Lawn Doctor franchise unit economics
Lawn Doctor franchisees sell annual lawn treatment programs to households from a vehicle, across one or more territories. A customer stays 6.80 years and spends $773.75 a year, which makes years open worth as much as new sales. The 86.6% gross profit counts treatment products alone, and royalty plus required marketing take 20 points of it before a technician is paid.
- Primary source
- Lawn Doctor, Inc., 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
- 202 of 672 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.
A customer stays 6.80 years and spends $773.75 a year, which puts $5,262 of revenue behind each household won. The 86.6% gross profit counts treatment products alone, royalty and required marketing take 20 points of it before a single technician is paid.
- Royalty and required marketing take 20.0% to 20.4% of revenue at every size above $300,000.10% royalty plus the greater of $30,000 or 10% of net revenues *.
- The published 86.6% gross profit counts treatment products alone.After the 20-point brand and marketing load, 66.6% remains to cover labor, vehicles and every overhead *.
- Average customer years open is 6.80 years at $773.75 a year, $5,262 of revenue.At the median, 4.69 years at $538.65 gives $2,526 *.
- Franchisees with 7 or more territories average $3,887,991 against $639,509 for 1 to 3.Yet the share reaching the group averages holds at 31% to 33% in every group.
- Average net revenues rose 218.8% across seventeen years while the franchisee count fell from 214 to 202.And the share reaching the average has sat between 29% and 36% every single year *.
How much does a Lawn Doctor franchise make?
The average Lawn Doctor unit reported $1,170,356 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $616,233. 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 20% 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.
Revenue and scale
More territories, the same odds.
| Territories operated | Franchisees | Average net revenues | Median | Lowest | Highest | Reaching the group average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 or more | 19 | $3,887,991 | $2,909,504 | $432,824 | $10,031,296 | 6 (32%) |
| 4 to 6 | 42 | $1,723,081 | $1,126,112 | $278,045 | $12,206,913 | 13 (31%) |
| 1 to 3 | 141 | $639,509 | $400,901 | $15,050 | $3,686,461 | 46 (33%) |
| All 202 | 202 | $1,170,356 | $616,233 | $15,050 | $12,206,913 | 60 (30%) |
As the brand reported it.
Six times the revenue, the same one-in-three odds. 32%, 31% and 33% of each group reach their own average, against 30% for the system. Holding more territories raises the number a franchisee bills, and leaves untouched the probability of being above or below the pack, the distribution simply scales.
The 4-to-6 group contains the system's highest single franchisee at $12,206,913. Above anything in the 7-or-more group, whose top is $10,031,296. So territory count sets a minimum on scale, and a higher-selling owners with four territories out-bills a weak one with ten.
The 1-to-3 group runs from $15,050 to $3,686,461. 245 times, across 141 of the 202 franchisees. That group is 70% of the reporting population and contains nearly the whole range of outcomes in the system. Makes it the honest place for a prospective owner to look.
The median franchisee bills $616,233 against an average of $1,170,356. A gap of $554,123. At the system's $773.75 of annual customer revenue, the median business is serving about 796 customers and the average about 1,513 *.
Top performers
What separates the top Lawn Doctor performers
Lawn Doctor splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $3,887,991 a year. The worst averaged $639,509. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $616,233. The average was $1,170,356. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 6.1× 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. 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 $135,820 to $163,902, a 1.2× 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 13.4% of sales. Buying terms, price discipline and waste are where this is won, and each of them compounds at volume.
- Visits, the operating driver.This model bills on visits. The owner watches how many visits happen, what each one is worth, and how many customers book the next one before they leave. 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 20.0% 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.202 of 672 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. The brand’s own locations are the only margin signal in the document, and they are run by the people who wrote the playbook.
Fees and what it costs to open
Twenty points, whatever the size.
| Franchisee | Net revenues | Royalty at 10% | Required marketing | Technology | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest reporting | $12,206,913 | $1,220,691 | $1,220,691 | $3,000 | $2,444,382 | 20.0% |
| 7-or-more band average | $3,887,991 | $388,799 | $388,799 | $3,000 | $780,598 | 20.1% |
| System average | $1,170,356 | $117,036 | $117,036 | $3,000 | $237,072 | 20.3% |
| System median | $616,233 | $61,623 | $61,623 | $3,000 | $126,246 | 20.5% |
| 1-to-3 band median | $400,901 | $40,090 | $40,090 | $3,000 | $83,180 | 20.7% |
| Lowest reporting | $15,050 | $1,505 | $30,000 | $1,800 | $33,305 | 221.3% |
Ours, built from the published rates applied to filed revenue figures.
The combined load is 20.0% to 20.7% at every size above $300,000. *. Because royalty and the marketing requirement are the same 10%, scale barely shifts the figure here. That is unusual in this library, where most fee structures reward volume.
