How Painting Franchises Stay Profitable Year-Round
November 14, 2025
Seasonal slowdowns don’t have to stop your success. Discover how Klappenberger & Son franchisees plan ahead, market smarter, and stay profitable all year long.
Empower yourself by doing your due diligence to determine who has the best painting franchise.
This article takes an objective look at seven Franchise Disclosure Documents from each franchise, and we compare them side-by-side to see who has the best painting franchise.
We compare the most critical parts, including territory size, training, start-up costs, and ongoing fees.
Here is a list of 6 top Painting franchises in the US.
To find out who has the best painting franchise, we will discover which one has:
Largest territories – large territories offer more opportunities and growth.
Initial Start-up Costs—In my opinion, this is the least important of the four ways of determining who has the best franchise. However, if the start-up costs are too high or just barely affordable, you might not be able to survive a poor start.
Ongoing Fees – are the most important factor in determining how much of the gross net you get to keep off a job. As you will soon see, the differences between the franchises seem hard to believe.
Training – how much time does the franchisor spend educating you on a path to success?
The information was gathered from the most current FDD’s of each franchise.
An FDD is a Franchise Disclosure Document required by all franchises. It includes every fee, cost, requirement, obligation, and consequence for not following the rules.
Though reading an FDD is laborious for most people, it is laid out in an organized easy-to-find method. All FDDs have to state specific information at a specific location in the FDD. Similar to having chapters in a book, FDDs have Items. Each Item is labeled 1-23.
For example, all franchises discuss initial fees in Item 5. This makes comparing information easy.
Unfortunately, few candidates ever take the time to compare one franchise to another to see who has the best painting franchise.
Below is the table of contents taken from Klappenberger & Son. All franchises are required to have their information in the same order.
FYI – 13 states might have slightly different information. States such as OR, HI, CA, NY, WA, MD, and VA, may have slightly different information based on state law.
This article will compare side-by-side Items 5, 6,7,11, and 12 of each FDD.
Franchise Fees are a one-time expense, and they are included in the start-up costs. They are paid when the franchise agreement is signed.
Most people who buy a painting franchise have no previous industry experience.
That makes training and support critical.
Short training periods mean less time to acquire valuable information. A lack of knowledge will show in many ways and hurt your ability to close jobs.
The task of painting is not very complicated. However, there is a lot to learn about products, best practices, and more.
I often ask candidates exploring a franchise if they could teach me their job in just a few weeks. The answer is typically no.
Owning and operating any business requires a lot of training. In the painting business, you will need to know:
| Type of training | Quality |
| Webinar | Good |
| Corporate Headquarters | Better |
| On-site territory | Best |
Table 2 Training
Ranking | Training Program | Webinar | Corporate Headquarters | In your territory | Total hours | Franchise Fee | Cost per hr.* High/Low |
1st | 158 | 0 | 42 w/ franchisor
| 200 | $40/47 | *$200 – $235 | |
2nd | Color World | 240 | 22 | 0 | 262 | See Fig:3 $34,300-$108,405.00
| $130. – $413 |
3rd | 36.5 | 41.5 | 8-40 hrs. at franchisor’s discretion.
| 86 – 122 | 45k | *$368 – $523 | |
| 4th | Wow 1 Day | 32 | 68 hrs. | 16 hrs. w/ instructor | 116 | **60K | $517 |
5th |
| 42.5 | 60-63 | none | 102.5 – 105.5 | 58.5k – $65k |
$554. – $634.
|
6th | 360 Painting | 20 | 38 | none | 58 | 58.5k – $65k | $1,008 – $1,120.
|
7th | Fresh Coat | 40 | none | none | 40 | $44,900
| $1,122. |
8th | 48 | none | none | 48 | $70k | $1,750
|
*When dividing the hours of training into the franchise fee, you can see each franchise’s hourly rate. For example, Color World and Fresh Coat have the ratio of franchise fee to hours trained. Color World is $1,200 per hour of training and Fresh Coat is $1,100.
** Wow, 1 Day Painting allows you to operate for $20k in one territory. However, that territory has only 150,000 people, the lowest population any painting franchise offers. Instead, Wow 1 Day suggests you buy two additional sub-territories for $20k each.
Figure 3 shows that the Color world of house painting has small territories. A franchisee would have to buy two or more territories, which would raise the franchise fee could raise the franchise fee to $108,405.00. The chart below was taken from Color World’s FDD.
| Software/ technology annual costs | Mandatory Marketing | Call Center Annual | Notes |
Klappenberger & Son | $1,200 Software
| $1,500 per month | $480 | Bookkeeping service $600 per month.
