TruBlue franchise unit economics
TruBlue franchisees sell handyman work, home maintenance and ageing-in-place modifications to older homeowners across a territory of at least 175,000 people. The 42 franchises open a full year averaged $438,095 in 2025 with a median of $347,879. The agreement requires local advertising of the greater of 2% of revenue or $2,500 a month. That $30,000 minimum reaches 2% only at $1,500,000, 3.4 times what the average franchise bills.
- Primary source
- T.B. Franchising Systems, Inc., 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; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 42 of 135 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.
TruBlue requires local advertising of the greater of 2% of revenue or $2,500 a month. That $30,000 minimum reaches 2% only at $1,500,000 of revenue, and the 42 reporting franchises average $438,095. So the minimum applies across the whole system, at the median it is 4.3 times what the percentage alone would ask.
- The $30,000 minimum advertising charge matches 2% only at $1,500,000 of revenue. 3.4 times the system average *, so at the median franchise it is 8.62% of revenue against the $6,958 that 2% would give.
- The rebate ladder’s first rung asks for $450,000 a year and the system averages $438,095. $900,000 over two years against $876,190 *, the average franchise misses the first of four rungs by $23,810.
- A first full calendar year already reaches 87.2% of the system average. $382,174 across eight owners against $438,095 *, so most of the climb happens before the first full year begins.
- Brand charges and advertising take 23.94% of a fourth-quartile franchise’s revenue and 10.13% of the highest-selling’s. $51,165 on $213,744 against $187,170 on $1,848,303 *.
- The top quarter alone differs 3.68 times over, from $501,720 to $1,848,303. And the highest-billing owner in the system ran a single territory.
How much does a TruBlue franchise make?
The average TruBlue unit reported $438,095 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $347,879. 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 8.5% 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.
By sales and the first full year
$438,095 across 42 franchises.
Among the 42 franchises open a full year under continuous ownership with a handyman on staff, quartiles run from $845,486 down to $213,744. The top quarter contains almost as much range inside it as the other three put together.
| quartile | Franchises | Average | Median | Lowest | Highest | Reaching the average | The range inside the quarter * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | 10 | $845,486 | $744,420 | $501,720 | $1,848,303 | 30% | 3.68× |
| Second | 10 | $422,903 | $432,115 | $357,783 | $483,473 | 50% | 1.35× |
| Third | 11 | $305,902 | $309,187 | $267,797 | $357,029 | 55% | 1.33× |
| Fourth | 11 | $213,744 | $232,997 | $75,157 | $267,666 | 55% | 3.56× |
| All 42 | 42 | $438,095 | $347,879 | $75,157 | $1,848,303 | 36% | 24.6× |
Every figure is as the brand reported it apart from the range column, which is marked *, dividing each row’s highest by its lowest.
The middle two quarters are tight and the ends are wide. 1.35 and 1.33 times inside the second and third quarters, against 3.68 and 3.56 at the top and bottom *, so most of this system sits in a narrow group between $267,797 and $483,473.
The median is 79.4% of the average. $347,879 against $438,095 *, and 36% of franchises reach the mean. The single largest franchise at $1,848,303 lifts it for everyone else.
The top quarter averages 3.96 times the bottom. $845,486 against $213,744 *, while the individual extremes run 24.6 times apart.
The first full year is most of the way there.
Owners whose first location was in its first full calendar year during 2025 stand alone: eight of them averaged $382,174.
| Group | Franchises | Average | Median | Lowest | Highest | Reaching the average | Against the whole group * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First full calendar year | 8 | $382,174 | $337,843 | $204,769 | $768,256 | 25% | 87.2% |
| All 42 | 42 | $438,095 | $347,879 | $75,157 | $1,848,303 | 36% | 100% |
Both rows are as the brand reported it and the comparison column is marked *.
A first full year lands within $55,921 of the system average. $382,174 against $438,095 *, and within $10,036 of the system median.
Even a first-year franchise ranges 3.75 times. $204,769 to $768,256 *, so the first twelve months already separate the system.
