Surface Experts Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Surface Experts franchise requires a total initial investment of $156K – $273K, including a $75K – $138K franchise fee. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $703K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 2.5% charge-off rate across 40 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $156K – $273K
- 59th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $703K
- 25th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 103
- 55th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- 2.5%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services 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
- Total investment $156K – $273K including a $75K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $703K/year (median $653K).
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 95/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 2.5% across 40 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- System growing at 35.5% CAGR over 3 years with 103 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Surface Experts Franchising LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Jacob Grady
- Incorporated in
- WA
- HQ
- 111 W. Cataldo Avenue, Suite 1, Spokane, WA 99201
- Auditor
- Smith & Howard
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $9.6M
- vs $7.3M prior year
Overview
About
Surface Experts operates a mobile service business providing minor repairs to interior surfaces such as vinyl, wood, glass, linoleum, tile, laminate, and stainless steel, serving commercial and residential customers.
- CEO
- Jacob Grady
- Headquarters
- WA
- Founded
- 2018
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 33
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about average for a home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $75K | $75K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $60K | $75K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $21K | $123K |
| Total initial investment | $156K | $273K |
Source: Surface Experts 2026 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
- $156K – $273K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $60K – $75K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $75K – $138K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of 8% of Gross Sales or minimum royalty of $1,600…
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | Minimum royalty of $1,600/month (or $1,800/month after 18 months for territories over 500,000 population), beginning after the first year |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 41% below the home services norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
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
$77K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
27%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $703K
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
- Median gross sales
- $653K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- quartile_tiers
- Sample size
- 75 units
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $148K→$1.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $256K→$1.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
Compared against 355 Home Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $703K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 3.3x.
Operator retention
System expanding at 35.5% CAGR over 3 years across 103 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 12% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 averages
How Surface Experts Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 103
- Opened
- 18
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 2.9%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 12.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +35.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +35.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 18
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 3
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 33 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.
33
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.
- Total loans
- 40
- Loan volume
- $6.4M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 2.5%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 97.5%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 12
- Defaults
- 1
- Typical loan rate
- 8.8%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 2383
- Jobs supported
- 216
- 3.4 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 50%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Top lenders financing Surface Experts franchisees
Showing 3 of 12 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.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 2.5% — 84% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Smith & Howard
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
What are you signing up for?
Source: FDD 2026 · 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 | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | Varies based on MFHU count (e.g., territory with 30,000 MFHU corresponds to $75,000 fee) |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Spokane, Washington (franchisor's headquarters location) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Washington (default; but "laws of the state where the Surface Experts Business is located" applies p |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 36 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Spokane, WA
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 10 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Vonigo (ExpertNet operations portal)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Vonigo (ExpertNet operations portal)
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Surface Experts franchise?
The total investment to open a Surface Experts franchise ranges from $156K – $273K, 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 Surface Experts franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Surface Experts FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $703K. The median is $653K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Surface Experts's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Surface Experts has a charge-off rate of 2.5% across 40 loans, meaning 2.5% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Surface Experts franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Surface Experts has 103 total units in the United States, including 103 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 18 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Surface Experts a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Surface Experts as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 95 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
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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.