Express Employment Professionals franchise
The franchisee runs a staffing office that supplies temporary, contract and temp-to-hire workers to local business clients and, with approval, provides direct-hire recruiting, operating under the Express Employment Professionals, Specialized Recruiting Group and/or Express Healthcare Staffing brands depending on which occupation addenda are signed.
Owner-operator required Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals)
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-03-27
- Item
- Item 15
- Page
- PDF p. 88
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 640459
must actively be involved in the day-to-day operation of the business and be the "on-premises" supervisor
The franchisee (or the principal member/shareholder of an entity franchisee) must be actively involved in day-to-day operations and serve as the on-premises supervisor, and that person must hold at least 51% equity in an entity franchisee. A minimum internal staff of three is required: a Sales Representative, a Staffing Consultant and a Front Office Coordinator. Attendance at the annual International Leadership Conference (Core) or Catalyst conference (Professional/Healthcare) is mandatory at the franchisee's expense.
What stands out
- Total initial investment for a standard Core Occupations office is $131,000 to $287,700, of which $75,000 to $175,000 is nine months of working capital; the standard initial franchise fee is $40,000 per occupation addendum.
- The franchisor keeps 40% of gross margin rather than charging a sales-based royalty, and it invoices clients and funds associate payroll; Item 19 reports royalties averaging 8.4% of sales and 38.0% of gross margin for mature units.
- FY2025 average annual sales were $5,342,686 for 526 franchised territories open more than 24 months (median $4,043,021), but sales are gross client billings — the franchisee's own share averaged $723,237 before rent, staff and other costs.
7 more observations
- Mature-unit averages fell each year, from $5,951,124 in FY2023 to $5,380,571 in FY2024 to $5,342,686 in FY2025.
- Franchised outlets fell from 789 to 758 over 2023-2025, a net loss of 31, with openings falling from 21 to 9 a year and closures rising to 32 in 2025; 15 new franchised outlets are projected for 2026.
- Item 3 lists eight matters: one pending action by a former Canadian franchisee, five debt-collection suits the franchisor filed against franchisees in fiscal 2025, and two prior matters reported as settled.
- The owner (or a 51% principal) must personally supervise the office on-premises, all entity owners must sign a personal guaranty, and a minimum internal staff of three is required.
- The territory is protected but expressly not exclusive, and quarterly minimum performance standards — up to $118,750 of combined gross margin and gross receipts for a Core unit open more than 36 months — can be a default permitting termination.
- The initial term is five years with renewal at the franchisor's sole discretion, conditioned on re-training, a business case presentation and a general release; disputes are litigated or mediated in Oklahoma.
- No minimum liquid capital or net worth requirement is stated anywhere in the reviewed document.
Things to verify
- Ask how the franchisee's 60% share of gross margin translates into cash after rent, three or more internal salaries, marketing and debt service — the FDD discloses no net income figure at any level.
- Ask why 32 franchised outlets left the system in 2025 and why openings fell to 9, and request the outcome of the reacquired and terminated units.
- Ask what the 42 transfers in 2025 sold for, and how the 10% transfer fee (minimum $5,000, maximum 50% of current initial fees) and the franchisor's right of first refusal work in practice.
6 more questions
- Item 19 excludes units that closed during the period, so ask what the closed units were producing before they closed and how many of the 11 units that failed within 24 months were recent openings.
- Confirm the total cash needed at signing: the $40,000 fee plus a $10,000 to $17,000 computer system, against the cover page's $50,000 to $57,000 combined figure.
- Ask how charge-backs of client invoices unpaid after 75 days have affected franchisees, and how large the 1% reserve account typically needs to be.
- Check whether the territory offered has already been carved for Professional or Healthcare occupations by another franchisee, and how Enterprise Accounts and Reflik operate inside it.
- Ask how many franchisees have failed the quarterly minimum performance standards and what the franchisor did about it.
- Speak to current and former franchisees named in Exhibit F, noting the FDD's statement that some have signed provisions restricting their ability to speak openly.
Economics: No calculator is offered because the Our Portion of Core Occupations Gross Margin (Royalty) is charged on gross margin, not sales — a revenue-driven model would misstate it. Model availability
Evidence confidence: High. This describes source support, not investment quality. AI-extracted and machine-verified where stated; no human line-by-line review. Source and review record.
Read the full research overview
Express Employment Professionals franchisees run a staffing office: they recruit workers, sell to local business clients and place temporary, contract and temp-to-hire staff, with an option to add direct-hire recruiting. Which occupations they can serve depends on the addenda they sign — Core (non-professional), Professional (branded Specialized Recruiting Group) or Healthcare (Express Healthcare Staffing). The franchisor, Express Services, Inc. of Oklahoma City, has operated since 1983 and franchised since 1985.
