The Cleaning Authority franchise unit economics
The Cleaning Authority franchisees run recurring residential cleaning from an office inside a territory of 30,000 to 60,000 designated households. Crews that reach 45 people in the largest operations. Split into thirds, the system bills $2,486,854, $1,285,477 and $629,131, while the price per clean across all three sits inside $10. Customers and cleans have the entire gap.
- Primary source
- The Cleaning Authority, 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
- Population
- 212 of 241 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.
The top third of territories holds 695 customers each and the lower third holds 193. Price per clean across the two: $178.56 and $171.21. Cleans per customer a year: 20.0 and 19.0. Every dollar of the four-fold revenue gap is names on the schedule.
- Customer count runs 695, 390 and 193 per territory while price per clean holds inside $10. $178.56, $168.50 and $171.21 * on revenue of $2,486,854, $1,285,477 and $629,131.
- Losing 1.05% of customers a week instead of 0.71% costs 11.3 points of annual retention. 57.8% kept against 69.0% *, worth $70,900 a year on the lower third's own book, which is 11.3% of its revenue.
- Forty-eight percent of all leads produce 1% to 4% of the revenue. 50,896 one-time-only leads against 55,074 recurring ones in the top third, delivering 1% of sales.
- Slipping out of compliance restores a flat 6% royalty, costing the top third $30,737 a year. $149,211 against $118,474 on $2,486,854 *.
- Cost of goods takes 61% to 63% and already contains the royalty. Leaving $969,873 at the top and $232,778 at the bottom before rent, phones, a manager, an owner draw and the local marketing fee *.
How much does a The Cleaning Authority franchise make?
The average The Cleaning Authority unit reported $1,468,011 of revenue in the 2026 FDD. 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 9% 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 The Cleaning Authority performers
The Cleaning Authority splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $2,486,854 a year. The worst averaged $629,131. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 4.0× 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 $92,850 to $147,100, a 1.6× 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 62.0% of sales. Buying terms, price discipline and waste are where this is won, and each of them compounds at volume.
- Customers, the operating driver.This model bills on customers. The owner works on how many customers are won, how many are lost, and what each spends in a year. 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 9.0% 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.212 of 241 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. The brand’s own locations are the only margin signal in the document, and they are run by the people who wrote the playbook.
The three groups of locations
Four times the revenue, the same price.
| Measure | Top third | Middle third | Lower third | All 212 * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Territories | 71 | 70 | 71 | 212 |
| Total sales | $176,566,611 | $89,983,369 | $44,668,312 | $311,218,292 |
| Average sales | $2,486,854 | $1,285,477 | $629,131 | $1,468,011 |
| Median sales | $2,280,201 | $1,289,775 | $680,466 | n/a |
| Revenue range | $1,650,665 – $4,995,554 | $955,302 – $1,636,987 | $105,551 – $953,652 | $105,551 – $4,995,554 |
| Reaching their own average | 42% | 51% | 59% | n/a |
| Customers per territory * | 695 | 390 | 193 | 426 |
| Price per clean | $178.56 | $168.50 | $171.21 | $174.48 |
| Cleans per customer a year * | 20.0 | 19.6 | 19.0 | 19.7 |
| Revenue per customer * | $3,579 | $3,298 | $3,257 | $3,446 |
| Cleans a week per territory * | 268 | 147 | 71 | 162 |
| Cost of goods sold | 61% | 61% | 63% | n/a |
| Employees per territory * | 45.0 | 25.7 | 13.9 | 28.2 |
| Revenue per employee * | $55,246 | $50,074 | $45,211 | $52,046 |
Territory counts, revenue, medians, ranges, attainment, price per clean, customers, cleans, cost of goods and employee counts are as the brand reported it. The per-territory, per-customer, cleans-a-week, revenue-per-employee and all-212 columns are marked *.
A clean sells for $178.56 at the top and $171.21 at the bottom. A 4.3% group across territories billing $2,486,854 and $629,131. The work is priced almost identically wherever it happens, which puts the whole four-fold gap in how many customers are on the books.
