Stratus Building Solutions franchise unit economics
Stratus Building Solutions franchisees in the Milwaukee region run commercial cleaning businesses that buy a plan of cleaning contracts and clean those customers’ buildings, while the regional franchisor bills the customers.
Stratus Building Solutions franchise at a glance
Stratus Building Solutions’ 2026 FDD, issued 31 March 2026, makes no financial performance representation in Item 19, so it gives no sales or profit figure. A Stratus Building Solutions franchise costs $4,725 to $79,750 to open, including a $3,600 initial franchise fee. Stratus Building Solutions charges a royalty of 5% of sales and a 1% brand fund contribution.
- Stratus Building Solutions reported 45 franchised locations in its 2026 FDD.
- Work out Stratus Building Solutions's fees at your own sales with the minimum fee calculator.
These figures come from Stratus Building Solutions'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 →- The price of a dollar of billing falls from 60 cents to 21 cents. Stratus Building Solutions charges $3,600 for $6,000 of annual contracts and $62,100 for $300,000 *, so the largest plan buys revenue at a third of the smallest plan’s price.
- Fifteen percent is deducted before the money reaches you. Stratus Building Solutions deducts a 5% royalty plus a 10% administration fee for billing and collection, and the optional insurance program takes it to 20% *.
- Financing adds exactly 11.1% to every plan. That holds at every one of the fifteen levels *, which is $6,900 more on the largest plan, before the stated 10% to 15% interest.
- A $120,000 plan remits $102,000, or $96,000 with insurance. That is before labor, supplies, vehicle or the equipment package *.
- The whole business opens for $4,725 at the smallest plan. Of that, $3,600 is the plan itself. The work is done from home with no premises required.
How much does a Stratus Building Solutions franchise make?
The 2026 FDD for Stratus Building Solutions does not publish unit revenue in a form that answers this directly. What it does publish is below. The royalty and administration fee come to 15% of billings. Plans run $6,000 to $300,000 of billings a year. The price of a dollar of billing runs from 60¢ down to 21¢, and financing adds 11.1% over the cash price.
Top performers
What separates the top Stratus Building Solutions performers
Stratus Building Solutions publishes no revenue figures, so neither the average nor the spread between locations is disclosed.
Decided before you open
- Territory.This model sells from a territory, with no storefront. Population density sets how much driving sits between jobs.
- Opening cost range.Opening costs $4,725 to $79,750, a 16.9× range inside one brand.
- Fees and the minimum.Fees run about 15.0% 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.
Live operating levers
- Accounts.Accounts bill year after year. Track how many you keep as well as how many you win.
Context you underwrite around
- What the filing does not include.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations, no median, no performance bands, no attainment figure. Ask the franchisor or current owners for cost and profit figures.
- Sales spread in the category.Across 66 Home Services brands in this library, the top group sells 8.9× the bottom at the typical brand, and a median 35% of locations reach their own average *. Ask the franchisor for this brand’s spread.
Fifteen plans
Plans and fees
| Plan | Annual billing bought | Cash price | Cents a dollar of billing * |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBS-6 | $6,000 | $3,600 | 60.0¢ |
| SBS-12 | $12,000 | $5,850 | 48.8¢ |
| SBS-24 | $24,000 | $9,900 | 41.3¢ |
| SBS-60 | $60,000 | $17,550 | 29.3¢ |
| SBS-120 | $120,000 | $29,340 | 24.5¢ |
| SBS-300 | $300,000 | $62,100 | 20.7¢ |
The billing levels and cash prices are as the brand reported it and the cents column divides the fee by a year's billing, marked *.
The discount is largest at the bottom of the range. The price falls from 60 cents to 41.3 cents across the first four plans *, then slides more slowly to 20.7, so moving up early is worth the most.
Larger plans than SBS-300 are built on request. No maximum is stated, so the pricing curve continues beyond the published table.
Veterans receive 10% off any plan at SBS-24 or above. That is $990 on SBS-24 and $6,210 on SBS-300 *, with at least 51% ownership and hands-on involvement required.
