Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise unit economics
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchisees run service vans and technicians that bill residential plumbing work across one or more territories.
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise at a glance
In its 2026 FDD Benjamin Franklin Plumbing reports fiscal 2025 sales for 373 territories held by 86 franchisees, with quartile averages ranked both per territory and per franchisee.
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchisees averaged $656,635 of sales in fiscal 2025, with a median of $610,560, according to Item 19 of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing’s 2026 FDD, issued 26 April 2026. The 373 in that group are 93%* of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing’s 399 locations. Fees paid to Benjamin Franklin Plumbing come to about 7.68%* of sales.
- A Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise costs $143,273 to $286,702 to open, including a $43,000 initial franchise fee, according to the brand's 2026 FDD.
- Benjamin Franklin Plumbing charges a royalty of 6% of sales and a 1.5% brand fund contribution.
- Work out Benjamin Franklin Plumbing's fees at your own sales with the minimum fee calculator.
These figures come from Benjamin Franklin Plumbing's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
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Talk to Averan → Move your books and accounting to Averan →- Half the system's territories are in a single quartile at $378,220 each. That is 186 of 373, against 54 in the top quartile at $1,725,356, 4.6 times per piece of ground.
- Larger franchisees bill more per territory. Revenue is $746,408 per territory for the top quartile of owners against $171,002 for the bottom *; those 22 owners hold 222 territories, 10.1 each.
- Fees paid to the brand take 7.68% of sales. The 6% royalty, 1.5% brand fund and $100 monthly technology fee come to $50,448 on an average territory *. The 6% required local marketing is spent on top.
- The brand fund halves for the system's largest owner. The largest owner pays 0.73% against 1.5% *, worth $239,781 on $30,985,391, because contiguous territories are combined for the tier test.
- Both attainment totals contradict the tables they sit under. 136 territories are said to beat a $656,635 average where the quarter ranges allow at most 135. 13 franchisees are said to beat $2,847,962 where the top quarter's own minimum of $3,921,443 puts all 22 above it *.
How much does a Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise make?
The average Benjamin Franklin Plumbing unit reported $656,635 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $610,560. 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 7.7% 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.
Top performers
What separates the top Benjamin Franklin Plumbing performers
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The top group averaged $1,725,356 a year. The lowest averaged $162,838. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $610,560. The average was $656,635. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Site and trade area.The top band sells 10.6× the bottom band. Catchment, daytime population and neighboring businesses affect where a location falls.
- Territory.This model sells from a territory quoted at 100,000 people, with no storefront. Population density sets how much driving sits between jobs.
- Opening cost range.Opening costs $143,273 to $286,702, a 2.0× range inside one brand.
- Fees and the minimum.Fees run about 7.7% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
Live operating levers
- Sales depend on service calls.A technician finishes only so many calls a day, so the owner works on how many of them turn into paid work and what the average ticket is worth.
Context you underwrite around
- Locations included.These figures cover 373 of 399 locations. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded.
- What the filing does not include.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations.
Top performers
How far apart the locations are
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing reports its locations in performance groups, from the highest-selling to the lowest. The group-by-group figures are in the tables on the Model and Finance tabs.
By territory
Revenue by territory quartile, 2025
| quartile | Franchisees | Territories | Aggregate revenue | Average per territory | Median | Lowest | Highest | Paid to the brand * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 25% | 22 | 54 | $93,169,246 | $1,725,356 | $1,736,066 | $1,248,598 | $3,271,587 | 7.6% |
| Second | 21 | 81 | $72,938,992 | $900,481 | $897,737 | $629,232 | $1,227,853 | 7.6% |
| All | 86 | 373 | $244,924,761 | $656,635 | $610,560 | $17,658 | $3,271,587 | 7.7% |
| Third | 21 | 186 | $70,348,950 | $378,220 | $473,799 | $282,847 | $623,160 | 7.8% |
| Bottom 25% | 22 | 52 | $8,467,573 | $162,838 | $180,555 | $17,658 | $254,085 | 13.3% |
Counts, aggregates, averages, medians and ranges are as the brand reported it. We worked out the fee column, applying the 6% royalty or its $1,500 monthly minimum, the 1.5% brand fund and the $100 monthly technology fee to the average territory at each level. The 6% local marketing spend is left out, because the owner spends it.
The third quartile holds 186 of the system's 373 territories. That is half the ground, at $378,220 each. Those 186 territories are held by 21 owners, about nine each. This group includes large multi-territory owners with lower sales per territory.
A top-quarter territory bills 4.6 times a third-quartile one. That is $1,725,356 against $378,220, and 10.6 times the bottom quarter's $162,838. The single highest-selling territory billed $3,271,587 and the lowest-selling $17,658, 185 times across one brand.
