The average Aire Serv unit reports $130k/mo in revenue.
Opening one costs $114k–$272k.
DisclosedItem 19 · 172 units reporting · Item 7 · 229 open units
Both figures are the franchisor’s own, straight out of the disclosure document. What is masked below is the rest of the analysis — and the capital check that follows measures your cash against that opening range.
Everything below is in the report. Every figure is cited to an FDD Item and page, and labelled with where the number came from. The labels are free. The numbers are what you are buying.
Franchise Edge automates franchise diligence. We read the franchisor’s own Franchise Disclosure Document — the filing a franchisor is legally required to hand you at least 14 days before you sign anything or pay anything — and run the work that takes a buyer weeks by hand: every disclosed cost, the unit economics behind the headline, the full fee stack, and what happened to the units that opened before you.
Your analysis is ready. The framework is below — every section, every cited figure, every question, exactly as it appears in the report.
New to FDDs? Here is what is in one
An FDD runs to 23 numbered Items and a few hundred pages. Four of them do most of the work in this report:
Item 7— what it costs to open, low to high. That is the range above, and it is the franchisor’s own estimate.
Item 19 — what units actually earn. A franchisor is not required to publish one at all; when it is missing, or when it reports profit where you expected revenue, that is itself a finding.
Item 20 — openings, closures, transfers and terminations, year by year. This is where churn shows up, and where a growth story either holds or does not.
Item 6 — the ongoing fees. Royalty and ad fund get quoted on a discovery call; the rest of the list usually does not.
Every figure in the report is cited to its Item and page, so you can check any of it against the document yourself.
Disclosedstated in this FDDDerivedour calculation from disclosed figuresBenchmarkour industry range, because the FDD does not disclose itInferredAI classification
Drag to enter the capital you have available.
Against the total investment the franchisor discloses in Item 7. What it means for your loan, your coverage ratio and your payback is locked.
What it costs to open
12 locked
Item 7, as the franchisor states it. 12 line items.
Initial Franchise FeeDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31Locked
VehicleDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31Locked
Equipment, Supplies & InventoryDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31Locked
InsuranceDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31Locked
Advertising, Marketing and Promotional SpendingDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31Locked
Start-up packageDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31Locked
Training, Travel, Lodging & FoodDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31Locked
Deposits, Permits & LicensesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31Locked
Professional FeesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31Locked
Additional Funds - 3 MonthsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31Locked
Real EstateDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31Locked
Total investmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 30-31 – Locked
Buyer-fit underwriting
5 locked
What the deal asks of you, against what you told us you have.
Capital gapDerivedLocked
Loan neededDerivedLocked
Net worth requirementDisclosedItem 5Locked
Liquid capital requirementDisclosedItem 5Locked
Margin after fees, rent and debtDerivedLocked
The cash ladder — 2nd Quartile Franchised Businesses
13 locked
13 rungs, monthly, from disclosed revenue down to what the operator actually keeps. Every rung is labeled with where its number came from.
1. Gross revenueDisclosedLocked
2. − Franchise feesDisclosedLocked
3. − Fixed monthly feesDisclosedLocked
4. − Rent & occupancyDisclosedLocked
5. = Margin after fees & rentDerivedLocked
Not profit. Cost of goods, labor and operating costs have not been subtracted yet.
6. − Cost of goodsBenchmark – Locked
7. − LaborBenchmark – Locked
8. − Other operating costsBenchmark – Locked
9. = Operating EBITDABenchmark – Locked
Before debt service, owner compensation, depreciation and taxes.
10. − Debt serviceDerivedLocked
11. = Cash after debt, before owner drawBenchmark – Locked
All cash, so this is rung 9 unchanged. The operator has not been paid out of this yet.
12. Debt-service coverage ratioDerivedLocked
13. Years to recover the build-outBenchmark – Locked
Recovery of the build-out only. It does not include the operator's own time.
How you pay for it
9 locked
The loan this unit would need, and whether the unit can carry it.
Loan amountDerivedLocked
RateBenchmarkLocked
TermBenchmarkLocked
Monthly paymentDerivedLocked
Cash you put inDerivedLocked
Cash after debtDerived – Locked
Return on your cashDerived – Locked
Debt-service coverage ratioDerivedLocked
What this unit could supportDerivedLocked
Ongoing fees and hidden costs
8 locked
8 separate charges in the agreement. Most buyers find four.
1 things this document cannot settle, and how to settle them.
Operational tripwires
Locked finding
Operational tripwires
0 locked
No clause here carried enough detail to report. That is not a clean bill of health — Items 8, 12 and 17 are where these live.
System scale and turnover
5 locked
Item 20, year-end.
Total unitsDisclosedItem 20, pp. 74-79Locked
OpenedDisclosedItem 20, pp. 74-79Locked
ClosedDisclosedItem 20, pp. 74-79Locked
Changed handsDisclosedItem 20, pp. 74-79Locked
Owner turnoverDerivedLocked
208 outlets were open at the start of the year, as Item 20 Table 1 discloses, and the year's openings and closures reconcile to the year-end count stated in the same table. Every rate below is a share of that starting count, not of today's.
Leaving — renewal, exit and transfer
31 locked
Item 17, counted rather than characterised. 19 terms the table states, across how long you are in, how it ends, how you sell it and what happens after — plus the grounds it gives each side to end the agreement, and 12 questions to take to a franchisee.
How long you are inHow it endsHow you sell itWhat happens after
Initial termDisclosedItem 17, pp. 67-71Locked
RenewalDisclosedLocked
Longest possible holdDisclosedLocked
Cost to renewDisclosedLocked
Renewal is on the then-current agreementDisclosedLocked
Franchisor may terminate without causeDisclosedLocked
Defaults you can cureDisclosedLocked
Defaults you cannot cureDisclosedLocked
Grounds the table gives you to terminateDisclosedLocked
Franchisor approval required to transferDisclosedLocked
Conditions for approvalDisclosedLocked
Right of first refusalDisclosedLocked
On death or disabilityDisclosedLocked
Non-compete after you leaveDisclosedLocked
RadiusDisclosedLocked
Non-compete while you are inDisclosedLocked
How disputes are resolvedDisclosedLocked
WhereDisclosedLocked
Under which state's lawDisclosedLocked
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Who to call, and what to ask
13 locked
14 questions, grouped for operators running a unit today, operators who left last year, placing whoever answers the phone.
What do you actually run for cost of goods, as a percent of sales?
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Locked finding
Who runs it
6 locked
6 executives, with tenure and prior operating history.
PresidentVice President of OperationsChief Executive OfficerSVP, Corporate ControllerSecretaryChief Development Officer