The Grout Doctor® Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $24K – $38K
- Disclosed sales
- $149K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Grout Doctor is a home-services franchise providing tile, grout, and stone cleaning, sealing, repair, and re-coloring. Franchisees run a mobile, often owner-operated service handling residential and commercial jobs in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A THE GROUT DOCTOR® franchise requires a total initial investment of $24K – $38K, including a $15K – $20K franchise fee and an ongoing 9.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $149K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
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 scored6 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $24K – $38K
- 1st pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $149K
- Outlet subset1st pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 9.0%
- 72nd pct Home Services
- Units
- 80
- 54th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home 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 $24K – $38K including a $15K franchise fee, 9.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $149K/year (median $123K) (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 74/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -3 franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 4 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Grout Doctor Global Franchise Corp.
- CEO title
- President
- Daniel J. Start
- Incorporated in
- NV
- HQ
- 2150 South 1300 East, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, Utah 84106
- Auditor
- Terra Business Solutions
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.2M
- vs $1.1M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Daniel J. Start
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2001
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 26
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 82% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $15K | $15K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $1K | $2K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $8K | $21K |
| Total initial investment | $24K | $38K |
Source: THE GROUT DOCTOR® 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
- $24K – $38K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $1K – $2K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 9.0%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 9.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $4K |
| Renewal fee | $500 |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 75% below the home services norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for THE GROUT DOCTOR® until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$33K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one THE GROUT DOCTOR® 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 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.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $149K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $123K
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
- 70 franchisees
- vs category median 32 · large
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 319 Home Services brands
Revenue is 4.8x 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 $149K/year in gross sales. Median is $123K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.8x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% — above the Home Services median of 8.0%.
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 contracting at -4.9% 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 Home Services medians
How The Grout Doctor® Compares
Category median of published Home 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 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 80
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 5.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -4.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -4.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 2
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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
6 current owners across 6 states.
- AL 1
- AR 1
- CH 1
- CO 1
- PL 1
- VI 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 92 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Terra Business Solutions
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
Score breakdown · what drove the 74 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-1.2% YoY) suggests system contraction and potential franchisee satisfaction issues
- 02MEDNo litigation disclosed but declining units + profit opacity raises red flags about franchisee disputes being underreported
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 7 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 7 years |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory sizeℹ | Contiguous zip code list, generally 150,000 to 200,000 owner-occupied households |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Salt Lake County, Utah |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | UT |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 15 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 45 hrs
- Training location
- Regional (Utah, North Carolina or Colorado) plus online classroom and on-the-job at customer/vendor locations
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Grout Doctor® Franchise Management Software (Sandstone)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Grout Doctor® Franchise Management Software (Sandstone)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
98 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 THE GROUT DOCTOR® franchise?
The total investment to open a THE GROUT DOCTOR® franchise ranges from $24K – $38K, with an initial franchise fee of $15K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do THE GROUT DOCTOR® franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the THE GROUT DOCTOR® FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $149K. The median is $123K. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns THE GROUT DOCTOR®?
THE GROUT DOCTOR® is franchised by Grout Doctor Global Franchise Corp.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the THE GROUT DOCTOR® 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 GROUT DOCTOR® FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is THE GROUT DOCTOR®'s franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for THE GROUT DOCTOR® (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 GROUT DOCTOR® franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, THE GROUT DOCTOR® has 80 total units in the United States, including 78 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is THE GROUT DOCTOR® a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates THE GROUT DOCTOR® as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 74 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.