Aire-Master franchise unit economics
Aire-Master franchisees run restroom hygiene, odor control and scent routes for commercial buildings inside an exclusive territory priced at ten cents a head. The 104 single routes reporting for all of 2024 averageeraged $29,723 a month with a median of $19,930, and the five multi-unit franchisees averaged $81,686. The royalty runs 5% on the first $25,000 a month, 4% to $50,000 and 3% above. So the largest route in the system pays an effective 3.39%.
- Primary source
- Aire-Master, 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
- 109 of 117 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.
Aire-Master sells a territory at ten cents a head, then asks you to bill ten cents a head every year to keep it. The two rates are the same, so the franchise fee equals one year of the sales minimum. The 104 single-unit routes that reported all of 2024 averaged $29,723 a month against a median of $19,930, on a 500,000-person territory that median runs 4.8 times the test.
- The royalty slides from 5% to 3.39% as the route grows. 5% on the first $25,000 a month, 4% to $50,000 and 3% above. The largest single-unit route at $193,008 pays $6,540 where a flat 5% asks $9,650, worth $37,322 a year *.
- Below $5,000 a month the $250 minimum replaces the percentage. The lowest-selling route averages $2,311 and hands over 10.82% *, with advertising and the conference fee, $4,977 a year against $27,732 of billings, or 17.95%.
- 69 of the 104 single-unit routes bill below the system average. The median of $19,930 is 67.1% of the $29,723 average, and that $9,793 monthly gap is $117,516 a year *, the entire annual sales test on a territory of 1,175,160 people.
- Multi-unit franchisees average $81,686 a month, 2.75 times a single route. Their median of $90,489 sits above their average *, the reverse of the single-unit group, where the average leads the median by 49.1%.
- A health-care account bills $1.38 for every dollar the average account brings, and a food-service account brings 56 cents. Health care is 9.74% of accounts and 13.41% of billings; food service is 17.19% of accounts and 9.65% *.
How much does a Aire-Master franchise make?
The average Aire-Master unit reported $356,676 of revenue in the 2025 disclosure document, and the median reported $239,160. The brand’s disclosure document discloses revenue and not profit, so what an owner keeps depends on the cost structure set out below. Fees come off the top first, at about 6.7% 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.
Accounts and the system
Which accounts carry the route, by market.
Share of accounts set against share of billings by market shows what an account in each market brings relative to the system’s average account.
| Market | Share of accounts | Share of billings | Billings per account, system average = 1.00 * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real estate, including apartments | 28.34% | 33.60% | 1.19 |
| Health care | 9.74% | 13.41% | 1.38 |
| Hotels and lodging | 8.80% | 11.25% | 1.28 |
| Food service | 17.19% | 9.65% | 0.56 |
| Retail trade | 11.68% | 8.26% | 0.71 |
| Senior and adult care | 4.97% | 6.17% | 1.24 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 3.94% | 5.77% | 1.46 |
| Services | 6.12% | 3.44% | 0.56 |
| Daycare and social assistance | 2.20% | 2.00% | 0.91 |
| Education | 1.16% | 1.35% | 1.16 |
| Other markets | 5.86% | 5.11% | 0.87 |
Both share columns are as the brand reported it and the index is marked *, dividing the billings share by the accounts share.
Food service is the second-largest account count and the fourth-largest source of billings. 17.19% of accounts returning 9.65% of revenue *. It takes 1.78 food-service accounts to replace one average account.
Health care, hotels and senior care are 23.51% of accounts and 30.83% of billings. Three markets running an index of 1.24 to 1.38 *, the buildings with the tightest odor tolerance and the most restrooms per door.
Arts, entertainment and recreation is the densest account in the system at 1.46. 3.94% of accounts producing 5.77% of billings *, on casinos, golf clubs and fitness centers.
A system that changes by less than a tenth.
| Year | At start | Opened | Terminated | Failed to renew | Reacquired | At end | Transfers * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 109 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 116 | 5 |
| 2023 | 116 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 115 | 3 |
| 2024 | 115 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 117 | 2 |
The outlet columns are the filed totals and the transfer column is marked. Adding the filed state rows, whose totals line prints zero for all three years.
Two openings in 2024 against eleven in 2022. A system that added eight outlets across three years *, growth here comes from the route.
Ten transfers in three years, or 8.6% of the system. Against eleven terminations over the same span *, an owner leaving is about as likely to sell the route as to hand it back.
What routes bill
$29,723 a month at the average, $19,930 in the middle.
Average monthly adjusted gross sales cover 109 franchises across calendar 2024, 104 single-unit routes and all five multi-unit franchisees, trading anywhere from 1 to 47 years.
| Group | Franchises | Highest | Average | Median | Lowest | Reaching the average | Average, a year * | Median, a year * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single unit | 104 | $193,008 | $29,723 | $19,930 | $2,311 | 35 | $356,676 | $239,160 |
| Multi unit | 5 | $138,113 | $81,686 | $90,489 | $16,204 | 3 | $980,232 | $1,085,868 |
The monthly figures and the counts reaching the average are as the brand reported it; the annual columns are marked. At twelve times the monthly figure.
