Waterloo Turf Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Waterloo Turf is a home services franchise that installs artificial turf for lawns, play areas, and sport courts. Franchisees run local operations, managing sales, installation crews, and accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Waterloo Turf franchise requires a total initial investment of $106K – $152K, including a $59K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $106K – $152K
- 38th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned onlyn=2
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 15th pct Home Services
- Units
- 5
- 11th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
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
- COSTTotal investment $106K – $152K including a $59K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 disclosed $1.0M average from 2 company-owned outlets. This is franchisor-operated data, not franchisee results.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better).
- 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
- Waterloo Turf Franchising Co, LLC
- Parent company
- Waterloo Turf Franchising, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Trivium Franchise Holdings, LLC
- Predecessor
- Waterloo Turf, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Tim Lovett
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 11701 Bee Caves Road, Suite 180, Austin, Texas 78734
- Auditor
- Alice.CPA LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- Most recent fiscal year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Tim Lovett
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 0
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 43% 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 | $59K | $59K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $27K | $63K |
| Total initial investment | $106K | $152K |
Source: Waterloo Turf 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
- $106K – $152K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $30K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $59K – $59K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $7K |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Waterloo Turf did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Waterloo Turf unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
54%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
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
Item 19 disclosed $1.0M average from 2 company-owned outlets. This is franchisor-operated data, not franchisee results.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a sample of only 2
- Item 19 type
- historical - company-affiliated outlets only (not franchisee data)
- Sample size
- 2
- vs category median 32 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $1.1M→$1.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 8 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 321 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 8.0% (near the Home Services average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports historical - company-affiliated outlets only (not franchisee data) rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Multi-unit rate
Only 6% 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 Waterloo Turf Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 5.9%
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 19
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $350K
- Median loan
- $350K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (1 loan) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Alice.CPA LLCⓘ Going-concern language present, but this is an early-stage franchisor with limited operating history — common for new systems and not necessarily a sign of distress.
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 45 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORGoing-concern note present but early-stage (distress_is_early_stage=true)
- 02MINORBegan franchising 2024, 5 company-owned, 0 franchised
- 03MEDItem 19 disclosed, no litigation, no bankruptcy
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% 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 | Geographic area around the business defined by political, geographic, population or other boundaries |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 350,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 45 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 32 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site at franchisee's restaurant and franchisor location
- POS system
- iPhone, Laptop, QBO, Gusto, Ring
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: iPhone, Laptop, QBO, Gusto, Ring
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Waterloo Turf · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Waterloo Turf franchise?
The total investment to open a Waterloo Turf franchise ranges from $106K – $152K, with an initial franchise fee of $59K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Waterloo Turf franchise owners earn?
Waterloo Turf does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Waterloo Turf 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 Waterloo Turf FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Waterloo Turf's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Waterloo Turf (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 Waterloo Turf franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Waterloo Turf has 5 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 5 company-owned units.
Is Waterloo Turf a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Waterloo Turf as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 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.