The third quarter's median of $473,799 sits $95,579 above its own average. That is on 186 territories. That points to a long low-selling tail inside the largest group: half those territories bill above $473,799 while the group mean is dragged to $378,220.
Only 16% of third-quartile territories beat their own group average. That is 30 of 186, against 60% in the bottom quartile and 53% in the second. The group holding half the system also has the widest range inside it.
Three hundred and sixteen of the 373 territories first opened before 2020. That is 49 in the top quartile, 72 in the second, 166 in the third and 29 in the bottom, 316 in total *. 15 of the bottom quarter's 52 territories opened in 2024. The rest have been trading for years.
By owner
Revenue by franchisee, 2025
| quartile | Franchisees | Territories | Aggregate revenue | Average per franchisee | Median | Range | Territories each * | Revenue per territory * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 25% | 22 | 222 | $165,702,670 | $7,531,940 | $5,171,685 | $3,921,443 – $30,985,391 | 10.1 | $746,408 |
| Second | 21 | 74 | $49,446,063 | $2,354,574 | $2,311,515 | $1,681,611 – $3,440,389 | 3.5 | $668,190 |
| All | 86 | 373 | $244,924,761 | $2,847,962 | $1,512,930 | $26,896 – $30,985,391 | 4.3 | $656,635 |
| Third | 21 | 41 | $23,619,957 | $1,124,760 | $1,175,402 | $623,160 – $1,519,343 | 2.0 | $576,097 |
| Bottom 25% | 22 | 36 | $6,156,071 | $279,821 | $248,803 | $26,896 – $599,048 | 1.6 | $171,002 |
Counts, aggregates, averages, medians and ranges are as the brand reported it; the territories-each and revenue-per-territory columns are marked *.
Revenue per territory rises with owner size. That is $171,002, $576,097, $668,190, $746,408 *. Most multi-unit brands in this library show the opposite; here the 22 largest owners hold 59.5% of the system's territories and get the most from each of them.
The top quartile holds 10.1 territories each against 1.6 at the bottom. That is 222 territories among 22 owners. The largest single franchisee billed $30,985,391, which is 12.7% of the entire system's revenue * in one hand.
The system median franchisee bills $1,512,930 against an average of $2,847,962. That is 53% of it. That gap is the shape of a system where 22 owners hold three fifths of the ground. The arithmetic mean describes the consolidators.
The bottom quartile averages $279,821 across 1.6 territories each. That is $171,002 a territory. Seventeen of those 22 owners started in 2024.
Attainment by owner quartile, smallest to largest, is 45%, 57%, 43% and 32%. The third quarter by sales has the narrowest range. The top quarter has the widest, stretched by a high of $30,985,391 against $3,921,443 low, nearly eight times inside one quartile.
Fees and what it costs to open
Brand and marketing fees at each sales level
| Level | Sales | Royalty | Brand fund | Brand fund rate | Local marketing | Royalty and brand fund | Share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largest franchisee | $30,985,391 | $1,859,123 | $225,000 | 0.73% | $1,859,123 | $2,084,123 | 6.7% |
| Top-quarter franchisee | $7,531,940 | $451,916 | $106,649 | 1.42% | $451,916 | $558,565 | 7.4% |
| Average franchisee | $2,847,962 | $170,878 | $42,719 | 1.50% | $170,878 | $213,597 | 7.5% |
| Top-quarter territory | $1,725,356 | $103,521 | $25,880 | 1.50% | $103,521 | $129,401 | 7.5% |
| Average territory | $656,635 | $39,398 | $9,850 | 1.50% | $39,398 | $49,248 | 7.5% |
| Third-quartile territory | $378,220 | $22,693 | $5,673 | 1.50% | $22,693 | $28,366 | 7.5% |
| Bottom-quarter territory | $162,838 | $18,000 | $2,443 | 1.50% | $9,770 | $20,443 | 12.6% |
We applied the published rates to the filed revenue. The local marketing column is spent by the owner and is not in the royalty and brand fund total. The $100 monthly technology fee for each franchised business is not in the table either; at the average territory it brings the fees paid to the brand to 7.68%.
Six percent royalty, 1.5% brand fund and the $100 monthly technology fee come to 7.68% at the average territory. That is $50,448 on an average territory *. The 6% local marketing is a further $39,398 on an average territory, spent by the owner, and the franchisor may take that money and spend it directly.
The $1,500 monthly royalty minimum binds below $300,000 of revenue per territory *. The bottom quartile averages $162,838 a territory. That is where 6% produces $9,770 against the $18,000 owed, turning a 6% rate into 11.1% and the fees paid to the brand into 13.3%.
The brand fund rate falls as contiguous territories are combined. Contiguous territories are combined for the tier test, and the rate steps down four times. The largest franchisee pays 0.73% against the 1.5% everyone under $5,000,000 pays, $239,781 of difference on its own revenue *.
