Summit Building Services Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Summit Building Services is a commercial cleaning franchise providing janitorial and facility maintenance to businesses. Franchisees run the operations, building recurring cleaning contracts and managing crews and accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Summit Building Services franchise requires a total initial investment of $26K – $46K, including a $9K – $12K franchise fee and an ongoing 9.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $26K – $46K
- 7th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned onlyn=1
- Royalty
- 9.0%
- 53rd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 4
- 12th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance avg · 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 $26K – $46K including a $9K franchise fee, 9.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 disclosed $7.2M from 1 company-owned outlet. This reflects franchisor operations, not franchisee performance.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 43/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports Company-Owned 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
- Summit Building Services Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Summit Building Services, Ltd.
- CEO title
- President
- Erin Griffith
- CEO experience
- 8 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Ohio
- HQ
- 1605 Commerce Dr. Stow, OH 44224
- Auditor
- Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3K
- Most recent fiscal year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Erin Griffith
- Headquarters
- OH
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 89% below the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $9K | $9K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $5K | $15K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $12K | $22K |
| Total initial investment | $26K | $46K |
Source: Summit Building Services 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $26K – $46K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $15K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $9K – $12K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 9.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 11.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 9.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $2K |
| Total fee load | 11.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Summit Building Services did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Summit Building Services unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
131%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 disclosed $7.2M from 1 company-owned outlet. This reflects franchisor operations, not franchisee performance.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single reporting unit - not a system average
- Item 19 type
- Company-Owned
- Sample size
- 1
- vs category median 32 · small
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 192 Cleaning & Maintenance 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 11.0% (near the Cleaning & Maintenance average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports Company-Owned 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 Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Summit Building Services Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 4
- Opened
- 1
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 25%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 8
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Last reporting year only, multi-year history not disclosed in this brand's FDD.
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
Brand-new franchisor (began 2024) with only 4 units (1 franchised) and near-zero parent-level financials ($3,381 revenue, $3,375 net worth). Financials are parent-level so brand equity isn't disclosed. No litigation/bankruptcy/going-concern; limited history is the risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ 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 43 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNear-startup: began 2024, 4 units
- 02MINORParent-level financials, minimal ($3,381 revenue)
- 03MEDClean legal flags, audited, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 11.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Zip Codes |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 50 mi |
| 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 | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Ohio |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Ohio |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 54 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 4 hrs
- Training location
- your location or franchisor designated location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 16 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
2 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Summit Building Services · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Summit Building Services franchise?
The total investment to open a Summit Building Services franchise ranges from $26K – $46K, with an initial franchise fee of $9K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Summit Building Services franchise owners earn?
Summit Building Services does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Summit Building Services 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 Summit Building Services FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Summit Building Services's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Summit Building Services (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 Summit Building Services franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Summit Building Services has 4 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Summit Building Services a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Summit Building Services as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 43 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Summit Building Services, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Cleaning & Maintenance franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Cleaning & Maintenance category
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.