For a standard Core office the March 2026 FDD estimates a total initial investment of $131,000 to $287,700, including a $40,000 initial franchise fee (Item 7 shows a $20,000 low because of veteran, graduate and multi-addendum discounts), a $10,000 to $17,000 computer system, and $75,000 to $175,000 of working capital for a nine-month start-up phase. Professional and Healthcare offices are estimated much higher, at $303,500 to $598,700 and $313,150 to $503,100. The fee structure is unusual: rather than a royalty on sales, the franchisor bills the clients, funds associate payroll and keeps 40% of gross margin, remitting 60% to the franchisee, plus 8% of core direct-hire receipts, 0.6% of gross margin to the marketing fund and about $630 a month in fixed technology charges. No minimum liquidity or net worth is stated.
Item 19 is detailed but stops at gross margin. Franchised territories open more than 24 months averaged $5,342,686 of annual client billings in FY2025 (526 units, median $4,043,021, only 32.9% at or above the average); those same units averaged $1,077,371 of gross margin and $723,237 as the franchisee's share, out of which rent, internal staff and all other operating costs still come. New units start far lower — 22 units averaged $999,949 in their first year. No net income figure is disclosed, and closed units are excluded from every table.
The system is contracting. Franchised outlets fell from 789 at the start of 2023 to 758 at the end of 2025, openings dropped from 21 to 9 a year, closures rose to 32 in 2025 and transfers rose to 42. Company-owned outlets grew from 3 to 7. Item 3 discloses eight matters, including five debt-collection suits the franchisor filed against franchisees in fiscal 2025 and one pending action by a former Canadian franchisee. The term is five years, renewal is discretionary, owners must personally guarantee and personally supervise, and quarterly minimum performance standards can trigger termination.
View ratings and their supporting evidence
Transparent ratings
How these are computedEach dimension is scored 1–5 from published formulas. Missing data yields “Not enough evidence to rate”, never a low score. There is no composite score by design.
How the system has performed, computed from the disclosed Items 7, 19 and 20. Figures a documented material source inconsistency puts in doubt are excluded, and the dimension shows “Not rated”.
Inputs
- Franchised outlets 789 → 758 (Item 20, Table 3)
- Thresholds: ≥15% → 5; 5–15% → 4; 0–5% → 3; −5–0% → 2; below −5% → 1
Inputs
- Attrition = (terminations + non-renewals + reacquisitions + ceased-other) ÷ start-of-year franchised units, averaged over 3 fiscal years
- Thresholds: <2% → 5; 2–4% → 4; 4–6% → 3; 6–10% → 2; >10% → 1
Inputs
- AUV $5,342,686 (disclosed) ÷ midpoint investment $209,350 = 25.52×
- Thresholds: ≥2.0 → 5; 1.5–2.0 → 4; 1.0–1.5 → 3; 0.7–1.0 → 2; <0.7 → 1
How much this brand’s FDD discloses, and how well-supported our data on it is. This measures transparency, not business performance — a strong business that discloses little scores low here and stays unrated above.
Inputs
- Item 19 present (+1)
- Average plus median or a distribution (+1)
- Population 69% of franchised units, clearly described (+1)
- Cost or profit data disclosed (+1)
- Multi-year or cohort data (+1)
- Franchisor Track Record
- Franchising 41 years (since 1985) · 765 outlets · Item 3: 8 matter(s) disclosed · Item 4: none disclosed
- Multi-Unit Scalability
- Multi-unit ownership is common: Item 19 Table 5 reports 85 franchisees owning 217 units in FY2025, averaging 2.55 units each. Additional franchises require a… · Owner-operator required
- Operational Intensity
- Owner-operator required
Initial investment
FDD Items 5 and 7Format shown: Single franchise providing Core Occupations Services only — the standard Express Employment Professionals staffing office
$131,000–$287,700 total initial investment. Excludes real estate purchase. Includes 9 months of additional funds.
View full investment breakdown — Items 5 & 7
| Initial franchise fee (the named Item 5 fee only) | $40,000 Disclosed
Reduced for a 2nd/all Authorized Occupations Addenda (25%/50%), multiple locations (25%/35%/50%), VetFran veterans (50%), and EE Program graduates (50%); those discounted rates are not the standard fee. |
|---|---|
| Other required initial payments to the franchisor (Item 5) |
|
| Total initial investment — low | $131,000 Disclosed
|
| Total initial investment — high | $287,700 Disclosed
|
| Midpoint of range | $209,350 Derived
|
| Real estate purchase included? | No — assumes a leased site |
| Additional funds assumed | 9 months |
| Required liquid capital | Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosedNot disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals); we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures. The cover pages, Item 1, Item 5 and Item 7 state no minimum liquid capital requirement. |
| Required net worth | Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosedNot disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals); we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures. No minimum net worth requirement for franchisees is stated. The only net-worth reference in the document is the standard Michigan escrow notice. |
Figures are the Item 7 table for a single Core Occupations Services office. The business is operated from leased office space of roughly 1,000–1,500 square feet; no real estate purchase is contemplated. The totals include 9 months of additional funds ($75,000–$175,000), which is more than half of the low-end total. The Professional and Healthcare tables carry much larger working-capital assumptions ($250,000–$450,000 and $280,000–$360,000 respectively). Item 7 notes that Professional offices frequently spend a further $12,000–$20,000 a year on sales, recruiting and data-mining applications, and Healthcare offices $1,000–$3,000 on state licensing lists and association memberships; those amounts are not in the table totals. The four Item 7 tables all foot to their stated totals. One inconsistency: the cover page gives the branch-office range as $30,950 to $74,850, while the Item 7 branch table totals $39,450 to $74,850 (the table figures add up correctly).
