A U.S. Furniture Medic owner may reasonably model about $36,000 to $85,000 in annual estimated owner-operator benefit, with a $58,000 base scenario. This is not a franchisor-reported earnings figure. It is a pre-tax scenario for one mobile/home-based or service-center-based territory in a stabilized year, before financing principal and personal income taxes.
The $36,000–$85,000 range is an independent analytical scenario, not an Item 19 financial performance representation by TCB Furniture Medic, LLC. It combines identified facts from the 2026 Furniture Medic Franchise Disclosure Document with U.S. Census Bureau, Internal Revenue Service, and Bureau of Labor Statistics benchmarks plus clearly labeled scenario assumptions. Actual results can differ materially by territory, format, sales, job mix, labor, occupancy, vehicle costs, financing, owner involvement, lead allocation, and execution.
What evidence supports the estimate?
Confidence is Limited because the estimate relies materially on external employer and sole-proprietor benchmarks rather than a same-brand Item 19 sales or earnings population.
No matching public FDD hosted on a verified Furniture Medic or TCB Franchising domain was located. FDD references therefore appear as plain-text year, Item, and page citations.
Pre-tax; includes the economic value of the owner’s labor and excludes financing principal.
2023 AIES employer revenue divided by 3,168 CBP employer establishments; a cross-program anchor, not a same-brand average.
IRS net income less deficit divided by receipts for the broader “Miscellaneous repairs” group.
7% Royalty Fee, 2% National Advertising Fund contribution, and 2% Local Advertising Spend.
May 2023 BLS 25th-percentile wage for General and Operations Managers; benefits are extra.
Item 20 defines an outlet as a franchise territory; the system reported no company-owned outlets.
How much may a Furniture Medic owner make annually?
The defensible scenario range is approximately $36,000 to $85,000 in estimated owner-operator benefit, with a $58,000 base case. These estimates apply to one U.S. territory after a normal operating year has been reached; they are not first-year forecasts, averages of Furniture Medic franchisees, or after-tax take-home pay.
“Owner-operator benefit” is the correct label because the IRS margin proxy comes from sole proprietorships. IRS Publication 334 states that a sole proprietor cannot deduct the owner’s own salary or personal withdrawals, so the benchmark’s net income combines residual business economics with compensation for the owner’s work. It should not be read as passive business profit.
| Scenario | Modeled annual revenue | Applied margin | Estimated owner-operator benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | $349,000 | 10.2% | $36,000 |
| Base | $436,000 | 13.2% | $58,000 |
| Upside | $524,000 | 16.2% | $85,000 |
The range changes both revenue and margin; no scenario is labeled “expected” or guaranteed.
Interpretation: Revenue is the largest mathematical driver, but the modeled margin also widens by three percentage points below and above the IRS benchmark. Sources: 2023 Census NAICS 811420 employer revenue and establishment count; 2023 IRS Table 1 “Miscellaneous repairs”; editorial 80%/100%/120% revenue spread and ±3 percentage-point margin sensitivity.
What does the 2026 Furniture Medic Item 19 actually disclose?
Item 19 discloses no financial performance representation. TCB Furniture Medic, LLC states that it does not represent future franchisee performance or the past performance of company-owned or franchised outlets. Therefore, no official Furniture Medic average sales, median sales, operating profit, EBITDA, net income, cash flow, owner salary, or owner compensation figure is available from the current FDD. Source: 2026 Furniture Medic FDD, Item 19, p. 32.
Even a verified Gross Sales number would not answer the owner-income question by itself. The Federal Trade Commission cautions that gross sales do not reveal overhead, operating costs, or net profit. Here, the evidence is one step weaker because the current FDD does not report sales either.
What does Item 20 add to the risk picture?
Item 20 reports a shrinking territory population, not an earnings distribution. A Furniture Medic “outlet” is defined as a franchise territory. The system moved from 150 franchised territories at the start of 2023 to 88 at the end of 2025, while reporting no company-owned outlets. The data do not establish why each territory left, and they should not be converted into a profitability claim.
| Calendar year | Territories at start | Territories at end | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 150 | 127 | −23 |
| 2024 | 127 | 108 | −19 |
| 2025 | 108 | 88 | −20 |
Source: 2026 Furniture Medic FDD, Item 20, Table No. 1, p. 32. Detailed 2025 status data report zero openings, 15 terminations, five non-renewals, and 88 territories at year-end; Item 20, Table No. 3, pp. 33–35.
How was the $36,000–$85,000 range calculated?
The estimate multiplies a furniture-repair revenue anchor by a broader repair-business net-income margin. The result is estimated, not official. The model deliberately shows the incompatibilities instead of averaging them away: Census data describe employer establishments in a close industry, while IRS data describe sole proprietorships in a broader repair category.
