This is an independent estimated owner-operator benefit for a full-year, one-inspector Pillar To Post franchise. The base scenario is about $67,400. It is not passive income, an Item 19 profit figure, or after-tax take-home pay; a mature low-sales unit may fall below the range when the minimum Royalty Fee exceeds 7%.
The $50,700–$85,700 range is an independent analytical scenario, not a financial performance representation made by Pillar To Post, Inc. in Item 19. It combines the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document’s 2025 sales evidence with a separately identified Internal Revenue Service sole-proprietor benchmark and explicit modeling spreads. Actual results can differ materially with territory, inspection volume, job size, labor, vehicle and insurance costs, required fees, financing, owner involvement, and execution.
- Legal franchisor
- Pillar To Post, Inc.
- FDD date
- Issued March 23, 2026
- Item 19 status
- Reports Sales and job size, but not Operating Profit, Net Income, Owner Compensation, EBITDA, or cash flow
- Primary cohort
- 163 franchisee-owned units in non-exclusive territories, each with one home inspector and open for all of calendar 2025
- External benchmark
- IRS 2023 nonfarm sole proprietorship group for “Drafting, building inspections, and geophysical surveying”
- Date checked
- July 14, 2026
Base owner-operator benefit
Pre-tax estimate at the FDD median Sales and the IRS benchmark margin.
Median 2025 Sales
Group A: one-inspector, full-year, non-exclusive franchise units.
Median job size
The same Group A population and 2025 measurement period.
Included units
Twenty-two other one-inspector units were excluded under Item 19 rules.
Royalty plus Brand Fee
Seven percent Royalty Fee and four percent Brand Fee on Gross Revenues.
IRS net-income margin
Net income less deficit divided by receipts for the broader 2023 industry group.
What does Pillar To Post Item 19 actually measure?
Officially, Item 19 measures Sales and job size—not owner earnings. For 2025, the most relevant single-owner operating cohort is Group A: 163 franchisee-owned units in non-exclusive territories, each with one home inspector and open for the entire calendar year. Their average Sales were $144,195 and median Sales were $134,411.
The exact FDD term is “Sales.” It includes revenue from services and products, excluding sales taxes collected for government authorities. Sales is revenue before Royalty Fees, Brand Fees, inspection-related charges, payroll, insurance, vehicle costs, marketing, technology, debt, and taxes. It cannot be renamed salary, profit, cash flow, or owner take-home pay.
The 2026 FDD supplies a strong same-brand revenue anchor but no disclosed Operating Profit, Net Income, Owner Compensation, or EBITDA. That is why the earnings answer must be scenario-based and carries LIMITED confidence.
How representative is the one-inspector sample?
The official sample includes about 88% of the relevant 2025 one-inspector population. Item 19 included 163 units and excluded 22: three opened during 2025, 16 were terminated, not renewed, or ceased operations, and three did not report Gross Revenues for every month. The exclusions improve full-year comparability but can make the disclosed cohort look stronger than an all-entrants or all-outlets population.
Within the 163 included units, Sales ranged from $32,720 to $570,912. Seventy units, or 43%, met or exceeded the $144,195 average; 82 units, or 50%, met or exceeded the $134,411 median. These figures are from the 2026 Pillar To Post FDD, Item 19, pages 49–57.
How is the annual owner-operator benefit estimated?
The estimate applies an all-in industry net-income margin to three transparent revenue scenarios. The revenue anchor is the official 2025 Group A median Sales of $134,411. The margin anchor is the 2023 IRS ratio of net income less deficit to business receipts for the broader “Drafting, building inspections, and geophysical surveying” sole-proprietor group: $1.340 billion divided by $2.673 billion, or 50.1%.
- Conservative: 80% of the FDD median Sales and the IRS benchmark minus 3 percentage points.
- Base: the FDD median Sales and the unadjusted 50.1% IRS benchmark.
- Upside: 120% of the FDD median Sales and the IRS benchmark plus 3 percentage points.
| Scenario | Revenue anchor | Modeled margin | Estimated owner-operator benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | $107,529 | 47.1% | $50,700 |
| Base | $134,411 | 50.1% | $67,400 |
| Upside | $161,293 | 53.1% | $85,700 |
Pre-tax, rounded to the nearest $100; scenarios are analytical cases, not probabilities.
Interpretation: revenue volume and the realized expense margin both move the result. The center figure is not labeled “most likely”; it is simply the unadjusted FDD median revenue combined with the IRS benchmark.
Sources: 2026 Pillar To Post FDD, Item 19, pages 49–57; IRS nonfarm sole proprietorship statistics, 2023 Table 1. Calculations use full precision and are rounded only for publication.