Item 7 line items (13)
| Expenditure | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fees — The $20,000 low reflects available discounts; the standard fee is $40,000 per Authorized Occupations Addendum. | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| Lease and deposit — One month's rent; office assumed at 1,000–1,500 sq ft at $25–$28 per sq ft per year. | $2,500 | $3,500 |
| Leasehold improvements | $5,000 | $15,000 |
| Utility deposits | $500 | $700 |
| Training costs — Franchisee's own travel-related and pre-opening staff costs; the franchisor pays flights and lodging for up to two people at classroom training. | $2,500 | $5,000 |
| Office supplies | $500 | $1,000 |
| Office equipment | $2,000 | $4,000 |
| Computer system hardware — Payable to the franchisor and/or suppliers; the franchisor may require purchase through it. | $10,000 | $17,000 |
| Furniture and fixtures | $5,000 | $14,000 |
| Signs | $5,000 | $6,500 |
| Insurance — Estimated first-year premium. | $1,000 | $2,000 |
| Professional service fees | $2,000 | $4,000 |
| Additional funds (9 months) — Working capital for the start-up phase, which the franchisor estimates at 9 months. | $75,000 | $175,000 |
Source for every row: the Item 7 estimated-initial-investment table of 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals) (table begins PDF p. 48) — rows inherit the table's citation rather than carrying fifteen identical ones.
Other formats disclosed in Item 7 (3)
| Format | Low | High | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Business — Professional Occupations Services only (Specialized Recruiting Group) | $303,500 | $598,700 | $40,000 |
| Franchise Business — Healthcare Occupations Services only (Express Healthcare Staffing) | $313,150 | $503,100 | $40,000 |
| Branch Office within an existing franchisee's territory | $39,450 | $74,850 | $3,000 |
Ongoing fees
FDD Item 6Royalty
40% (see basis) Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals)
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-03-27
- Item
- Item 6 — Part A
- Page
- PDF p. 27
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 640459
Not a percentage of sales. The franchisor bills the clients, collects, and retains 40% of Gross Margin (client billings on temporary staffing less associate wages, payroll taxes, workers' compensation and other direct payroll costs), remitting 60% to the franchisee monthly. The same 40% applies to Professional and Healthcare Occupations Gross Margin. On direct-hire placements the franchisor retains 8% of Core Occupations Gross Receipts and 8% of Professional Occupations direct hire/search fees under the Core addendum, and 18% of Professional Occupations direct hire/search fees under the Professional addendum. A 10% Enterprise Account Client Management Fee applies on top for designated multi-location clients. 'Opt-out' franchisees, who use their own approved payroll company instead of the franchisor's payroll service, instead pay 8% of Total Billings as royalty. Item 19 reports that royalties paid averaged 8.4% of annual sales and 38.0% of gross margin and gross receipts for units open more than 24 months in FY2025.
Brand advertising fund
0.6% (see basis) Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals)
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-03-27
- Item
- Item 6
- Page
- PDF p. 28
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 640459
The franchisee and franchisor jointly contribute 1% of Gross Margin to the Express Advertising/Marketing Fund; 0.6% (60% of the 1%) is withheld from the franchisee's share and 0.4% is paid by the franchisor. A further 2% of direct-hire Gross Receipts is withheld for the Fund. Opt-out franchisees pay 2% of Total Billings instead. During a new franchisee's first 24 months the Fund reimburses half of local advertising spend up to $150 per quarter per 1,000 average weekly hours.
Local marketing
Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosed
Not disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals); we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures.
No minimum local advertising spend is imposed. Item 11 states that a grand-opening advertising program in the first 30 days is recommended but not required under the Franchise Agreement.
Core requirements shown separately; caps, credits and conditions may overlap. Check the full schedule for technology, cooperative, transfer and other charges.
