 1 unit, 0 franchised — unproven system
- 03MINORNo litigation, no bankruptcy
- 04MEDAudited, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 11.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2021 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Massachusetts |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 31 hrs
- Training location
- Greater Boston or Remote
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Genie practice management software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Genie practice management software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
SmartBooks Partners · FDD (2021) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a SmartBooks Partners franchise?
The total investment to open a SmartBooks Partners franchise ranges from $58K – $79K, 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 SmartBooks Partners franchise owners earn?
SmartBooks Partners does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the SmartBooks Partners 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 SmartBooks Partners FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is SmartBooks Partners's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for SmartBooks Partners (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 SmartBooks Partners franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, SmartBooks Partners has 1 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 1 company-owned units.
Is SmartBooks Partners a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates SmartBooks Partners as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 34 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?
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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.