A shortfall in contracts offered earns a credit. The credit is the difference between the two plans’ fees, $2,250 in the worked example between SBS-24 and SBS-18.
The whole investment runs $4,725 to $79,750. Almost all of it is the plan itself, with an equipment starter package of $650 to $2,000 and four months of funds at $150 to $2,000.
Cash or financed
Cash and financed pricing
| Plan | Cash price | Financed total | Premium * | Down payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBS-6 | $3,600 | $4,000 | 11.1% | $1,500 |
| SBS-24 | $9,900 | $11,000 | 11.1% | $5,000 |
| SBS-60 | $17,550 | $19,500 | 11.1% | $11,000 |
| SBS-120 | $29,340 | $32,600 | 11.1% | $20,000 |
| SBS-300 | $62,100 | $69,000 | 11.1% | $47,000 |
Both price columns are as the brand reported it and the premium divides one by the other, marked *.
The premium is identical at every one of the fifteen plans. It is 11.1% *, so the cash discount is a flat 10% of the financed figure.
Interest of 10% to 15% a year runs on top of that premium. It runs over 36 monthly instalments, secured by a note and personal guarantee, so the financed route costs more than the table shows.
The down payment is 68% to 76% of the cash price at the larger plans. The SBS-300 plan takes $47,000 down on a $62,100 cash price *, so financing defers a smaller share than it first appears.
There is no penalty for paying early. That makes an early settlement the cheapest way out of the interest.
The financed column is principal only. It excludes interest and sales tax, so the true financed cost sits above $69,000 at the top plan.
What the brand deducts
Deductions from billings
| Charge | Rate | On $24,000 | On $120,000 | On $300,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 5% or $50 a month | $1,200 | $6,000 | $15,000 |
| Administration | 10% of gross billings | $2,400 | $12,000 | $30,000 |
| Total deducted | 15% | $3,600 | $18,000 | $45,000 |
| Remitted | 85% | $20,400 | $102,000 | $255,000 |
| Optional insurance program | 5% more | $4,800 | $24,000 | $60,000 |
| Remitted with insurance | 80% | $19,200 | $96,000 | $240,000 |
The 5%, 10% and 5% rates are as the brand reported it and the dollar figures apply them to each plan's annual billing, marked *.
The administration fee is twice the royalty. It covers billing, collection and a monthly report, so the regional franchisor handles the invoicing and the chasing.
Uncollected billings are outside the base. Sales taxes and revenue from additional business services are also outside it, so a customer who fails to pay costs the owner the work.
The $50 monthly royalty minimum applies below $12,000 of annual billing *. That covers only the smallest plan.
The agreement includes a 1% advertising fee that is not charged now. Stratus can introduce it on 30 days’ notice, with no obligation to spend any of it inside your territory.
There is no local advertising obligation, and online presence needs written consent. Stratus Building Solutions requires no local spend, so customer acquisition runs through the regional franchisor.
What you actually get
What the agreement grants
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Territory | The Milwaukee region, expressly non-exclusive |
| What you actually work | The locations of the customer contracts assigned to you |
| Other franchisees in the same territory | Numerous, at the regional franchisor's discretion |
| Sales quota | Zero |
| Working outside the territory | Prohibited |
Every term is as the brand reported it, with the regional franchisor also able to open a company outlet to service overflow customers.
The operating unit is a contract. Services may be performed only at the locations of the contracts designated for you, so geography plays almost no part.
Internet, catalog and telemarketing stay with the regional franchisor. The regional franchisor can sell through those channels inside the territory and pays franchisees no compensation for those sales.
No sales quota applies. So the plan you bought is the obligation, and growth beyond it is optional.
Required cover is $2,000,000 of liability and $50,000 of fidelity bonding. Statutory workers’ compensation is also required, carried either directly or through the 5% program.
This is a regional franchisor’s own offering. It covers the Milwaukee territory licensed to it, so the figures here describe one region.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks
How much does a Stratus Building Solutions franchise make?