The annual event requires franchisees to cover their own travel expenses. |
360 painting | $6,760 Tech. | 10% of gross sales | none | Annual event $1,000 – $2,000 |
5-Star | $2,400 – $6k Software
| $1,666. Per month | $4,200 +$25. Per call | Must have storefront Annual Event $1,000 |
Lime Painting | $10,800 Tech. | $2,000 per month
| $3,300 +$20. Per call | Annual event $1,000 – $2,000 |
Wow | None | 15k initially at the franchisor’s discretion. 12% gross sales in first yr. 7% post
| none | Annual event $1,500 – $2,000 |
Fresh Coat | $6,000 Tech. | The greater $1,500 per month of 5%
| none | Annual event $650 |
Certa Pro | $30,000 .025% tech $840 software | 12% 1st yr. 8% after 1st year $40k first three months
| none | 10k for a commercial training certificate Bi-annual meeting $2,500 – $6,000 CertaPro Recurrent Fee $480 annually. |
There is a two-way tie for the shortest training with no onsite training.
Color World and Fresh Coat failed to pass the sniff test for adequate training.
360 Painting –(96 hours) 36 hours are spent at their corporate office, and the remaining 60 are done via webinar. That makes the training about $562 – $625 per hour.
CertaPro – (102 hours) For having one of the most expensive franchise fees, the training could be more in-depth and commit to some on-site training. There is no on-site training.
Wow, 1 Day Painting has an in-depth training program, but wow, does it require a lot of traveling? There are three separate trips to Vancouver, Canada!
Also, Phase 3 is concerning. It includes 4-6 weeks of sales and marketing “targets” but no opportunity to start jobs?
Phase 5, Wow 1 Day Painting, has an instructor arrive on-site (2-5 days) for continued training.
The last phase concludes with a trip back to Vancouver for final training.
I struggle with the fact that no income will be able to be generated for three months. That can be very stressful for you and your family.
Five-Star Painting (80-120 hours) There is a big swing in training hours. Perhaps that is based on whether the new franchisee has any experience in the industry. Regardless, 1-5 days is on-site training. The remaining training is split between corporate headquarters and webinars.
Color World House painting offers the most training hours but offers no on-site training. At-site training allows the trainer to customize the training to their specific location. On-site training allows the trainer to be with you when hiring, estimating, and evaluating every situation. Webinar and classroom training can not
For individuals without experience in the painting industry, the six-week program enables the franchisee to learn, practice, and grow with its founder.
We can argue about many things, but less is better if you get the same product or service for less.
Ongoing fees in franchising are primarily based on gross sales. When the job is finished, you get paid a portion of the gross sales, which goes to the franchisor. That’s how franchises exist.
Ongoing fees can take many forms, such as advertising and royalties. In determining who has the best painting franchise, the amount of fees based on gross sales needs to be considered.
The difference in just a single percentage point can dramatically impact your bottom line.
Consider this: If a company has a net margin (profit) of 20%, an additional 2% fee decreases your net income by 10%!
Let this soak in. This is one of the most important takeaways from this blog. The difference can eventually add up to $ 100,000 of dollars over the life of your franchise.
Fees attached to gross sales add up and affect your bottom line. Evaluating ongoing fees attached to gross sales and monthly payments can make a massive difference.
It is essential to know and understand your royalties and advertisement fees. The difference between franchises can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars!
These fees are charged based on gross sales. If a company has a net margin of 20%, a 2 % margin equals a 10% cut in your pay!
The marketing fees generally go to anything indirectly or directly that improves brand awareness.
However, just because you pay into it, you do not automatically receive a direct benefit proportional to your payment.
These fees are in addition to what you must spend on advertising. The chart below shows how much these single-digit charts add up. Five franchises hover in the 2-3% range for marketing fees. CertaPro and Wow-1 Day can add up to two or three times higher!