The average sits 49.1% above the median. $29,723 against $19,930 *. 35 of the 104 routes reach the average. One route at $193,008 a month bills 9.7 times the middle figure and lifts the average for everyone else.
The top and bottom of the single-unit group run 83.5 times apart. $193,008 against $2,311 *, which is $2,316,096 a year against $27,732, the same agreement, the same fee schedule, two different businesses.
The multi-unit group is shaped the other way round. Its median of $90,489 runs 10.8% above its average of $81,686 *, so the lowest-selling of those five at $16,204 is the one dragging the mean, a settled group with one soft member, against a single-unit group with one runaway.
Top performers
What separates the top Aire-Master performers
Aire-Master splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $2,316,096 a year. The worst averaged $27,732. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $239,160. The average was $356,676. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 83.5× 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, quoted at 1,175,160 people. 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 $46,234 to $171,400, a 3.7× 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
- Routes, the operating driver.This model bills on routes. The van costs the same whatever it does that day, so the owner works on how many stops fit into it and how far apart they are. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Service and retail mix.Attachment rate on retail, and the share of customers on the higher service tiers, lift what each hour earns without adding an hour or a room. It is the only lever that raises the ceiling without spending capital.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 6.7% 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.109 of 117 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 profit or cost data for franchised locations. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
What the fees come to
Growth is cheaper than the headline rate.
The royalty reads as 5% of gross service billings with a $250 monthly minimum. In practice the brand applies volume tiers: 5% on the first $25,000 a month, 4% on the next $25,000 and 3% on everything above $50,000. Advertising is 1.0% today with headroom to 4%, and the conference fee is a flat $1,700 a year.
| Average monthly sales | A year of sales | Royalty | Effective royalty rate | Advertising at 1.0% | Conference | To the brand | Share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $193,008, the highest single unit | $2,316,096 | $78,483 | 3.39% | $23,161 | $1,700 | $103,344 | 4.46% |
| $138,113, the highest multi unit | $1,657,356 | $58,721 | 3.54% | $16,574 | $1,700 | $76,994 | 4.65% |
| $90,489, the multi-unit median | $1,085,868 | $41,576 | 3.83% | $10,859 | $1,700 | $54,135 | 4.99% |
| $81,686, the multi-unit average | $980,232 | $38,407 | 3.92% | $9,802 | $1,700 | $49,909 | 5.09% |
| $29,723, the single-unit average | $356,676 | $17,267 | 4.84% | $3,567 | $1,700 | $22,534 | 6.32% |
| $19,930, the single-unit median | $239,160 | $11,958 | 5.00% | $2,392 | $1,700 | $16,050 | 6.71% |
| $16,204, the lowest multi unit | $194,448 | $9,722 | 5.00% | $1,944 | $1,700 | $13,367 | 6.87% |
| $2,311, the lowest single unit | $27,732 | $3,000 | 10.82% | $277 | $1,700 | $4,977 | 17.95% |
The sales figures, the rates, the tiers, the $250 monthly minimum and the $1,700 conference fee are as the brand reported it. We worked out every dollar amount and share, applying the rate groups month by month to the average month and taking the higher of that result and the $250 minimum.
The largest route keeps $37,322 a year the headline rate would take. $78,483 of royalty against the $115,805 a flat 5% asks *. The rate groups are worth 1.61 points of sales at the top of this system.
Every dollar up to $19,930 a month is taxed at the full rate. The middle route sits inside the 5% group *. The lower rate starts $5,070 a month above where half this system trades.
The flat charges cost the lowest-selling route 17.95% of sales. $4,977 against $27,732 *, of which $4,700 is fixed, against 6.71% at the median, where the same $4,700 range across $239,160.
The $250 minimum matches 5% at $5,000 a month. Below that line the royalty becomes a fixed $3,000 a year *, and its share of sales climbs the further a route falls.
Territory and entry cost
Ten cents a head to buy it, ten cents a head a year to keep it.
The franchise fee is $0.10 a person in the territory, and never less than $30,000. The minimum sales volume that keeps the territory is the same $0.10 per person, measured every year. The two rates match, so the entry price equals one year of the sales minimum.
| Territory population | Franchise fee | With minimum inventory | Sales test, year one * | Year two * | Year three onward * | Year three, a month * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300,000, the minimum | $30,000 | $34,000 | $10,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 | $2,500 |
| 500,000, the typical approval | $50,000 | $54,000 | $16,667 | $33,333 | $50,000 | $4,167 |
| 1,000,000 | $100,000 | $104,000 | $33,333 | $66,667 | $100,000 | $8,333 |
The brand reported the $0.10 a person rate, the $30,000 minimum fee, the $4,000 of opening stock, the usual 500,000-person approval and the one-third and two-thirds build-up as the brand reported it. The dollar columns are marked *, applying those rates to the three populations.
