The Glass Guru Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Glass Guru is a home-services franchise providing window and glass repair, replacement, and restoration, plus foggy-glass fixes, for homes and businesses. Franchisees run a shop-and-mobile operation handling glass jobs in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Glass Guru franchise requires a total initial investment of $141K – $369K, including a $50K – $200K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $740K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 7.1% charge-off rate across 27 loans[1]. 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
- $141K – $369K
- 53rd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $740K
- 23rd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 30th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 81
- 59th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- 7.1%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
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 $141K – $369K including a $50K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $740K/year (median $659K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 79/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 7.1% across 27 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The Glass Guru Enterprises, Inc.
- Predecessor
- The Glass Guru Franchise Systems, Inc. (California corporation)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President/CEO
- Daniel Frey
- CEO experience
- 18 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Texas
- HQ
- 5550 Granite Parkway, Suite 280, Plano, Texas 75024
- Auditor
- CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $4.7M
- vs $4.9M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- have offered franchises in any other line of business
- Roseville Glass Partners
- has
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Daniel Frey
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2007
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 24
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 18% below the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $50K | $200K | |
| Real Estate/Rent | $4K | $8K | |
| Utility Deposits | $0 | $500 | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $500 | $2K | |
| Insurance | $500 | $3K | |
| Office/Shop Equipment and Supplies | $5K | $9K | |
| Glass Restoration Tools | $1K | $1K | |
| Training Expenses | $2K | $3K | |
| Signage | $3K | $4K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment | $500 | $4K | |
| Computer Equipment | $1K | $5K | |
| Software Systems | $1K | $3K | |
| Phone System | $500 | $3K | |
| Vehicles & Modifications | $15K | $25K | |
| Initial Local Advertising | $4K | $8K | |
| Brand Identity Package | $0 | $5K | |
| Licenses & Permits | $2K | $4K | |
| Legal & Accounting | $3K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds/Working Capital (3 months) | $50K | $80K | |
| Total initial investment | $141K | $369K |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $141K – $369K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $80K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $200K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $10K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 18% below the cleaning & maintenance 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
$74K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
23%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.3 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 Glass Guru unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
23%
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 The Glass Guru units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$444K
on $2.2M purchase
Total debt
$1.8M
SBA $1.1M + senior + seller note
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
- $740K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $659K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 66
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $125K→$2.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $363K→$952K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- 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 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.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $740K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% (near the Cleaning & Maintenance average).
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 roughly stable (+3.8% 3-year CAGR) with 81 units.
Multi-unit rate
50% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
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 The Glass Guru Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 81
- Opened
- 12
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.3%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 50.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +3.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +3.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 3
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 14
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 3.9%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 5.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 27
- Loan volume
- $3.8M
- Median loan
- $99K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 7.1%
- 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)
- 92.3%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 16
- Defaults
- 1
- Typical loan rate
- 7.2%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- 14.3%
- brand is below its industry ↓
- Jobs supported
- 106
- 3.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 14%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 71% went to startups / new businesses, 29% to established operators
Top lenders financing The Glass Guru franchisees
Showing 3 of 16 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.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into The Glass Guru's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 13 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 11-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 7.1% — 56% 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
Clean: zero litigation, no bankruptcy, no distress, $5M revenue, audited and Item 19 disclosed. 81 units with very low 1.25% turnover and positive 3.8% net growth.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation information required to be disclosed
Largest disclosed settlement: $500,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen 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
- 01HIGH0 litigation, no bankruptcy
- 02MED$5M revenue, Item 19 disclosed, audited
- 03MINOR81 units, 1.25% turnover, +3.8% growth
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% 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 | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Zip Codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 250,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| 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 |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Collin County, Texas |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation information required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 36 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 56 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- FieldPulse
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: FieldPulse
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
5 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Glass Guru · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Glass Guru franchise?
The total investment to open a The Glass Guru franchise ranges from $141K – $369K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Glass Guru franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Glass Guru FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $740K. The median is $659K. 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 Glass Guru 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 Glass Guru FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is The Glass Guru's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, The Glass Guru has a charge-off rate of 7.1% across 27 loans, meaning 7.1% 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 The Glass Guru franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Glass Guru has 81 total units in the United States, including 80 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 12 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Glass Guru a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Glass Guru 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?
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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.