Fresh Coat franchise unit economics
Fresh Coat franchisees sell residential and commercial painting through subcontracted crews from a territory of 175,000 to 200,000 people. The 62 franchises reporting a full year averaged $751,964 in 2025 against $659,219 in 2024, up 14.1%. Average gross profit after direct labor and paint fell from 43.79% to 37.8%. On those two figures the average franchisee billed $92,745 more and kept $4,430 less.
- Primary source
- Fresh Coat Franchise Co., 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
- 62 of 182 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.
Fresh Coat reports the same 62 franchises for two years running. Revenue rose 14.1% to $751,964 and average gross profit fell 5.99 points to 37.8%. Multiply one by the other and the average franchisee billed $92,745 more and kept $4,430 less.
- Revenue rose $92,745 and gross profit fell $4,430. $751,964 at 37.8% against $659,219 at 43.79% *, 14.1% more billing for 1.5% less kept.
- The bottom quarter nearly doubled while the top quarter rose 6.4%. $146,705 to $291,457 against $1,388,967 to $1,477,436, the gap between the two narrowed from 9.5 times to 5.1 times *.
- The rebate ladder returns the whole $54,900 fee at $4,000,000 over five years. $800,000 a year *, against a system average of $751,964, a shortfall of $240,180 across the five.
- Local advertising has a minimum of $36,000, which is 12.35% of a bottom-quarter franchisee’s revenue. Brand charges and marketing together take 22.41% there against 15.20% at the highest-selling franchisees *.
- The second quartile’s median gross profit of 61.3% sits above its own highest of 42.8%. 61.3% is also the highest figure across all 62 franchises.
How much does a Fresh Coat franchise make?
The average Fresh Coat unit reported $751,964 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $653,107. 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 8.8% 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 Fresh Coat performers
Fresh Coat splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $1,477,436 a year. The worst averaged $291,457. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $653,107. The average was $751,964. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 5.1× 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 200,000 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 $86,150 to $125,250, a 1.5× 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
- Cost of what you sell.Products and materials take 62.2% of sales. Buying terms, price discipline and waste are where this is won, and each of them compounds at volume.
- Painting jobs, the operating driver.This model bills on painting jobs. Every job is quoted, so the owner works on how many quotes close and how many crew days each job takes. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 8.8% 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.62 of 182 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.
Two years side by side
More sales, a smaller margin.
Across 62 franchises in each of 2025 and 2024, revenue moved up on every measure and gross profit percentage moved down on almost all of them.
| quartile | 2024 franchises | 2024 average | 2025 franchises | 2025 average | Change * | 2025 median | 2025 range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | 15 | $1,388,967 | 15 | $1,477,436 | +6.4% | $1,297,437 | $924,632–$3,011,119 |
| Second | 15 | $760,191 | 17 | $701,974 | −7.7% | $693,805 | $613,746–$795,231 |
| Third | 16 | $392,934 | 15 | $543,655 | +38.4% | $543,539 | $430,915–$612,914 |
| Fourth | 16 | $146,705 | 15 | $291,457 | +98.7% | $273,564 | $106,847–$428,512 |
| All | 62 | $659,219 | 62 | $751,964 | +14.1% | $653,107 | $106,847–$3,011,119 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it and the change column is marked *.
The bottom quarter nearly doubled. $146,705 to $291,457 *. The third quarter by sales rose 38.4%, so the two lowest quarters produced the year's growth while the second fell 7.7%.
The distance between the highest-selling and lowest-selling quarters halved. 9.47 times in 2024 to 5.07 times in 2025 *, though the single highest-selling franchise still bills 28.2 times the lowest-selling one.
Attainment fell from 46.77% to 27.0%. About 17 of the 62 owners reached the average in 2025 *, against about 29 the year before, while the average itself rose. A few large ownerhises pulled the mean up.
The median is 86.9% of the average. $653,107 against $751,964 *, so the middle franchise bills nearly $99,000 less than the mean suggests.
Gross profit
Gross profit here is only after labor and paint.
