AdvantaClean franchise unit economics
AdvantaClean franchisees run mold, water and air duct remediation, usually across two territories worked as one operation. Across 22 owners the average profit of $178,361 falls to $149,554 once the fee schedule a new owner would actually sign is applied. The royalty scale steps down as monthly revenue rises, and the minimum beneath it catches the median owner.
- Primary source
- AdvantaClean Systems, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 22 of 70 locations
- Our calculations
- Marked on the page with an asterisk. Method
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
Disclosure-based. Not a forecast, not an offer to sell a franchise, and not advice.
The profit line of $178,361 becomes $149,554 once the fee schedule a new owner would sign is applied, a $28,807 haircut, the brand doing the arithmetic on itself. Underneath it sits a royalty rate that falls in steps as monthly revenue rises, which makes the month the unit of account here.
- Under current fees, $178,361 of profit becomes $149,554.21.50% of revenue down to 18.03%, a 3.47-point haircut.
- Royalty falls by whole-month group: 7% below $100,000, then 6%, 5% and 4%.Which creates a step. A month billing $85,715 to $100,000 costs more royalty than a month billing $100,001.
- From year three the minimum royalty is $2,000 a month per territory, worth $28,571 of monthly revenue at 7%.The median franchisee bills $25,671 per territory a month, so the median pays the minimum at an effective 7.79%.
- Fixed annual obligations run $52,176 before a dollar of royalty.$36,000 of required local advertising plus $16,176 of technology, marketing management and online presence. 8.47% of median revenue.
- The system went from 142 territories to 70 in three years, with zero transfers.Two openings against 74 departures, 16 of which converted to a sister brand. 24 openings are projected for 2026.
How much does a AdvantaClean franchise make?
The average AdvantaClean unit reported $829,475 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $616,099. The brand’s disclosure document puts the profit line at 18% of revenue. Fees come off the top first, at about 10% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
Service mix
Two lines have two thirds of it.
| Service line | Share of system revenue | Share at average revenue * |
|---|---|---|
| Mold | 40.80% | $338,426 |
| Water | 23.40% | $194,097 |
| Air duct | 11.30% | $93,731 |
| Reconstruction | 8.00% | $66,358 |
| Contents | 7.70% | $63,870 |
| Other | 3.50% | $29,032 |
| Moisture control | 3.30% | $27,373 |
| Fire | 1.60% | $13,272 |
| Sanitization | 0.30% | $2,488 |
| Radon | 0.10% | $829 |
| Coil | 0.00% | n/a |
| Total | 100.00% | $829,475 |
Shares are as the brand reported it and represent total system revenue instead of an average. The dollar column is marked *, applying each share to the $829,475 average revenue as an illustration of scale.
Mold and water are 64.20% of system revenue. Add air duct and three lines take 75.50%. Seven of the eleven lines together account for 16.50%, and three of them round to under half a point. An owner reading this list should treat it as one business with a long tail.
The growth standard requires 10% in every service line. Absent an individual performance standard set by the franchisor, the default is a 10% increase in total sales and in sales for each service line. Applied to the system shares, that asks for 10% growth on a radon line at 0.10% of revenue and a coil line at 0.00%. So the standard as written reaches lines that barely exist. It is worth having the conversation about how it will be measured before signing.
Reconstruction is 8.00% of revenue and the only line at 3% royalty. So 92.00% of system revenue sits on the 7% to 4% scale. For a franchisee weighing whether to build capacity in rebuild work, the fee advantage is four points on the portion that qualifies. That is worth $2,654 on the average franchisee's current reconstruction volume *.
There is zero exclusive territory. The designated territory has protected rights over roughly 80,000 owner-occupied households. A franchisee may face competition from other franchisees, from franchisor-owned outlets and from competitive brands the franchisor controls. The call center routes customers, which puts lead allocation inside the franchisor’s system.
Top performers
What separates the top AdvantaClean performers
AdvantaClean splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $4,981,598 a year. The worst averaged $82,960. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $616,099. The average was $829,475. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 60.0× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Territory, and how much of it is real.This model sells from a territory rather than a building. Two owners with the same brand and different ground are running different businesses, and density decides how much driving sits between jobs.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $171,474 to $309,944, a 1.8× range inside one brand. The high end usually buys more capacity, so the cheapest build is not always the cheapest route to the top band.
