Card My Yard Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Card My Yard franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Card My Yard discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
2025 gross sales by age cohort: 7+ years avg $35,317 (41% met), 6-year avg $27,161 (38% met). Gross profit margins 60-73%. Does not include operating expenses, wages, insurance, marketing costs.
What a Card My Yard franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $8,500 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 25% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 0.5% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 25.5% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $10,350 – $18,550 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Deferred initial fees in regulated states; 25% royalty; $50-$100/month marketing fund; minimum royalties Years 2-5 range $2,500-$3,750 annually.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Card My Yard system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 490 |
| Ceased operations | 42 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 42 |
| Transferred to new owners | 57 |
| Closure rate | 8.6% of outlets |
53 outlets closed 2025 (9.7% system-wide decline); 42 non-renewals/terminations indicate compliance/performance issues.
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 Card My Yard worth it? — how it compares to 436 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 25.5% of sales | steeper than 98% of other franchises franchises |
| Startup cost | from $10,350 | cheaper than most (median $138,750) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 8.6% of outlets | worse than 88% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every other franchises franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Card My Yard
The franchisor's framing: 2025 gross sales by age cohort: 7+ years avg $35,317 (41% met), 6-year avg $27,161 (38% me… 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
Card My Yard franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Card My Yard franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $10,350–$18,550, including a $8,500 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Card My Yard franchise owners make?
- 2025 gross sales by age cohort: 7+ years avg $35,317 (41% met), 6-year avg $27,161 (38% met). Gross profit margins 60-73%. Does not include operating expenses, wages, insurance, marketing costs. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Card My Yard franchise fees?
- Card My Yard's FDD discloses a $8,500 initial franchise fee, a 25% royalty on gross sales, a 0.5% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 25.5% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Deferred initial fees in regulated states; 25% royalty; $50-$100/month marketing fund; minimum royalties Years 2-5 range $2,500-$3,750 annually.
- What is the Card My Yard franchise profit margin?
- Card My Yard does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: 2025 gross sales by age cohort: 7+ years avg $35,317 (41% met), 6-year avg $27,161 (38% met). Gross profit margins 60-73%. Does not include operating expenses, wages, insurance, marketing costs. Recurring fees alone take about 25.5% 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 Card My Yard franchise failure rate?
- 53 outlets closed 2025 (9.7% system-wide decline); 42 non-renewals/terminations indicate compliance/performance issues.
- How many Card My Yard locations are there?
- Card My Yard's FDD reports 490 total outlets, with 42 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 57 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Card My Yard have complaints or lawsuits?
- Card My Yard 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 Card My Yard franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Card My Yard scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 25.5% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Card My Yard to similar franchises
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Card My Yard or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.