Gross profit here is revenue less direct labor and paint. Everything else (royalty, advertising, technology, insurance, vehicles, office, the owner’s own pay) comes out of what is left. On that definition the average across 62 franchises is 37.8%.
| quartile | 2024 average | 2025 average | Change * | 2025 highest | 2025 median | 2025 lowest | Reaching the average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | 45.07% | 37.4% | −7.67 pts | 46.0% | 36.0% | 28.0% | 53.3% |
| Second | 39.41% | 41.0% | +1.59 pts | 42.8% | 61.3% | 29.5% | 52.9% |
| Third | 42.42% | 36.5% | −5.92 pts | 50.07% | 37.5% | 20.0% | 60.0% |
| Fourth | 48.05% | 34.7% | −13.35 pts | 57.0% | 36.9% | 18.0% | 66.6% |
| All | 43.79% | 37.8% | −5.99 pts | 61.3% | 40.0% | 18.0% | 61.1% |
Every percentage is as the brand reported it and the change column is marked *.
The margin fell in three of the four quarters by sales. The bottom quartile lost 13.35 points of the margin while nearly doubling sales *. Growth at the bottom of the system came at a price.
Applied to the filed averages, gross profit dollars fell. $751,964 at 37.8% is $284,242, against $659,219 at 43.79% giving $288,672 *, $4,430 less, or 1.5%.
The range on the same line is 18.0% to 61.3%. 43.3 points *, on a measure counting only crew cost and paint. Two owners billing the same money can differ by more than $300,000 of gross profit.
The top quartile keeps the smallest share. 37.4% against 41.0% in the second and a 2024 figure of 45.07% *, volume in this system is bought with price.
How the fees step, and the rebate
The advertising requirement is bigger than the royalty.
Royalty steps down from 6% to 4% as revenue rises, with a monthly minimum of $1,000 after the first year. The national branding fund is 2% with a $350 monthly minimum and technology is $499 a month. On top, a franchisee must spend the greater of 10% of revenue or $3,000 a month locally for three years, then the greater of 8% or $3,000.
| Sales | Royalty | National branding | Technology | To the franchisor | Share | Local advertising at 8% | All in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,011,119, the highest franchise | $150,445 | $60,222 | $5,988 | $216,655 | 7.20% | $240,890 | 15.20% |
| $1,477,436, the first quartile | $83,872 | $29,549 | $5,988 | $119,409 | 8.08% | $118,195 | 16.08% |
| $751,964, the system average | $45,118 | $15,039 | $5,988 | $66,145 | 8.80% | $60,157 | 16.80% |
| $653,107, the system median | $39,186 | $13,062 | $5,988 | $58,236 | 8.92% | $52,249 | 16.92% |
| $291,457, the fourth quartile | $17,487 | $5,829 | $5,988 | $29,304 | 10.05% | $36,000 | 22.41% |
| $106,847, the lowest franchise | $12,000 | $4,200 | $5,988 | $22,188 | 20.77% | $36,000 | 54.46% |
Rates, minimums and the revenue figures are as the brand reported it; every dollar figure and share is marked *.
Local advertising costs more than the royalty at every level shown. $60,157 against $45,118 at the system average *, and at the highest franchise $240,890 against $150,445.
The minimum advertising spend is 12.35% of sales for an owner in the bottom quarter. $36,000 on $291,457 *, against 8% which would be $23,317, $12,683 more than the rate alone.
The royalty rate resets to 6% every January. So a franchisee at $1,477,436 pays 6% on the first $1,000,000 each year before any reduction applies. Has to apply in writing within three months of crossing the line.
The rebate ladder asks for $800,000 a year.
The brand offers to give the $54,900 franchise fee back in stages against cumulative revenue goals. Each stage requires the one before it, and the final stage returns the remainder of the fee.
| By the end of year | Cumulative revenue required | Rebate | Implied annual average * | System average cumulative * | Position * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | $1,000,000 | $10,000 | $500,000 | $1,503,928 | +$503,928 |
| 3 | $1,800,000 | $10,000 | $600,000 | $2,255,892 | +$455,892 |
| 4 | $2,800,000 | $10,000 | $700,000 | $3,007,856 | +$207,856 |
| 5 | $4,000,000 | Remainder of the fee | $800,000 | $3,759,820 | −$240,180 |
Thresholds and rebates are as the brand reported it; the last three columns are marked *.
The last rung asks for 6.4% more than the system average produces. $800,000 a year against $751,964 *, and that is measured from the first day of trading.