The $30,000 minimum marketing charge binds below $300,000 of net revenues. At the lowest-selling reporting franchisee's $15,050 the combined obligation is $33,305, more than twice the year's entire revenue *. The 1-to-3 group's own median of $400,901 clears the minimum, so this is a first-year and a failing-business problem.
Revenue earned outside the territory has 25% in total. The standard 10% plus a 15% out-of-territory royalty. That is the sharpest boundary penalty in this library, and it makes territory discipline a margin question.
The holiday lighting charge applies even where the service stays unoffered. The greater of $6,000 or 5% of the prior year's holiday lighting revenue, from the second full year. 14 businesses offered the service at the end of 2025. So for most franchisees this is $6,000 a year for a line of business they have yet to start.
Opening a business.
| Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $114,950 | $118,000 |
| Additional funds, three months | $12,720 | $22,552 |
| Opening holiday lighting inventory | $0 | $5,000 |
| Training expenses, per attendee | $2,500 | $4,000 |
| Holiday lighting start-up equipment | $0 | $2,800 |
| Service vehicle, first month | $1,800 | $2,500 |
| Opening inventory | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Computers | $0 | $2,000 |
| Insurance | $800 | $1,000 |
| Shipping of power seeder | $0 | $1,000 |
| Rental space | $0 | $1,000 |
| Uniforms | $250 | $600 |
| Computer software | $225 | $500 |
| Sales support resources | $200 | $450 |
| Bookkeeper | $325 | $400 |
| Vehicle tracking and telematics | $50 | $100 |
| Total | $135,820 | $163,902 |
As the brand reported it, reordered here by size.
The franchise fee is 84.6% of the low column. $114,950 of $135,820 *. Everything else (vehicle, inventory, computers, uniforms) comes to under $21,000, because the business runs from a leased vehicle. The fee itself is mostly the $61,600 marketing, training and supply package against the $50,000 license.
A second business costs $25,000 against $118,000. 79% less, in exchange for going without the training, support and supplies package *. Set against the finding that franchisees with 7 or more territories average $3,887,991, that discount is the mechanism behind this system's multi-territory concentration.
Cash to run the business day to day covers three months at $12,720 to $22,552. Against a marketing requirement of at least $30,000 a year and a vehicle lease at $1,800 to $2,500 a month. The first year's marketing is bought inside the franchise fee, which is what makes the short runway defensible, but only for that year.
The build is 0.22 to 0.27 times the system median revenue. $135,820 to $163,902 against $616,233 *. Light in absolute terms for a business that reaches a $616,233 median. The lightest part of it is everything other than the check to the franchisor.
The customer
$773.75 a year, for 6.80 years.
| Measure | Average | Median | Highest | Lowest | Reaching the average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual customer program value | $842.86 | $717.00 | $282,100 | $100.17 | 79 (39%) |
| Annual customer revenue | $773.75 | $538.65 | $240,100 | $100.04 | 63 (31%) |
| Customer years open, years | 6.80 | 4.69 | 51.95 | 0.00 | 71 (35%) |
| Lifetime revenue per customer * | $5,262 | $2,526 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Every figure except the last row is as the brand reported it. The lifetime row is marked *, multiplying annual customer revenue by years open at the average and at the median.
Each household is worth $5,262 of revenue at the average and $2,526 at the median. *. A 2.1-times gap between the two, driven by years open as much as by annual spend, 6.80 years against 4.69. Retention is the compounding variable in this model.
Program value is $842.86 while revenue collected is $773.75, a gap of $69.11. 8.2% of what was sold *. The difference is programs sold and then canceled during the season. On 1,513 customers at the average franchisee, that gap is $104,563 of sold work that failed to turn into cash.
The average franchisee serves about 1,513 customers. $1,170,356 of net revenues divided by $773.75 *. Across 2.95 territories each, that is roughly 513 customers a territory. That makes the 6.80-year years open figure the difference between replacing 222 households a year and replacing 323.
Only 31% of franchisees reach the average annual customer revenue. And the median of $538.65 sits 30% below the mean. So the typical customer relationship is meaningfully smaller than the headline, and an owner modeling on $773.75 is modeling the upper third of the system.
Seventeen years
Seventeen years, one pattern.
