Potential franchisees often look to the business services industry for opportunities due it its relative stability compared to more consumer-focused industries. "B2B" businesses tend to perform more consistently and offer resilience against larger economic trends and volatile consumer preferences. The business services segment of franchises tends to serve commercial and industrial customers, though some also serve consumers in business related work.
We analyzed hundreds of franchises to find the business-centered systems that consistently generate the greatest sales for individual unit owners. We've ranked the top 20 business services franchise brands below by Average Unit Revenue (AUR). (Spoiler alert: Staffing businesses generate a lot of sales) More on our methodology.
Our Methodology
The goal of any franchise owner is to run a profitable business. The franchise model is advantageous for entrepreneurs because it offers a proven business model that can be opened in new markets with reasonable expectations of financial performance. While the performance of existing franchise units is not a guarantee that a new unit will perform as well, it is safe to use average unit revenues to compare different franchise opportunities.
Taking expected unit revenue in context with a thoughtful business plan to include expected operating costs and expenses can give entrepreneurs a methodology to compare potential profitability and return on investment of a given franchise venture.
In this report we rank franchises based on the average revenue generated by a single franchise unit or territory to highlight opportunities with the greatest sales potential.
What Is Average Unit Revenue?
Franchises report unit revenues in slightly different ways, but all generally refer to the total average sales of a single business unit, territory, or similar language that represents the exclusive market of a franchise owner.
Where Does the Data Come From?
The FTC’s franchise rule permits franchisors to provide information on actual or potential franchise revenue of franchisee and/or corporate owned units. While franchises are not legally required to report average unit revenue, most do in Item 19 of the Franchise Disclosure Document. This allows potential franchisees to estimate the volume they may expect from opening a new franchise business.
How Do We Measure It?
We use data provided by the franchisors of the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). As much as possible, we look for revenue of franchised units rather than corporate owned units. Often this data is directly available based on a subset of franchise units that are representative of typical unit performance. In some cases, we may derive average unit revenue from corporate royalty revenue and number of total franchise units.
The following table includes notes from the FDD on the source of AUR provided.
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Spherion Staffing & Recruiting
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Based on 60 reporting franchised owned units
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Express Employment Professionals
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Average annual sales for 536 franchise units open at least 24 months
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ATC Healthcare Services
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Based on 41 reporting franchise locations open for at least one year; Average Gross Profit for this group was $1,323,840
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@Work
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Based on 65 franchise locations open for at least one year
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Two Men and a Truck
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AUR is for 191 franchise locations open for at least one year
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Anago Cleaning Systems
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Based on 38 subfranchise locations open for at least one year
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iTrip Vacations
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Average unit revenue is per territory for 89 franchise territories
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Metal Supermarkets
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Based on 52 reporting franchised owned units
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Pirtek
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Based on 104 franchise locations open for at least one year
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Real Property Management
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Based on 286 reporting franchise locations open for at least one year
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Ameriprise Financial
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Average unit revenue is for 4,138 independent advisor earnings based on the actual Gross Dealer Concession (GDC) levels and GDC payout rates for Ameriprise Financial Independent Advisors in the 6 Region sites
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FASTSIGNS
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Based on 665 reporting franchise locations open for at least one year
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Glass Doctor
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Based on 137 franchise locations open for at least one year
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Signarama
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Based on 321 reporting franchise locations open for at least one year
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Junk King
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Based on 126 reporting franchise locations open for at least one year
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The Junkluggers Junk Removal Co.
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Based on 70 franchise locations open for at least one year
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Transworld Business Advisors
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Based on 112 franchise locations open for at least one year
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The UPS Store
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Based on 4,733 traditional franchise locations open for at least one year
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Minuteman Press
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Based on 579 franchise locations open for at least one year
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Office Pride
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Based on 126 reporting franchisees
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Why It's Important
Sales or revenue volume is the central to determining the financial viability of a franchise investment. Expected unit revenues combined with a reasonable estimate of operating expenses can help potential franchisees determine the return on their initial investment, and the potential earnings of a franchise opportunity. To learn more about researching franchises, see the articles in our Franchise Learning Center.
Want to see more franchises actively opening in new markets? See our Franchise Directory.
