Spring-green Lawn Care Franchise Cost & 2026 FDD Data
96/100
Strongest tier
96 this brand56 Home Services medianlikely 92–100: narrower with more SBA loans (high confidence)
Higher is better · an editorial assessment, not investment advice
#23 of 3,068 graded brands
Why an A: Helped by financial health, unit economics, scale, legal record and transparency. See all six factors
- Total investment
- $119K – $135K
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- “All Franchised Businesses (1+ Territory)”, 72 franchisees; not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
None of the 16 resolved SBA 7(a) loans to Spring-green Lawn Care owners charged off (approved since FY1991); Home Services median 17.8%.
Data from the FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records. Analysis by FranchiseVerdict · Methodology · Website · Report an error · Franchisor? Claim this listing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026 FDD
Per the 2026 FDD, a Spring-green Lawn Care franchise requires a total initial investment of $119K – $135K, including a $45K franchise fee. Once open, the ongoing royalty is 10.0%. Per the 2026 FDD, average gross sales per franchisee were $1.1M. This franchisor reports Item 19 per franchisee rather than per outlet, so the figure is not comparable with per-outlet averages (Item 19 group “All Franchised Businesses (1+ Territory)”, 72 franchisees; gross sales, not profit). SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate on 16 resolved loans. Verdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice.
Sources: 2026 FDD · SBA 7(a) loan records (FOIA) · What one unit could make and lose →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low (issued within the last 12 months)
Evidence for the headline figures: 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 scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
Quick verdict · vs Home Services median
Top edge: green = better than the Home Services median by more than 10%, red = worse by more than 10%, gray = within 10% or no benchmark. Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a).
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Methodology
Bottom line
- RETURNSAverage gross sales per franchisee of $1.1M/year (outlet median $929K; Item 19 group “All Franchised Businesses (1+ Territory)”, 72 franchisees; gross sales, not profit). Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures.
- GROWTHIn the latest Item 20 year, the number of franchised outlets did not change (1 opened, 1 closed).
AT STAKEOne unit at the Item 7 midpoint: $16K a year in payments on assumed SBA 7(a)-style terms.You put in about $25K of your own cash and personally guarantee a $102K loan. Assumptions are labeled in Sales; not investment advice.See what one unit could make and lose
Things to check before you sign (1)
- You waive a jury trial in disputes with the franchisor (Item 17, renewal, termination and disputes).
Checked and clear: no auditor doubt that the franchisor can keep operating, no net loss of franchised outlets in the latest Item 20 years, no lawsuit naming the franchisor in Item 3, SBA charge-off rate 0.0%, below the 17.8% category median, no franchisor right to compete inside your territory, no supplier rebates to the franchisor, no rule that the owner must run it personally and the full filing on file, and an Item 19 average from 72 units.
What to do next
Step 1: Read the FDD itself.
Free: the franchisor must give it to you at least 14 days before you sign or pay. Or look it up in a state registry (Wisconsin, Minnesota, California). What to read first.
Step 2: Talk to current and former owners.
Free: Item 20 of the FDD lists every current owner and those who left last year, most with a phone number. Questions to ask.
Step 3: Talk to an SBA lender.
Free: the SBA's Lender Match, or the lenders already lending to this brand in the SBA section. Ask what you would personally guarantee and what the monthly payment would be. If you plan to use retirement savings, ask a CPA about the rules for that first.
Step 4: Have a franchise attorney review the FDD and agreement.
Free: your state bar's lawyer referral service can name franchise lawyers, and many offer a short first consultation. Bring the checks listed above.
Research steps, not investment or legal advice.
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost (the Item 7 midpoint) is 23% below the Home Services median ($164K).
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7 (fees and startup costs)
Do you qualify? The filing states no minimum net worth or liquid capital. Ask Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp. (Item 1: 11909 Spaulding School Drive, Plainfield, Illinois 60585) and your lender what they require, and keep living costs for the first year outside the deal.
Full Item 7 breakdown9 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $45K | $45K | |
| Production Vehicles, Equipment and Fixtures | $5.6K | $5.6K | |
| Technology Equipment and Software | $3.65K | $4.05K | |
| Opening Inventory and Supplies | $2.54K | $2.54K | |
| Initial Marketing Campaign Fee | $37K | $37K | |
| Initial Property Data Fee | $16.5K | $16.5K | |
| Training Expenses | $0 | $2.07K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs (incl. licenses, insurance, professional services, and other prepaid expenses) | $2.55K | $14K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $6.06K | $8.47K | |
| Total initial investment | $119K | $135K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. The total row is the total as printed in Item 7. Actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 6 · what you pay once you are open
Ongoing fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 10.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
Technology feeThe filing's detail$260/month technology fee plus individual license cost ($17/user/month Office Online License or $32/user/month Full Office License; minimum one Full Office License required) | $260/month |
| Transfer fee | $17,500 |
| Total fee loadabove the Home Services median of 8.0% (heavy) | 12.0% of sales |
What do units actually make?