Local marketing is charged on the calendar year's cumulative revenue. Most franchisors set it on a budget in advance. A business that grows through the year spends more as it goes. One that falls back spends less. This is the gentler of the two structures for a franchise ramping up.
Selling in a neighbor's territory is penalized at up to 50% of the sales involved. It begins with a written warning. A second breach costs 25% of the sales involved and a third costs 50%. The count runs across the whole agreement, and escalation is triggered once $40,000 of infringing revenue accumulates. That is milder at the start than most in this library, and higher at the end.
What it costs to open a territory
| Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Additional funds, three months | $60,000 | $90,000 |
| Franchise fee | $43,000 | $43,000 |
| Full-time general or operations manager | $0 | $25,750 |
| Professional fees and licensing | $4,635 | $20,600 |
| Vehicles | $8,240 | $15,450 |
| Machinery, tools and equipment | $3,090 | $10,300 |
| Rent or lease of real estate | $3,090 | $9,270 |
| Vehicle signage | $0 | $8,240 |
| Initial vehicle inventory | $2,575 | $8,240 |
| Insurance | $4,120 | $8,240 |
| Grand opening marketing | $0 | $6,000 |
| Travel for initial training | $2,575 | $5,150 |
| Vehicle upfitting | $0 | $5,150 |
| Office signage | $1,030 | $5,150 |
| Start-up supplies | $2,575 | $5,150 |
| Vehicle registration | $2,266 | $4,532 |
| Computer, technology systems and software | $1,854 | $4,120 |
| Office furniture and equipment | $1,545 | $4,120 |
| Building work | $1,030 | $4,120 |
| Personal tools for technicians | $1,030 | $3,090 |
| Consumer unit decals | $309 | $515 |
| Telephone services | $309 | $515 |
| Total | $143,273 | $286,702 |
As the brand reported it, reordered here by size.
Discounts available
- Benjamin Franklin Plumbing takes 30% off an additional territory's fee for existing franchisees.
- Benjamin Franklin Plumbing takes 30% off the first franchise's fee for honorably discharged U.S. and Canadian veterans and for active-duty military.
- Benjamin Franklin Plumbing takes $5,000 off the first franchise's fee for businesses at least 51% owned by women or minorities.
From Item 5 of the Benjamin Franklin Plumbing 2026 FDD. The costs on this page use the full initial franchise fee for one unit, before any discount.
Working capital (cash to run the business day to day) is the largest line at $60,000 to $90,000. It costs more than the franchise fee. Plumbing is dispatched daily and billed on completion. So the gap between putting vans on the road and collecting is short. The reserve mainly funds is technicians and inventory before the call volume arrives.
A full-time manager is priced at zero to $25,750. It is the third largest line at the high end and absent at the low end. That one choice moves the opening cost by 18% of its whole range *. It is the difference between running the business yourself and hiring a manager from day one.
Ground costs 43 cents a head above 100,000 people. That compares with an average territory billing $656,635 a year, $6.57 of revenue for every person in a 100,000-person territory *. A second territory taken by an existing franchisee costs 30% less, and the published figures show the larger owners getting more from each one.
Fees collected ran from $5,000 to $63,261. That compares with a list price of $43,000 before population fees. The bottom of that range is 12% of the list price, so discounts and expansion terms matter here.
The network of locations
Franchised territories, 2023 to 2025
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminations | Non-renewals | Ceased, other | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 275 | 65 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 325 |
| 2024 | 325 | 41 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 353 |
| 2025 | 353 | 71 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 399 |
| Three years | 275 | 177 | 17 | 14 | 22 | 399 |
As the brand reported it; the three-year row is marked *.
The system grew from 275 territories to 399 in three years. That is a 45% increase, with 177 openings against 53 exits. Growth accelerated again in 2025 after a quieter 2024, with 71 openings, the most of the three years.
Exits nearly doubled in 2025. Exits were 25 against 13 the year before, with the increase entirely in the ceased-for-other-reasons column, which moved from 3 to 15. Terminations actually fell, from 9 to 3.
Ten company-owned outlets sit outside every published performance figure. That number held steady across all three years. Their results appear nowhere in the quarter tables, so the 373 territories described here are entirely franchisee-operated.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
How much does a Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise make?
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchisees averaged $656,635 of sales in fiscal 2025, with a median of $610,560, according to Item 19 of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing’s 2026 FDD, issued 26 April 2026. The 373 in that group are 93%* of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing’s 399 locations. Fees paid to Benjamin Franklin Plumbing come to about 7.68%* of sales.
What should a Benjamin Franklin Plumbing territory be billing?
