The Maids franchise review
Entity: The Maids International, LLC
Parent: Gladstone Management Corp
Ownership: private
Franchising since: 1979
338
System Size
franchised outlets, end 2025
$117K–$141K
Initial Investment
Item 7 range
$59,130
Annual Fees at $300K
#6 of 7 compared
-13 units
3-Year Net Growth
Mild contraction
Where The Maids Stands vs. Peers
Fee burden (at $300K)
$59,130/yr
#6 of 7
Royalty rate
6.9% / 5.9% / 4.9% / 3.9%
non-marginal tiers — entire week at one rate
Marketing floor
2% + 0.25% + $2,500+/mo local
moderate-to-high (2.25% + mandatory local spend)
2025 attrition
2.9%
moderate
Disclosure quality
Good
3rd of 7
Peer comparisons from
fee burden,
system health,
cost to enter
analysis.
Want the full The Maids analysis — Item 19 interpretation, buyer-side economics, risk flags, and discovery-day questions?
Biggest Watchouts Editorial
- △ Franchisor financial condition is flagged as a special risk in state disclosures. Net loss of $(3.86M) in FY2025, member’s deficit of $(3.55M), $28.56M in related-party debt.
- △ $19,900 mandatory SMART Start Package on top of $60,000 franchise fee.
- △ Royalty is non-marginal (entire week at one rate based on threshold). Crossing a threshold changes the rate on ALL revenue, not just the increment.
- △ Minimum royalty ($150–$250/week) applies if percentage doesn’t meet floor.
- △ Fiscal year ends September 30, making calendar-year comparisons non-standard.
Strongest Positives Editorial
- ✓ Company-owned P&L shows 15.5% average net margin ($220K/office) — one of only two cleaning brands proving profitability at the franchisor level.
- ✓ 47-year system history (founded 1979). Longest track record in the cohort.
- ✓ System contraction slowing: franchised outlets stabilized at 338 in FY2025.
- ✓ Per-territory average revenue of $386K with $306K median.
- ✓ Privately held (Gladstone) — no PE securitization layers.
Fee Burden Position Modeled
| Revenue Level |
Annual Fees |
% of Revenue |
Rank |
| $200,000 |
$49,980 |
25.0% |
6 of 7 |
| $300,000 |
$59,130 |
19.7% |
6 of 7 |
| $400,000 |
$66,680 |
16.7% |
6 of 7 |
| $500,000 |
$75,430 |
15.1% |
6 of 7 |
Year 5 assumptions, single territory. See full methodology.
Non-marginal royalty structure
Unlike marginal/progressive tiers, the entire week’s revenue is charged at whatever rate the threshold dictates. Crossing from 6.9% to 5.9% saves on ALL sales, not just the increment.
System Health
| Year |
Opened |
Closed |
Net Change |
End Count |
| 2023 |
12 |
17 |
-6 |
340 |
| 2024 |
12 |
8 |
-2 |
338 |
| 2025 |
9 |
11 |
+0 |
338 |
Franchisor financial condition
State-required risk disclosure flags financial condition. Net loss of $(3.86M), member’s deficit of $(3.55M), significant related-party debt.
Disclosure Quality Editorial
Item 19 provides 3 tables: per-territory revenue ($386K avg, $306K median), company-owned P&L showing 15.5% net margin ($220K/office average), and detailed expense categories. One of only two cleaning brands disclosing company-owned profitability.
Get the The Maids Decision Report
A 15–25 page single-brand memo built from the 2025 regulator-filed FDD —
not a summary, not AI-generated, not franchisor marketing.
Fee modeling at 4 revenue levels, Item 19 interpretation, buyer-side economics,
risk signals, and 8–10 discovery-day questions specific to this brand.
✓ Built from regulator-filed FDD
✓ No franchisor affiliation
✓ Every claim FDD-traceable
✓ One-time $99 · instant PDF
Get the Decision Report — $99
Not legal, accounting, or investment advice. Structured analysis to support your own due diligence.
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 The Maids compares to other residential cleaning franchise brands in the cohort.