View all recurring fees and conditions
| Royalty | 40% (see basis) Disclosed
Not a percentage of sales. The franchisor bills the clients, collects, and retains 40% of Gross Margin (client billings on temporary staffing less associate wages, payroll taxes, workers' compensation and other direct payroll costs), remitting 60% to the franchisee monthly. The same 40% applies to Professional and Healthcare Occupations Gross Margin. On direct-hire placements the franchisor retains 8% of Core Occupations Gross Receipts and 8% of Professional Occupations direct hire/search fees under the Core addendum, and 18% of Professional Occupations direct hire/search fees under the Professional addendum. A 10% Enterprise Account Client Management Fee applies on top for designated multi-location clients. 'Opt-out' franchisees, who use their own approved payroll company instead of the franchisor's payroll service, instead pay 8% of Total Billings as royalty. Item 19 reports that royalties paid averaged 8.4% of annual sales and 38.0% of gross margin and gross receipts for units open more than 24 months in FY2025. Not a percentage of sales. The franchisor bills the clients, collects, and retains 40% of Gross Margin (client billings on temporary staffing less associate wages, payroll taxes, workers' compensation and other direct payroll costs), remitting 60% to the franchisee monthly. The same 40% applies to Professional and Healthcare Occupations Gross Margin. On direct-hire placements the franchisor retains 8% of Core Occupations Gross Receipts and 8% of Professional Occupations direct hire/search fees under the Core addendum, and 18% of Professional Occupations direct hire/search fees under the Professional addendum. A 10% Enterprise Account Client Management Fee applies on top for designated multi-location clients. 'Opt-out' franchisees, who use their own approved payroll company instead of the franchisor's payroll service, instead pay 8% of Total Billings as royalty. Item 19 reports that royalties paid averaged 8.4% of annual sales and 38.0% of gross margin and gross receipts for units open more than 24 months in FY2025. |
|---|---|
| Advertising / brand fund | 0.6% (see basis) Disclosed
The franchisee and franchisor jointly contribute 1% of Gross Margin to the Express Advertising/Marketing Fund; 0.6% (60% of the 1%) is withheld from the franchisee's share and 0.4% is paid by the franchisor. A further 2% of direct-hire Gross Receipts is withheld for the Fund. Opt-out franchisees pay 2% of Total Billings instead. During a new franchisee's first 24 months the Fund reimburses half of local advertising spend up to $150 per quarter per 1,000 average weekly hours. The franchisee and franchisor jointly contribute 1% of Gross Margin to the Express Advertising/Marketing Fund; 0.6% (60% of the 1%) is withheld from the franchisee's share and 0.4% is paid by the franchisor. A further 2% of direct-hire Gross Receipts is withheld for the Fund. Opt-out franchisees pay 2% of Total Billings instead. During a new franchisee's first 24 months the Fund reimburses half of local advertising spend up to $150 per quarter per 1,000 average weekly hours. |
| Required local marketing | Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosedNot disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals); we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures. No minimum local advertising spend is imposed. Item 11 states that a grand-opening advertising program in the first 30 days is recommended but not required under the Franchise Agreement. |
| Technology / software | $630/month Derived
Formula: $420 per month EDN communication monthly recurring charge + $210 per month cloud computing fee = $630 per month in fixed technology charges disclosed in Items 5 and 6. Additional per-seat charges are separate: $49.50 per user per month, $8.28 per onboarding workstation per month, and (Core offices only) $41.67 per month for the ESP testing package. The one-time Computer System hardware purchase is $10,000–$17,000 for a Core office. |
| Transfer fee | 10% (see basis) Disclosed
10% of the total sales price received, subject to a floor of $5,000 and a ceiling of 50% of the then-current initial franchise fees. No transfer fee for a transfer to the franchisee's own corporation or LLC, or an approved transfer to a spouse or adult children. 10% of the total sales price received, subject to a floor of $5,000 and a ceiling of 50% of the then-current initial franchise fees. No transfer fee for a transfer to the franchisee's own corporation or LLC, or an approved transfer to a spouse or adult children. |
| Renewal fee | Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosedNot disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals); we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures. Item 6 lists no renewal fee, and the Item 17 renewal row states preconditions (substantial compliance, payment of monetary obligations, signing the then-current franchise agreement, re-training, a business case presentation and a general release) without naming a fee. |
| Royalty + ad fund (% of sales) | Not disclosed as percent of sales Not disclosedNot disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals); we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures. |
Fee schedule (46 fees; 34 verified against the source, 12 single-pass)
Every recurring, conditional and one-time fee found in this FDD's Item 6 table (plus mandatory recurring costs disclosed in Items 7/11), each cited to its page and carrying its verification status: verified means two independent readings agreed or a tie-break re-inspection of the page decided it; single-pass means one reading captured it and it has not been independently confirmed (permitted only for fees that cannot move modeled economics — see the materiality rule). Amounts marked “not stated” are charged at then-current rates the FDD does not quantify and are never modeled as $0.