Live operating levers
- Wages, the dominant line.Wages take 32.7% of sales, against 18.0% kept at the end. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Jobs, the operating driver.This model bills on jobs. Every job is won again, so the owner works on how many quotes turn into work and what the average job is worth when it does. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Membership and rebooking.A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 10.0% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.22 of 70 locations are behind these figures. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, so the numbers describe locations that cleared that screen, not the system as a whole.
- What the disclosure leaves out.Item 19 publishes no attainment figure. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
Profit and loss
The brand restates its own profit.
| Line | Average | Share of revenue | Median | Median share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total sales | $829,475 | 100.00% | $616,099 | 100.00% |
| Cost of goods sold | $141,496 | 17.06% | $65,732 | 10.67% |
| Direct labor | $271,090 | 32.68% | $177,656 | 28.84% |
| Gross profit | $416,889 | 50.26% | $313,414 | 50.87% |
| Adjusted profit | $178,361 | 21.50% | $142,978 | 23.21% |
| Further adjusted profit, at current fees | $149,554 | 18.03% | $118,036 | 19.16% |
As the brand reported it.
Current fees take $28,807 off the average profit line and $24,942 off the median. 21.50% becomes 18.03%; 23.21% becomes 19.16%. Most filings publish a profit figure earned under whatever contract each franchisee happens to hold. This one shows what the same businesses would have kept under the contract on offer. Treat 18.03% as the planning number.
Direct labor takes 32.68% of revenue and materials take 17.06%. Together 49.74%, leaving gross profit at 50.26%. At the median the same lines take 28.84% and 10.67% for a gross profit of 50.87%. So the middle of the distribution runs lighter on both. Is what a smaller job mix with less reconstruction in it looks like.
One point of gross profit is worth $8,295 at the average. 5.5% of the restated $149,554 profit line *. With half of revenue already gone to labor and materials, the estimating and job-costing discipline on the front end decides more here than any overhead decision behind it.
The largest franchisee runs 31.06% gross profit against 63.94% at the smallest. $4,981,598 of revenue against $82,960. The big one has 32.07% cost of goods and 36.85% direct labor; the small one is nearly all labor it performs itself. Scale in this model arrives with reconstruction work attached, and reconstruction comes with materials.
Profit runs from $656,277 to a loss of $71,198 across the 22. Under current fees, $583,538 to a loss of $89,768. The high franchisee keeps 13.17% of revenue and the low one loses 85.82% of it. So the profit percentage falls as revenue rises at the top. Falls off a cliff at the bottom.
The royalty steps
The month is the unit of account.
| Monthly sales | Royalty rate | Royalty at the top of the group | Royalty just above it * | Saved by crossing * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0 to $100,000 | 7.0% | $7,000 | $6,000 | $1,000 |
| $100,000.01 to $150,000 | 6.0% | $9,000 | $7,500 | $1,500 |
| $150,000.01 to $200,000 | 5.0% | $10,000 | $8,000 | $2,000 |
| $200,000.01 and above | 4.0% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Reconstruction and reduced rate services | 3.0% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
The rates and groups are as the brand reported it; the last three columns are marked *, applying each rate to the group boundary.
A month billing $85,715 to $100,000 costs more royalty than a month billing $100,001. $6,000 at 6% against up to $7,000 at 7% *. The same pattern repeats at $125,001 to $150,000 against $150,001, and at $160,001 to $200,000 against $200,001. Where an invoice date sits inside a month is worth real money here, and the three boundaries are the numbers to keep on the wall.
Crossing $200,000 in a month cuts the rate to 4%. From 7%, that is three points of revenue. On a $200,001 month the fee falls to $8,000 from the $14,000 a straight 7% would take. For a franchisee running seasonal water damage volume, concentrating a surge inside one month.
Reconstruction has 3% and is 8.00% of system revenue. It is also billed outside sales for group purposes. So reconstruction dollars escape the higher rate while also failing to push the rest of the month into a lower group. An owner weighing whether to take the rebuild after the mitigation now has the fee side of that decision in numbers.
The minimum underneath it.
| Months open | Minimum monthly royalty per territory | Monthly revenue it implies at 7% * | Annual revenue per territory it implies * |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | Zero minimum | n/a | n/a |
| 7 to 12 | $500 | $7,143 | $85,714 |
| Second year | $1,250 | $17,857 | $214,286 |
| Third year and beyond | $2,000 | $28,571 | $342,857 |
The schedule is as the brand reported it; the implied revenue columns are marked *, dividing each minimum by the 7% first-group rate.
