For mature Zoom Drain reporting portfolios, an independent model estimates annual owner-operator benefit in this range, with a base scenario near $188,000. The figure is not single-territory income: the relevant 2025 cohorts averaged about 2.9 to 3.9 Territories per Franchisee. It is also not passive profit, because the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document assumes active owner operation and its affiliate earnings proxy excludes a General Manager or Director of Operations.
- Legal franchisor
- Zoom Drain Franchise, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of ZD Holdco, LLC.
- Disclosure reviewed
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, issued May 11, 2026; Item 19 reports 2025 Gross Sales for franchisee cohorts and a separate affiliate-owned EBITDA-style measure.
- Applicable population
- The core revenue anchors are per-Franchisee results for businesses operating more than 24 months. They are portfolios of 1 to 8 Territories, not standardized single-territory units.
- External benchmark
- May 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data for General and Operations Managers in NAICS 238220, Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors.
- Date checked
- July 16, 2026.
What does Zoom Drain Item 19 actually measure?
Item 19 provides strong evidence about Gross Sales, but it does not report profit or owner compensation for franchised businesses. For 2025, the mature group included 31 Franchisees operating 91 Territories. Zoom Drain divided those Franchisees into four performance quartiles and reported annual Gross Sales per Franchisee, which may combine several Territories.
Gross Sales means revenue from products and services, excluding applicable sales, use, or service taxes. It does not deduct technician labor, materials, vehicles, insurance, rent, advertising, Royalty Fees, Brand Fund Contributions, technology, management compensation, debt service, or taxes. The Federal Trade Commission Franchise Rule Compliance Guide explains why financial performance information must be presented within the Item 19 framework.
| Mature 2025 quartile | Median annual Gross Sales | Average Territories | Franchisees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 25% | $1,951,070 | 1.9 | 7 |
| Upper-middle 25% | $1,102,336 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Lower-middle 25% | $730,110 | 3.0 | 8 |
| Bottom 25% | $316,674 | 2.9 | 8 |
Official source: Zoom Drain 2026 FDD, Item 19, Part III, FDD-52–FDD-53. The cohort excludes Franchisees terminated, reacquired, or ceasing operations during 2025. Territory counts ranged from 1 to 8, so these figures cannot be treated as single-unit averages.
What is the strongest official earnings-related figure?
The strongest official profit-related figure is a 28.7% “Estimated Earnings” margin for one affiliate-owned location, not for franchised businesses. That location operated two Territories and generated $16,061,440 of 2025 Gross Sales, $11,511,018 of Gross Profit, and $4,617,365 of Estimated Earnings. Item 19 defines Estimated Earnings as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
The proxy has major comparability limits. Its scale is far above the mature franchisee medians, Office and Sales Personnel Wages exclude Director of Operations or General Manager compensation, and the table contains internal reconciliation issues. The stated Cost of Goods Sold dollars equal about 28.3% of Gross Sales, although the printed percentage is 38.3%, and a general note appears to name some costs already shown in the table. These issues are why the affiliate margin is used as a ceiling for scenarios rather than presented as a typical franchisee margin. Official source: Zoom Drain 2026 FDD, Item 19, Part VI, FDD-56–FDD-57.
How much may a mature Zoom Drain owner earn?
A reasonable evidence-led range is about $72,000 to $316,000 in annual owner-operator benefit, with a base scenario of about $188,000. This is estimated for the mature Franchisee portfolios represented by the selected Item 19 quartiles, not for one Territory, one truck, or a new location.
The model uses the mature cohort’s bottom, lower-middle, and upper-middle median Gross Sales as Conservative, Base, and Upside revenue anchors. It does not use the top quartile as the normal upside because that group is unusually dispersed. The 28.7% affiliate Estimated Earnings margin is treated as the upper limit; 3- and 6-percentage-point haircuts create the Base and Conservative margins.
