The Shutter House Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $98K – $198K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Shutter House is a home services franchise selling and installing window shutters, blinds, and window treatments. Franchisees run local operations, managing in-home consultations, sales, and installation.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Shutter House franchise requires a total initial investment of $98K – $198K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
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 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $98K – $198K
- 32nd pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 1 outlet
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 8th pct Home Services
- Units
- 4
- 9th 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 $98K – $198K including a $60K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSOnly 2 franchised outlets were open the full 12-month 2024 reporting period (Daphne AL and Pensacola FL); a third outlet opened mid-2024 and is excluded for limited operating history; the one company-owned outlet (Custom Shutter Company) is excluded as not comparable (national scale, no defined territory). The range shown is Pensacola alone ($337,446): the Daphne outlet ($612,244) is operated by MasterKraft Contracting, LLC, owned by the franchisor's co-founder and COO, under an unwritten arrangement predating the standard franchise agreement, paying no royalties or fees to the franchisor (its royalty and ad-fund lines in the table are hypothetical), so it is not an arm's-length franchisee and does not bound the range.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 41/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +1 franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The Shutter House Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Edward Terry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Alabama
- HQ
- 25958 County Road 13, Daphne, Alabama 36526
- Auditor
- Haynie & Company
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $82K
- vs $53K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Edward Terry
- Headquarters
- AL
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 12% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $20K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $23K | $118K |
| Total initial investment | $98K | $198K |
Source: The Shutter House 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
- $98K – $198K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $45K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $5K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for The Shutter House is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one The Shutter House 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 annual revenue, 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.
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
Only 2 franchised outlets were open the full 12-month 2024 reporting period (Daphne AL and Pensacola FL); a third outlet opened mid-2024 and is excluded for limited operating history; the one company-owned outlet (Custom Shutter Company) is excluded as not comparable (national scale, no defined territory). The range shown is Pensacola alone ($337,446): the Daphne outlet ($612,244) is operated by MasterKraft Contracting, LLC, owned by the franchisor's co-founder and COO, under an unwritten arrangement predating the standard franchise agreement, paying no royalties or fees to the franchisor (its royalty and ad-fund lines in the table are hypothetical), so it is not an arm's-length franchisee and does not bound the range.
Based on a single outlet - not a system average
- Item 19 type
- Franchised outlets
- Sample size
- 1 outlet
- vs category median 32 · small
- Reported figure
- $337KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 50 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- A single outlet — not a range
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 319 Home Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Home Services median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +200.0% over 3 years (1 opened, 0 closed).
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 Shutter House 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 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 4
- Opened
- 1
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 75%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +200.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +200.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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
3 current owners across 3 states.
- AL 1
- FL 1
- IL 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
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
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Haynie & Company
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 41 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNegative net worth -$15,942
- 02MINORTiny 4-unit system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 75,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | 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 | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 21 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Alabama |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 28 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 12 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor's location and on-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee, with franchisor review/acceptance
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- BuildMatPro
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: BuildMatPro
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 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 Shutter House franchise?
The total investment to open a The Shutter House franchise ranges from $98K – $198K, 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 Shutter House franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the The Shutter House FDD discloses outlet figures from $337K to $337K but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns The Shutter House?
The Shutter House is franchised by The Shutter House Franchising, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the The Shutter House 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 Shutter House FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is The Shutter House's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Shutter House (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 Shutter House franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Shutter House has 4 total units in the United States, including 3 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Shutter House a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Shutter House as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 41 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.