Waterloo TurfFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
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]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.2M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $106K – $152K
- 36th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- 36th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 13th pct Home Services
- Units
- 5
- 11th pct Home Services
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Home Services avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 9.2x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Started franchising in 2024. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $106K – $152K including a $59K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.2M/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 34/100.
- Auditor 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
- Legal entity
- Waterloo Turf Franchising Co, LLC
- Parent company
- Waterloo Turf Franchising, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Trivium Franchise Holdings, LLC
- 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
Waterloo Turf franchisees operate lawn care and turf management services, including lawn installation, maintenance, and landscaping for residential and commercial clients. Day-to-day operations involve crew scheduling, equipment maintenance, customer acquisition/retention, and field service delivery across assigned customer territories.
- CEO
- Tim Lovett
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 0
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.
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
$131K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
85%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
14 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $106K – $152K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $30K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $59K – $59K
- Near category avg 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 |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 2 units
- vs category median 25 · small
- Transparency
- 9 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 349 Home Services brands
Revenue is 9.2x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Home Services averages
How Waterloo Turf Compares
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
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 19
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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.
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
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
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Waterloo Turf is a micro-franchise with unverified unit economics, no territorial protection, and minimal system scale—presenting substantial execution and franchisor stability risk despite no disclosed litigation.
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 note flagged
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 34 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 5 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory indicates minimal scale and unproven replicability
- 02MINORNo territorial protection leaves franchisees vulnerable to direct competition from same franchisor or encroachment
- 03MINORHigh franchise fee ($59,000) represents 55% of minimum total investment, creating significant upfront capital risk with small support network
- 04MINORRoyalty burden of 6% on claimed $1.05M average revenue ($63K annually) coupled with unverified Item 19 financials
- 05MINORMicro-franchise size (5 units) raises questions about franchisor viability, support infrastructure, and whether financial claims are accurate across diverse markets
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 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
4 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?
According to Item 19 of the Waterloo Turf FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
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 A-grade franchise with a risk score of 34 out of 100, 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.
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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.