Five Star Painting

The initial franchise fee for a standard Five Star Painting territory (150,000–200,000 population) is $45,000 flat, plus a $1,250 software enrollment fee and a first-month call center charge of $350–$450. In 2024, actual franchise fees paid ranged from $36,072 to $86,922, reflecting the $230-per-1,000-population add-on for larger territories. Veterans, Neighborly network members, and existing business owners with strong roll-in revenues can negotiate discounts down to the $22,500–$36,000 range.

The total startup investment runs $77,450 to $184,600, but that low end is deceptively lean — it assumes you already own a suitable vehicle (you just apply wraps, $3,000) and have most field equipment. If you're starting from scratch, a new branded vehicle alone can add $40,000.

Ongoing, the royalty is 6% of gross sales, labeled a 'License Fee,' with a minimum of $18,000 annually starting in month 13. That minimum translates to about $300,000 in sales to break even on royalties alone — less than that and you're paying more than 6%. Add the 2% marketing/advertising fund and a $197/month software fee (ZorWare affiliate), and your baseline fee burden runs 8% of revenue plus fixed costs.

There's also a mandatory call center subscription at $350–$450/month after the first year, plus a hard requirement to spend the greater of $20,000 or 8% of prior-year gross sales on local marketing annually from year two. The first year has a $15,000 marketing spend floor. Stack all of this up and your total cost of operating the franchise (excluding labor, paint, and overhead) runs roughly 16–18% of revenue in steady state.

Five Star Painting takes an unusual approach to Item 19: rather than disclosing dollar revenues, they report gross sales per capita (sales divided by territory population) and gross sales per job. For 206 reporting businesses in 2024, the average gross sales per job was $4,513 and the median was $4,185. Top-quartile operators averaged $6,461 per job.

This makes earnings estimation indirect. If you're doing 500 jobs per year at the $4,513 average, that implies roughly $2.25M in gross sales — which would put you in a strong position. But many painting franchises start with 150–250 jobs in year one as they build crews and referral networks. At 200 jobs at $4,185 each, you're at $837,000 in annual revenue — reasonable for a mature operator in a mid-size territory.

The per-capita data is similarly opaque: the top quartile averages $3.46 per capita in their territory, meaning a 175,000-person territory at that rate would generate $605,500. The median business pulls $1.11 per capita — about $194,000 for the same territory. That gap between the top and the median is significant.

No net income, profit margin, or EBITDA data is provided. Painting is a low-materials business (gross profit on labor is high) but crew management costs, vehicle expenses, and marketing investment can compress margins quickly.

Five Star Painting has grown steadily from 225 units at the start of 2022 to 245 at year-end 2024 — a net gain of 20 locations over three years. That's modest but positive growth for a home services brand. In 2024, 14 new units opened against 6 terminations and 2 non-renewals, a healthy ratio suggesting most operators who get through the first year stay in the system.

The brand is part of the Neighborly network (also home to Mr. Appliance, Rainbow International, Mosquito Joe, and others), which provides cross-referral infrastructure and shared technology. For franchisees, that network is a real asset — but it also means you're operating within a larger corporate ecosystem that may prioritize system-wide decisions over individual territory interests.

The minimum royalty of $18,000/year from month 13 is the biggest structural risk for slow-starting operators. If your territory ramps slowly — perhaps due to a recession, bad weather, or crew turnover — you owe that minimum regardless of sales. At $300,000 in gross sales, you're exactly at breakeven on this minimum; below that, it's punitive.

The mandatory local marketing obligation (greater of $20,000 or 8% of prior-year sales) is aggressive for a service business. In year two, if you did $400,000 in sales, you owe $32,000 in local marketing spend. Unspent amounts are paid directly to the franchisor — this isn't optional.

The call center is mandatory and run by a Neighborly affiliate (Neighborly Service Solutions SPV LLC), which means you have no ability to opt out or negotiate the rate. The $349–$450/month base plus $15 per booked appointment can add $6,000–$10,000/year for a busy operator.

Finally, the annual convention attendance is mandatory at $1,000/person plus travel, and non-attendance incurs a $2,000 fine. For a new franchisee managing cash flow carefully, these non-negotiable fixed costs stack up fast.