Every customer buys about 20 cleans a year, wherever they are. 20.0, 19.6 and 19.0 *. That is a fortnightly schedule with a few weeks missed. It holds across the entire system, so revenue per customer varies by just 9.9%, from $3,579 to $3,257.
The lower third's range runs from $105,551 to $953,652, nine times. Against three times in the top third and less than twice in the middle. The bottom of this system is where the real dispersion lives. 59% of that third reaches its own average. So the group is dragged by a small number of very weak territories.
A top-third territory runs 268 cleans a week with 45 people. Against 71 cleans with 14 people in the lower third *. Revenue per employee moves from $45,211 to $55,246, a 22% productivity gain that arrives alongside the volume.
Cost of goods is 61%, 61% and 63%, and the royalty sits inside it. So the published profit share of 37% to 39% already has the brand's largest charge. What remains has to cover rent, telephones, employee advertising, a manager, the local marketing fee and the owner. Is why the 2-point difference between 61% and 63% matters more than it looks.
Customers won and lost
A point of weekly loss is a fifth of the book.
| Group | Weekly customer loss | Kept after a year * | Replaced each year * | Customers per territory | Replacements a year * | Replacements a week * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top third | 0.71% | 69.0% | 31.0% | 695 | 215 | 4.1 |
| Middle third | 0.80% | 65.9% | 34.1% | 390 | 133 | 2.6 |
| Lower third | 1.05% | 57.8% | 42.2% | 193 | 81 | 1.6 |
Weekly customer loss and customer counts are as the brand reported it; retention, replacement and per-week figures are marked. Compounding the published weekly rate across 52 weeks.
The lower third keeps 57.8% of its customers through a year; the top third keeps 69.0%. *, compounding the published weekly rates. A third of a point of weekly loss is 11.3 points of annual retention. Is the difference between rebuilding two fifths of the book each year and rebuilding under a third.
Closing that gap is worth $70,900 a year to a lower-third territory. 21.8 extra customers on a 193-customer book at $3,257 each *, 11.3% of its $629,131. That is achieved by keeping customers already won, and it needs zero extra marketing spend.
A top-third territory replaces 215 customers a year and a lower-third one replaces 81. *. Four a week against under two. The larger operation is working harder in absolute terms, but each replacement covers a smaller share of its book. That is what a lower customers lost rate buys.
Roughly half of every group sits worse than its own published loss rate. 39 of 71, 27 of 70 and 35 of 71. So the averages here describe a middle, and an owner comparing their own weekly cancellation rate against 0.71% is comparing against a figure that 55% of the top third fails to beat.
Revenue per customer runs $3,579, $3,298, $3,257. *. A 9.9% group. Since each customer is worth roughly the same everywhere, the customer count and the retention rate are the only two numbers that decide this business, and retention compounds while acquisition repeats.
From lead to customer
Half the enquiries, one to four percent of the money.
| Measure | Top third | Middle third | Lower third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recurring leads | 55,074 | 35,479 | 27,209 |
| Recurring estimate leads | 22,755 | 14,851 | 11,523 |
| Recurring leads reaching an appointment | 41% | 42% | 42% |
| Recurring sales | 23,580 | 13,888 | 10,607 |
| Recurring lead to sale * | 42.8% | 39.1% | 39.0% |
| Sales per estimate * | 103.6% | 93.5% | 92.1% |
| One-time-only leads | 50,896 | 33,871 | 25,519 |
| One-time-only share of all leads * | 48.0% | 48.8% | 48.4% |
| One-time-only share of revenue | 1% | 2% | 4% |
| All leads per territory * | 1,493 | 991 | 743 |
| Recurring sales per territory * | 332 | 198 | 149 |
Lead counts, appointment rates, sales counts and revenue shares are as the brand reported it; the conversion rates and per-territory figures are marked *.
One-time-only enquiries are 48% of all leads and deliver 1% to 4% of revenue. Nearly half the phone and web traffic across every group. Handling those calls costs the same staff time as a recurring enquiry worth roughly $3,400 a year. So how that queue is triaged is a real operating decision.
One-time work is four times as important at the bottom as at the top. 4% of revenue against 1%. A lower-third territory is leaning on single cleans to fill a schedule that recurring customers should be filling. That is a symptom of the same 1.05% weekly loss rate.