What is included and excluded from this estimate?
The estimate is an owner-operator benefit, not a clean measure of passive business profit or cash flow. The IRS Schedule C net-income benchmark is after reported business deductions, including interest and depreciation to the extent reported by that population. It does not deduct a wage for the proprietor, so the result includes compensation for the owner’s labor.
Personal income taxes and financing principal payments are excluded. Capital expenditures are not treated as immediate cash deductions; depreciation may be reflected in the IRS benchmark. The scenario does not calculate a separate manager salary because the 2026 FDD requires the owner to participate full time. Pillar To Post, Inc. also states in Item 10 that it offers no direct or indirect financing and does not guarantee debt obligations.
How does owner involvement change the earnings interpretation?
Owner involvement is mandatory and materially changes what the estimate means. Item 15 requires the franchisee—or a qualifying owner with at least a one-half beneficial interest—to participate exclusively and full time, at least 40 hours per week during normal business hours. A passive, manager-run case is therefore not a contract-compatible baseline for a new franchisee.
The $67,400 base scenario may combine two economic components: residual business profit and the value of the owner’s inspection, sales, relationship-management, and administrative work. Calling the full amount “passive profit” would overstate the business return.
How much could remain after valuing the owner’s labor?
The residual depends on the owner’s chosen opportunity-cost assumption, not an FDD wage disclosure. The following sensitivity subtracts illustrative labor values from the $67,400 base benefit. It does not predict a salary and does not imply that the owner can replace the full-time obligation with a manager.
| Illustrative annual value assigned to owner labor | Base owner-operator benefit | Residual after owner labor value |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $67,400 | $67,400 |
| $40,000 | $67,400 | $27,400 |
| $60,000 | $67,400 | $7,400 |
| $80,000 | $67,400 | -$12,600 |
The labor values are explicit editorial sensitivities, not wages reported by Pillar To Post or the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Buyers can use BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics tables and local recruiting evidence to choose a more relevant opportunity-cost figure, while recognizing that this owner role spans several occupations.
How does team size change the revenue evidence?
Official median Sales rise sharply as the number of home inspectors increases, but these are per-unit revenue figures, not owner earnings. In the 2025 full-year, non-exclusive cohort, median Sales were $134,411 for one inspector, $238,196 for two inspectors, $488,499 for three to five inspectors, and $1,430,158 for six or more inspectors.
Franchisee-owned units in non-exclusive territories, open for the full calendar year.
Interpretation: team size is a major revenue driver, but payroll, recruiting, scheduling, quality control, vehicles, and local overhead also rise. Group D has only five units, so its median is especially sensitive to individual operators.
Source: 2026 Pillar To Post FDD, Item 19, pages 49–57. The chart preserves the FDD’s distinct inspector-count groups and does not convert Sales into profit.
The FDD also reports a combined two-or-more-inspector population of 114 units with 2025 average Sales of $446,742 and median Sales of $340,006. Those figures should not be applied to a one-inspector business or multiplied across units without accounting for payroll, ramp-up, shared overhead, and the owner’s continuing full-time obligation.
Which fees most affect the earnings range?
The largest clearly disclosed recurring burden is 11% of Gross Revenues before per-inspection and fixed charges. Item 6 requires a 7% Royalty Fee and a 4% Brand Fee. The Royalty Fee is also subject to escalating minimum monthly payments after the first year, so a low-sales operator can owe more than 7%.
Sales-based fees
7% Royalty Fee plus 4% Brand Fee on Gross Revenues. At the Group A median Sales of $134,411, the percentage calculation equals $14,785 before any applicable minimum Royalty Fee comparison.
Universal inspection charges
The stated IT Fee, Inspection Number, PTP360, and PTPHomeManual charges total $46.55 per home inspection at the FDD rates: $5.50 + $28.50 + $3.10 + $9.45.
Fixed recurring charges
The Financial Reporting Fee is $30 per month. The mandatory Brand Conference fee is typically $900–$1,200; the 2025 fee was $924, excluding travel and meeting costs.
Booking and package variability
EZBook Connections costs $30.55–$34.35 per booked inspection when elected; otherwise the FDD requires a full-time employee for phone answering and booking. PTPFloorplan charges vary by property size, and the exact 2025 house-size mix is not disclosed.
How can the minimum Royalty Fee change a one-inspector result?