Top performers
What separates the top TruBlue performers
TruBlue splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $845,486 a year. The worst averaged $213,744. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $347,879. The average was $438,095. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
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, quoted at 175,000 people. 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 $73,050 to $99,400, a 1.4× 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
- Work orders, the operating driver.This model bills on work orders. A technician completes a set number of work orders in a day, so the owner works on how many and what each one is worth. 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 8.5% 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.
- The first year.This filing shows how a new location builds up, so the ramp can be underwritten from the document rather than assumed. Read two things out of it: the month sales cross the point where costs are covered, and how much cash you fund before that month arrives. Everything before break-even is paid for by you.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.42 of 135 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. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
The minimum advertising charge
A minimum set for a business three times this size.
Royalty is 6% of sales with a monthly minimum of $1,000 after the first year. The national branding fee is the greater of 2% or $500 a month. Technology is $195 a month. And local advertising is the greater of 2% of revenue or $2,500 a month, a $30,000 a yearly minimum that the percentage reaches only at $1,500,000.
| Sales | Royalty | National branding | Technology | To the franchisor | Share | Local advertising | All in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,848,303, the highest franchise | $110,898 | $36,966 | $2,340 | $150,204 | 8.13% | $36,966 | 10.13% |
| $845,486, the first quartile | $50,729 | $16,910 | $2,340 | $69,979 | 8.28% | $30,000 | 11.83% |
| $438,095, the system average | $26,286 | $8,762 | $2,340 | $37,388 | 8.53% | $30,000 | 15.38% |
| $347,879, the system median | $20,873 | $6,958 | $2,340 | $30,171 | 8.67% | $30,000 | 17.30% |
| $382,174, a first full year | $22,930 | $7,643 | $2,340 | $32,913 | 8.61% | $30,000 | 16.46% |
| $213,744, the fourth quartile | $12,825 | $6,000 | $2,340 | $21,165 | 9.90% | $30,000 | 23.94% |
| $75,157, the lowest franchise | $12,000 | $6,000 | $2,340 | $20,340 | 27.06% | $30,000 | 66.98% |
Rates, minimums and the revenue figures are as the brand reported it. Every dollar figure and share is marked *, taking the greater of the rate and the minimum on each line.
The minimum advertising charge is 4.3 times the percentage at the median. $30,000 against the $6,958 that 2% gives *, $23,042 a year of spend the rate alone would leave out.
Advertising costs more than the royalty everywhere below $500,000. $30,000 is 6% of $500,000 *, which is the crossing point, and three of the four quartile averages sit below it.
The three minimums together are $48,000 a year. $12,000 of royalty, $6,000 of branding and $30,000 of advertising *, 63.9% of what the lowest-selling franchise in the system billed.
How the rebate steps up
Four rungs, and the average misses the first.
The brand offers to return the $54,900 franchise fee in stages against cumulative revenue goals. Each stage requires the one before it, so missing the first ends the ladder.
| By the end of year | Cumulative revenue required | Rebate | Implied annual average * | At the system average of $438,095 * | Position * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | $900,000 | $10,000 | $450,000 | $876,190 | −$23,810 |
| 3 | $1,500,000 | $10,000 | $500,000 | $1,314,285 | −$185,715 |
| 4 | $2,250,000 | $10,000 | $562,500 | $1,752,380 | −$497,620 |
| 5 | $3,000,000 | Remainder of the fee | $600,000 | $2,190,475 | −$809,525 |
Thresholds and rebates are as the brand reported it; the last three columns are marked *.
The first rung asks 2.7% more than the system average produces. $450,000 a year against $438,095 *, so a franchise has to beat the system from its first month to start the ladder.
A first-full-year franchise is $135,652 behind after two years. $764,348 against $900,000 *, on the filed first-full-year average of $382,174.
The top quarter clears every rung. $845,486 a year is $4,227,430 across five years against a $3,000,000 final threshold *, so the ladder is written for the top quarter of the system.
