JAN-PRO franchise unit economics
JAN-PRO unit franchisees buy commercial cleaning accounts. Plans run from $5,000 to $200,000 of annual billings, costing 56 cents down to 30 cents for each dollar of billing. The royalty is 13%. Across the 8 unit franchises sold in this seven-county Wisconsin operation during 2025, actual billings tracked purchased billings within 14% in every case.
- Primary source
- R.E.Johnsen, LLC d/b/a Jan-Pro of Milwaukee, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 8 of 176 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.
Revenue here is bought. An owner buys a set of cleaning accounts, worth $5,000 to $200,000 of billings a year, at 30 to 56 cents for each dollar of billings. The brand then takes 13% of what those accounts bill. Across the eight franchises sold in 2025, what each one actually billed landed within 14% of what it bought.
- Accounts cost 30 to 56 cents for each dollar of annual billing. $2,800 for $5,000 of billings and $60,000 for $200,000 *, so the biggest plan buys revenue at little more than half the smallest plan’s price.
- Actual billings tracked purchased billings within 14% at every trading franchise. The widest gap was a franchise billing $7,713 against $6,786 bought *.
- The royalty is 13%, with 10% more on special services. Plus 1% on national accounts, so one-off carpet and minimum work has 23% before anything else *.
- Crossing $50,000 of annualized billings cuts the price of new accounts by 20%. From four times monthly billings to 3.2 times *, a step worth planning around.
- Six of the eight sold in 2025 were trading, the longest for ten months. Billing $73,314 between them, so these are part-year figures from businesses in their first year.
How much does a JAN-PRO franchise make?
The 2026 FDD for JAN-PRO does not publish unit revenue in a form that answers this directly. What it does publish is below. 8 franchises were sold in the Milwaukee area in 2025. The royalty is 13% of what is invoiced. Accounts cost 30¢ to 56¢ for each dollar of annual billing; Actual against purchased: Within 14% in every case.
Top performers
What separates the top JAN-PRO performers
JAN-PRO splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $34,626 a year. The worst averaged $875. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 39.6× 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 $4,920 to $78,140, a 15.9× 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
- Accounts, the operating driver.This model bills on accounts. An account signed this year still bills next year, so keeping accounts matters more than winning them. 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 13.0% 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.8 of 176 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, no median, no attainment figure. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
Buying work from the brand
The bigger the plan, the cheaper the revenue.
| Plan | Annual billings bought | Fee | Cash price | Cost a dollar of billing * | Cash price a dollar * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP-5 | $5,000 | $2,800 | $2,520 | 56.0¢ | 50.4¢ |
| FP-11 | $11,000 | $5,800 | $5,220 | 52.7¢ | 47.5¢ |
| FP-20 | $20,000 | $9,000 | $8,100 | 45.0¢ | 40.5¢ |
| FP-30 | $30,000 | $11,850 | $10,665 | 39.5¢ | 35.5¢ |
| FP-40 | $40,000 | $14,000 | $12,600 | 35.0¢ | 31.5¢ |
| FP-200 | $200,000 | $60,000 | $54,000 | 30.0¢ | 27.0¢ |
The plan billings, fees and 10% cash discount are as the brand reported it and the per-dollar columns divide the fee by the annual billings bought, marked *.
Paying cash saves 10% and takes the largest plan to 27 cents on the dollar. *, the single cheapest revenue anywhere in this pricing.
Accounts bought later cost 33.3 cents a dollar of annual billing. Four times one month, falling to 26.7 cents once annualized billings pass $50,000 *, cheaper than every plan below FP-200.
A plan carrying zero accounts costs $2,000. For a franchisee who intends to find their own work, against $2,800 for $5,000 of billings handed over.
Nineteen plan sizes are offered. From FP-5 to FP-200, so the entry point is a choice of scale.
Financing runs at 10% a year on the balance. With down payments from $950 to $36,500, so a financed plan costs more than its printed fee.
What arrived
What you buy is close to what you bill.
| Franchise | Billings purchased | Actual 2025 billings | Months trading | Variance * | Annualized * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise 2 | $34,546.21 | $34,626.21 | 10 | +0.2% | $41,551 |
| Franchise 4 | $25,077.08 | $25,521.08 | 5 | +1.8% | $61,251 |
| Franchise 3 | $6,785.54 | $7,712.54 | 5 | +13.7% | $18,510 |
| Franchise 1 | $2,685.00 | $2,956.96 | 6 | +10.1% | $5,914 |
| Franchise 5 | $1,626.92 | $1,621.92 | 4 | −0.3% | $4,866 |
| Franchise 7 | $875.00 | $875.00 | 2 | 0.0% | $5,250 |
| Franchises 6 and 8 | $0 | $0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
The purchased and actual billings and months trading are as the brand reported it and the variance and annualized columns compare and extrapolate them, marked *.
Two of the six matched their purchased billings to within two percent. *, so the plan you buy is a close forecast of the revenue you get.
The two best variances came from the smallest plans. $2,685 and $6,786 purchased, billing 10.1% and 13.7% above *, easier to beat a small number by finding one extra account.