Stratus Building Solutions’ 2026 FDD, issued 31 March 2026, makes no financial performance representation in Item 19, so it gives no sales or profit figure. A Stratus Building Solutions franchise costs $4,725 to $79,750 to open, including a $3,600 initial franchise fee. Stratus Building Solutions charges a royalty of 5% of sales and a 1% brand fund contribution.
What am I buying at Stratus Building Solutions?
You buy a plan of commercial cleaning contracts measured in annual billing, from $6,000 to $300,000, priced at $3,600 to $62,100 in cash. On our reading that is 60 cents down to 20.7 cents for each dollar of annual billing, so the larger plans buy revenue far more cheaply.
What does the regional franchisor take at Stratus Building Solutions?
Stratus charges a 5% royalty with a $50 monthly minimum, plus a 10% administration fee covering billing, collection and reporting. Both are deducted from what it collects before remitting, so 15% stays behind. Its optional insurance program takes a further 5%.
What does that leave at Stratus Building Solutions?
On our reading, a Stratus Building Solutions owner on a $120,000 plan receives $102,000, or $96,000 with the insurance program. Labor, supplies, vehicle and equipment come out of that.
Should I finance the plan at Stratus Building Solutions?
The financed total is exactly 11.1% above the cash price at every plan on our reading. Interest of 10% to 15% a year runs on top across 36 instalments. There is no penalty for paying early, so settling early avoids the interest.
What does it cost to open beyond the plan at Stratus Building Solutions?
A Stratus Building Solutions franchise costs $4,725 to $79,750 to open, and most of that is the plan. Apart from the plan, the largest items are an equipment pack at $650 to $2,000 and insurance at $100 to $2,500 and four months of additional funds at $150 to $2,000. The business runs from home.
Is there a Stratus Building Solutions territory?
It has a territory in name only. The Stratus Building Solutions territory is the Milwaukee region and it is expressly non-exclusive. The franchisor sells franchises to numerous franchisees in the same territory. The regional franchisor may open its own outlet for overflow. What you actually work is the set of customer contracts assigned to you.
Do I have to find my own customers at Stratus Building Solutions?
You are encouraged to, but there is no requirement and no local advertising spend. Any advertising you create needs approval from both the regional franchisor and the national brand, and any website, social media or app presence needs written consent.
Which two numbers should run monthly at Stratus Building Solutions?
Track billings against the plan you bought, because that is the test of whether the contracts arrived. Then track labor hours for each thousand dollars billed, because 85% is what you keep and labor is the only lever you hold.
- The filing gives no revenue figures. The filing makes no financial performance representation, so there is no disclosed sales number for any location.
- The filing gives no profit figure, 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.
- The filing gives no range. The filing does not show the highest and lowest locations, so the spread inside the system is unknown.
- The filing gives no attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
- The filing shows 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 Stratus Building Solutions
These are questions the Stratus Building Solutions filing leaves open. An owner or a buyer can put them to Stratus Building Solutions directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- What did the highest and lowest locations sell last year, and what explains the gap?
- 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 Stratus Building Solutions 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. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →Are your contracts billing what you bought?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around 15% deducted before remittance, plans priced from 60 cents to 21 cents a dollar. Financing that adds a flat 11.1%.
Talk to Averanthe franchise library, all 447 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
Stratus Building Solutions reads against the rest of the commercial cleaning group: Anago Cleaning Systems · Coverall · Enviro-Master · JAN-PRO. 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?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.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?It explains what changes at around ten units and why lenders care.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?It shows each location's contribution to profit and the reporting it takes to see it.
Where these figures come from.
Every figure here comes from M&R Cleaning Solutions, LLC d/b/a Stratus Clean of Milwaukee’s 2026 FDD. That covers that regional franchisor’s Milwaukee territory. The document is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brand. Calculations of our own are marked with an asterisk where they appear. The figures describe contractual terms and estimated costs. This page is an educational summary and is not legal or tax advice. Stratus Building Solutions® 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: M&R Cleaning Solutions, LLC d/b/a Stratus Clean of Milwaukee, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, issued 31 March 2026.