Sonitrol Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $50K – $223K
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (6)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Sonitrol is a security franchise selling and installing verified alarm, access-control, and video systems with 24/7 monitoring for businesses and homes. Franchisees run a local operation handling sales, installation, and service, earning recurring monitoring revenue.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Sonitrol franchise requires a total initial investment of $50K – $223K. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ 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 scored2 of 2 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $50K – $223K
- 7th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- Not extracted
- Units
- 133
- 65th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services 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 $50K – $223K.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 63/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -1 franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 2 closed) (Item 20).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -5.2% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Stanley Convergent Security Solutions, Inc.
- Parent company
- Stanley Industrial & Automotive, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 10 of the 2022 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 10 of the 2022 FDD
- CEO title
- President
- John Skowronski
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 8350 Sunlight Drive, Fishers, Indiana 46037
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $15.6B
- vs $13.1B prior year
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 10
1 other brand on this site name Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2022 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- John Skowronski
- Headquarters
- IN
- Founded
- 1965
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 28
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 19% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 5–7
The filing does not state an initial franchise fee.
Full Item 7 breakdown3 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Optional Central Monitoring Station Equipmentnot refundable | $0 | $120K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Additional Funds: First 9 Months of Operationnot refundable | $50K | $100K | |
| Total initial investment | $50K | $223K |
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
- $50K – $223K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $100K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- N/A
- Fee not disclosed
- Royalty
- Varies; determined based on 2009 historical performance a…
- Ad fund
- No active advertising program or advertising fund/council…
- Total fee load
- 4.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | Varies; determined for each Renewing Type A Franchisee by dividing aggregate royalty fees from 2009 by aggregate Gross Revenues. Rate will not increase more than 0.25% per year and will never exceed 4.0% |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 4.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Sonitrol makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. 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 Sonitrol 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, royalty rate, ad fund rate, 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: 2022 FDD
Financial Performance
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
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 4.0% — below the Home Services median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator retention
System contracting at -5.2% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Multi-unit rate
Only 6% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 Home Services medians
How Sonitrol Compares
Category median of published Home Services 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 2022 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 133
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Turnover rate
- 1.5%
- Company-owned
- 60
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 55%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 6.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +1.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -5.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Reacquired
- 2
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 32 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
82 current owners across 32 states.
- CA 15
- FL 12
- IN 5
- LA 5
- OH 4
- CT 3
- MO 3
- SC 3
- WA 3
- GA 2
- IL 2
- KY 2
- +20 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 6 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 6
- Loan volume
- $2.8M
- Median loan
- $466K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (6)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 6 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (6)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (6)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
Security/alarm franchisor since 1965 with 4 concluded product-failure suits and one pending consumer class action against the parent. Very strong financials (parent-level net worth $11.6B, net income $1.6B), audited. Small 133-unit system but litigation is routine and mostly concluded.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Four concluded civil actions disclosed: (1) Care First Pharmacy v. Stanley Convergent Security Solutions, Inc. (Texas, 2017) - security system failure at pharmacy, settled for $10,000 in December 2017; (2) Oris Development (Cambie) Corp. v. Sonitrol entities (Canada, 2012) - fire loss at condominium development (~$12M CAD claimed), settled for less than $25,000 in March 2016; (3) Collections Fine Jewelry v. Stanley Convergent Security Solutions Inc. (Texas, 2011) - alarm system failure at jewelry store, settled for $800,000 in May 2014; (4) The State of Louisiana/UNO Foundation v. Honeywell International Inc./Sonitrol (Louisiana, 2008) - failure to monitor building and notify of sprinkler activation causing flood damage. All cases involve alleged failures of security/monitoring systems.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 attaches only guarantor Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.'s audited consolidated statements (Exhibit A, in millions): net sales $15,617.2M fiscal 2021, $13,057.7M fiscal 2020 (p73); Item 8 states the same fiscal-2021 total to the dollar, $15,617,155,606 (p22). The franchisor entity, Stanley Convergent Security Solutions, Inc. (Sonitrol), had total revenues of $10,504,640 in fiscal 2021 (Item 8, p22) and files no statements of its own. Franchisor received $5,408,938 during 2021 for sale/lease of equipment and inventory to Sonitrol franchisees; SBDI received $10,504,640 in required-purchase revenue via intercompany transfer.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
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 63 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOR4 concluded suits, 1 pending class action vs parent
- 02MINORnet worth $11.59B, net income $1.6B (parent scale)
- 03MINORno Item 19 disclosure
- 04MINORaudited financials
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 4.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 15 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | Zip codes |
| 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 | 100 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 6 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Wilmington, Delaware |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Four concluded civil actions disclosed: (1) Care First Pharmacy v. Stanley Convergent Security Solutions, Inc. (Texas, 2017) - security system failure at pharmacy, settled for $10,000 in December 2017; (2) Oris Development (Cambie) Corp. v. Sonitrol entities (Canada, 2012) - fire loss at condominium development (~$12M CAD claimed), settled for less than $25,000 in March 2016; (3) Collections Fine Jewelry v. Stanley Convergent Security Solutions Inc. (Texas, 2011) - alarm system failure at jewelry store, settled for $800,000 in May 2014; (4) The State of Louisiana/UNO Foundation v. Honeywell International Inc./Sonitrol (Louisiana, 2008) - failure to monitor building and notify of sprinkler activation causing flood damage. All cases involve alleged failures of security/monitoring systems.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 84 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 95 hrs
- Training location
- Off-site and on-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Franchisor approves franchisee-proposed site
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- SONIP
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: SONIP
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
82 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Sonitrol franchise?
The total investment to open a Sonitrol franchise ranges from $50K – $223K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Sonitrol franchise owners earn?
Sonitrol makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Sonitrol?
Sonitrol is franchised by Stanley Convergent Security Solutions, Inc.. Its parent company is Stanley Industrial & Automotive, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2022 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Sonitrol 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 Sonitrol FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Sonitrol's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Sonitrol (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 Sonitrol franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Sonitrol has 133 total units in the United States, including 73 franchised units and 60 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Sonitrol a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Sonitrol as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 63 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.