Smash My TrashFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Smash My Trash franchise requires a total initial investment of $372K – $492K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $876K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 101 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $372K – $492K
- 79th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $876K
- 32nd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 39th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 520
- 80th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Cleaning & Maintenance avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Only 0.0% of 101 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 523 to 504 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $372K – $492K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $876K/year (median $705K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 49/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 101 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Smash Franchise Partners, LLC
- Parent company
- SMT Holdings, LLC
- Incorporated in
- IN
- HQ
- 535 W. Carmel Drive, Carmel, Indiana 46032
- Auditor
- Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $15.3M
- vs $15.0M prior year
Overview
About
Smash My Trash franchisees operate commercial trash compaction service businesses, collecting and compacting waste from commercial properties. Day-to-day work involves truck-based service delivery, equipment maintenance, customer relationship management, and generating revenue from both compaction service fees and ancillary services (resale of materials, additional services).
- CEO
- Justin Haskin
- Headquarters
- IN
- Founded
- 2018
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 37
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $30K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $293K | $393K |
| Total initial investment | $372K | $492K |
Source: Smash My Trash 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$88K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
19%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $372K – $492K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $700 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $876K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $705K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 110 units
- vs category median 31 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $55K→$6.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 204 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
vs Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Smash My Trash Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 520
- Opened
- 34
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 24
- Turnover rate
- 4.6%
- Company-owned
- 16
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +1.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -3.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 52
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 35 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
- 101
- Loan volume
- $38.3M
- Median loan
- $325K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 42
- Defaults
- 0
Vintage analysis
Smash My Trash charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Smash My Trash'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
- 6-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 101 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Avoid — franchisor has going concern status, active litigation for fraud/misrepresentation, stagnant system growth, undisclosed profitability, and aggressive fee structure that may be unsustainable for franchisees.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — existential viability concern for franchisor
- 02HIGHLitigation history includes fraudulent misrepresentation claims and multi-million dollar awards against franchisor in Washington
- 03MINORExtremely slow unit growth (1.6% YoY) with 520 units suggests stagnation or contraction phase
- 04MINORNo Net Income disclosure despite $876k average revenue — profitability opacity is major red flag
- 05MINORHigh minimum royalty ($2,600/truck/month = $31.2k annually) creates fixed cost burden regardless of performance
- 06MINORDual royalty structure (8% compaction + 8% ancillary) on net revenue creates aggressive fee extraction
- 07HIGHItem 19 disclosure violations cited in litigation — franchisor may have misrepresented earnings
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Geographic boundaries and population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 6 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 7 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 32 hrs
- POS system
- Vonigo
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Vonigo
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
109 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Smash My Trash · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Smash My Trash franchise?
The total investment to open a Smash My Trash franchise ranges from $372K – $492K, 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 Smash My Trash franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Smash My Trash FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $876K. The median is $705K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Smash My Trash's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Smash My Trash has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 101 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 Smash My Trash franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Smash My Trash has 520 total units in the United States, including 523 franchised units and 16 company-owned units. 34 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Smash My Trash a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Smash My Trash as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 49 out of 100, 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.
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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.