Whether it’s plumbing, electrical, disaster recovery, HVAC, landscaping, or just handyman services, homeowners and landlords always need help to repair, improve, and maintain their property. The home services and maintenance industry is dominated by local businesses, but franchises offer a way in with the backing of a national marketing campaign and proven business model. We analyzed hundreds of the most popular and successful home services franchises to find the ones that consistently drive sales. These twenty franchise brands average seven figure average unit revenue (AUR). 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 (AUR) 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. 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 in 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.
Closets by Design
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Based on 69 franchised territories
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Premier Pools & Spas
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Based on 70 franchisee owned units
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Paul Davis Restoration
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Based on 167 franchise locations open for at least one full year
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Ace Hardware
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AUR is a weighted average for 685 stores operating in five formats: 121 convenience hardware formats, 323 core hardware formats, 189 super hardware formats, 42 home center formats, and 10 contractor oriented supply formats
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Superior Fence & Rail
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Based on 30 franchised units
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USA Insulation
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AUR is per territory for 42 territories operating for at least one full year
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Zoom Drain
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Based on 13 franchisee owned units
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CertaPro Painters
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Based on 332 franchises
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The Brothers that just do Gutters
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Based on 11 outlets
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The Cleaning Authority
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Based on 199 franchised units
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Archadeck Outdoor Living
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Based on 67 franchised territories
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Mister Sparky
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AUR is per territory for 42 franchisees operating 120 territories for at least one full year
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Aire Serv
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Based on 200 franchise locations open for at least one full year
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TemperaturePro
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Based on 181 franchised outlets
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One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating
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AUR is per territory for 323 territories operated by 78 franchisees
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Pacific Lawn Sprinklers
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Based on 8 franchised units
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Floor Coverings International
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AUR is for average gross revenues landed for all 109 Franchise locations open at least 24 months
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U.S. Lawns
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Based on 193 franchise locations open for at least one full year
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Lawn Doctor
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AUR is per territory based on 196 territories
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College Hunks Hauling Junk
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AUR is per territory for 63 franchise single-territory operations
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Why It's Important
Sales or revenue volume is 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, seethe articles in our Franchise Learning Center.
Want to see more franchises actively opening in new markets? See our Franchise Directory.