| Fee | Amount | Frequency | Mandatory | Verification | Cite | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our Portion of Core Occupations Gross Margin (Royalty) | 40% of gross margin | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 27 | If an individual client account's monthly Core Occupations Gross Margin is below 10% (or $1.75/hour, whichever greater), Our portion for that account is calculated on the minimum threshold instead of actual Gross Margin. A bonus is paid if annual Core Gross Margin is >=$981,600 and >=18% margin (or >=$4.21/hour). |
| Our Portion of Core Occupations Gross Receipts / Professional Direct Hire Fees (Core Addendum) | 8% of other | monthly | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 27 | Only applies when the franchisee performs Direct Hire Services, subject to Our advance approval. |
| Enterprise Account Client Management Fee - Temporary Staffing Services (Part A, Core) | 10% of gross margin | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 28 | Applies only to Gross Margin derived from clients We designate as Enterprise Account Clients. In addition to Our portion of the Gross Margin. Row verified on PDF p.28 exactly as both passes quoted it; the Healthcare wording is what the FDD prints. |
| Express Advertising/Marketing Fund Contribution | 0.6% of gross margin | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 28 | |
| Express Advertising/Marketing Fund - Direct Hire Surcharge (Core) | 2% of other | monthly | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 28 | Only applies to Direct Hire Gross Receipts. |
| Reserve Account | 1% of gross margin | monthly | Yes | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 28 | Withheld continuously; drawn down to cover the franchisee's uncollectible client accounts, the franchisor's monthly finance charge on accounts unpaid 60+ days and charge-backs on accounts unpaid 75+ days. If the reserve is exhausted the balance is deducted from the franchisee's Gross Margin share or charged directly. Identical rows appear in Parts A, B and C; a single entry covers the system. |
| Claim/Indemnity Plan Contribution | 0.31415% of other | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 29 | |
| Comprehensive Liability Insurance Fee | 0.1023178% of other | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 29 | |
| Online Business Management Fee | Not stated | annual | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 30 | Discretionary - 'We may assess an annual commission deduction not to exceed $600'. The identical row appears in Parts A (p.30), B (p.35) and C (p.40). |
| Services and Support of the Computer System and Required Software (base recurring charges) | $630 | monthly | Yes | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 31 | The FDD prints all of these under one fee row, 'Services and Support of the Computer System and Required Software'. Amounts 'are what We charge currently, which may change upon Our notice'. Citation audit 2026-09-04: Sum of two vendor charges printed in Item 6: EDN Communication MRC $420/mo + Cloud Computer Fee $210/mo = $630. |
| Computer System Per-User Fee | $50 | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 31 | Calculator audit 2026-09-03: A genuine per-unit rate with an unknown multiplier (headcount) was being annualized as if the multiplier were 1, producing a materially understated 'seeded' default for any office with more than one system user. (p. 31; "User: $49.50/Month/User") |
| Onboarding Workstation Fee | $8 | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 31 | |
| ESP Testing Package Maintenance Fee (Core) | $42 | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 31 | |
| Our portion of Professional Occupations Gross Margin (royalty) | 40% of gross margin | monthly | Yes | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 31 | Only for franchisees who sign the Professional Occupations Addendum. A minimum monthly Professional Occupations Gross Margin of 10% or $5.00 per hour is imputed per client account. Bonus if annual Professional Gross Margin is at least $981,600 and the margin thresholds in Note 6 are met. Verified on PDF p.31; remit column confirms the franchisee receives 60%. |
| Our Portion of Professional Occupations Direct Hire or Search Fees | 18% of other | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 32 | Direct Hire Services are subject to the franchisor's advance approval. Verified on PDF p.32; the remarks column states the franchisee's portion is 80%. |
| Enterprise Account Client Management Fee - Temporary Staffing Services (Professional) | 10% of gross margin | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 32 | Applies only to Gross Margin from designated Enterprise Account Clients. Verified on PDF p.32. |
| Enterprise Account Client Management Fee - Direct Hire Services (Professional) | 10% of other | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 32 | Verified on PDF p.32. |
| Our portion of Healthcare Occupations Gross Margin (royalty) | 40% of gross margin | monthly | Yes | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 37 | Only for franchisees who sign the Healthcare Occupations Addendum. Minimum monthly Healthcare Gross Margin of 10% or $5.00 per hour is imputed per client account. Verified on PDF p.37; remarks confirm the franchisee's 60% portion. |
| Our Portion of Healthcare Occupations Gross Receipts | 8% of other | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 37 | Direct Hire Services are subject to the franchisor's advance approval. Verified on PDF p.37. The remarks column says the franchisee's portion is 90% while the franchisor's stated portion is 8%; the 2% Express Advertising/Marketing Fund withholding on Gross Receipts accounts for the difference. |
| Enterprise Account Client Management Fee - Temporary Staffing Services (Healthcare) | 10% of gross margin | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 37 | Verified on PDF p.37. |
| Enterprise Account Client Management Fee - Direct Hire Services (Healthcare) | 10% of other | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 38 | Verified on PDF p.38. |
| Joint Commission National Certification Fee | $1,000 | annual | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 38 | Healthcare Occupations offices only. |
| After Hours Call Center Fee | $400 (min $400/monthly) | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 38 | Offices providing Healthcare Services only. Verified on PDF p.38. Required of Healthcare offices by the Healthcare Occupations Addendum, but conditional at system level. |
| UNA Testing Services Fee (Healthcare) | $380 | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 11, p. 71 | |
| Bluesky Per-User Fee (Healthcare, beyond 2 users) | $200 | monthly | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 11, p. 71 | Only applies to the 3rd and subsequent Bluesky users. |
