Southern Solar Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $170K – $240K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Southern Solar is a home services franchise that designs, installs, and services residential and commercial solar energy systems. Franchisees run local operations, managing sales, site assessments, and installation.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Southern Solar franchise requires a total initial investment of $170K – $240K, including a $65K – $95K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.5% royalty[2]. The 2022 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: · 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 scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $170K – $240K
- 69th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only1 territory
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 20th pct Home Services
- Units
- 1
- 2nd 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 $170K – $240K including a $65K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 of this FDD reports one affiliate-owned outlet - the only unit in the system - in a fiscal year with no franchised locations open, and the amount shown there is a franchisor-constructed one-ninth slice of that outlet's result. No franchisee performance is disclosed, so no revenue figure is published for this brand.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports Affiliate 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
- Southern Solar Franchise Systems, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Glenn Lynch
- Incorporated in
- Texas
- HQ
- 5000 Overton Plaza, Suite 200, Fort Worth, Texas 76109
- Auditor
- Whitley Penn LLP
- Audited financials
Overview
About
- CEO
- Glenn Lynch
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 22% above the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $65K | $95K | |
| Rent Deposits | $2K | $3K | |
| Utility Deposits | $300 | $600 | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $0 | $3K | |
| Insurance Deposits | $3K | $5K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While in Training | $3K | $5K | |
| Opening Package | $12K | $19K | |
| Vehicles | $4K | $5K | |
| Licenses, Certificates and Permits | $0 | $4K | |
| Additional Signage, Equipment and Supplies | $500 | $2K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment | $4K | $8K | |
| Professional Fees | $3K | $5K | |
| Dues and Subscriptions | $0 | $1K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $75K | $85K | |
| Total initial investment | $170K | $240K |
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
- $170K – $240K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $75K – $85K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $65K – $95K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2022 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Southern Solar 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 Southern Solar 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: 2022 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 of this FDD reports one affiliate-owned outlet - the only unit in the system - in a fiscal year with no franchised locations open, and the amount shown there is a franchisor-constructed one-ninth slice of that outlet's result. No franchisee performance is disclosed, so no revenue figure is published for this brand.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single territory - not a system average
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate
- Sample size
- 1 territory
- vs category median 32 · small
- Reporting year
- 2021
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2022
- Disclosed in the 2022 filing, covering 2021
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 319 Home 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 6.5% — below the Home Services median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports Affiliate 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 Home Services medians
How Southern Solar 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
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- 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
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
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
Pre-opening residential solar franchisor (franchising since 2022) with 1 company-owned unit and zero franchised. Net worth positive but modest at $427,488; no litigation, bankruptcy, or going-concern doubt. Limited operating history.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Whitley Penn LLP
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 40 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORnet worth $427,488
- 02MINORno litigation/bankruptcy
- 03MEDItem 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.5% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 160,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| 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 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 44 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 24 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisor approval required; franchisee locates site within Protected Area
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
17 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 Southern Solar franchise?
The total investment to open a Southern Solar franchise ranges from $170K – $240K, with an initial franchise fee of $65K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Southern Solar franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Southern Solar 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 Southern Solar?
Southern Solar is franchised by Southern Solar Franchise Systems, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2022 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Southern Solar 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 Southern Solar FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Southern Solar's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Southern Solar (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 Southern Solar franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Southern Solar has 1 total units in the United States.
Is Southern Solar a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Southern Solar as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 40 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.