The median franchisee bills $25,671 per territory a month and the minimum asks for $28,571. So the median pays $48,000 of royalty against the $43,127 that 7% would produce, $4,873 more, at an effective 7.79% *. Half the reporting population is paying above the headline rate, and the gap closes at $342,857 of annual revenue per territory.
Adding a territory adds $24,000 a year of minimum from its third year. A second territory has to reach $342,857 of its own revenue before it stops costing more in royalty than it generates at the rate. Average revenue per territory is $405,521 *, so the typical second territory clears it, with $62,664 of room.
At $82,960 of revenue the minimum alone is $24,000, 28.9% of the year's billing. That franchisee's reported profit is a loss of $71,198, deepening to $89,768 under current fees. The minimum is the mechanism that makes a thin territory expensive, and it arrives in full from month 25.
What the fees come to at each size.
| Franchisee | Revenue | Royalty | Brand fund and call center at 2% | Fixed monthly fees | Fees to the franchisor | Plus required local advertising | Total share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest reporting | $4,981,598 | $348,712 | $99,632 | $16,176 | $464,520 | $500,520 | 10.0% |
| Average | $829,475 | $58,063 | $16,590 | $16,176 | $90,829 | $126,829 | 15.3% |
| Median | $616,099 | $48,000 | $12,322 | $16,176 | $76,498 | $112,498 | 18.3% |
| Lowest reporting | $82,960 | $24,000 | $1,659 | $16,176 | $41,835 | $77,835 | 93.8% |
Ours, built from the filed rates and the filed revenue figures.
The obligation runs 10.0% of revenue at the top and 93.8% at the bottom. The fixed $52,176 of advertising and monthly fees is why: it is 1.0% of revenue for the largest franchisee and 62.9% for the smallest *. This is a model that charges the same entry price for the ring whatever weight an owner fights at.
$36,000 of local advertising is required whatever the revenue. 5.84% at the median and 0.72% at the top. It is also the line most owners would cut first in a thin quarter. The agreement closes that door. A shortfall can be collected by the franchisor and spent for them.
Brand fund and call center take 2% today with headroom to 7%. The brand fund may rise from 1% to 3% and the call center from 1% to 4%. On median revenue that headroom is worth $30,805 a year *, roughly a quarter of the restated profit line, so it belongs in any long-range plan as a stated risk.
The network and what it costs to open
142 to 70 in three years.
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminations | Non-renewals | Reacquired | Ceased, other | End | Transfers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 142 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 101 | 0 |
| 2024 | 101 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 82 | 0 |
| 2025 | 82 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 70 | 0 |
As the brand reported it; every row reconciles exactly.
The system lost 50.7% of its territories in three years. 142 to 70, with 2 openings against 74 departures. Departures slowed sharply (41, 21 and 14) so 2025 was the steadiest of the three, and at 14 exits against 70 territories the annual rate is still 20%.
Zero territories transferred to a new owner in three years. Across a system that shed 74 of them. When a franchisee leaves here, the territory goes back, which tells an owner something important about the resale market they would be planning an exit into.
24 openings are projected for 2026 against 2 across the prior three years. With zero agreements signed and waiting. A franchisee already in the system should read that projection as intent. Ask what changed in the offer that would produce twelve times three years of recruitment in one.
16 of the 43 other departures moved to a sister brand. Those owners changed the sign. That reframes part of the decline: partly brand consolidation inside one ownership group, partly genuine members leaving, and the two can be separated.
What it costs to open a territory.
| Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Tools, equipment and initial inventory | $65,000 | $75,000 |
| Initial franchise fee | $59,900 | $73,900 |
| Vehicle | $0 | $60,000 |
| Additional funds, three months | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| Grand opening marketing | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Insurance deposit and initial premiums | $3,500 | $9,000 |
| Opening assistance fee | $7,500 | $7,500 |
| Security deposits and rent | $0 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle enhancements and wrap | $3,000 | $6,000 |
| Industry certifications, licenses and training | $1,000 | $10,000 |
| Travel to training | $1,000 | $3,000 |
| Business management and technology system | $1,000 | $3,000 |
| Office furniture | $0 | $2,000 |
| Professional fees | $500 | $2,000 |
| Technology fee, three months | $1,797 | $1,797 |
| Marketing management fee, three months | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Online local presence fee, three months | $747 | $747 |
| Credit card processing technology | $30 | $500 |
| Total | $171,474 | $309,944 |
As the brand reported it, reordered here by size.