| Royalty (Opt-out Franchisees) | 8% of gross sales | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 41 | Payable instead of, not in addition to, all Part A-C fees. Due on the 10th day of each Accounting Period (4 or 5 weeks). Opt-out Franchisees are ineligible for bonuses. Verified on PDF p.41. Part D header: 'Instead of the fees described above in Parts A through C, Opt-out Franchisees will pay the following fees'. |
| Marketing Fund Contribution (Opt-out Franchisees) | 2% of gross sales | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 41 | Opt-out Franchisees only; due on the 10th day of each Accounting Period. Verified on PDF p.41. |
| Software, Testing, or Training Programs Fee | 40% of other | monthly | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 42 | Only if the franchisee receives such non-reportable compensation. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Transfer Fee | 10% of other (min $5,000) | per event | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 43 | No transfer fee if the franchisee transfers the agreement to its own corporation or LLC, or makes an approved transfer to a spouse or adult children. A transfer is not approved until the fee is received. Verified on PDF p.43. |
| Branch Office Fee | $3,000 | per event | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 43 | Due when the Branch Office Addendum is signed. Item 7 estimates the wider Branch Office investment at $39,450-$74,850; no additional training is provided. Verified on PDF p.43; also stated in Item 5 (p.53) and the Franchise Agreement s.6.2 (p.140). |
| Recruiting Station Fee | $300 | per event | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 43 | Due when the Recruiting Station Addendum is signed. Recruiting Stations are temporary and may not display signage bearing the Proprietary Marks without written approval. Verified on PDF p.43; also stated in Item 5 (p.54) and the Franchise Agreement s.6.3 (p.140). |
| Indemnification (Part E) | Not stated | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 43 | Only for claims arising from unapproved contracts or the franchisee's operation of the business. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Mediation Costs | Not stated | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 43 | Each party pays its own costs and splits mediator/agency costs 50/50. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Finance Charges on Overdue Client Accounts | $2 | monthly | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 29 | Only on delinquent client accounts. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Interest on Underreported Gross Receipts | $2 | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 30 | Only if inspection discloses Gross Receipts exceeded the amount the franchisee reported. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Penalty on Underreported Gross Receipts | 10% of other | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 31 | Only if inspection discloses underreporting. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Audit | Not stated | per event | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 31 | Payable only if an audit discloses that reported Gross Receipts were understated by 3% or more; interest (1.5% per month) and a 10% penalty on the unpaid amount are charged as well. Verified on PDF p.31; the same row repeats in Part D (p.41). |
| Charge-back of Past Due Client Amounts | Not stated | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 28 | Client account unpaid 75+ days from invoice date. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Charge-back of Improper Payments | Not stated | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 29 | Only for payments based on forged, fraudulent or erroneous authorizations. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Cost of Workers' Compensation Misclassification | Not stated | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 29 | Only if the franchisee used the wrong workers' compensation classification code/rate. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Territorial Liquidated Damages | Not stated | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 30 | Only if franchisee sends Associates to a client location in another franchisee's territory in violation of the Agreement. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Our Portion of Client-Hiring Liquidated Damages | Not stated | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 30 | Only if a client hires an Associate in violation of contract, triggering liquidated damages shared between franchisor and franchisee. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Other Adjustments to Gross Margin | Not stated | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 30 | Unsatisfactory work credits, incentive coupons, special overtime, or other deductions the franchisor deems necessary. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Local / grand-opening advertising (recommended, not required) | Not stated | varies | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 11, p. 67 | Recommended only. During a new franchisee's first 24 months the Express Advertising/Marketing Fund reimburses half of local advertising spend up to $150 per quarter per 1,000 average weekly hours. Verified on PDF p.67. Matches the record's local_marketing note ('No minimum local advertising spend is imposed'). |
| Minimum Monthly Occupations Gross Margin | Not stated | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 27 | Triggered only where an individual client account falls below the minimum; the franchisor's 40% share is then computed on the imputed minimum and the shortfall is deducted from payments due to the franchisee. Verified on PDF p.27; parallel rows for Professional (p.31) and Healthcare (p.37) carry 10% or $5.00 per hour. |
| Annual International Leadership Conference / Catalyst conference attendance | Not stated | annual | Yes | verified (tie-break) | Item 15, p. 88 | Core Occupations franchisees must attend the International Leadership Conference each year; Professional and Healthcare franchisees must attend the annual Catalyst conference. Locations designated by the franchisor. Verified on PDF p.88 (Item 15); repeated in Item 11 (p.72) and Franchise Agreement s.(x) (p.139). |
The economics differ from a conventional royalty model: the franchisor invoices the franchisee's clients, funds the associates' payroll, collects receivables and remits the franchisee's share of gross margin on the 25th of each month. Charge-backs apply to client invoices unpaid after 75 days, and finance charges of the greater of 1.5% per month or prime plus 0.5% apply to accounts over 60 days. A bonus is paid after fiscal year end to franchisees meeting gross-margin thresholds (for Core, at least $981,600 of annual Core Occupations Gross Margin and either an 18% gross margin percentage or $4.21 per hour, both subject to CPI adjustment); opt-out franchisees are not eligible for bonuses. Item 7 states there are no advertising or other cooperatives in existence as of the document date.