Average gross sales are 89% above the Home Services median ($593K).
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19 (sales and earnings)
Items 6 (other fees), 7 (startup costs) and 19 (sales and earnings) · assumptions labeled
What you could make and lose: one unit
What one Spring-green Lawn Care unit would ask of you, from the filing's Item 7 total and labeled assumptions.
Average gross sales are $1.1M (FDD p.54), and the royalty and ad fund take about $134K of that a year (Item 6). This brand's Item 19 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners. So this box does not estimate a profit. To cover the loan payment alone, one unit has to clear $16K a year after its food, labor, rent and other costs and the franchisor's fees.
How these figures are worked out
- Loan (assumption): 80% of the $127K Item 7 midpoint is a $102K loan, paid over 10 years at 10.5%: $16K a year. SBA 7(a)-style terms on a long-term rate; your lender sets yours. Spring-green Lawn Care's past SBA 7(a) loans averaged 6.5% at approval; 7(a) rates move with the prime rate, so 10.5% is a current-rate assumption, not this brand's history.
What you put at risk
Your own cash in: about $25K Assumption (the part the loan does not cover of the $127K Item 7 midpoint), plus whatever anything Item 7 leaves out (its notes say what). The loan is $102K.
Personal guarantee. SBA 7(a) loans require a personal guarantee from anyone who owns 20% or more of the business. If the unit cannot pay, the lender can collect from you personally, which can include your savings and your home. The worst case is losing the cash you put in and still owing the rest of the loan.
Gross sales are not profit, and none of these figures is take-home pay until tax and every operating cost are paid. The assumptions are ours, not the filing's. Not investment advice.
Returns modelOne unit · several units · editable
One unit
One unit: what is left after the loan payment
Gross sales, minus the franchisor's fees and the operating costs, is the unit's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). Minus an assumed loan payment, that is what is left for you, before tax. Gross sales are not profit.
This brand's Item 19 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners. Invested capital is the Item 7 total, which already includes its working-capital (additional funds) line.
Returns model · one unit
What would one Spring-green Lawn Care unit leave you each year after the loan payment?
Item 19: $1,120,124 average for 72 franchisees (All Franchised Businesses (1+ Territory)). Use a figure for outlets like yours if yours differ.
Gross sales, not profit: the costs below decide what is left.
Item 6, as stored, a year. A fixed fee, so it comes off EBITDA as dollars, not a share of sales.
This brand's Item 19 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners.
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.
Item 7 midpoint of $119K to $135K
Item 7's $6K to $8K additional funds are already in the total
Left after the loan payment · per year
The unit's EBITDA minus the assumed loan payment. Before tax, depreciation and any cost your inputs leave out (insurance, accounting and legal, licenses, technology fees): not take-home pay.
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies direct costs, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
Loan of $102K at 10.5% over 10 years, an assumption, not a quote. Return and payback are before tax, depreciation and the costs above. The loan usually needs your personal guarantee.
Buying several existing units? The acquisition scenario
Buying several units
What buying a few existing units could return
Prices an existing operator of a few units off the single-unit EBITDA above, after shared services, and finances it with an SBA 7(a) loan, a conventional loan and a seller note. It shows the yearly return on your cash (IRR), whether year-1 earnings cover the loan payments (DSCR) and how the price is paid for. It starts at 5 units; every deal term is an assumption you can change, and none is from the FDD.
Not modelled yet
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies direct costs, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
This scenario starts from a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in the one-unit model above and it runs on that figure, or take it to the full ROI workbench, where the multi-unit and acquisition models accept your own per-unit economics.
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: 2026 FDD · filed by Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp.
Financial performance
- Range (low → high)
- $123K→$5.4MSource: 2026 FDD, page 55
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
Percentile ranks within Home Services
Each rank is among the Home Services brands that report that figure (the count is under each bar).
vs Home Services medians
How Spring-green Lawn Care compares
Per franchisee, not per outlet - the category median is per-outlet only, so no comparison is shown
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.
Who are you contracting with?
Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp., owned by Spring-Green Enterprises, Inc.
Same franchisor, other program: SpringGreen. Each is a separate offering with its own page.
Item 1 (the franchisor) · who you're contracting with
The franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp.
