Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus CleanFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean franchise requires a total initial investment of $110K – $346K, including a $75K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $3.0M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $110K – $346K
- 39th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $3.0M
- 53rd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 2nd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 77
- 57th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
Each dollar invested generates 13.4x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
The system grew 23% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
Bottom line
- Total investment $110K – $346K including a $75K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $3.0M/year (median $2.5M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 9/100.
- System growing at 41.3% CAGR over 3 years with 77 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- SBS Franchising, LLC
- Predecessor
- described below
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 10530 Victory Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91606
- Auditor
- Plante & Moran, PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $10.8M
- vs $12.0M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- SBS Services Group
- Stratus Building Solutions Canada
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate commercial cleaning and janitorial services for office buildings, medical facilities, and corporate campuses. Day-to-day operations involve managing cleaning crews, scheduling, client communication, quality control, and equipment/supply procurement. Revenue derives from recurring facility maintenance contracts billed to commercial clients.
- CEO
- Doug Flaig
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 29
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 8 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $75K | $210K | |
| Real Estate, Fixtures, Leasehold Improvements, and Utility Deposits | $2K | $15K | |
| Initial Supplies and Inventory | $500 | $1K | |
| Equipment | $3K | $5K | |
| Licenses, Permits, Security Deposits, Etc. | $750 | $5K | |
| Insurance | $1K | $4K | |
| Training | $3K | $6K | |
| Additional Funds (6 months) | $25K | $100K | |
| Total initial investment | $110K | $346K |
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
$426K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
147%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $110K – $346K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $100K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $75K – $210K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $700 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Inventory (initial) | $500 – $1K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $3.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.5M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 71 units
- vs category median 31 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $31K→$15.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 204 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Revenue is 13.4x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 77
- Opened
- 11
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 12
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 84%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +22.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +41.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Continuity rate
- 101.6%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 1.9%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 29 states 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.
29
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
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.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Stratus presents meaningful legal and disclosure risks centered on employee misclassification allegations and lack of financial transparency, requiring extensive validation before investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
3 case reference(s): 2 pending, 1 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $15,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Plante & Moran, PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 9 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHActive PAGA litigation in California alleging employee misclassification—core business model legal risk
- 02MEDNo Item 19 (average net income) disclosed—impossible to validate $109k-$346k investment ROI claims
- 03HIGHHistorical regulatory violations by predecessor entity regarding franchise disclosure fraud
- 04MINORRoyalty structure heavily penalizes growth (20% of initial fees for unit franchises creates perverse incentives)
- 05HIGH77 units with 22.6% YoY growth is modest for a 15-year-old system; growth rate doesn't offset litigation exposure
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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 15 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Statistical Area/County/City boundaries |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 500,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Litigation count | 4 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
3 case reference(s): 2 pending, 1 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 133 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 55 hrs
- Training location
- Los Angeles, California
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 160 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Site selection
- joint
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Opus (ERP)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Opus (ERP)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean franchise?
The total investment to open a Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean franchise ranges from $110K – $346K, with an initial franchise fee of $75K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $3.0M. The median is $2.5M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean (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 Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean has 77 total units in the United States, including 46 franchised units and 12 company-owned units. 11 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Stratus Building Solutions / Stratus Clean as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 9 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.