The median route clears the test 4.8 times over. $239,160 a year against $50,000 on a 500,000-person territory *, and the average clears it 7.1 times.
The lowest-selling route bills 55.5% of the test. $27,732 against $50,000 *. That route is inside the range where the territory is held at the brand's discretion.
Year one asks $1,389 a month and year two asks $2,778. On the typical 500,000 territory *, roughly 7% and 14% of what the median route eventually bills.
$46,234 to open, and 64.89% of it is the fee.
| Line | Low | High | Share of the low column * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30,000 | $100,000 | 64.89% |
| Opening inventory | $4,000 | $8,000 | 8.65% |
| Vehicle | $4,000 | $16,000 | 8.65% |
| Computer, printer and related | $3,000 | $4,500 | 6.49% |
| Annual franchisee convention | $1,800 | $3,000 | 3.89% |
| Additional funds, three months | $1,500 | $6,500 | 3.24% |
| Travel and living while training | $500 | $1,500 | 1.08% |
| Equipment | $500 | $15,000 | 1.08% |
| Insurance | $450 | $9,000 | 0.97% |
| Professional fees | $200 | $2,000 | 0.43% |
| Vehicle graphics | $100 | $1,000 | 0.22% |
| Miscellaneous opening costs | $100 | $1,000 | 0.22% |
| Real estate and improvements | $50 | $750 | 0.11% |
| Government fees | $25 | $1,000 | 0.05% |
| Advertising, three months | $9 | $150 | 0.02% |
| Computer software | $0 | $0 | 0.00% |
| Security deposits | $0 | $2,000 | 0.00% |
| Total | $46,234 | $171,400 | 100% |
Amounts are as the brand reported it and the share column is marked *; both columns add to their stated totals to the dollar.
Opening costs 19.3% of what a median route bills in a year. $46,234 against $239,160 *, one of the lightest entry points in route-based commercial services.
Everything beyond the brand, the vehicle and the computer is $5,234. Thirteen lines at the low end *, or 11.3% of the total. The working assets here are a van, a laptop and a shelf of product.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What does an Aire-Master route bill?
The 104 single-unit routes reporting all of 2024 averaged $29,723 a month with a median of $19,930, ranging from $2,311 to $193,008. Annualized that is $356,676 and $239,160. The five multi-unit franchisees averaged $81,686 a month with a median of $90,489.
What does the brand take?
A royalty of 5% on the first $25,000 of monthly billings, 4% to $50,000 and 3% above, with a $250 monthly minimum. Advertising at 1.0%, with headroom to 4%. And $1,700 a year for the conference. At the median that totals $16,050, or 6.71% of billings. At the top of the system the royalty works out at 3.39%.
How much sales volume keeps the territory?
Ten cents a year for every person in the territory, which is $50,000 on the typical 500,000-person approval. The first year asks a third of that and the second year two thirds. At each three-year renewal the test resets for population, CPI and the brand's formula of the day. The median route clears it 4.8 times over.
What does the territory cost?
Ten cents a person, never less than $30,000, plus $4,000 of opening stock. A 500,000-person territory is $50,000, or $54,000 with inventory; a million people is $100,000. Qualified veterans receive 10% off. The fee equals one year of the sales the same territory must reach.
What does it cost to open?
$46,234 to $171,400, of which $34,000 to $108,000 goes to the brand as fee and inventory. Nine in ten franchisees work from home, so real estate starts at $50. The working assets are a vehicle at $4,000 to $16,000 and a computer at $3,000 to $4,500.
Which accounts are worth chasing?
Health care accounts bill $1.38 for every dollar the average account bills. Arts and recreation bill $1.46, hotels $1.28, senior care $1.24 and apartments and other real estate $1.19. Food service brings 56 cents and retail 71 cents, so it takes 1.78 food-service accounts to replace one average account.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- No cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
Questions worth putting to Aire-Master
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- 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 Aire-Master 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.
Launch the diagnostic →Where does your route sit against the tiers?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around billings per route hour, the account mix behind them. How far you sit from the $25,000 and $50,000 royalty tiers.
Request the reviewthe franchise library, all 243 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
Aire-Master reads against the rest of the commercial cleaning group: Anago Cleaning Systems · City Wide Facility Solutions · Coverall · Enviro-Master · JAN-PRO · Maid Brigade. The commercial cleaning guide compares all of them on the same figures.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?How royalty, ad fund and minimums actually work on a monthly statement.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?A 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?Usually it is a revenue problem wearing a payroll costume.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?What changes at around ten units, and why lenders care.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?Location-level contribution, and what it takes to see it.