Bar-B-Clean Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Bar-B-Clean franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Bar-B-Clean discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it B.
What their own earnings claim actually says
2025 data for 69 franchised + 1 affiliate location. Gross revenue ranges $33,030–$1,512,928. Average revenue per job $447–$572; median $402–$569. Excludes 34 new 2025 openings, 3 inactive locations, terminated units.
What a Bar-B-Clean franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $49,500 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 8% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $78,200 – $99,120 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty 6% or $500/mo minimum (waived first 6mo). Brand Fund 2%. Local advertising $1,000/mo average required. Technology fee $750/year.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Bar-B-Clean system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 107 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 33 |
| Transferred to new owners | 1 |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets |
33 terminations 2025; 59 terminations 2024. High churn suggests operational/profitability challenges.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Bar-B-Clean worth it? — how it compares to 47 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8% of sales | lower than most (median 8.5%) |
| Startup cost | from $78,200 | cheaper than most (median $97,240) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade B | more honest than 88% of cleaning services franchises |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets | better than most (median 2.4%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every cleaning services franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Bar-B-Clean
The franchisor's framing: 2025 data for 69 franchised + 1 affiliate location. Gross revenue ranges $33,030–$1,512,92… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Bar-B-Clean franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Bar-B-Clean franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $78,200–$99,120, including a $49,500 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Bar-B-Clean franchise owners make?
- 2025 data for 69 franchised + 1 affiliate location. Gross revenue ranges $33,030–$1,512,928. Average revenue per job $447–$572; median $402–$569. Excludes 34 new 2025 openings, 3 inactive locations, terminated units. We grade this disclosure B for honesty.
- What are the Bar-B-Clean franchise fees?
- Bar-B-Clean's FDD discloses a $49,500 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty 6% or $500/mo minimum (waived first 6mo). Brand Fund 2%. Local advertising $1,000/mo average required. Technology fee $750/year.
- What is the Bar-B-Clean franchise profit margin?
- Bar-B-Clean does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: 2025 data for 69 franchised + 1 affiliate location. Gross revenue ranges $33,030–$1,512,928. Average revenue per job $447–$572; median $402–$569. Excludes 34 new 2025 openings, 3 inactive locations, terminated units. Recurring fees alone take about 8% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Bar-B-Clean franchise failure rate?
- 33 terminations 2025; 59 terminations 2024. High churn suggests operational/profitability challenges.
- How many Bar-B-Clean locations are there?
- Bar-B-Clean's FDD reports 107 total outlets, with 0 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 1 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Bar-B-Clean have complaints or lawsuits?
- Bar-B-Clean discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Bar-B-Clean franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Bar-B-Clean scores B on disclosure honesty, carries about 8% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Bar-B-Clean to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 36334-202604-04 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Bar-B-Clean or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.