Base revenue = $1,382,159,000 of 2023 NAICS 811420 employer revenue ÷ 3,168 employer establishments = $436,287.56; see the Census AIES revenue table and NAICS 811420 profile.
Base margin = $3,230,813,000 of 2023 IRS net income less deficit ÷ $24,438,604,000 of receipts for “Miscellaneous repairs” = 13.2201%; see the IRS nonfarm sole-proprietorship tables.
- Revenue anchor compatibility: the $436,287.56 figure divides 2023 AIES employer revenue by the 2023 County Business Patterns establishment count for NAICS 811420. Both use the same year and industry, but AIES reports employer-firm revenue while CBP counts establishments; multi-establishment ownership can affect the ratio.
- Revenue spread: Conservative, Base, and Upside use 80%, 100%, and 120% of the $436,287.56 Census-derived anchor. This spread is an editorial sensitivity assumption, not an FDD-reported distribution.
- Margin spread: The scenarios apply 10.2201%, 13.2201%, and 16.2201%—three percentage points below, at, and above the IRS benchmark. Percentage points are used, not percentage changes.
- Rounding: Calculations use unrounded inputs; published revenue and earnings figures are rounded to the nearest $1,000.
- Period: The model represents a stabilized annual run rate. The 2026 FDD does not provide a ramp-up curve, so no first-year earnings estimate is published.
- Format: The Census industry is closest to Furniture Medic’s repair and restoration work, but it does not distinguish a Mobile Touch-up Startup from a Restoration Shop and Mobile Touch-Up Startup.
What is included and excluded?
The scenario is a pre-tax operating-benefit estimate, not after-tax cash flow. Its treatment of interest, depreciation, owner labor, manager wages, startup investment, capital spending, financing principal, and personal taxes is stated separately below.
- Included through the IRS net-income proxy: ordinary business deductions reported by the source population, including payroll, interest, and depreciation where claimed.
- Owner labor: included in owner-operator benefit because sole proprietors cannot deduct their own salary. This is labor value plus residual economics, not pure business profit.
- Manager compensation: not separately included in the owner-operator figures; it is tested in the manager-run sensitivity below.
- Initial investment: the Item 7 range of $87,645–$178,350 is a startup-capital estimate, not an annual operating expense, and is not subtracted from one year of revenue.
- Capital expenditures: not modeled as annual cash outlays. Depreciation is embedded in the IRS benchmark, but actual vehicle, equipment, and shop reinvestment can differ.
- Debt service: interest is embedded in the IRS population’s deductions; financing principal is excluded and must be paid from available cash.
- Taxes: personal federal, state, and local income taxes and self-employment taxes are excluded.
How do Furniture Medic fees affect owner earnings?
The recurring FDD burden includes 11% of Gross Sales for royalty and required advertising, plus at least $2,400 a year for the Technology Fee. At the $436,000 base revenue scenario, the three sales-linked obligations equal about $48,000, and the Technology Fee raises the identified core total to about $50,000 before convention, software, MRN lead, vehicle, insurance, occupancy, supplies, and labor costs.
| Recurring obligation | 2026 FDD term | Base-scenario amount | Treatment in estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty | Greater of $250 monthly or 7% of Gross Sales | $30,540 | Compatibility check against all-in margin |
| National advertising | Greater of $150 monthly or 2% of Gross Sales | $8,726 | Compatibility check against all-in margin |
| Local advertising | 2% of Gross Sales | $8,726 | Compatibility check against all-in margin |
| Technology Fee | $200 monthly | $2,400 | Compatibility check against all-in margin |
| Required software | Basic Operating System currently $0–$300 monthly | $0–$3,600 | Unresolved; may be additional to Technology Fee |
| Annual convention | Typically $750–$1,000 per person, plus travel | Not modeled | Variable annual operating cost |
| MRN Lead Fee | Currently $75 per revenue-producing lead | Not modeled | Depends on approval, lead flow, and accepted jobs |
Sources: 2026 Furniture Medic FDD, Item 6, pp. 8–11; Item 7, p. 13. The percentage minimums are generally below the percentage charges at the modeled revenue levels. New franchisees receive a 12-month waiver of the monthly minimum royalty and NAF contribution, but not a waiver of the percentage charges.
The IRS margin is an all-in net-income measure and does not isolate franchise fees. The model therefore does not subtract the FDD obligations a second time. Instead, the fee table tests plausibility: at the base scenario, the 11% sales-linked burden alone consumes most of the 13.2% IRS margin before considering whether the source population carried comparable franchise charges. This mismatch is one reason confidence is Limited.
How does owner involvement change the result?
Active owner operation is economically material, and a manager-run model may leave little or no residual profit at the modeled revenue levels. The 2026 FDD requires the owner to devote full time, energy, and best efforts unless the franchisor approves another arrangement. An approved, trained Manager must directly supervise when the owner does not. Source: 2026 Furniture Medic FDD, Item 15, pp. 26–27.
