Five Star Painting Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Five Star Painting franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Five Star Painting discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Data from 208 of 245 franchises operating full 12 months in 2025. Excludes new opens, transfers, multi-unit aggregates, and incomplete reporters. 11 closures in 2025.
What a Five Star Painting franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45,000 | 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 | $82,200 – $194,600 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
6% license fee (varies by stage); 2% MAP fee; $60k-$75k annual local marketing required yr 1-2; call center $350-$450/mo; software $333.25/mo.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Five Star Painting system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 245 |
| Ceased operations | 11 |
| Transferred to new owners | 12 |
| Closure rate | 4.5% of outlets |
11 closures in 2025; 12 transfers; system-wide minimum performance standards required.
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 Five Star Painting worth it? — how it compares to 85 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $82,200 | cheaper than most (median $119,850) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 4.5% of outlets | worse than 66% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 3 | more litigious than 85% of peers |
Benchmarked against every home & trade services franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Five Star Painting
The franchisor's framing: Data from 208 of 245 franchises operating full 12 months in 2025. Excludes new opens, tran… 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
Five Star Painting franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Five Star Painting franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $82,200–$194,600, including a $45,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Five Star Painting franchise owners make?
- Data from 208 of 245 franchises operating full 12 months in 2025. Excludes new opens, transfers, multi-unit aggregates, and incomplete reporters. 11 closures in 2025. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Five Star Painting franchise fees?
- Five Star Painting's FDD discloses a $45,000 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. 6% license fee (varies by stage); 2% MAP fee; $60k-$75k annual local marketing required yr 1-2; call center $350-$450/mo; software $333.25/mo.
- What is the Five Star Painting franchise profit margin?
- Five Star Painting does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Data from 208 of 245 franchises operating full 12 months in 2025. Excludes new opens, transfers, multi-unit aggregates, and incomplete reporters. 11 closures in 2025. 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 Five Star Painting franchise failure rate?
- 11 closures in 2025; 12 transfers; system-wide minimum performance standards required.
- How many Five Star Painting locations are there?
- Five Star Painting's FDD reports 245 total outlets, with 11 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 12 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Five Star Painting have complaints or lawsuits?
- Five Star Painting discloses 3 legal matters 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 Five Star Painting franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Five Star Painting scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 8% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 3 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Five Star Painting to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 36175-202604-02 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Five Star Painting or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.