Financial performance (Item 19)
What the franchisor actually disclosedWho is represented: The headline table (Table 2) covers 526 franchised units that were open and operating on the last day of FY2025 and had been open 24 months or more. A 'unit' means a Territory; any branch offices inside a territory are counted within that one unit. Excluded are company-owned units, units owned directly or indirectly in whole or in part by Robert A. Funk, Jr. and The Stoller Group, and 27 units that closed during FY2025 after their first 24 months. Younger units are reported separately: Table 1 gives month-by-month averages for the first 24 months of operation for units opened in FY2023–FY2025, and Table 1B gives annual figures for 22 units in their first 12 months and 9 units in their second 12 months. Tables 3 and 4 split the mature population into units open 24–60 months (97) and more than 60 months (430). Tables 6, 6b and 6c report by service line — Core Occupations (601 units), Professional Occupations (18) and Healthcare Occupations (11) — and exclude units closed in the period or open less than 12 months.
Qualifications: Sales are gross client billings collected by the franchisor, not the franchisee's revenue and not profit. The franchisee receives 60% of Gross Margin plus 90% of Core/Healthcare direct-hire gross receipts (80% for Professional), and the FDD states expressly that rent, internal staff wages, debt service, depreciation, advertising, administrative costs, taxes, licences and insurance are additional and will reduce net income. All tables exclude company-owned units and units owned directly or indirectly by Robert A. Funk, Jr. and The Stoller Group. Closed units are removed rather than reported: 11 units that opened in FY2023–FY2025 closed within 24 months and are excluded from Tables 1 and 1B, and 27 units that closed during FY2025 after their first 24 months are excluded from Tables 2, 3 and 4 — so survivorship bias runs through the whole item. In every mature-unit table only about a third of units reached the average, and the low end is very low (a FY2025 low of $129,300 for a unit open more than 24 months). A 'unit' in Item 19 is a Territory including any branch offices within it (64 units, 9.58%, had branch offices in 2025), which is a different counting basis from Item 20, where branch offices are counted separately. Averages per mature unit declined in each of the three years shown. Franchisees do not operate exclusively in one service line, so Tables 6/6b/6c overlap and their sales figures are per service line, not per unit.
View full Item 19 disclosure and tables
The FDD contains a detailed historical financial performance representation covering three fiscal years and several populations, but everything it reports is at the top of the income statement. The broadest recent figure is average annual sales of $5,342,686 across 526 franchised territories open more than 24 months in FY2025, with a median of $4,043,021 and only 32.9% of units at or above the average. Because the franchisor bills clients and funds associate payroll, the number a franchisee actually receives is much smaller: the same group averaged $1,077,371 of gross margin and $723,237 as the franchisee's share of gross margin and gross receipts, and the franchisee still pays rent, internal staff, marketing and everything else out of that. New units start well below the mature average — 22 units averaged $999,949 in their first 12 months and 9 units averaged $1,998,851 in their second. Averages for mature units fell in each of the last three years, from $5,951,124 in FY2023 to $5,342,686 in FY2025. No net income, owner earnings or expense breakdown is disclosed.
| Metric | Subset | Value | Units | Period | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual sales — franchised units open more than 24 months 32.9% of units met or exceeded 173 of 526 units equaled or exceeded the average. | Units open more than 24 months Average | $5,342,686 | 526 | FY2025 | FDD p.100 |
| Annual sales — franchised units open more than 24 months | Units open more than 24 months Median | $4,043,021 | 526 | FY2025 | FDD p.100 |
| Annual sales high — franchised units open more than 24 months | Units open more than 24 months High | $39,242,565 | 526 | FY2025 | FDD p.100 |
| Annual sales low — franchised units open more than 24 months | Units open more than 24 months Low | $129,300 | 526 | FY2025 | FDD p.100 |
| Annual sales — franchised units open more than 24 months 32.8% of units met or exceeded Prior-year comparison. | Units open more than 24 months Average | $5,380,571 | 543 | FY2024 | FDD p.100 |
| Annual sales — franchised units open more than 24 months 31.3% of units met or exceeded Two-year comparison; average sales per mature unit fell about 10% from FY2023 to FY2025. | Units open more than 24 months Average | $5,951,124 | 550 | FY2023 | FDD p.100 |
| Annual sales — units in their first 12 months of operation 31.82% of units met or exceeded Median $892,374; high $3,154,504; low $162,312. Excludes 11 units that opened in FY2023–FY2025 and closed within their first 24 months. | Units opened FY2023-FY2025, first 12 months Average | $999,949 | 22 | First 12 months | FDD p.99 |
| Annual sales — units in their second 12 months of operation 33.33% of units met or exceeded Median $1,840,906; high $3,480,937; low $1,062,427. Only 9 units had reached this stage. | Units opened FY2023-FY2025, second 12 months Average | $1,998,851 | 9 | Second 12 months | FDD p.99 |