Conservative: $316,674 × 22.7% = $71,885. Base: $730,110 × 25.7% = $187,638. Upside: $1,102,336 × 28.7% = $316,370. Published figures are rounded to the nearest $1,000.
| Scenario | Gross Sales anchor | Assumed margin | Estimated annual result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | $316,674 | 22.7% |
$72,000 owner-operator benefit About −$34,000 after one manager wage, before payroll burden. |
| Base | $730,110 | 25.7% |
$188,000 owner-operator benefit About $82,000 after one manager wage, before payroll burden. |
| Upside | $1,102,336 | 28.7% |
$316,000 owner-operator benefit About $211,000 after one manager wage, before payroll burden. |
Revenue anchors are official Item 19 medians. Margins and resulting earnings are independent scenario assumptions. “Manager-run” subtracts one $105,740 annual median wage and does not add employer payroll taxes, insurance, benefits, or a second management layer.
Interpretation: Revenue scale drives most of the spread, while the margin assumption varies by only six percentage points from Conservative to Upside.
Source: Zoom Drain 2026 FDD, Item 19, Parts III and VI, FDD-52–FDD-57; independent calculations shown above.
What is included and excluded from the estimate?
For the 2025 mature multi-territory scenarios, the estimate is an EBITDA-style owner-operator benefit, not after-tax take-home pay. The affiliate proxy includes technician labor, materials, office and sales wages, payroll-related costs, advertising and marketing, an imputed Royalty Fee, Brand Fund Contribution, technology, building, vehicle and equipment expenses, and other selling, general, and administrative costs.
- Included through the proxy: ordinary unit-level operating costs and the recurring franchise-fee categories shown in Item 19 Part VI.
- Excluded: interest, personal income taxes, depreciation, amortization, financing principal, owner salary or draw, and General Manager or Director of Operations compensation.
- Not fully resolved: replacement vehicles, major equipment purchases, unusually high local advertising, employer burden on management wages, and whether a multi-territory portfolio needs more than one senior manager.
- Not annualized: the Item 7 initial investment of $266,250 to $570,500 for a single-Territory offering is startup context, not an annual expense deduction.
How does owner involvement change Zoom Drain earnings?
Under the official 2026 FDD operating model, active owner involvement materially changes the estimated 2025 mature-portfolio result because part of the modeled benefit compensates the owner for management work. Item 15 requires the Principal Owner to use best efforts and remain personally responsible for day-to-day management unless Zoom Drain approves an alternate arrangement. Even with an approved qualified manager, the Principal Owner must remain actively involved and monitor performance.
For a manager-run sensitivity, this analysis subtracts the May 2025 annual median wage of $105,740 for General and Operations Managers in NAICS 238220. The figure comes from the BLS May 2025 national industry-specific OEWS tables. The OEWS program overview explains the survey methodology. The wage is not total employer cost, so the manager-run residuals below are likely overstated.
Interpretation: In the Base scenario, replacing the owner’s management work with one salaried manager reduces the modeled residual from about $188,000 to $82,000 before payroll taxes and benefits.
Source: Zoom Drain 2026 FDD, Items 7, 15, and 19; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; independent calculations.
Which Zoom Drain fees affect the earnings model?
The official 2026 FDD affiliate proxy already includes modeled Royalty Fee, Brand Fund, advertising, and technology costs, so the 2025 mature-portfolio scenarios do not subtract those fees a second time. Item 6 nevertheless matters because a Franchisee’s actual burden can differ from the affiliate’s expense mix and from the estimated scenario margin.
- Royalty Fee
- 6% of Gross Sales during the first 12 months. Starting in month 13, the greater of 6% of Gross Sales or $1,000 per Territory per month.
- Brand Fund Contribution
- 2% of Gross Sales, capped at $4,000 per month.
- Local Advertising
- At least $1,000 per Territory per month, separate from the Brand Fund Contribution.
- Technology Fee
- Currently $300 per Franchisee per month for contiguous Territories.
