Trublue Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Trublue franchise requires a total initial investment of $70K – $96K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $438K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 12 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $70K – $96K
- 15th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $438K
- 13th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 15th pct Home Services
- Units
- 135
- 62nd pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services 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
- Total investment $70K – $96K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $438K/year (median $348K).
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 90/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 12 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- System growing at 43.6% CAGR over 3 years with 135 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- T.B. Franchising Systems, Inc.
- CEO title
- President, Director
- Sean Fitzgerald
- Incorporated in
- Ohio
- HQ
- 4755 Lake Forest Drive, Suite 100, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
- Auditor
- Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $4.4M
- vs $3.2M prior year
Overview
About
TruBlue offers franchises to operate residential and commercial property management businesses providing maintenance and repair, yard care, snow removal, senior home safety modifications, and residential cleaning services.
- CEO
- Sean Fitzgerald
- Headquarters
- Ohio
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2026
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 63% 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 | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $8K | $20K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $12K | $27K |
| Total initial investment | $70K | $96K |
Source: Trublue 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
- $70K – $96K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $8K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $195 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 64% below the home services 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
$48K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
50%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
24 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $438K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $348K
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 Revenue by quartile and cumulative (historic actual data), plus a first-full-calendar-year owner cohort
- Sample size
- 42 units
- vs category median 32
- Range (low → high)
- $75K→$1.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $214K→$845K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
Compared against 355 Home Services brands
Revenue is 5.3x 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 $438K/year in gross sales. Median is $348K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 5.3x.
Fee burden
6.0% royalty + 2.0% ad fund.
Operator retention
System expanding at 43.6% CAGR over 3 years across 135 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 20% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 averages
How Trublue Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 135
- Opened
- 41
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- N/A
- Terminated
- 6
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 10.4%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 20.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +43.6%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +43.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 78
- Closed (3yr)
- 3
- Terminated (3yr)
- 13
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 40
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 12
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 12
- Loan volume
- $1.6M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 8
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 8.8%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 2361
- Jobs supported
- 70
- 4.5 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 42%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Top lenders financing Trublue franchisees
Showing 3 of 8 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.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 12 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% 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
Litigation (Item 3)
Three regulatory settlement/consent orders: Virginia SCC settlement with Fresh Coat over non-disclosure of an officer's personal bankruptcy (refunds + $8,000 penalty); California DFPI consent order over the same bankruptcy non-disclosure across TBFS and affiliates; California DFPI consent order over the auditing CPA not being registered in Ohio ($5,000 penalty).
Largest disclosed settlement: $8,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 175,000 |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 6 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Hamilton County, Ohio |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Ohio |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Three regulatory settlement/consent orders: Virginia SCC settlement with Fresh Coat over non-disclosure of an officer's personal bankruptcy (refunds + $8,000 penalty); California DFPI consent order over the same bankruptcy non-disclosure across TBFS and affiliates; California DFPI consent order over the auditing CPA not being registered in Ohio ($5,000 penalty).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Trublue franchise?
The total investment to open a Trublue franchise ranges from $70K – $96K, 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 Trublue franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Trublue FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $438K. The median is $348K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Trublue's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Trublue has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 12 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 Trublue franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Trublue has 135 total units in the United States, including 135 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 41 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Trublue a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Trublue as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 90 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
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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.