The top third converts 42.8% of recurring leads into sales; the other two convert 39%. *. A 3.8-point edge. Appointment rates are effectively identical at 41% to 42%, so the whole difference arrives after the estimate is given.
A top-third territory works 1,493 leads a year and a lower-third one works 743. *. Twice the volume against 3.6 times the customers, so lead flow accounts for part of the gap and retention accounts for the rest. Buying leads alone would take a lower-third territory only part of the way.
Recurring sales per territory run 332, 198 and 149 a year. *. Six a week, four a week and three a week. Set against replacement needs of 215, 133 and 81 customers a year, every group is selling more than it loses. The gap between the two is the growth rate.
Fees and what it costs to open
The royalty falls as the year goes on.
| Territory | Sales | Royalty | combined rate | Brand fund | Technology | Cost of a compliance lapse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest reporting | $4,995,554 | $218,822 | 4.38% | $10,400 | $2,092 | $80,911 |
| Top third average | $2,486,854 | $118,474 | 4.76% | $10,400 | $2,092 | $30,737 |
| All 212 average | $1,468,011 | $77,720 | 5.29% | $10,400 | $2,092 | $10,360 |
| Middle third average | $1,285,477 | $70,274 | 5.47% | $10,400 | $2,092 | $6,855 |
| Lower third average | $629,131 | $37,457 | 5.95% | $6,291 | $2,092 | $291 |
| Lowest-selling reporting | $105,551 | $6,333 | 6.00% | $1,056 | $2,092 | $0 |
Ours, applying the published rates to the filed revenue.
The royalty falls from 6% to 4% as the calendar year progresses. The first $600,000 has 6%, the next $700,000 has 5% and everything above $1,300,000 has 4%, then it resets each January. The top third's combined rate is 4.76% and the lower third's is 5.95% *, the schedule rewards exactly the territories that need it least.
A compliance lapse costs the top third $30,737 a year. $149,211 at a flat 6% against $118,474 on the ladder *. At the system's highest reporting territory it is $80,911. That makes brand-standard compliance a six-figure line item over a term.
The brand fund caps at $10,400 a year. The lesser of 1% or $200 a week. At the top third's average that is 0.42% of revenue and at the lower third's it is the full 1% *. Like the royalty ladder, the cap hands its benefit to the largest territories.
The local marketing fee is $52,510 to $151,694 a year. $0.374 a week multiplied by 9% to 13% of the designated households in the territory. So a 45,000-household territory pays $78,764 at the low group and $113,771 at the high one *. Against the lower third's $629,131 that is 12.5% to 18.1% of revenue, and it sits outside the 63% cost of goods entirely.
Four consecutive weeks above $25,000 of revenue drops the local marketing fee to its lowest group. Worth $35,007 a year on a 45,000-household territory *. That threshold annualizes to $1.3m, the same point where the royalty falls to 4%, so crossing it twice rewards the same run of trading.
What it costs to open a territory.
| Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Additional funds, three months | $27,000 | $30,000 |
| Territory fee | $22,500 | $45,000 |
| Franchise fee | $20,000 | $20,000 |
| Office rent and security deposit | $6,000 | $12,000 |
| Insurance and insurance deposits | $5,500 | $7,500 |
| Travel and living while training | $3,250 | $4,250 |
| Cleaning equipment and supplies | $2,500 | $3,500 |
| Opening inventory | $2,500 | $3,000 |
| Washer, dryer and furniture | $1,850 | $3,350 |
| Computer and training software access | $1,750 | $2,750 |
| Vehicle lease or purchase | $0 | $2,000 |
| Full-time manager | $0 | $13,750 |
| Total | $92,850 | $147,100 |
As the brand reported it, reordered here by size.
The two franchisor fees are 46% of the low column. $42,500 of $92,850 *, rising to $65,000 of $147,100 on the largest territory. The rest is a washer, a dryer, an office, cleaning kit and three months of working capital, a light build for a business averaging $1,468,011 of revenue.