- ServiceTitan
- Currently $250 per managed technician per month; optional Marketing Pro is listed at $300 to $1,500 per month.
- Productivity accounts
- Currently $15 to $35 per account per month; the FDD initially estimates about five accounts.
Official source: Zoom Drain 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 6, FDD-7–FDD-12. Fee rates can change under the agreements, and the minimum Royalty Fee can weigh more heavily on low-sales Territories.
Why does the minimum Royalty Fee matter?
Derived from the 2026 FDD Item 6 fee schedule, the post-month-12 minimum can make the effective royalty rate exceed 6% for low-sales Territories. One Territory owes at least $12,000 a year; three Territories owe at least $36,000 a year. The 6% calculation equals those minimums at $200,000 of annual Gross Sales per Territory. Below that level, the minimum—not 6%—controls, assuming the agreement has reached month 13.
This threshold is a derived fee illustration, not an earnings projection. It should not be combined mechanically with the scenario table because the affiliate margin proxy already includes a 6% imputed Royalty Fee and the mature revenue figures are per Franchisee portfolios with varying Territory counts.
How much confidence should a buyer place in the range?
Confidence is Limited because no same-brand franchisee profit, owner compensation, or manager-run P&L is disclosed. The model has high-quality same-brand revenue anchors, but its margin anchor comes from one very large affiliate-owned operation with excluded senior-management compensation and table inconsistencies.
The most important unresolved variables are local technician productivity, sales per job, labor burden, vehicle and equipment intensity, local advertising, and the number of Territories and managers required. Item 19 reports average 2025 Gross Sales per job of $902 and a median of $819 across 55 Franchisees, but job mix and job count are not disclosed in a way that reconstructs a franchisee income statement. Official source: Zoom Drain 2026 FDD, Item 19, Part V, FDD-54–FDD-55.
What should a prospective buyer verify?
Because the 2025 mature-portfolio range is estimated rather than an official Franchisee earnings result, a buyer should test it against actual records instead of treating the midpoint as expected income. The 2026 FDD says written substantiation for Item 19 is available on reasonable request, and Item 20 provides current and former Franchisee contacts.
- Request Item 19 written substantiation and confirm whether each Gross Sales observation is per legal Franchisee, per operating location, or per Territory.
- Ask mature Franchisees for trailing-12-month income statements showing technician labor, materials, vehicles, insurance, rent, local advertising, Royalty Fees, Brand Fund, technology, and owner compensation.
- Separate owner salary, draw, distributions, retained earnings, and General Manager compensation. Ask how many hours the Principal Owner works each week.
- Compare one-, two-, and three-Territory economics. Do not divide portfolio Gross Sales by average Territories unless the underlying territory-level records support it.
- Ask former and transferred owners about closure, transfer, and ramp-up costs, especially because the mature Item 19 cohort excludes 2025 exits.
- Model debt service separately using the buyer’s actual financed amount, rate, term, collateral, and vehicle or equipment obligations. Do not calculate personal after-tax take-home pay from an EBITDA-style figure.
What is the defensible earnings takeaway?
The strongest defensible range is approximately $72,000 to $316,000 in annual owner-operator benefit for the mature, multi-territory Franchisee portfolios represented by the selected 2025 cohorts, with a Base scenario near $188,000. It is scenario-based, not an official franchisee earnings disclosure. After one median manager wage, the modeled residual ranges from about negative $34,000 to $211,000, with a Base near $82,000, before employer payroll burden.
The dominant driver is Gross Sales, followed by whether the owner supplies day-to-day management labor. The largest unresolved uncertainty is whether the affiliate-owned 28.7% EBITDA-style margin can be replicated by smaller franchised portfolios after full General Manager compensation, local cost variation, and capital needs. Before deciding, a buyer should reconcile Item 19 substantiation with territory-level P&Ls and interviews with current, former, transferred, owner-operated, and manager-run Franchisees.