The Maids Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Maids is a residential cleaning franchise providing detailed, team-based house cleaning on recurring schedules. Franchisees run a route-based operation managing cleaning crews, quality, and customer retention in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Maids franchise requires a total initial investment of $118K – $141K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.9% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.2M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 5.2% charge-off rate across 58 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $118K – $141K
- 46th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- 32nd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 6.9%
- 29th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 369
- 81st pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- 5.2%
- % 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 $118K – $141K including a $60K franchise fee, 6.9% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.2M/year (median $764K).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 60/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 5.2% across 58 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- FLAGAuditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The Maids International, LLC
- Parent company
- The Maids Holdings Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Gladstone Management Corp.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Board Director
- Cathy Skula
- Incorporated in
- Nebraska
- HQ
- 105 Decker Court, Suite 860, Irving, Texas 75062
- Auditor
- Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $18.3M
- vs $19.7M prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2026
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Cathy Skula
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 1979
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 41
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 59% below the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $35K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $33K | $47K |
| Total initial investment | $118K | $141K |
Source: The Maids 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
- $118K – $141K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $35K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.9%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.2%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.9% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
| Total fee load | 9.2% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 32% above the cleaning & maintenance 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
$120K
10.1% margin
Unlevered ROIC
75%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
16 mo
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 Maids unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
75%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
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 Maids units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$734K
on $3.7M purchase
Total debt
$2.9M
SBA $1.8M + 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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $764K
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 outlet-level revenue (high/low/average/median) for Reporting Franchised Outlets and Territories, plus revenue-per-clean/per-customer statement and separate company-owned outlet P&L
- Sample size
- 97 outlets
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $53K→$7.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 192 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Revenue is 9.2x 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 $1.2M/year in gross sales. Median is $764K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 9.2x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.2% (near the Cleaning & Maintenance average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 6/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (-0.6% 3-year CAGR) with 369 units.
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 Maids Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 369
- Opened
- 9
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 11
- Terminated
- 11
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.3%
- Company-owned
- 31
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 92%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -0.6%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -0.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 9
- Terminated (3yr)
- 11
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 4
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 2
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 41 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.
41
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
- 58
- Loan volume
- $17.5M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 5.2%
- 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)
- 94.8%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 66.7%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 31
- Defaults
- 3
- Typical loan rate
- 7.6%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 15.4%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 957
- 5.5 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 29%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 73% went to startups / new businesses, 27% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in janitorial services, franchised businesses charge off at 15.4% vs 22.8% for independents — franchising is associated with 32% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
The Maids charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing The Maids franchisees
Showing 3 of 31 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 Maids'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 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 18-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
The auditor flagged going-concern doubt (Item 21) — the single biggest risk here.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
⚠ Grade capped at C: the auditor disclosed a going-concern note (FDD Item 21). The verdict score reflects the underlying financials before that cap.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORAuditor going-concern note (going_concern_note=true), not early-stage
- 02MINORNegative net worth (-$3.55M) and net loss (-$3.86M)
- 03MINORfinancial_distress flagged
- 04MINOR4 franchisor-initiated suits vs. former franchisees
- 05MINORNegative net growth (-0.6%)
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.2% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Designated Market Area |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1.5 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 4 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 20 hrs
- POS system
- TMConnect
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: TMConnect
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Maids · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Maids franchise?
The total investment to open a The Maids franchise ranges from $118K – $141K, 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 The Maids franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Maids FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.2M. The median is $764K. 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 Maids 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 Maids FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is The Maids's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, The Maids has a charge-off rate of 5.2% across 58 loans, meaning 5.2% 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 Maids franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Maids has 369 total units in the United States, including 338 franchised units and 31 company-owned units. 9 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Maids a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Maids as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 60 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 Maids, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Cleaning & Maintenance franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Cleaning & Maintenance category
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.