Royalty | Brand development | National and or Coop Fees | Other fees based on Gross sales | Total Low/ High fees based on gross sales | |
Certa Pro | 6% | 3% under 2.5 mil, 2% above 2.5 mil. | 1-3.5 of gross sales | Technology.035% | 9.85% – 12.85 |
360 painting | 6% | 2% plus | none | 8 % | |
5-Star | 6% | 2% | Not to exceed 3% | none | 8 – 11% |
Lime Painting | 7% | 3% | 3% but not to exceed $500 per month. | none | 10 – 13% |
Wow | 6% | 5% | Not used but could be up to 3% | none | 11-14% |
Fresh Coat | 6% $1- 999,999 5% 1,000,000 – 1,999,999 4% 2,000,000+ | 2% | 3% | none | 8 – 11% |
Klappenberger & Son | 6% $1- 999,999 4% $1,000,000+ | 2.25% | Not used | None | 8.25% or less |
Color World House painting | 6% | 2% | $42,000 per year fixed Adv. $1,650 per month technology | 8% |
The bar graph shows that Klappenberger & Son and Lime Painting have the lowest fees based on gross sales. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story. What about ongoing mandatory fixed costs?
| Software/ technology annual costs | Mandatory Marketing | Call Center Annual | Notes |
Klappenberger & Son | $1,200 Software
| $1,500 per month | $480 | Bookkeeping service $600 per month.
The annual event requires franchisees to cover their own travel expenses. |
360 painting | $6,760 Tech. | 10% of gross sales | none | Annual event $1,000 – $2,000 |
5-Star | $2,400 – $6k Software
| $1,666. Per month | $4,200 +$25. Per call | Must have storefront Annual Event $1,000 |
Lime Painting | $10,800 Tech. | $2,000 per month
| $3,300 +$20. Per call | Annual event $1,000 – $2,000 |
Wow | None | 15k initially at the franchisor’s discretion. 12% gross sales in first yr. 7% post
| none | Annual event $1,500 – $2,000 |
Fresh Coat | $6,000 Tech. | The greater $1,500 per month of 5%
| none | Annual event $650 |
Certa Pro | $30,000 .025% tech $840 software | 12% 1st yr. 8% after 1st year $40k first three months
| none | 10k for a commercial training certificate Bi-annual meeting $2,500 – $6,000 CertaPro Recurrent Fee $480 annually. |
In determining who has the best painting franchise we need to look at the fees attached to gross sales as well as fixed costs.
If all things are equal, which painting franchise would cost the least over one year grossing a million dollars in revenue? In other words who has the best franchise when it concerns paying the least in fixed costs and fees linked to gross sales.
The graph above shows how much money would be paid to the franchisor or mandated to be spent by the franchisee if the franchises grossed $1,000,000 in one year.
I’ve included high and low costs primarily because co-marketing fees are not necessarily charged. This is an option that the franchisor would consider if additional marketing fees were required to pay for local advertising, such as radio.
The bar graph includes:
CertaPro – Has the second-highest minimum marketing fees and potentially the highest.
In addition to the other fees, you must spend a 12% gross sale or $40,000 on an advertising and marketing campaign during your first year.
But wait, there’s more…
CertaPro has a cooperative sales team that will make calls and connections on your behalf. This would be great, except the service comes with a whopping 12% fee on top of all their other fees. If you decline these potential customers, another CertaPro franchisee can do the work with no compensation to you.
From CertaPro’s FDD:
“CertaPro may establish other distribution channels, such as the internet, catalogs, telemarketing, or other direct marketing sales, in the franchise territory using our trademarks. You are not entitled to any compensation for any sales resulting from such efforts.”
Wow 1 Day Painting – charges a 5% fee to cover costs for website, social media, CRM, and additional sales and technical services, including administration cost.
A 5% fee adds up very quickly.
Wow 1-Day Painting is entitled to implement a Branding Cooperative fee with the approval of 75% of the franchisees
Fresh Coat is very similar to the top four franchises except for one issue. Their Local Cooperative Advertising fund is set at 3% (other franchises are 2%). A one-percent increase equals $7,000 for franchises with gross sales of $700,000.
Color World House Painting – is very similar to the top three painting franchises. The only difference is the local cooperative fee can increase by 1% of gross sales.
Five Star Painting– 8-11% royalties. These royalties’ rates are very comparable to 360 Painting and Klappenberger & Son. The only difference is Five Star Painting has a Local Cooperative fund that can go up as high as 3%. The franchisees dictate where the funds are dispersed and the amount of contribution.
360 Painting – has the standard 6% royalties and a 2% market fund, which are paid based on gross sales.
360 Painting has marketing funds for cooperative advertising set not to exceed $10,000 or 2%. The franchisor can mandate this at any time.
360 Painting fees are very similar to Klappenberger & Sons. The deciding factor to make Klappenberger & Son #1 was the sliding scale royalty as revenue increases. No other painting franchise offers this reduction.
Klappenberger & Son* is the only painting franchise that reduces the royalty rate as the franchisees reach specific calendar benchmarks. The royalty rate drops 2% when the franchisee exceeds $1,000,000 in gross sales for the remaining calendar year.
