ZIPS Cleaners Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $762K – $1.2M
- Disclosed sales
- $1.3M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 15 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
ZIPS Cleaners is an express dry cleaning and laundry franchise known for flat, same-day pricing. Franchisees operate high-volume retail cleaning plants, handling garment intake, on-site processing, and customer pickup.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A ZIPS Cleaners franchise requires a total initial investment of $762K – $1.2M, including a $15K – $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Item 5 conditions this fee. The figure shown is the lowest amount the filing discloses, and the filing ties that amount to a qualifying condition — so it is not necessarily what a first-time single-unit franchisee pays. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), 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 scored7 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $762K – $1.2M
- 84th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- 25th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 14th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 72
- 55th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance 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 $762K – $1.2M including a $15K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty. Item 5 conditions this fee. The figure shown is the lowest amount the filing discloses, and the filing ties that amount to a qualifying condition — so it is not necessarily what a first-time single-unit franchisee pays.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.1M), with an estimated 21% cash-on-cash return (based on Income Before General and Administrative Expenses8).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 91/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +4 franchised outlets in the latest year (4 opened, 0 closed); 8 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- ZIPS Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Value Drycleaners of America, LLC (VDA)
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- JPBVDA, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Robert J. Barry, Jr.
- Incorporated in
- Maryland
- HQ
- 8510 Corridor Road, Suite 200, Savage, Maryland 20763
- Auditor
- SC&H Attest Services, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $5.7M
- vs $5.4M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 8
1 other brand on this site name JPBVDA, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Robert J. Barry, Jr.
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 1996
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 9
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 479% above the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Item 5 conditions this fee. The figure shown is the lowest amount the filing discloses, and the filing ties that amount to a qualifying condition — so it is not necessarily what a first-time single-unit franchisee pays.
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $15K | $15K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $100K | $200K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $647K | $983K |
| Total initial investment | $762K | $1.2M |
Source: ZIPS Cleaners 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
- $762K – $1.2M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $100K – $200K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $30K
- Conditional fee
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% |
| Technology fee | $550 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $24K – $30K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 134% above the cleaning & maintenance norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for ZIPS Cleaners until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$1.1M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
FDD-reported earnings
The FDD reports $368K as Income Before General and Administrative Expenses8. This is a disclosed figure, not our estimate — we publish no modelled profit for ZIPS Cleaners.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one ZIPS Cleaners 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 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.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.1M
- Avg income before general and administrative expenses8
- $368K
- Reported as Income Before General and Administrative Expenses8 in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 20.7%
- Based on Income Before General and Administrative Expenses8 / investment midpoint
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 sales
- Sample size
- 49 outlets
- vs category median 32
- Range (low → high)
- $220K→$2.8MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 52 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- 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 191 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
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 $1.3M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.3x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Cleaning & Maintenance median).
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 expanding at 11.1% CAGR over 3 years across 72 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
33% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
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 medians
How ZIPS Cleaners Compares
Category median of published Cleaning & Maintenance 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
- 72
- Opened
- 4
- 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
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 33.3%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +11.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +11.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Signed, not yet open
- 8
- 0.11 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 1.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 1.4%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 10 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
69 current owners across 10 states.
- MD 30
- VA 19
- PA 8
- TX 5
- DC 2
- CA 1
- FL 1
- IL 1
- IN 1
- OH 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 15
- Loan volume
- $13.7M
- Median loan
- $913K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 15 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 15 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 15 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 15 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 10
- Defaults
- 2
Vintage analysis
ZIPS Cleaners charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing ZIPS Cleaners franchisees
Showing 3 of 10 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.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for ZIPS Cleaners from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
Top SBA lenders
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 4 | $1.6M | N/A |
| 2 | LendingClub Bank, National Association | 2 | $1.9M | 100.0% |
| 3 | BayFirst National Bank | 2 | $284K | N/A |
| 4 | Stearns Bank National Association | 1 | $150K | N/A |
| 5 | Cadence Bank | 1 | $1.3M | N/A |
| 6 | First Commonwealth Bank | 1 | $825K | N/A |
| 7 | Celtic Bank Corporation | 1 | $900K | 100.0% |
| 8 | First Bank of the Lake | 1 | $1.5M | N/A |
| 9 | Penn Community Bank | 1 | $264K | N/A |
| 10 | First Bank | 1 | $5.0M | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| PAPennsylvania | 4 | 0 | -- |
| VAVirginia | 4 | 0 | -- |
| INIndiana | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| MDMaryland | 2 | 0 | -- |
| FLFlorida | 1 | 0 | -- |
| NCNorth Carolina | 1 | 0 | -- |
| TXTexas | 1 | 0 | -- |
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
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
Clean profile: zero litigation, no bankruptcy, no going-concern, and positive franchisor net worth of $662,611 with net income of $172,723 on $5.7M revenue. Audited financials and Item 19 disclosed (avg gross sales $1,256,748 across 72 units). Zero turnover and healthy 11.1% net growth.
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 · SC&H Attest Services, P.C.
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 91 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORPositive net worth $662,611 and net income $172,723
- 02MINORZero litigation, no bankruptcy, no going-concern
- 03MEDAudited financials, Item 19 disclosed, 0% turnover
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 | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 120 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- ZIPSsoft Software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ZIPSsoft Software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
69 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 ZIPS Cleaners franchise?
The total investment to open a ZIPS Cleaners franchise ranges from $762K – $1.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $15K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Item 5 conditions this fee. The figure shown is the lowest amount the filing discloses, and the filing ties that amount to a qualifying condition — so it is not necessarily what a first-time single-unit franchisee pays.
What do ZIPS Cleaners franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the ZIPS Cleaners FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. The median is $1.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns ZIPS Cleaners?
ZIPS Cleaners is franchised by ZIPS Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is Value Drycleaners of America, LLC (VDA). The ultimate parent named in the FDD is JPBVDA, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the ZIPS Cleaners 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 ZIPS Cleaners FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is ZIPS Cleaners's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for ZIPS Cleaners (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 ZIPS Cleaners franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, ZIPS Cleaners has 72 total units in the United States, including 70 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is ZIPS Cleaners a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates ZIPS Cleaners as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 91 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent ZIPS Cleaners, 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.