Annualized, the six range from $4,866 to $61,251. *. The difference of twelve times follows the size of plan each owner bought.
Two franchises billed zero because their delivery window was still open. Accounts had yet to be offered at year end, a quarter of the year’s sales still waiting.
These are gross billings before every cost. Labor, supplies, insurance, vehicle and the 13% all come out of them, so $41,551 is a top line for one person’s year of cleaning.
Thirteen percent, and more
Thirteen percent on everything, twenty-three on the extras.
| Charge | Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 13% of gross billings | Everything |
| Administrative fee | 10% of special services billings | Carpet, minimum stripping, disinfection, initial cleans |
| Combined on special services * | 23% | One-off and non-recurring work |
| National account support | 1% of national account billings | Accounts referred by the brand |
| Advertising fund | Zero | n/a |
Every rate is as the brand reported it and the combined row adds the two that apply to the same billings, marked *.
A 13% royalty is among the highest rates in this library. And it applies to billings the brand itself sold you, so the accounts are paid for twice, once at purchase and then every month.
Special services cost 23% in total. Which makes the extra work the brand encourages the least profitable work on the schedule *.
A transfer costs the greater of $1,500 or 8% of trailing billings. $3,324 on a business at $41,551 *, and the buyer pays zero initial fee if a new agreement is needed.
Failing to return customer keys costs $500 a day. One of the sharpest daily penalties in this library.
A legal entity is required; sole proprietors are excluded. Which puts $700 to $1,000 of formation cost into the opening budget.
Opening and the system
Four thousand nine hundred dollars in, forty-five days to open.
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchised at start | 150 | 154 | 175 |
| Opened | 23 | 28 | 8 |
| Terminated | 19 | 7 | 6 |
| Franchised at end | 154 | 175 | 176 |
| Total investment | $4,920 to $78,140 | ||
Every figure is as the brand reported it for unit franchisees in the seven Wisconsin counties covered by this operation, with zero company-owned outlets in any year.
Openings fell from 28 to 8 while terminations held near six. So the count barely moved in 2025 after adding 21 the year before.
The equipment package is $950 and the whole build can be under $5,000. Work is done from home, so the plan you buy is the investment, everything else is a machine and an uniform.
Machines are leased by the day. $50 to $150 a day for a sprayer or buffer and $25 to $50 for a carpet machine, which is why the low column reads $25.
Opening takes about 45 days from signing. Among the fastest in this library, because there is zero site to find or fit out.
Territory is the operation’s seven counties, shared with everyone. Milwaukee, Racine, Washington, Kenosha, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Walworth, with zero exclusivity and zero right to work outside them.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks.
What am I actually buying?
A plan of cleaning accounts, measured in annual billings. Plans run from $5,000 to $200,000 a year of billings, priced from $2,800 to $60,000. On our reading that is 56 cents down to 30 cents for each dollar of annual billing, or 50.4 to 27 cents if you pay cash.
Do the accounts actually deliver?
In 2025 they did. Of the eight unit franchises sold, six were trading, and each one's actual billings landed within 14% of what it purchased, two of them within two percent. The other two were still inside the window for accounts to be offered.
What does the brand take?
13% of billings. Carpet cleaning, minimum stripping and disinfection cost a further 10%. Accounts the brand refers cost a further 1%. On our reading, special services cost 23% in total. There is zero advertising fund contribution.
How do I add accounts later?
By paying four times the account's monthly billings, or 3.2 times once your annualized billings reach $50,000. On our reading that is 33.3 cents and 26.7 cents for each dollar of annual billing, so crossing $50,000 cuts the price by a fifth.
What does it cost to open?
$4,920 to $78,140 including the plan, and the work is done from home. The equipment package is $950, machines can be leased by the day, and opening takes about 45 days from signing.
What do these businesses bill?
The six trading franchises billed $73,314 between them in part-years of two to ten months. Annualized, on our reading, they range from $4,866 to $61,251, which follows directly from the plan each one bought.
Is there a territory?
Zero geographic territory is granted to an unit franchisee. You may work anywhere in the seven Wisconsin counties this operation covers (Milwaukee, Racine, Washington, Kenosha, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Walworth) alongside every other franchisee, and nowhere outside them.
Which two numbers should run monthly?
Gross billings against the plan you bought, because that comparison is the whole test of the model. Annualized billings against $50,000. Because crossing it cuts the price of every account you add afterwards.
- No revenue figures. The filing makes no financial performance representation, so there is no disclosed sales number for any location.
- 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.
- No attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
- No ramp. The filing does not show how a new location builds up, so the first-year curve has to be assumed.
Questions worth putting to JAN-PRO
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 JAN-PRO 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 →Are you billing what you bought?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around accounts priced at 30 to 56 cents a dollar, a 13% royalty on billings you already paid for. A $50,000 threshold that changes what growth costs.
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
JAN-PRO reads against the rest of the commercial cleaning group: Aire-Master · Anago Cleaning Systems · City Wide Facility Solutions · Coverall · Enviro-Master · 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.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?Location-level contribution, and what it takes to see it.
- How much of Item 19 can I rely on?What a financial performance representation does and does not tell you.