Comparing Territory Size With the Cost Of The Franchise
Smaller territories can limit broader marketing methods such as billboards, radio, and TV. Even joining a local networking group such as a BNI or Chamber can generate jobs outside what the franchisor will permit the franchisee to work.
When You buy a franchise, you are buying the rights to use the franchisor’s trademarks in a given territory. The franchise fee is always tied into the size of the territory. With all franchises, if you want a larger territory, you will pay a higher franchise fee.
In column 5, I divided the franchise fee into the size of the territory to get a per-person cost. Whether you conclude the population size of the territory is the most important or the per-person cost, Klappenberger & Son is the best value of the painting franchises.
Color World HousePainting – has the smallest territories and the highest franchise fee.
Color World House Painting Additional Territory Chart
A 10% discount for additional territories is the lowest of the painting franchises.
CertaPro – Does not have the smallest territories, but they do have the most restrictions.
Also, CertaPro does not give the franchisee exclusive rights to the territories.
First, you can face competition from other franchisees and other affiliates or channels of distribution that they control.
Furthermore, franchisees have no right to do commercial work in their territory unless they become certified to perform Commercial Services.
The certification comes with a $6,000 price tag. If the franchisee elects not to get certified, another franchisee can do the work with no compensation to the franchisee’s territory.
CertaPro does not mention the size of its territories in its FDD. It states that territories will be created before the signing and allocated by zip codes. Also, there is no mention of what a second territory would cost. This vagueness is not encouraging. I have been able to surmise that the CertaPro Painting franchises in MD are between 150,000 and 250,000.
Fresh Coat – With a territory of (175,000 – 200,000), it is likely that you may need two or even three territories unless you live in a rural area.
Unfortunately, Fresh Coat charges $500.00 per thousand, which ties for second-most.
Another significant downside is, if your territory is outside your home or community, you will have to lease office space. This additional expense will affect your bottom line.
Such a Deal!
Five Star Painting territory size (150k – 200k) is similar to Fresh Coat (175k-200k). A more significant advantage is when the franchisee wants a larger territory. Five Star charges $200 per $1,000 people instead of $500 per 1,000.
Wow 1 Day Painting – divides their territories by households and call them sub-territories. A painting franchisee starts with two sub-territories. Additional sub-territories are 12k. Territories are based on zip codes, but typical territory sizes are 200,000
Discounts for a second and third franchise are 20% and 50% off, respectively.
The downside: Your sub-territory is not exclusive. ITEM 12 of the FDD reads:
The non-exclusivity only extends to commercial accounts and not residential customers. The franchisor will not open another Wow 1 Day Painting inside your territory.
360 Painting – Due to their larger territories than most (300,000 people) and reasonable charges for additional areas (.18-.20 per person), 360 Painting came in second place. The franchisor guarantees that at least 100,000 households will have incomes over $75,000. These metrics should generate territories of approximately 300,000 people.
Klappenberger & Son –franchises are easily 2-3 times larger than the competitors making it the best value. Furthermore, each person in a given area is between 6 and 11 cents. The size of the Klappenberger & Son territory is so large that buying multiple territories is not necessary. However, additional territories are only $20,000, which comes out to .04 per person.
For instance, Fresh Coat can be as low as $53,945, and CertaPro starts at $133,250. That is nearly an 80,000-dollar difference! In other words, does CertaPro give you $80,000 more in value, or does Fresh Coat underestimate the start-up costs?
When franchisors create an FDD, they put in allowances for necessary expenses such as trucks, accounting fees, tools, etc. So, you would assume that many expenses would be about the same.
There is a great disparity between each painting franchises initial start-up cost.
Because there is so much data to cover, we will break this down into two separate charts. The first chart, table 5, will focus on the estimated additional capital while ramping up your business and an advertising budget.
The advertising budget is only important to compare with each franchise because it plays a substantial role in start-up cost totals. However, it is subjective for me to grade what I think is the optimum amount for an advertising budget.
Highlighted in yellow are 3 franchises that have very low estimated additional capital to fund your business and your personal expenses while your business is ramping up. In other words, each painting franchise should similarly amount for additional capital. But instead, we difference from $2,000 – $30,000!
Additional capital is for:
Fresh Coat, Five Star Painting, and Color World HousePainting can boost low initial startup costs partly because they have low additional capital allowances to start a painting franchise.
Having low additional capital allowances makes the painting franchise more attractive on paper. However, you may find you need an additional $10,000 – $15,000 in the upcoming weeks.