- Parent company
- Spring-Green Enterprises, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2026 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President
- Theodore T. Hofer
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 11909 Spaulding School Drive, Plainfield, Illinois 60585
- Auditor
- DHJJ
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $8.6M
- latest fiscal year in the 2026 FDD; $8.3M the year before
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 9
1 other brand on this site names Spring-Green Enterprises, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in its own FDD.
- SpringGreen (grade A)
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2026 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
SpringGreen franchisees offer professional lawn care, pest control, and related services to residential and commercial customers within a designated territory.
- CEO
- Theodore T. Hofer
- States and territories listed
- 24
- registered or offered in, as the filing lists them (DC and territories included); not where units may open
Is the system healthy?
+2 franchised outlets over the two years to 2025 (124 to 126, +1.6% in total, +0.8% a year compounded).
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20 (outlets opened, closed and transferred)
Item 20 (outlet counts) · unit dynamics
The growth chart
- Company-owned
- 30
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 81%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- Outlier
- Reported value implausible. See FDD Item 20
Last fiscal year · Item 20 rates and pipeline
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Item 20 · franchised units at year end
Franchised units rose from 124 in 2023 to 126 in 2025
Axis does not start at zero.
Source and method
Government records
SBA loan data
Lenders charged off 0.0% of 16 resolved SBA 7(a) loans, below the 17.8% category median. 7(a) is the SBA's main small-business loan; a resolved loan was paid in full or charged off.
- Loans on file
- 17
- SBA 7(a) loans matched to this brand, incl. those still being repaid
- Loan volume
- $2.1M
- Average loan
- $121K
- loan volume divided by loans
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 0 of 16 resolved loans
- Paid in full
- 100.0%
- of resolved loans
- Recent-loan charge-off
- No recent loans
- no SBA 7(a) loan approved since FY2017
- Lenders
- 13
- Average interest rate
- 6.5%
- Jobs reported
- 34
- on the 9 loans approved FY2006 on; earlier loans did not record jobs
- Lender concentration
- 18%
- top lender's share
Cumulative: every 7(a) loan matched to this brand in the SBA’s FOIA files, approved FY1991 onward. Historical lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
Benchmark: the median Home Services brand charges off 17.8% (66 brands with a published rate, same cumulative window and source). This brand is 17.8 points below it.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Full SBA lending reportlenders · charge-off rate · trend
Lender network · SBA 7(a)
SBA Lending Report
Lender, state and yearly detail for Spring-green Lawn Care from SBA 7(a) FOIA loan records.
- Average SBA guarantee
- 73%
- Average interest rate
- 6.5%
- Lender concentration
- 18%
- Jobs reported
- 34
Top 10 SBA lenders by loan count
| Loans | Volume | Charge-off |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | ||
| 3 | $509K | Not on file |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | ||
| 2 | $350K | Not on file |
| Busey Bank | ||
| 2 | $120K | Not on file |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | ||
| 1 | $500K | Not on file |
| First Community Bank | ||
| 1 | $60K | Not on file |
A lender’s rate counts only its resolved loans, the loans that have finished (paid in full or charged off); a 0.0% often means few of its loans have finished. Under 10 resolved loans, the rate reads “Too few”.
Charge-off rate by state (top 10 by loans)
| State | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| NC North Carolina | 4 | 0 | Too few3 resolved |
| IL Illinois | 3 | 0 | Too few3 resolved |
| WI Wisconsin | 2 | 0 | Too few2 resolved |
| IN Indiana | 1 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
| MN Minnesota | 1 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
| MO Missouri | 1 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
| OK Oklahoma | 1 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
| OR Oregon | 1 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
| VA Virginia | 1 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
| WA Washington | 1 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
Rate: charged-off loans over resolved loans (paid in full plus charged off), shown from 10 resolved loans. "Too few": under 10 resolved. The Loans column counts every approval in the window, including loans still being repaid.
SBA 7(a) loans approved per year
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level data, matched to the brand by FranchiseVerdict.
With a charge-off rate of 0.0% on 16 resolved loans, very few of this brand's SBA 7(a) loans have been charged off.
What are the risks?
None of the 16 resolved SBA 7(a) loans has charged off, against the Home Services median of 17.8% (66 brands).
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Verdict grade + FDD Items 3 (litigation), 4 (bankruptcy), 8 (required suppliers), 16 (what you may sell), 21 (audited financials)
Risk and legal
Grade A: Strongest tier, 96/100 (category median 56); the full grade is at the top of the page.