The first three rungs return $30,000 of the $54,900. A franchisee at the system average clears all three *, so the realistic reading of this ladder is a $30,000 rebate.
Opening and the system
$86,150 to open, and 64% of it is the fee.
| Line | Low | High | Share of the low column * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $54,900 | $54,900 | 63.7% |
| Additional funds, three months | $21,000 | $43,000 | 24.4% |
| Travel and living while training | $3,000 | $4,500 | 3.5% |
| Grand opening promotion | $3,000 | $4,000 | 3.5% |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $8,000 | 3.3% |
| Computer system | $1,000 | $3,000 | 1.2% |
| Compliance with regulations | $450 | $1,350 | 0.5% |
| Furniture and equipment | $0 | $1,000 | 0.0% |
| Rent, telephone, bank, licensing and other deposits | $0 | $2,000 | 0.0% |
| Monthly office rental | $0 | $1,000 | 0.0% |
| Vehicle | $0 | $2,500 | 0.0% |
| Total | $86,150 | $125,250 | 100% |
Amounts are as the brand reported it and the share column is marked *; both columns add to their stated totals exactly.
182 franchises, held by 132 franchisees.
| Year | At start | Opened | Terminated | Failed to renew | Reacquired | Ceased for other reasons | At end | Transfers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 166 | 29 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 174 | 7 |
| 2024 | 174 | 37 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 187 | 6 |
| 2025 | 187 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 182 | 8 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it, and start plus openings less departures reconciles to the year-end count in all three years.
2025 was the first net loss in three years. 23 openings against 28 departures *, after 37 against 24 and 29 against 21.
Terminations more than quadrupled. 3 in 2024 to 13 in 2025 *, while reacquisitions and other closures held steady at 7 each.
One agreement is signed against 28 projected openings. So almost all of next year’s growth is still to be sold *.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What does a Fresh Coat franchise bill?
The 62 franchises reporting a full year averaged $751,964 in 2025 with a median of $653,107, ranging from $106,847 to $3,011,119. By quartile the averages run $1,477,436, $701,974, $543,655 and $291,457. In 2024 the same-sized group averaged $659,219.
What is gross profit here?
Revenue less direct labor and paint only. On that definition it averaged 37.8% in 2025 against 43.79% in 2024, with a median of 40.0% and a range of 18.0% to 61.3%. Everything else (royalty, advertising, technology, insurance, vehicles, office and the owner’s own pay) comes out of what is left.
What does the brand take?
A royalty of 6% on the first $1,000,000 of sales a year, 5% to $2,000,000 and 4% above. A $1,000 monthly minimum after the first year and a reset to 6% every January. A 2% national branding fund with a $350 monthly minimum, and technology at $499 a month. At the system average that is $66,145, or 8.80% of revenue.
What must be spent on advertising?
The greater of 10% of revenue or $3,000 a month for the first three years, then the greater of 8% or $3,000. At the system average that is $60,157 a year, which is more than the royalty. At an owner in the bottom quarter, the $36,000 minimum is 12.35% of sales. Brand charges and advertising together reach 22.41%.
Can the franchise fee be earned back?
The brand rebates $10,000 at $1,000,000 of cumulative revenue in two years, $10,000 more at $1,800,000 in three, $10,000 more at $2,800,000 in four. The remainder at $4,000,000 in five. Each rung requires the one before it. A franchise at the 2025 system average clears the first three and falls $240,180 short of the last.
What does it cost to open?
$86,150 to $125,250, of which $54,900 is the franchise fee and $21,000 to $43,000 working capital. Office rent, vehicle and furniture all start at zero because the business runs from a home office with subcontracted crews. The fee covers a territory of 175,000 to 200,000 people, with $500 for each further 1,000 above that.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
Questions worth putting to Fresh Coat
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 Fresh Coat 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 →Is your growth buying margin or spending it?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around gross profit per job after crew and paint, lead cost against the minimum advertising charge. The royalty step measured across the calendar year.
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
Fresh Coat reads against the rest of the painting group: 360 Painting · CertaPro Painters · Five Star Painting · WOW 1 DAY PAINTING. The painting 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.
- Do I need a bookkeeper, a controller, or a CFO?What each one owns, and the point at which the next one pays for itself.
- Revenue was the highest it has been. Why did profit not move?Where the extra revenue went, line by line.