The Cleaning Authority franchise review
Entity: The Cleaning Authority Franchising SPE LLC
Parent: Apax Partners / Authority Brands
Ownership: PE-backed
Franchising since: 1996
233
System Size
franchised outlets, end 2024
$92K–$147K
Initial Investment
Item 7 range
$22,902
Annual Fees at $300K
#1 of 7 in cohort
+24 units
3-Year Net Growth
Stable positive
Where Cleaning Authority Stands vs. Peers
Fee burden (at $300K)
$22,902/yr
#1 of 7
Royalty rate
6% / 5% / 4%
tiered — different thresholds for Enterprise vs Hometown
Marketing floor
1% brand fund + DHH-based local
low — brand fund capped at $200/wk
2024 attrition
1.8%
moderate
Disclosure quality
Best in cohort
1st of 7
Peer comparisons from
fee burden,
system health,
cost to enter
analysis.
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Biggest Watchouts Editorial
- △ TCAF lawsuit (The Cleaning Authority Franchisee Association) alleges marketing fund opacity, above-market vendor pricing, and inhibition of association rights. Pending as of filing.
- △ Two separate investment tables (Enterprise vs Hometown Market) make direct comparison with single-table brands less straightforward.
- △ Brand fund capped at $200/week — but local marketing fee is DHH-based, not revenue-based, creating unpredictable cost.
- △ Royalty thresholds differ between Enterprise and Hometown markets.
Strongest Positives Editorial
- ✓ Only growing system among the large cleaning franchises: +24 units over 3 years (+11.3%).
- ✓ Turnover rate dropped from 10.6% (2023) to 4.1% (2024) — best improvement in cohort.
- ✓ Richest Item 19 disclosure: revenue by thirds, COGS percentages, price per clean.
- ✓ Top-third Enterprise territories average $2.45M gross revenue.
- ✓ Sister brand to Mosquito Squad — established Authority Brands platform.
- ✓ Lowest initial investment in the cohort ($93K–$147K Enterprise).
Fee Burden Position Modeled
| Revenue Level |
Annual Fees |
% of Revenue |
Rank |
| $200,000 |
$15,902 |
8.0% |
1 of 7 |
| $300,000 |
$22,902 |
7.6% |
1 of 7 |
| $400,000 |
$29,902 |
7.5% |
1 of 7 |
| $500,000 |
$36,902 |
7.4% |
1 of 7 |
Year 5 assumptions, single territory. See full methodology.
Dual market structure
Enterprise and Hometown markets have different fee thresholds, investment ranges, and territory definitions. Comparison data uses Enterprise Market.
System Health
| Year |
Opened |
Closed |
Net Change |
End Count |
| 2022 |
12 |
3 |
+9 |
218 |
| 2023 |
13 |
10 |
+3 |
221 |
| 2024 |
16 |
4 |
+12 |
233 |
Disclosure Quality Editorial
Richest Item 19 in the cleaning cohort: 206 Enterprise Market territories with average gross revenue by thirds (Top $2.45M, Middle $1.29M, Lower $638K), average price per clean ($165–$173), and average COGS (61–63%). The only cleaning brand providing revenue-tier breakdowns with COGS.
Get the The Cleaning Authority Decision Report
Full fee burden modeling, Item 19 translation, risk flags, investment breakdown
analysis, and specific discovery day questions — the analysis that takes
this brand from “interesting” to “ready to evaluate.”
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What’s in the report
1Fee Burden Deep Dive
Dollar-level modeling at 4 revenue levels with component breakdown, minimum triggers, and year-by-year escalation
2Item 19 Translation
What the financial performance data actually says — and what it conspicuously omits
3Investment Breakdown
Where the initial investment goes, what’s negotiable vs. fixed, what the FDD footnotes bury
4System Health Narrative
Churn context, closure patterns, transfer trends — what the Item 20 numbers actually mean
5Risk Flags & Litigation
Regulatory history, entity changes, franchise dispute outcomes, and what they signal
6Discovery Day Questions
Specific, data-informed questions to ask the franchisor — derived from this brand’s FDD
7Peer Positioning
How this brand compares across the full residential cleaning category with narrative context
Compare Other Brands
See how Cleaning Authority compares to other residential cleaning franchise brands in the cohort.