Across 373 territories held by 86 franchisees, 2025 sales averaged $656,635 a territory with a median of $610,560. Ranked into quartiles by revenue per territory, the averages were $1,725,356 across 54 territories, $900,481 across 81, $378,220 across 186 and $162,838 across 52. The highest-selling territory billed $3,271,587 and the lowest-selling $17,658. There were 96 franchisees operating in 399 territories at 31 December 2025, alongside 10 company-owned outlets that sit outside every performance figure.
Does holding more territories help or hurt at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing?
In this system it helps, which is unusual. Ranked by total franchisee revenue, the top quartile of 22 owners holds 222 territories, 10.1 each, and gets $746,408 from each one. The second quarter by sales gets $668,190 from 3.5 territories each, the third $576,097 from 2.0 each and the bottom $171,002 from 1.6 each, all of which are marked *. Most multi-unit brands show the opposite pattern. The fee structure points the same way: the brand fund contribution steps down from 1.5% to zero as combined revenue across contiguous territories rises. An existing franchisee takes 30% off the fee for each further territory.
What fees does Benjamin Franklin Plumbing charge?
The royalty is the greater of 6% of sales or $1,500 a month per territory, drawn semi-monthly. The brand fund takes 1.5% of the first $5,000,000 of sales in a year, 1.25% to $10,000,000, 1% to $15,000,000, 0.75% to $20,000,000 and nothing above, resetting each January. Contiguous territories are combined, and there is a 4% ceiling. A local marketing spend of 6% of the calendar year's cumulative sales is required from the third month. The franchisor may collect and spend it on the franchisee's behalf. Grand opening marketing runs to $18,000. The royalty, brand fund and $100 monthly technology fee paid to the brand come to 7.68% of sales at the $656,635 average territory, rising to 13.3% at the $162,838 bottom-quartile average, where the royalty minimum binds, both of which are marked *. The local marketing spend is not counted in those figures.
Do the published tables reconcile at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing?
Yes, they reconcile. Each quarter's total sales, divided by its territory or owner count, gives the published average exactly in both tables. The two tables have the same $244,924,761 aggregate across the same 86 franchisees and 373 territories. The same-store sales growth figure of 8.9% checks out against its own revenue pair. Two attainment totals sit apart from their tables. The by-territory total states that 136 territories exceed the $656,635 system average, but the published quartile ranges allow at most 135. The by-franchisee total states that 13 franchisees exceed the $2,847,962 system average. The top quartile’s own lowest figure of $3,921,443 places all 22 of its members above it. Both of those are marked *.
Who does bookkeeping for a Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise?
Three mechanics shape the close. The brand fund contribution is a year-to-date ladder that resets each January and combines revenue across contiguous territories. The rate changes part way through the year, at a point set by the combined sales of several entities. An owner with several territories needs a combined sales tracker as well as separate ones. Second, the royalty is drawn semi-monthly on revenue from the first to the fifteenth and the sixteenth to month end. So the fee cycle sits inside the month. Third, the 6% local marketing requirement is measured on sales for the year to date. The brand can collect it and spend it on the owner's behalf, so it is a documented obligation. Underneath it all, sales counts everything billed regardless of collection, including insurance and government program work. So the fee base is bookings while the bank is collections. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
- The filing gives no profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- The filing breaks out 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 Benjamin Franklin Plumbing
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.
- Which factors does Benjamin Franklin Plumbing see in its highest-selling locations, such as trade area, years open and size?
- 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 Benjamin Franklin Plumbing locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Numbers Check 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. It checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →Where does your combined revenue sit against $5,000,000 at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around a year-to-date brand fund ladder, semi-monthly royalty draws, and a marketing spend measured on cumulative revenue.
Talk to AveranWhere these figures come from.
Every figure here comes from Benjamin Franklin Franchising SPE LLC’s 2026 FDD and is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brand. Calculations of our own are labeled where they appear. The figures describe past performance at other businesses and are not a projection of yours. This page is an educational summary. It is not an offer to sell a franchise, and it is not financial, legal or tax advice. Benjamin Franklin Plumbing® is a registered trademark of its owner. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.
These figures come from the brand's disclosure. They are not a forecast, an offer to sell a franchise or advice. Source: Benjamin Franklin Franchising SPE LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, issued 26 April 2026.
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Benjamin Franklin Plumbing reads against the rest of the mechanical trades group: Aire Serv · Mister Sparky · Mr. Electric · Mr. Rooter · One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning · Plumbing Paramedics. The mechanical trades 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?It works out the sales level where a minimum fee stops applying.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?It builds a 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?It shows how to tell whether payroll is rising or revenue is falling.
- What should I be looking at every week?It lists the handful of numbers that move before the P&L does.
- Do I need a bookkeeper, a controller, or a CFO?It explains what each role owns and when the next hire pays for itself.