SnellingFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Snelling franchise requires a total initial investment of $45K – $151K, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.4M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 10.5% charge-off rate across 22 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $45K – $151K
- 10th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- 22nd pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- 6th pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 76
- 38th pct Business Serv…
- SBA default
- 10.5%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Business Services 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
Each dollar invested generates 13.8x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Bottom line
- Total investment $45K – $151K including a $25K franchise fee, 4.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.4M/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 11/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 10.5% across 22 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- HQ Franchising Corporation
- Parent company
- HireQuest, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- HireQuest, Inc. (publicly traded on Nasdaq Capital Market)
- CEO title
- President and CEO
- Richard F. Hermanns
- CEO experience
- 23 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 111 Springhall Drive, Goose Creek, SC 29445
- Auditor
- Forvis Mazars LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $37.9M
- vs $34.6M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Snelling franchisees operate staffing agencies that place temporary and permanent employees in client organizations. Day-to-day operations include recruiting and screening candidates, managing client relationships, billing and invoicing for placements, and maintaining compliance with employment regulations. Revenue derives from markups on temporary worker billing and fees from permanent placement commissions.
- CEO
- Richard F. Hermanns
- Headquarters
- SC
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 25
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 12 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $3K | $25K | |
| Real Propertynot refundable | $800 | $2K | |
| Leasehold Improvements, Furniture, Fixturesnot refundable | $2K | $15K | |
| Equipmentnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Start-up Suppliesnot refundable | $200 | $1K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Utility Deposits | $200 | $3K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $300 | $4K | |
| Additional Funds (12 months)not refundable | $30K | $75K | |
| Softwarenot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $45K | $148K |
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.
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
$237K
17.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
158%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $45K – $151K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $75K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $3K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 5.5% of rev |
A 5.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Average and Median Profit
- Sample size
- 74 units
- vs category median 32 · large
- Transparency
- 3 / 5
- vs category median 3 / 5 · typical
Compared against 360 Business Services brands
Revenue is 13.8x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Business Services averages
How Snelling Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 76
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 5
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 6.6%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -2.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Transfer rate
- 2.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 1.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 7.9%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 23 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
- 22
- Loan volume
- $4.1M
- Median loan
- $186K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 10.5%
- 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)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 13
- Defaults
- 2
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Snelling presents moderate-to-high risk due to shrinking unit count, opaque financials, complex layered royalties, and recent litigation suggesting franchisee-franchisor tension.
Litigation (Item 3)
Case No. 2021544173: HQ Franchising Corporation and Hire Quest, LLC v. Tardis Staffing, LLC, James Seale, Jade Holdings, Raider Staffing, Franklin Capital Holdings, and Capital Source Group. Filed April 28, 2021 in 237th District Court, Lubbock County, Texas. Claims: Breach of Contract, Misappropriation of Trade Secrets, Breach of Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Conversion, Tortious Interference with Contracts, and Aiding and Abetting. Former franchisee Tardis Staffing and owner James Seale allegedly converted franchise receivables and violated non-compete covenants. Settled June 4, 2021 via Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction. TRO Defendants (Tardis, Seale, Raider, Jade) agreed to pay $35,000 and comply with injunction terms. Defendants Franklin and Capital settled via confidential settlement agreements. Forbearance Agreement remains in effect.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Forvis Mazars LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Score breakdown · what drove the 11 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-2.6% YoY) suggests system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MEDNo disclosed average revenue despite disclosed net income ($223k) raises transparency concerns and makes ROI analysis impossible
- 03MINORComplex royalty structure (4.5% payroll + 18% gross margin + 7% placement fees) creates unpredictable cost burden and potential for disputes
- 04HIGHLitigation in 2021 involving trade secret misappropriation and non-compete violation indicates franchisee compliance/enforcement issues
- 05HIGHGoing Concern flag is FALSE but this is unclear — requires clarification on franchisor's financial stability
- 06MINORHigh royalty on gross margin (18%) is unusual and may disproportionately penalize high-performing locations
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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Geographic (Counties, City Limits, or Zip Codes) |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | South Carolina |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Case No. 2021544173: HQ Franchising Corporation and Hire Quest, LLC v. Tardis Staffing, LLC, James Seale, Jade Holdings, Raider Staffing, Franklin Capital Holdings, and Capital Source Group. Filed April 28, 2021 in 237th District Court, Lubbock County, Texas. Claims: Breach of Contract, Misappropriation of Trade Secrets, Breach of Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Conversion, Tortious Interference with Contracts, and Aiding and Abetting. Former franchisee Tardis Staffing and owner James Seale allegedly converted franchise receivables and violated non-compete covenants. Settled June 4, 2021 via Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction. TRO Defendants (Tardis, Seale, Raider, Jade) agreed to pay $35,000 and comply with injunction terms. Defendants Franklin and Capital settled via confidential settlement agreements. Forbearance Agreement remains in effect.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- HQ WebConnect
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: HQ WebConnect
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
53 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Snelling · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Snelling franchise?
The total investment to open a Snelling franchise ranges from $45K – $151K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Snelling franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Snelling FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.4M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Snelling's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Snelling has a charge-off rate of 10.5% across 22 loans, meaning 10.5% 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 Snelling franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Snelling has 76 total units in the United States, including 76 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Snelling a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Snelling as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 11 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.