Supporting Strategies Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $75K – $98K
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 10 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Supporting Strategies is a B2B outsourced bookkeeping and controller-services franchise for small and midsize businesses. Franchisees run a home-based operation, building client accounts and managing a team that delivers cloud-based accounting.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A SUPPORTING STRATEGIES franchise requires a total initial investment of $75K – $98K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 10.0% royalty[2]. 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: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2025 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - a newer filing may exist
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
- $75K – $98K
- 23rd pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- 41st pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 68
- 42nd pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business 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 $75K – $98K including a $60K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- 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 D (Below average), verdict score 35/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -17 franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 18 closed) (Item 20).
- FLAG18 units terminated last reporting year (26.5% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Supporting Strategies Partners, LLC
- CEO title
- Managing Member and Chief Executive Officer
- Leslie Jorgensen
- CEO experience
- 20 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 100 Cummings Center, Suite 207P, Beverly, Massachusetts 01915
- Auditor
- Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $19.1M
- vs $20.8M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Leslie Jorgensen
- Headquarters
- MA
- Founded
- 2013
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 27
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 35% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $5K | $8K |
| Total initial investment | $75K | $98K |
Source: SUPPORTING STRATEGIES 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
- $75K – $98K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 12.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 10.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Transfer fee | $12K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Total fee load | 12.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
SUPPORTING STRATEGIES 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 SUPPORTING STRATEGIES 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: 2025 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 12.0% — above the Business Services median of 9.0%.
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 -31.6% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 Business Services medians
How Supporting Strategies Compares
Category median of published Business 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 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 68
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 18
- Terminated
- 18
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 26.5%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -31.6%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -31.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 18
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 1
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 1.5%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 19.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 19.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 27 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
66 current owners across 27 states.
- FL 6
- NJ 6
- IL 5
- MA 5
- NY 5
- TX 4
- MN 3
- NC 3
- OH 3
- AZ 2
- CA 2
- GA 2
- +15 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.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 10
- Loan volume
- $1.6M
- Median loan
- $125K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 10 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 10 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 10 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 10 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 7
- Defaults
- 1
- Typical loan rate
- 7.0%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 10.2%
- n=86 loans
- Jobs supported
- 173
- 10.7 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 30%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 100% went to startups / new businesses, 0% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in other accounting services, franchised businesses charge off at 10.2% vs 16.9% for independents — franchising is associated with 40% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Supporting Strategies franchisees
Showing 3 of 7 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Supporting Strategies from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 6.3%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 83%
- Avg interest rate
- 7.05%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $102K
- Lender concentration
- 30.0%
- Job velocity
- 10.7 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 8.3%
- NAICS 541219
- Jobs supported
- 173
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 30% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic Bank Corporation | 3 | $400K | 33.3% |
| 2 | United Midwest Savings Bank National Association | 2 | $237K | N/A |
| 3 | Stearns Bank National Association | 1 | $90K | 0.0% |
| 4 | Byline Bank | 1 | $348K | 0.0% |
| 5 | Local Initiatives Support Corporation | 1 | $60K | 0.0% |
| 6 | Community Investment Corporation | 1 | $85K | N/A |
| 7 | Plumas Bank | 1 | $400K | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CACalifornia | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| AZArizona | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| CTConnecticut | 1 | 0 | -- |
| IDIdaho | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| ILIllinois | 1 | 0 | -- |
| MIMichigan | 1 | 0 | -- |
| MNMinnesota | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NYNew York | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| TNTennessee | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
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
68-unit bookkeeping franchisor with no litigation (only a 2019 Washington non-poaching Assurance of Discontinuance) and no bankruptcy or distress. Concerns are no Item 19 disclosure and a steep -31.6% net unit decline.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
On November 15, 2019, Supporting Strategies voluntarily entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance with the State of Washington regarding nonpoaching provisions in franchise agreements. Supporting Strategies agreed to no longer include or enforce nonpoaching provisions in any current and future franchise agreements in Washington, and amended all existing franchise agreements removing these provisions.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
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
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 35 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDnet_growth_pct -31.6% unit decline
- 02MINOR1 regulatory AOD (non-poaching, resolved)
- 03MINORno bankruptcy/distress
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 12.0% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory sizeℹ | 20,000 to 25,000 small businesses |
| 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 |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 5 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 5 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | county nearest our home office |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Massachusetts |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
On November 15, 2019, Supporting Strategies voluntarily entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance with the State of Washington regarding nonpoaching provisions in franchise agreements. Supporting Strategies agreed to no longer include or enforce nonpoaching provisions in any current and future franchise agreements in Washington, and amended all existing franchise agreements removing these provisions.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 47 hrs
- Training location
- Off-site and On-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QuickBooks
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuickBooks
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
66 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 SUPPORTING STRATEGIES franchise?
The total investment to open a SUPPORTING STRATEGIES franchise ranges from $75K – $98K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do SUPPORTING STRATEGIES franchise owners earn?
SUPPORTING STRATEGIES 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 SUPPORTING STRATEGIES?
SUPPORTING STRATEGIES is franchised by Supporting Strategies Partners, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the SUPPORTING STRATEGIES 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 SUPPORTING STRATEGIES FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is SUPPORTING STRATEGIES's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for SUPPORTING STRATEGIES (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 SUPPORTING STRATEGIES franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, SUPPORTING STRATEGIES has 68 total units in the United States, including 67 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is SUPPORTING STRATEGIES a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates SUPPORTING STRATEGIES as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 35 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.