Opening and the system
$73,050 to open, and 75% of it is the fee. (Items 5 and 6)
| Line | Low | High | Share of the low column * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $54,900 | $54,900 | 75.2% |
| Additional funds, three months | $8,000 | $20,000 | 11.0% |
| Grand opening promotion | $3,000 | $4,000 | 4.1% |
| Computer system | $1,500 | $4,000 | 2.1% |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $5,000 | 2.1% |
| Travel and living while training | $1,250 | $2,500 | 1.7% |
| Tools and equipment | $1,000 | $3,000 | 1.4% |
| Furniture and office equipment | $500 | $1,000 | 0.7% |
| Telephones, call center, bank and other deposits | $500 | $1,000 | 0.7% |
| Business entity formation | $500 | $1,000 | 0.7% |
| Licenses and senior home safety certification | $400 | $1,000 | 0.5% |
| Vehicle | $0 | $2,000 | 0.0% |
| Total | $73,050 | $99,400 | 100% |
Amounts are as the brand reported it and the share column is marked *; both columns add to their stated totals exactly, and the total excludes real estate.
Opening costs 16.7% of what an average franchise bills in a year. $73,050 against $438,095 *, and 97.2% of what the lowest-selling franchise billed.
Everything other than the fee and working capital is $10,150. Ten lines totaling 13.9% of the low column *, so the entry cost is almost entirely the right to the territory plus three months of cash.
The system grew 30% in a year.
| Year | At start | Opened | Terminated | Failed to renew | Reacquired | Ceased for other reasons | At end | Transfers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 84 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 94 | 12 |
| 2024 | 94 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 104 | 14 |
| 2025 | 104 | 41 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 135 | 14 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it, and start plus openings less departures reconciles to the year-end count in all three years.
Openings more than doubled to 41. After 18 and 19 in the two previous years *, while departures held at 8, 9 and 10.
Nearly a third of the system is under a year old. 41 of 135 *, so the reported averages describe the settled 42.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What does a TruBlue franchise bill?
The 42 franchises open a full year averaged $438,095 in 2025 with a median of $347,879, ranging from $75,157 to $1,848,303. By quartile the averages run $845,486, $422,903, $305,902 and $213,744, and 36% reached the system average.
What does a first full year look like?
Eight owners in their first full calendar year averaged $382,174 with a median of $337,843, ranging from $204,769 to $768,256. That average is 87.2% of the whole group’s and the median is 97.1% of it. So most of the climb happens before the first full year begins.
What does the brand take?
A 6% royalty with a $1,000 monthly minimum after the first year, a national branding fee of the greater of 2% or $500 a month, and technology at $195 a month. At the system average that is $37,388, or 8.53% of revenue, rising to 27.06% at the lowest-selling franchise because the minimums hold.
What must be spent on advertising?
The greater of 2% of the prior month’s revenue or $2,500 a month. That $30,000 a yearly minimum matches 2% only at $1,500,000 of revenue, which one franchise exceeds, so effectively every franchisee pays the minimum. At the median it is 8.62% of revenue against the 2% the rate would give.
Can the franchise fee be earned back?
The brand rebates $10,000 at $900,000 of cumulative revenue in two years, $10,000 more at $1,500,000 in three, $10,000 more at $2,250,000 in four. The remainder at $3,000,000 in five. Each rung requires the one before it. At the 2025 system average of $438,095 a franchise falls $23,810 short of the very first rung.
What does it cost to open?
$73,050 to $99,400 excluding real estate, of which $54,900 is the franchise fee and $8,000 to $20,000 working capital. Everything else totals $10,150 at the low end. A branded work vehicle of $2,500 to $40,000 and a $1,000 ageing-in-place certification are both required within the first year.
- 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.
Questions worth putting to TruBlue
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 TruBlue 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 →What is the minimum advertising charge returning?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around cost per booked job against the $30,000 minimum, revenue per technician day. The minimum fees measured as a share of what you bill.
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
TruBlue reads against the rest of the handyman and home repair group: Ace Handyman Services · Mr. Handyman. The handyman and home repair 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.
- Revenue was the highest it has been. Why did profit not move?Where the extra revenue went, line by line.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?What changes at around ten units, and why lenders care.