Ground costs 75 cents a household. So a 60,000-household enterprise territory costs $45,000 against $22,500 for a 30,000-household one. The same 75 cents also sets the local marketing fee. Runs at $0.374 a week against 9% to 13% of those households, meaning the territory size an owner chooses fixes both the entry price and the largest recurring charge outside cost of goods.
Initial fees collected in 2025 ranged from $7,500 to $63,770. Against a list price of $42,500 to $65,000 for an enterprise market. The low end of that range sits well under even a hometown market's $26,250 minimum, so the discounts are doing substantial work.
Cash to run the business day to day of $27,000 to $30,000 covers three months. Against a local marketing fee that starts at $1,009.80 a week on a 30,000-household territory *, $13,127 across those same three months, or roughly half the low estimate before a single cleaner is paid.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What should a Cleaning Authority territory be billing?
Across the 212 enterprise market territories trading all of 2025, the thirds averaged $2,486,854 across 71 territories, $1,285,477 across 70 and $629,131 across 71, with medians of $2,280,201, $1,289,775 and $680,466. Weighted together that is $1,468,011 on total system revenue of $311,218,292, which is marked *. The highest single territory billed $4,995,554 and the lowest $105,551. Attainment rises as revenue falls: 42%, 51% and 59% reach their own group average. There were 241 franchised territories and three company-owned outlets at the end of 2025.
How many customers does that take?
Customer counts sit alongside revenue: 49,331, 27,283 and 13,714 across the three thirds, which is 695, 390 and 193 per territory and is marked *. Each group performed 988,819, 534,019 and 260,900 cleans, so a customer buys 20.0, 19.6 and 19.0 cleans a year and is worth $3,579, $3,298 and $3,257. Price per clean is $178.56, $168.50 and $171.21. Expressed as a schedule, that is 268, 147 and 71 cleans a week, run by an estimated 45, 26 and 14 people.
What does customers lost cost?
Average weekly customer loss is 0.71%, 0.80% and 1.05% across the three thirds. Compounded across a year that leaves 69.0%, 65.9% and 57.8% of the book intact. Is marked *. So the lower third rebuilds more than two fifths of its customers annually while the top third rebuilds under a third. Closing that 11.3-point gap on a 193-customer book is worth 21.8 customers, or $70,900 a year at $3,257 each, 11.3% of the lower third's revenue. Roughly half of every group sits worse than its own published rate: 39 of 71, 27 of 70 and 35 of 71.
What does the brand take?
For an enterprise market the royalty is 6% of the first $600,000 of sales in a calendar year, 5% from $600,000 to $1,300,000 and 4% above that, resetting each January. Hometown thresholds are $300,000 and $550,000. The reduced rates stop applying whenever a franchisee falls outside compliance. Costs $30,737 a year at the top third's average and $80,911 at the highest reporting territory, both of which are marked *. The brand fund takes the lesser of 1% or $200 a week. The local marketing fee is $0.374 a week multiplied by 9% to 13% of designated households. Is $52,510 to $151,694 a year depending on territory size and customer count, dropping to the lowest group after four consecutive weeks above $25,000 of revenue. Technology costs $40.24 a week, and the call center charges $2.97 or $4.21 a call. Every fee applies per territory.
Who does bookkeeping for a Cleaning Authority franchise?
Three mechanics shape the close. The royalty is a year-to-date ladder that steps down twice and resets every January. So the accrual rate changes mid-year at points that depend on the pace of billings. A territory near $600,000 or $1,300,000 has real reason to track cumulative revenue weekly. Is also how the local marketing fee's $25,000-a-week relief is claimed. Second, the published cost of goods figure already contains the royalty, direct labor, payroll taxes, workers' compensation, general liability insurance, supplies and mileage. So it sits outside the usual gross profit definition and has to be rebuilt deliberately if the brand's 61% benchmark is going to mean anything against the books. Third, the local marketing fee is charged on household count. Makes it a fixed cost of $1,000 to $2,900 a week regardless of how the year goes, the single most important number for a territory in the lower third. Underneath all of it, price per clean holds near $174 system-wide, so every forecast reduces to a customer count and a retention rate. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
- No median. Only an average is published, which a few large locations can lift on their own.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- No attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
Questions worth putting to The Cleaning Authority
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 The Cleaning Authority 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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