The Doan Group Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Doan Group is a business services franchise operating vehicle property-and-casualty damage appraisal businesses for insurance national accounts. Franchisees work as appraisers, inspecting auto and commercial vehicle damage and billing accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A THE DOAN GROUP franchise requires a total initial investment of $14K – $68K, including a $10K – $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 22.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $350K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $14K – $68K
- 3rd pct Real Estate
- Avg gross sales
- $350K
- 7th pct Real Estate
- Royalty
- 22.0%
- 58th pct Real Estate
- Units
- 26
- 22nd pct Real Estate
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Real Estate · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Real Estate 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 $14K – $68K including a $10K franchise fee, 22.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $350K/year (median $107K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 79/100 (higher is better).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Woodland Capital Franchising, Inc.
- Parent company
- Woodland Capital Holdings, Inc.
- Predecessor
- The Doan Group, Inc. (DG Inc.)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- Timothy William Paul Davis
- Incorporated in
- Georgia
- HQ
- 5090 Highway 212, Covington, Georgia 30016
- Auditor
- Baker Tilly US, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.8M
- vs $1.5M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Timothy William Paul Davis
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 24
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 81% below the typical real estate franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $10K | $10K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $600 | $2K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $3K | $57K |
| Total initial investment | $14K | $68K |
Source: THE DOAN GROUP 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
- $14K – $68K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $600 – $2K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 22.0%
- Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 24.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 22.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 24.0% of rev |
At 24.0% total fee load, roughly $84K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 77% below the real estate norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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
$4K
1.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
8%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
12.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one THE DOAN GROUP unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
8%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
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
- Avg gross sales
- $350K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $107K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Historical Gross Receipts
- Sample size
- 26
- vs category median 64 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $15K→$2.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 0 / 10 · above
Compared against 101 Real Estate brands
Revenue is 8.5x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
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 $350K/year in gross sales. Median is $107K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 8.5x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 24.0% — above the Real Estate average of 9.1%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 13.0% CAGR over 3 years across 26 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Real Estate averages
How The Doan Group Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 26
- Opened
- 8
- 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
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +13.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +13.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 8
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 6
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 16
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 23.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 10 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.
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
Profitable appraisal-services franchisor: net income $362,670 on $1.84M revenue, positive net worth $1.16M, 26 units, audited with Item 19. No litigation, no bankruptcy, no going-concern, positive 13% net growth. Clean.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Baker Tilly US, 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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 79 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNet income $362,670, net worth $1.16M
- 02MINORNo litigation/bankruptcy/going-concern
- 03MINORNet growth 13%
- 04MEDAudited, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 24.0% 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 |
| Territory type | Municipal or county boundaries, or by contiguous zip codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| 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 | No |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 14 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- eDoan
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: eDoan
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
15 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
THE DOAN GROUP · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a THE DOAN GROUP franchise?
The total investment to open a THE DOAN GROUP franchise ranges from $14K – $68K, with an initial franchise fee of $10K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do THE DOAN GROUP franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the THE DOAN GROUP FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $350K. The median is $107K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the THE DOAN GROUP 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 THE DOAN GROUP FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is THE DOAN GROUP's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for THE DOAN GROUP (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 THE DOAN GROUP franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, THE DOAN GROUP has 26 total units in the United States, including 26 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 8 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is THE DOAN GROUP a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates THE DOAN GROUP as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 79 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 THE DOAN GROUP, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.