ERA Group Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a ERA Group franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2020), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
ERA Group discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses 2025 Net Cumulative Receipts for 137 active full-time and 51 part-time regional franchisees operating 18+ months. Full-time average $388,180; median $268,982. Part-time average $30,939; median $109. Top quartile averaged $900,566; bottom quartile $55,355. Excludes area franchises, company-owned outlets, terminated/reacquired franchisees, and 30 new 2025 franchisees. Cherry-picking: excludes failed/ceased operations; uses only survivors.
What a ERA Group franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $69,900 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 15% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 3% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 18% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $76,000 – $105,900 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty: 15% of net receipts or $1,051.65-$1,314.56/month minimum. Ad fund: 3%. Technology: $1,710-$3,420/year. Training: $5,000-$10,000 additional owners.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
ERA Group system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 196 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 8 |
| Transferred to new owners | 1 |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets |
2025: 8 terminations, 0 ceased/other reasons. 2024: 12 terminations, 0 ceased. 2023: 6 terminations, 7 ceased.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2020. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is ERA Group worth it? — how it compares to 436 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 18% of sales | steeper than 95% of other franchises franchises |
| Startup cost | from $76,000 | cheaper than most (median $138,750) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets | better than most (median 1.5%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | about average |
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 ERA Group
The franchisor's framing: Discloses 2025 Net Cumulative Receipts for 137 active full-time and 51 part-time regional … 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
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ERA Group franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a ERA Group franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $76,000–$105,900, including a $69,900 initial franchise fee.
- How much do ERA Group franchise owners make?
- Discloses 2025 Net Cumulative Receipts for 137 active full-time and 51 part-time regional franchisees operating 18+ months. Full-time average $388,180; median $268,982. Part-time average $30,939; median $109. Top quartile averaged $900,566; bottom quartile $55,355. Excludes area franchises, company-owned outlets, terminated/reacquired franchisees, and 30 new 2025 franchisees. Cherry-picking: excludes failed/ceased operations; uses only survivors. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the ERA Group franchise fees?
- ERA Group's FDD discloses a $69,900 initial franchise fee, a 15% royalty on gross sales, a 3% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 18% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty: 15% of net receipts or $1,051.65-$1,314.56/month minimum. Ad fund: 3%. Technology: $1,710-$3,420/year. Training: $5,000-$10,000 additional owners.
- What is the ERA Group franchise profit margin?
- ERA Group does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses 2025 Net Cumulative Receipts for 137 active full-time and 51 part-time regional franchisees operating 18+ months. Full-time average $388,180; median $268,982. Part-time average $30,939; median $109. Top quartile averaged $900,566; bottom quartile $55,355. Excludes area franchises, company-owned outlets, terminated/reacquired franchisees, and 30 new 2025 franchisees. Cherry-picking: excludes failed/ceased operations; uses only survivors. Recurring fees alone take about 18% 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 ERA Group franchise failure rate?
- 2025: 8 terminations, 0 ceased/other reasons. 2024: 12 terminations, 0 ceased. 2023: 6 terminations, 7 ceased.
- How many ERA Group locations are there?
- ERA Group's FDD reports 196 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 ERA Group have complaints or lawsuits?
- ERA Group discloses 1 legal matter in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a ERA Group franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. ERA Group scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 18% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2020). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with ERA Group or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.