For sensitivity—not as a Furniture Medic staffing forecast—the manager-run calculation subtracts the May 2023 BLS 25th-percentile annual wage of $65,180 for General and Operations Managers. The benchmark excludes self-employed workers and does not include employer payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, health benefits, retirement benefits, bonuses, recruiting cost, or relief coverage. The residual is therefore generous to the manager-run case.
Each row subtracts a $65,180 manager wage from the owner-operator scenario; values are before manager payroll burden and benefits.
Interpretation: The owner’s labor contribution drives the distinction between owner-operator benefit and manager-run business profit. Under the base assumptions, subtracting only the wage benchmark produces an approximately −$8,000 residual; the upside scenario leaves about $20,000 before manager payroll burden and benefits. Sources: scenario model above and BLS May 2023 General and Operations Managers wage data.
A $58,000 owner-operator benefit does not mean the business produces $58,000 of passive profit. It may largely compensate the owner for sales, estimating, production oversight, customer service, scheduling, administration, and other work that an employed manager or additional staff would otherwise perform.
What could move actual Furniture Medic earnings outside the range?
The largest unresolved uncertainty is same-brand unit economics. The current FDD supplies contractual structure and fees but no revenue, cost, margin, maturity, format, or owner-hours distribution. Consequently, a real Furniture Medic territory can fall below, within, or above the modeled range.
- Territory demand and lead sources: National Accounts Program and Medic Restoration Network leads are allocated at the franchisor or administrator’s discretion, are not guaranteed, and some territories may receive none.
- Service mix: residential repairs, commercial accounts, furniture refinishing, millwork, re-upholstery, moving claims, and disaster-restoration work can have different ticket sizes, materials, travel, subcontracting, and collection profiles.
- Mobile versus shop economics: a home-based Mobile Touch-up operation may carry lower occupancy cost, while a Restoration Shop may support different capacity and equipment but add rent, utilities, and fixed overhead.
- Labor model: owner production, technicians, subcontractors, office staff, sales staff, and a trained Manager create materially different payroll and capacity structures.
- Gross Sales definition: the FDD uses a broad accrual definition that can include billed amounts before collection and specified related-party or subcontractor revenue.
- Vehicle, insurance, and equipment: one or more Service Vehicles, workers’ compensation, commercial auto, general liability, supplies, approved products, maintenance, and replacement cycles vary by market and scale.
- System population change: the decline from 150 territories at the start of 2023 to 88 at the end of 2025 warrants territory-level diligence, but Item 20 does not by itself explain the economics of the remaining or departing businesses.
- Financing: the franchisor does not offer or guarantee financing. Principal payments reduce owner cash even though they are excluded from the operating-benefit scenarios.
What should a buyer verify before relying on this estimate?
A buyer should replace the external proxies with written same-brand evidence wherever possible. This is a due-diligence recommendation for the current U.S. offer, not an official or estimated earnings measure. The Federal Trade Commission’s franchise guide identifies Item 19, written substantiation, and conversations with current and former franchisees as core tools for testing potential earnings.
- Obtain the latest FDD and every quarterly amendment before signing, then confirm whether Item 19 has changed after June 22, 2026.
- Ask for written substantiation of any sales, job-volume, margin, income, or profit statement made during the sales process.
- Interview current and former franchisees from Item 20 across Mobile Touch-up and Restoration Shop formats, different territory ages, and different owner-involvement models.
- Request actual annual Profit and Loss statements or anonymized ranges for Gross Sales, materials, direct labor, subcontractors, vehicles, insurance, occupancy, software, advertising, bad debt, and owner hours.
- Separate owner salary-equivalent labor from residual operating profit; ask what duties the owner performs and what a replacement Manager would cost locally.
- Reconcile the 7% Royalty Fee, 2% National Advertising Fund contribution, 2% Local Advertising Spend, Technology Fee, software, convention, and MRN Lead Fees to the operating statements.
- Ask how National Accounts Program and MRN leads were distributed in the specific territory and how much revenue depended on those programs.
- Review the reasons for recent terminations and non-renewals with professional legal and accounting advisers rather than assuming Item 20 changes were caused by one factor.
What is the strongest defensible earnings takeaway?
The strongest defensible range is $36,000–$85,000 in annual estimated owner-operator benefit, with a $58,000 base scenario. It is a Limited-confidence, scenario-based result—not an official Furniture Medic earnings claim. The most important driver is revenue generated per territory, followed closely by whether the owner supplies the management and operating labor. The largest unresolved uncertainty is the absence of same-brand sales and expense data by format, maturity, and owner role. Before making a decision, verify the latest Item 19, request written substantiation for every financial statement, and test the assumptions through current and former franchisee interviews using actual Profit and Loss records.