How the grade is built
Why an A, factor by factor
- Financial health HelpsAudited financials; no going-concern doubt; franchisor net income positive
- Unit economics HelpsAvg gross sales $1.1M on a $127K investment midpoint, 8.8x (gross sales, not profit)
- Unit growth Neutral+2 franchised outlets over the two years to 2025 (124 to 126, +1.6% in total, +0.8% a year compounded); turnover 0.6%
- Scale Helps126 franchised units, +30 company-owned (156 in all); franchising since 1977
- Legal HelpsNo litigation naming the franchisor in Item 3
- Transparency HelpsItem 19 discloses financial performance; audited financials
- Adjustments after the six dimensions (+10 points)SBA loan record: the SBA charge-off rate (0.0% on 16 resolved loans) is under 2%, a range the score counts in a brand's favour, so it added 10 points.
From the six scored dimensions, an editorial assessment, not investment advice. How the score is built
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
None disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DHJJ
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
Ask what the franchisor earns on the supplies it sells you or the rebates it takes (Item 8).
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Franchisor takes supplier rebates: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 12.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before your own operating costs.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12 (territory), 15 (owner participation) and 17 (renewal, termination and disputes)
Contract and territory detail
| Allowed renewals | 1 |
|---|---|
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territory | Yes |
| Territory size | “Territory includes up to 60,000 single-family dwelling units (SFDUs), described by reference to U.S. Census Bureau census tracts; exclusivity is limited to Residential Accounts only (franchisor and affiliates will not operate or grant another SpringGreen franchise selling to Residential Accounts within the Territory), while Commercial Accounts may be solicited both inside and outside the Territory on a non-exclusive basis; franchisor retains rights to sell via other distribution channels (e.g., internet, retail) within the Territory to Commercial Accounts.” |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Who runs it (Item 15) | A manager may run it |
| Non-compete (years) | 2 years |
| Right of first refusal | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaults | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Illinois |
Items 10 (financing), 11 (training and support)
Training and operations
- Classroom training
- 58 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 67 hrs
- Training location
- Our headquarters, a local venue, or virtually
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 67 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 1 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
Items 5 (initial fees) & 11 (training and support)
Franchisor support
Item 20 (outlet counts) · call current owners
Franchisee contacts
Who can you call before you sign?
60 current owners to call
Each record has the franchisee (company or owner name as the filing prints it), phone number, city and state. 60 records. From the filing's Item 20 (the outlet list); the FDD itself is the free source. Our list covers 60 of the 126 franchised outlets Item 20 counts at year end; the owner exhibit prints the rest without a usable phone number, or omits them.
For your own due-diligence calls only. Not for telemarketing, marketing lists, or automated or prerecorded calls or texts.
The list is not offered for this brand yet. The FDD's Item 20 exhibit lists the owners.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to open a Spring-green Lawn Care franchise?
Per the 2026 FDD, the total investment to open a Spring-green Lawn Care franchise ranges from $119K to $135K, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This is the Item 7 total in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD): the startup costs the franchisor lists, such as build-out, equipment, inventory and working capital. It usually leaves out buying land or a building; Item 7's notes say what is excluded.
What do Spring-green Lawn Care franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Spring-green Lawn Care FDD, average gross sales were $1.1M (Item 19 group “All Franchised Businesses (1+ Territory)”, 72 franchisees; gross sales, not profit). The median is $929K. Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures. What an owner keeps depends on location, operating costs and management.
Who owns Spring-green Lawn Care?
Spring-green Lawn Care is franchised by Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp. Its parent company is Spring-Green Enterprises, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Spring-green Lawn Care 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 Spring-green Lawn Care FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Spring-green Lawn Care's franchise failure rate?
There is no published franchise failure rate. What is measurable is Spring-green Lawn Care's SBA charge-off rate: 0.0% on 16 resolved loans. Put plainly: None of the 16 resolved SBA 7(a) loans to Spring-green Lawn Care owners charged off (approved since FY1991). The SBA charge-off rate is the share of a brand's resolved SBA 7(a) loans to its franchisees that the SBA wrote off, including purchased guarantees. Resolved means paid in full or charged off; active loans are excluded because their outcome is not yet known. It is a lending outcome, not a count of closed businesses. A franchisee can repay and close, or default and keep trading.
How many Spring-green Lawn Care franchise locations are there?
Per the 2026 FDD, Spring-green Lawn Care has 126 franchised units and 30 company-owned (156 in all). In the latest year, the number of franchised outlets did not change (1 opened, 1 closed).
Is Spring-green Lawn Care a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict gives Spring-green Lawn Care an A Verdict grade (Strongest tier) with a verdict score of 96 out of 100 (higher is better), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Helped by financial health (audited financials), unit economics, scale, legal record and transparency. The “Why an A” section on this page lists all six dimensions and any adjustment. Speak with current franchisees before making any investment decision.
Other Home Services franchises
Similar investment first, then by grade
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.