Painting franchise finance
The median brand here reports average revenue of $499,006 a unit. Percentage fees at the median brand come to 9.4% of sales. The median cost to open runs $105,200 to $189,200.
Painting franchises at a glance
- Averan Franchise compares nine painting franchise brands, each from its own 2026 FDD.
- The cost to open a painting franchise runs from $80,270 at Painter1 to $320,500 at CertaPro Painters.
- CertaPro Painters reports the highest average sales of these brands, at $2,102,015, and PaintEZ the lowest, at $412,690.
- Franchise fees take 7.81% to 13.9% of sales across the nine brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure.
These figures come from each brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
Find a painting brand
This guide covers nine brands, each from its own 2026 FDD. Open one, or pick two and compare them.
All 9 brands
The brands in this group
Each brand has its own page on how its locations make money, with every figure set out against the brand’s disclosure document it comes from.
- 360 Painting consolidated average and median plus quartiles and three cohort, gross sales only · A $60,000 minimum advertising charge
- CertaPro Painters Minimum royalty equals 6% of the sales hurdle
- Five Star Painting Revenue by group · Per-capita and per-job figures combine into a job count, and four filed figures contradict four others
- Fresh Coat Gross revenue AND gross profit percentage by quartile for two consecutive years on the same 62-franchise basis, plus a four-rung franchise fee rebate ladder
- Go Painting 39 locations · Revenue per territory by territory count
- Groovy Hues 78 locations · One franchisee is 42% of reported sales
- Painter1 45 locations · Ten outlets are 54% of sales
- PaintEZ 54 locations · Single-territory and multiple-territory franchisees
- WOW 1 DAY PAINTING Sales by time open · Sales for 34 United States and 14 Canadian franchisees, with average job size and sales per subterritory
The figures, brand by brand
| Measure | Median | Brands | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average sales per unit | $499,006 | 8 of 9 | Median of each brand’s disclosed average |
| Median sales per unit | $417,269 | 8 of 9 | Median of each brand’s disclosed median |
| Initial franchise fee | $54,900 | 9 of 9 | |
| Royalty | 6% | 9 of 9 | Headline rate |
| Brand or advertising fund | 2% | 9 of 9 | |
| Fees paid to the brand | 9.4% | 9 of 9 | Royalty, brand fund and other fees paid to the brand or its affiliates, as a share of average sales |
| Cost to open, low | $105,200 | 9 of 9 | |
| Cost to open, high | $189,200 | 9 of 9 | |
| Profit margin | Fewer than three disclose | 2 of 9 | Each brand’s own profit line; definitions differ |
| Labor, share of revenue | Fewer than three disclose | 0 of 9 | |
| Building costs, share of revenue | Fewer than three disclose | 0 of 9 | |
| Unit growth over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 15.8% | 8 of 9 | (End − start) ÷ start |
| Customers lost over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 9.9% | 8 of 9 | Terminated, non-renewed, reacquired and ceased, ÷ opening units; transfers excluded |
Each figure is the median of the brands that disclose it, and the Brands column counts them.
How we calculated this
Revenue is each brand's own reported figure on its own unit basis, so the median describes the group and no single brand. Growth and customers lost are our calculations from each brand's outlet table. Where fewer than three brands disclose a figure, no benchmark is shown.
The model
The business model the top performers in painting are running
What the top performers can do that others cannot
Seven of the nine brands here sell one job at a time.
What the customer is buying
The customer buys a quoted job, usually once. A location at the middle brand sells $630,479 a year, and the median top group sells $1,340,110. The offer is the same at both ends of that range, so the difference is volume.
Who the customer is, and how often they come back
This is an acquisition business. Each job is won again, so lead flow, the close rate and what the average job is worth decide the year. A median 32% of locations reach their own brand’s average, so most of the system is below the number the brand advertises, and the gap usually comes from low demand. Effort is usually not the cause. The top group sells $1,340,110 against $319,834 at the bottom. Trade area and site set that range before an owner takes a booking.
How the money works
Opening costs $80,270 to $320,500 across the group, and inside one brand the top of the range is typically 1.8 times the bottom. At the middle brand franchise fees take 9.4% of sales. What is left runs 19.2% at the middle brand, which is $257,502 a year at the top group and $61,456 at the bottom. The percentage changes little between them; the dollars change a lot. Cash and earned revenue arrive in different periods here, so the cash forecast matters more than the profit line in any given month.
Top performers
These are the things that separate top performers in painting
Across the painting brands that publish both figures, the median top group of locations sells $1,340,110 a year and the median bottom group sells $319,834. Across these brands, a median of 32% of locations reach their own brand’s average.
Decided before you open
- Opening cost against sales.The top group sells $1,340,110 a year against a build that tops out at $320,500, so at the heavy end of the range a location sells $4.18 for every dollar it cost to open.
Live operating levers
- Seven of the nine brands here sell one job at a time.
Business model attribute
- Service
- Jobs quoted and won one at a time
- Unit economics
- Jobs a week times the average ticket
- Two of the nine brands here publish how a new location builds up.