The green column on the far right of Table 5 shows how Fresh Coat was able to keep its initial high and low investment low by partly underestimating additional capital and advertising budgets.
First, what do I mean by “best initial start-up cost”? I evaluated this section and graded it in four different ways. Does a franchise have:
All costs listed in table 7 are either one-time fees or ongoing. The squares that are colored represent something unusual.
As you can clearly see, Fresh Coat has 4-5 reds (necessary expenses with no allowance). And, 5-6 yellows allowances (unrealistically low estimates compared to the others) which is why they state to have such low start-up costs.
On other hand, CertaPro has five expenses that offer at no additional charge. Also they have four charges that are substantially higher than the other painting franchises. Hence, CertaPro initial start-up cost is amongst the highest.
CertaPro: Apples to Apples Excerpt from 2020 FDD
Of all the franchises, CertaPro has the best brand recognition and that should be taken into account as a benefit. However, of the seven franchises, CertaPro has the highest fees attached to gross sales and one-time fees.
Besides the unique initial fees, CertaPro has the highest expenses attached to gross sales.
Below is a chart that shows the high and low fees for a CertaPro Painting Franchise that grosses 1 million dollars compared to a Klappenberger & Son franchise.
The Fees are based on annual revenue of $1,000,000
*Certapro charges a 12% fee for any franchisor-related jobs. In this example, an estimated 0 – 10% of gross sales were projected from franchisor referrals.
Color World is at or near the bottom of all critical factors in evaluating who has the best franchise.
Fresh Coat underestimates the start-up costs of its franchise. The allowances they give are substantially lower than other painting franchises.
The two graphs below show Fresh Coat Fees are either unaccounted for or unrealistic.
Below are areas where Fresh Coat had unrealistically low allowances.
Fresh Coat Painting:
* underestimates costs * small territories
* inadequate training * poor value
Wow-1 Day Painting has scored very well in all categories except fees attached to gross sales.
Additional fees could add up to $165,000- $315,000 taken out of your net profit in five years.
Wow 1 Day Painting Overall Score
| Category | Wow 1 Day Painting Rankings | Score |
| Territory | 3rd | 5 |
| Training | 2nd | 6 |
| Fees attached to gross sales (Royalties and marketing funds) | 6th | 2 |
| One-time fees and fixed fees | Very Good | 6 |
| Total Score | 19 |
360 Painting has very reasonable fees attached to gross sales. Their fixed cost is in line with what most franchisors are factoring in. The territory size is reasonable (300,000), but the training was short, with no on-site training.
Five Star will have the highest startup cost because they give the highest allowances for several categories. If you reduce the allowances to what other franchises are factoring, they fall into the middle of the pack.
Pound for pound, Klappenberger & Son has the best painting franchise value. When comparing each painting franchise FDDs to one another, Klappenberger & Son scored the highest on 3 out of 4 critical items.
* Bookkeeping For Painters– organizes your records and performs job cost analysis.
This unique feature saves you time and gives you valuable insight into how the franchise functions.
In full disclosure, I am one of the franchises included in the list! Before franchising, I started Klappenberger & Son, a painting and handyman company, in 1989. In 2015, I began to franchise and continue and have 6 franchises in the MD, DC Northern VA area.
However, I have gone to great lengths to be as objective and neutral as possible.
As I mentioned, all data comes from each franchisor’s own 2020 FDD. I do include my analysis of the data, which comes from my 30 years of experience.
Seasonal slowdowns don’t have to stop your success. Discover how Klappenberger & Son franchisees plan ahead, market smarter, and stay profitable all year long.
Want to know how successful franchisees keep their calendars full year-round? At Klappenberger & Son, our proven marketing funnel helps franchise owners attract the right customers, close more jobs, and build repeat business — without guessing what works.
https://youtu.be/squ5cDPDzhs At Klappenberger & Son, we know that running a great painting and home improvement business takes more than just skills and supplies — it takes structure and discipline. One of the most underrated tools for growth? Time budgeting. We’re not talking spreadsheets or accounting software here. We’re talking about
https://youtu.be/1L95bdcQboQ You’ve heard it before: exercise and sleep are important. But in a fast-paced industry like painting and home remodeling, where attention to detail, consistency, and attitude matter every single day, these habits become a business advantage. Discipline Starts With Daily Habits Doing something as small as 10 push-ups every
Phone: 410-787-7185
Email: dklappenberger@klappenbergerandson.com
Address: 902 Bluff View Dr. Myrtle Beach, SC 29579