Tools and inventory at $65,000 to $75,000 is the largest single line. Larger than the franchise fee at the low end. This is equipment-led work (dehumidifiers, air movers, containment, meters) and the kit has to exist before the first job. That is why the vehicle can run to $60,000 alongside it.
The build is 0.21 to 0.37 times the average franchisee's revenue. $171,474 to $309,944 against $829,475, or 0.28 to 0.50 times the median $616,099 *. Against the restated profit line of $149,554, the high column is 2.1 years of profit at the average.
Cash to run the business day to day of $15,000 to $30,000 covers three months. Against fixed obligations of $52,176 a year ($13,044 a quarter of advertising and monthly fees alone) that range leaves very little for wages and materials in a quarter where the phone stays quiet. The minimum royalty has yet to start at that point, which is the only relief in the first six months.
The fee actually charged in 2025 was structured differently from the one on offer. $4,250 to $5,000 of franchise fee plus $34,000 to $40,000 of territory fee, against a single $59,900 to $73,900 figure now. An existing owner weighing a second territory should note that the same filing prices an additional territory bought at the same time at $32,000.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What should an AdvantaClean business be billing?
The 22 franchisees who operated and reported for all of 2025 averaged $829,475 of revenue with a median of $616,099, a low of $82,960 and a high of $4,981,598. They held a median and average of 2 territories each, with a maximum of 6 and a minimum of 1. That works out at roughly $405,521 of revenue per territory. The wider population is 34 franchisees across 69 territories open 12 months or more at the end of 2025. One franchisee in one territory open less than 12 months.
What does an AdvantaClean profit and loss look like?
On average revenue of $829,475: cost of goods sold $141,496 (17.06%), direct labor $271,090 (32.68%), gross profit $416,889 (50.26%) and adjusted profit $178,361 (21.50%). Restated by the franchisor under its current fee schedule, adjusted profit becomes $149,554 (18.03%). At the median the figures are $616,099 of revenue, 50.87% gross profit, $142,978 of adjusted profit (23.21%) and $118,036 restated (19.16%). Adjusted profit adds back indirect salaries, benefits and owner compensation, so it describes what the business produces before the owner is paid.
What does the brand take?
Royalty is the greater of a rate or a minimum. The rate is 7% of monthly sales below $100,000, 6% from there to $150,000, 5% to $200,000 and 4% above, applied to the whole month. Reconstruction and reduced rate services at 3% and excluded from the group calculation. The minimum is $500 a month per territory in months 7 to 12, $1,250 in the second year and $2,000 from the third year. Zero minimum in the first six months. On top sit a 1% brand fund contribution that may rise to 3%, a 1% call center fee that may rise to 4%, a $599 monthly technology fee that may rise 25% a year, a $500 monthly marketing management fee, a $249 monthly online local presence fee. A local advertising requirement of $36,000 a year spent with third parties.
What growth does the agreement require?
Absent an individual minimum performance standard for a calendar year, the default requirement is a 10% increase in total sales and a 10% increase in sales for each service line. The territory has protected rights: a franchisee may face competition from other franchisees, from outlets the franchisor owns and from competitive brands the franchisor controls. The franchisor’s call center routes and assigns customer work inside the designated territory.
Who does bookkeeping for an AdvantaClean franchise?
Three mechanics here make the monthly close consequential. The royalty rate is set by the month's sales as a whole, with steps at $100,000, $150,000 and $200,000. So revenue recognition timing inside a month changes the fee. A business billing near a boundary needs its invoicing calendar managed. The minimum royalty of $2,000 a month per territory from year three has to be accrued against the greater of rate or minimum. Means the accrual differs from 7% of sales for any territory under $28,571 of monthly revenue. The median reporting franchisee sits below that. And reconstruction revenue is carried at 3% and excluded from the group calculation on everything else. So the chart of accounts has to separate it cleanly or the royalty calculation is wrong in both directions at once. Underneath all three sits the split between cost of goods and direct labor. Runs 17.06% and 32.68% at the average and 10.67% and 28.84% at the median, a range wide enough that job-level costing is what tells an owner which jobs are worth taking. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
- No attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
Questions worth putting to AdvantaClean
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- Is the profit figure in Item 19 before or after owner pay, and how many locations sit below it?
- What separates the highest-selling locations from the lowest: trade area, years open, size, or the owner?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many AdvantaClean locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Finance Diagnostic runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
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