| Year | Franchisees | Average net revenues | Median | Highest | Reaching the average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 214 | $367,108 | $206,592 | $2,947,850 | 29% |
| 2010 | 204 | $393,829 | $228,819 | $3,246,320 | 30% |
| 2011 | 196 | $430,376 | $238,049 | $3,548,984 | 33% |
| 2012 | 173 | $478,130 | $261,770 | $3,589,439 | 34% |
| 2013 | 155 | $534,341 | $349,166 | $3,794,198 | 34% |
| 2014 | 163 | $598,806 | $375,736 | $4,391,138 | 33% |
| 2015 | 160 | $630,462 | $400,065 | $4,756,989 | 35% |
| 2016 | 173 | $634,278 | $397,221 | $4,879,391 | 35% |
| 2017 | 177 | $671,848 | $407,456 | $5,256,201 | 36% |
| 2018 | 178 | $715,399 | $421,253 | $5,580,914 | 34% |
| 2019 | 184 | $768,910 | $442,415 | $6,005,754 | 34% |
| 2020 | 184 | $816,756 | $473,181 | $6,532,589 | 31% |
| 2021 | 191 | $922,043 | $529,499 | $8,085,392 | 29% |
| 2022 | 196 | $1,010,244 | $545,004 | $9,619,076 | 30% |
| 2023 | 192 | $1,114,402 | $655,952 | $10,204,658 | 30% |
| 2024 | 205 | $1,130,477 | $659,073 | $11,372,439 | 29% |
| 2025 | 202 | $1,170,356 | $616,233 | $12,206,913 | 30% |
As the brand reported it.
Average net revenues rose 218.8% and the median rose 198.3%. $367,108 to $1,170,356 and $206,592 to $616,233 *. Steady compounding across seventeen years, with a visible acceleration from 2020 onward that has since slowed.
The share reaching the average has sat between 29% and 36% in every one of seventeen years. It was 29% in 2009 and 30% in 2025. A distribution that has held its shape for nearly two decades while tripling in size tells a prospective owner something useful. The odds of landing above the average have been the same throughout.
The median fell 6.5% in 2025 while the average rose 3.5%. $659,073 to $616,233 against $1,130,477 to $1,170,356 *. The only year in the recent series where the two move in opposite directions, which means the gains landed at the top of the distribution.
The reporting count went from 214 to 202 across the period. With a trough of 155 in 2013. So the system has rebuilt its base while roughly tripling revenue per franchisee, growth by consolidation into larger multi-territory operators.
The largest franchisee grew from $2,947,850 to $12,206,913. 4.1 times, and in every single year of the series it set a new high. That consistency across seventeen years, including 2020, says the ceiling in this model has been rising without interruption.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What should a Lawn Doctor business be billing?
The 202 franchisees trading at least two full years at 31 December 2025 averaged $1,170,356 of net revenues across all their territories. A median of $616,233, ranging from $15,050 to $12,206,913. 60 of the 202, 30%, reached the average. By territory count: 141 franchisees with 1 to 3 territories averaged $639,509 with a median of $400,901. 42 with 4 to 6 averaged $1,723,081. And 19 with 7 or more averaged $3,887,991. At that date 672 franchised businesses were operated by 228 franchisees, roughly 2.95 territories each.
What is a customer worth?
Annual customer program value averaged $842.86 with a median of $717.00, and annual customer revenue collected averaged $773.75 with a median of $538.65. Average customer years open was 6.80 years and the median 4.69. Multiplying gives about $5,262 of lifetime revenue at the average and $2,526 at the median. 39% of franchisees reached the average program value, 31% the average customer revenue and 35% the average years open. Program value counts programs sold during the 2025 season including those later canceled, so the $69.11 gap between it and revenue collected is season cancellation.
What margin does the work have?
One margin figure exists: an average gross share of sales kept of 86.6% with a median of 86.1%, across 81 of the 196 franchisees trading at least one full year at 31 December 2024, with 48.1% reaching the average. It subtracts treatment products alone. Every other cost, including all labor, vehicles and overhead, sits below it. Royalty and marketing reduce it further, and those two come to 20% of net revenues between them, leaving 66.6% to cover everything else.
What does the brand take?
A royalty and service fee of 10% of net revenues, collected weekly. A marketing and promotion requirement of the greater of $30,000 or 10% of net revenues each calendar year. Which contributions to the franchisor's national and regional marketing funds, up to 5% of net revenues, are credited. Any unspent balance payable to the franchisor within 60 days of the year end. A technology fee of $150 a month rising to $250 once cumulative net revenues reach $1,000,000, capped at $500. An out-of-territory royalty of 15% of net revenues earned outside the territory, on top of the 10%. And a holiday lighting advertising charge of the greater of $6,000 or 5% of the prior year's holiday lighting revenue from the second full year, payable even where the service stays unoffered.
Who does bookkeeping for a Lawn Doctor franchise?
Three things shape the close here. Royalty is collected weekly on net revenues, defined as cash actually collected, and with an 8.2% gap between program value sold and revenue received, a business tracking bookings. Second, the marketing requirement is a minimum with a true-up. Whatever is left unspent against the greater of $30,000 or 10% becomes payable to the franchisor after the year end. Makes the classification of marketing spend a cash question and the running total worth watching monthly. Third, the 15% out-of-territory royalty means revenue has to be coded by where the work was done as well as by who paid for it. At 25% all-in a misclassified job is expensive. Underneath all three, the 86.6% margin excludes labor entirely. So an owner’s own wages and vehicle costing is the only route to a real bottom line. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
Questions worth putting to Lawn Doctor
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 Lawn Doctor 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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