Quick Verdict · who it fits
Payroll Vault fits first-time franchise buyers looking for a mid-scale financial services concept.
The numbers a buyer needs first — straight from the filing.
Initial investment (Item 7)
$77K - $140K
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$69K
Royalty (Item 6)
6% + 2% ad
System size (Item 20)
62 +10
Agreement term
5 yrs
Years in business
14+ yrs
Company-owned units
1
Item 3 litigation
1 suit
Model Payroll Vault's costs in the investment calculator → Prefilled from this filing — startup cost, cash flow and break-even.
Buyer qualifications
•No exclusive territory•Owner-operator required✓No bankruptcy disclosed•1 Item 3 case
Data extracted from the 2026 FDD filed with state regulators. Fees and terms may have changed since filing — request the current FDD from the franchisor before deciding. Not legal, financial, or investment advice. Full disclaimer.
Drag to your projected annual sales. Royalty 6% + ad fund 2% on gross sales.
PROJECTED ANNUAL SALES$500,000
$100k$2M
Royalty (6%)
—
Ad fund (2%)
—
Total / year
—
▪ Of-sales fees only · excludes rent, labor, COGS, and one-time costs · for illustration
Free AI summary — the first read on the filing.
62
Total units open
14 franchised outlets
Units opened last year
6 franchised outlets
Units closed last year
7 franchised outlets
Net unit growth
What our analysis flagged across the 2026 filing.
4
Risks to review
3
Strengths identified
5
Questions to ask
How Payroll Vault ranks against 29 Financial Services peers we've analyzed.
Initial investment
79th pct · of 29 peers
Franchise fee
93rd pct · of 29 peers
System size
37th pct · of 29 peers
Financial Services industry averages
Avg investment
$58K - $182K
Avg franchise fee
$37K
Avg system size
450
Franchises analyzed
29
Closest concepts by category and investment.
| Brand | Item 19 | Fee | Investment | Royalty | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payroll Vault | None | $69K | $77K - $140K | 6% | 62 |
| Ameriprise Financial ServicesSimilar price | Disclosed | $2K | $10K - $138K | 72–91% | 3,738 |
| Jackson HewittBiggest system | Disclosed | $25K | $19K - $105K | 15% | 2,468 |
| Brightway InsuranceTop-rated in category | Disclosed | $25K | $43K - $187K | — | 351 |
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Free explainers to go deeper before you sign.
Brand Analysis
The 2025 FDD prices the initial franchise fee at $2,500, one of the lowest in our library, then sets the royalty at 30% to 60% of revenue. The franchised side of the system has shrunk by 574 offices in three years while the franchisor projects zero new ones.
Investment Guide
A franchise net worth requirement and a liquid capital requirement measure two very different things — and most rejected applicants fail the one they never checked. Here's how the math works at every investment tier.
Financial Analysis
Item 19 hands you an average revenue number and stops there. Here's the step-by-step way to haircut that top-line, layer in COGS, labor, occupancy, the fee stack, and debt service, and land on the profit you'd actually take home.
Payroll Vault requires a $68,500 initial franchise fee and a total initial investment range of $77,000–$140,010, per the most recent FDD on file.
Payroll Vault franchises are sold by Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC, the franchisor entity of record on its Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 1 of the FDD discloses the corporate structure, including any parent companies and predecessors.
No. Payroll Vault does not include a financial performance representation in its FDD. Prospective buyers should rely on validation calls with existing franchisees and benchmark against industry medians.
Franchisees pay a royalty of 6% and an advertising fund contribution of 2% on gross sales as defined in Item 6 of the FDD.
As of their 2026 FDD, Payroll Vault has 62 total locations, with 10 new locations opened in the most recent reporting year. This information comes from Item 20 of the FDD.
No. Payroll Vault does not grant exclusive territory rights under Item 12. The franchisor retains the right to operate or grant additional units inside or adjacent to your trade area.
Per the FDD, Payroll Vault discloses an initial agreement term of 5 years. Review Items 10 and 17 for the full renewal and termination provisions.
This page is part of VetMyFranchise. View all pages: llms.txt · llms-full.txt