Business model attribute
- Service
- The FDD’s month-by-month build-up of a new location
- Unit economics
- Months until sales cover costs
- Cost of goods by brand.Products and materials take 54.1% of sales at CertaPro Painters and 62.2% at Fresh Coat, the two brands that disclose them. The levers on this line are buying on the brand program, holding the price list instead of discounting to close, and counting waste weekly.
- Profit margin.CertaPro Painters and PaintEZ are the two brands here that publish a profit line. CertaPro Painters keeps 9.3% of sales and PaintEZ keeps 29.1%. The cost lines above move by a few points between the highest-selling and lowest-selling locations while sales move by multiples. At a 19.2% margin, the top group earns $257,502 a year and the bottom group $61,456.
- Fees as a share of sales.Fees run a median 9.4% of sales across nine brands, from 7.8% to 13.9%. Where a minimum applies, lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. At $1,340,110 the fees cost $125,970 a year; at $319,834 they cost $30,064.
Context you underwrite around
- First-year build-up.Two of nine filings in this group show how a new location builds up. The others do not show it.
- Brands without sales bands.Three brands publish only an average, with no sales bands.
Operating levers
What each brand’s top performers actually work on
These are the levers each brand's filing supports. Each brand has three to five, read from its own 2026 FDD. Filter by type of business, or open a brand for the figures underneath.
9 brands
360 Painting
Painting
- Sales depend on painting jobs. Every job is quoted, so the owner works on how many quotes close and how many crew days each job takes.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 13.9% 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.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
CertaPro Painters
Painting
- Products and materials. Products and materials take 54.1% of sales, against 9.3% kept at the end. The levers are buying terms, price discipline and waste.
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 9.4% 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.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
Five Star Painting
Painting
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 8.0% 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.
Fresh Coat
Painting
- Products and materials. Products and materials take 62.2% of sales. The levers are buying terms, price discipline and waste.
- Sales depend on painting jobs. Every job is quoted, so the owner works on how many quotes close and how many crew days each job takes.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 8.8% 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.
Go Painting
Painting
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 10.4% 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.
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Sales depend on painting jobs. Every job is quoted, so the owner works on how many quotes close and how many crew days each job takes.
Groovy Hues
Painting
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 7.9% 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.
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Sales depend on painting jobs. Every job is quoted, so the owner works on how many quotes close and how many crew days each job takes.
Painter1
Painting
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 7.8% 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.
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Sales depend on painting jobs. Every job is quoted, so the owner works on how many quotes close and how many crew days each job takes.
PaintEZ
Painting
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 10.9% 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.
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Sales depend on painting jobs. Every job is quoted, so the owner works on how many quotes close and how many crew days each job takes.
WOW 1 DAY PAINTING
Painting
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Gift cards. Gift cards are sold before the service is delivered, and sales peak around the holidays. A gift card is deferred revenue until it is redeemed, so cash and earned revenue arrive in different periods.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 11.0% 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.
Painting cost lines as a share of sales
Two of the nine painting brands in Averan Franchise disclose what their locations spend on wages, rent and space, or cost of goods. Each figure is a share of the average location's sales, from the brand's 2026 FDD. Rent and space covers rent and the other costs of the premises.
| Brand | Wages | Rent and space | Cost of goods |
|---|---|---|---|
| CertaPro Painters | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | 54.1% |
| Fresh Coat | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | 62.2% |
How fast new painting locations build sales
The pages for one of the nine painting brands in Averan Franchise shows how a new location's sales build after opening, by month or by years open, in dollars from each brand's FDD. The months before sales cover costs are the ones to plan cash for, and the minimum fee calculator shows what the fees cost during them.
Common questions
How much does a painting franchise cost to open?
Among the nine painting brands in Averan Franchise that publish it, the cost to open runs from $80,270 at Painter1 to $320,500 at CertaPro Painters, according to their 2026 FDDs.
Which painting franchise costs the least to open?
Painter1 has the lowest starting cost of the painting brands in Averan Franchise, at $80,270 to $168,380.
Which painting franchise has the highest average sales?
CertaPro Painters reports the highest average sales of the painting brands in Averan Franchise, at $2,102,015 in its 2026 FDD.
What do painting franchise fees cost as a share of sales?
Across the nine painting brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure, franchise fees take 7.81% to 13.9% of sales.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- Money arrives before the service does. How should that be booked?It explains deferred revenue and why the bank balance and the profit line disagree.
- 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.
- Revenue was the highest it has been. Why did profit not move?It traces where the extra revenue went, line by line.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?It explains what changes at around ten units and why lenders care.
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 →How many jobs did you run last week?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around job count, a minimum fee your brand imposes. We also map your chart of accounts to the benchmark you are being measured against.
Talk to AveranWhere these figures come from
Every figure here comes from the brands' 2026 FDDs and is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brands. The medians, growth and customers lost figures are our own calculations. The figures describe past performance at other businesses. They are not a projection of your results. This page is an educational summary and is not an offer to sell a franchise or financial, legal or tax advice. All trademarks belong to their owners. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.