At the $134,411 Group A median Sales level, the Royalty Fee can rise well above 7% as the franchise ages. The table annualizes each monthly minimum for a full 12 months in that stage and compares it with the ordinary 7% calculation of $9,409. The 4% Brand Fee and all other charges apply in addition.
| Months after training completion | Annualized minimum | Royalty due at $134,411 Sales | Effective royalty rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–12 | $0 | $9,409 | 7.0% |
| 13–24 | $6,984 | $9,409 | 7.0% |
| 25–36 | $13,968 | $13,968 | 10.4% |
| 37–48 | $20,952 | $20,952 | 15.6% |
| 49–60 | $27,936 | $27,936 | 20.8% |
Derived from official FDD terms: 2026 Pillar To Post FDD, Item 6, pages 7–16. The comparison assumes a complete year within each stated month band; actual calendar-year payments can cross two bands.
The IRS 50.1% benchmark is an all-in net-income margin after reported business deductions. Subtracting every Pillar To Post fee again would risk double counting expenses already represented in the benchmark. The tradeoff is lower precision: the benchmark may not contain an equivalent franchise-fee mix, so actual Pillar To Post margins could be materially above or below the scenarios.
What could make actual owner earnings differ most?
The largest unresolved uncertainty is the same-brand expense structure. Item 19 provides detailed Sales populations but no payroll, vehicle, insurance, local marketing, booking, package-cost, or owner-compensation data. The IRS benchmark is official, but its industry group is broader than residential home inspection and covers sole proprietors rather than a verified Pillar To Post cohort.
- Territory and housing transactions: inspection demand depends on local home-sale activity, competition, referral relationships, and pricing.
- Owner production: inspection count, job size, added-service attachment, scheduling capacity, and the owner’s sales work can change revenue materially.
- Staffing path: adding inspectors can expand Sales but also adds payroll burden, vehicles, insurance, quality control, and administrative complexity.
- Expense comparability: the IRS category includes drafting and geophysical surveying businesses, so its 50.1% margin is not a same-brand profit disclosure.
- Financing and taxes: loan principal and personal income taxes are outside the estimate; buyer-specific interest and depreciation may differ from the IRS population.
Do outlet counts add another warning?
Yes, but Item 20 is a system-stability signal rather than a profit measure. Non-exclusive franchised outlets declined from 377 at the start of 2025 to 350 at year-end, a net decrease of 27, while company-owned outlets remained at zero. Item 19 also excluded units that terminated, were not renewed, or ceased operations. These facts do not establish why any outlet left, but they make franchisee interviews and closure-specific diligence important.
In the broader 297-unit 2025 full-year cohort, which combines exclusive and non-exclusive territories and all inspector counts, 187 units—about 63%—reported annual Sales below $250,000. That distribution cannot be treated as a one-inspector earnings probability, but it confirms that system revenue is widely dispersed.
What should a buyer verify before relying on the range?
A buyer should replace the broad benchmark with same-brand operating evidence wherever possible. The most useful diligence is a standardized profit-and-loss review with current and former franchisees whose territory, inspector count, maturity, and owner role resemble the planned business.
- Request the written substantiation for the 2026 FDD Item 19 representation and reconcile the Group A population, exclusions, Sales, and job-size definitions.
- Ask one-inspector franchisees for annual Gross Revenues, inspection count, average job size, package mix, payroll, vehicle, insurance, local marketing, software, and franchise-fee totals.
- Separate the owner’s inspection and management labor from residual business profit; record actual weekly hours and vacation coverage.
- Verify whether EZBook Connections or a full-time booking employee is used and obtain the complete annual cost of that choice.
- Test the escalating minimum Royalty Fee against a low-sales ramp-up case, especially after month 12.
- Interview franchisees who closed, transferred, or did not renew, not only current high-volume operators.
- Model debt principal and interest separately using the buyer’s actual financing proposal; do not subtract the initial investment from one year of Sales.
- Confirm state licensing, insurance, vehicle, and local advertising costs in writing before adopting any earnings estimate.
What is the strongest defensible earnings conclusion?
A reasonable evidence-led range is about $50,700 to $85,700 in annual pre-tax owner-operator benefit, with a $67,400 base scenario. It is a LIMITED-confidence, FDD-anchored estimate—not an official Pillar To Post profit disclosure. The most important driver is inspection revenue, which is closely related to job count, job size, added services, and inspector capacity. The largest uncertainty is whether the broad IRS sole-proprietor margin resembles the actual cost structure after Pillar To Post fees and local operating expenses. The range should be treated as a planning interval, not a forecast, promise, or probability statement. Before deciding, a buyer should verify Item 19 substantiation, full profit-and-loss statements, owner hours, fee treatment, and closure experience through comparable franchisee interviews.