| Cumulative sales over the first 24 months of operation 44.44% of units met or exceeded Median $2,789,920; high $5,076,948; low $1,270,047. | Units opened FY2023-FY2025, first 24 months Average | $3,026,212 | 9 | First 24 months | FDD p.99 |
| Annual sales — franchised units open 24 to 60 months 38.1% of units met or exceeded Median $2,954,181. Average franchisee share of gross margin and gross receipts for this group was $466,143. | Units open 24-60 months Average | $3,520,372 | 97 | FY2025 | FDD p.101 |
| Annual sales — franchised units open more than 60 months 31.4% of units met or exceeded Median $4,339,327. Average franchisee share of gross margin and gross receipts for this group was $784,572. | Units open more than 60 months Average | $5,775,277 | 430 | FY2025 | FDD p.102 |
| Annual sales — top 10% of units open more than 24 months 34% of units met or exceeded Top 10% median $14,056,528; range $10,500,549 to $39,242,564. | Top 10% by sales, units open more than 24 months Average | $16,032,858 | 53 | FY2025 | FDD p.100 |
| Annual sales — bottom 10% of units open more than 24 months 55% of units met or exceeded Bottom 10% median $1,478,688; range $129,300 to $1,867,339. | Bottom 10% by sales, units open more than 24 months Average | $1,410,891 | 53 | FY2025 | FDD p.100 |
| Annual sales — Core Occupations Services 32.4% of units met or exceeded Median $3,892,864. Average franchisee share of gross margin and gross receipts $682,641. Excludes company-owned units, Funk/Stoller-owned units, and units closed in the period or open less than 12 months. | Core Occupations service line Average | $5,031,470 | 601 | FY2025 | FDD p.104 |
| Annual sales — Professional Occupations Services 44.4% of units met or exceeded Median $883,431. Average franchisee share of gross margin and gross receipts $499,897 — higher relative to sales than Core because direct-hire fees carry no associate payroll cost. | Professional Occupations service line Average | $1,073,697 | 18 | FY2025 | FDD p.104 |
| Annual sales — Healthcare Occupations Services 27.3% of units met or exceeded Median $959,379; range $35,011 to $6,856,848. Average franchisee share of gross margin and gross receipts $263,792. | Healthcare Occupations service line Average | $1,903,898 | 11 | FY2025 | FDD p.104 |
| Annual sales per multi-unit owner 15.3% of units met or exceeded Per owner, not per unit: 85 multi-unit owners holding 217 units, averaging 2.55 units each with average tenure of 13.23 years. Median sales per owner $4,329,063, so the mean is pulled up by a small number of very large owners. Average owner's portion of gross margin and gross receipts was $2,148,478 (median $615,654) and average bonus paid per owner $33,370. | Franchisees owning more than one unit Average | $16,186,214 | 85 | FY2025 | FDD p.103 |
Disclosed cost and profit figures
These figures are disclosed by the franchisor for the population stated in each row — often a subset (company-owned units, or franchisees who chose to report). They frequently exclude owner compensation, rent, debt service, taxes or royalties. They are not a prediction of your results.
| Metric | Subset | Value | Units | Period | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual gross margin — franchised units open more than 24 months Gross margin is client billings less associate wages, payroll taxes, workers' compensation and other direct payroll costs. It is not the franchisee's profit and is before the franchisor's 40% share and before the franchisee's own rent, internal staff, marketing and other operating costs. Median was $830,634. | Units open more than 24 months Average | $1,077,371 | 526 | FY2025 | FDD p.100 |
| Franchisee's share of gross margin and gross receipts (AAGM) — units open more than 24 months What the franchisor remitted to the franchisee after retaining its share. Median was $563,915. The FDD states this figure is still subject to further deductions and adjustments and that the franchisee separately bears rent, internal staff wages, debt service, depreciation, advertising, administrative expenses, taxes, licenses and insurance. It is not net income. | Units open more than 24 months Average | $723,237 | 526 | FY2025 | FDD p.100 |
| Royalty paid as a percentage of annual sales — units open more than 24 months The same table reports average royalty paid as 38.0% of annual gross margin and gross receipts. | Units open more than 24 months Average | 8.4% | 526 | FY2025 | FDD p.100 |
System health (Item 20)
Outlets, openings, exits and transfers by fiscal year · U.S. onlyView detailed Item 20 tables and source notes
| Fiscal year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Not renewed | Reacquired | Ceased — other | End | Transfers | Company-owned (end) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 789 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 788 | 29 | 3 |
| 2024 | 788 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 783 | 22 | 3 |
| 2025 | 783 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 758 | 42 | 7 |
Disclosed 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals), Item 20, Tables 1–3 (PDF p. 109). Counts are U.S. locations only and include Branch Offices. Franchised outlets fell from 789 at the start of 2023 to 758 at the end of 2025, a net loss of 31, with the decline concentrated in 2025 (-25). Openings slowed each year (21, 16, 9) while closures rose (19, 20, 32 counting terminations, reacquisitions and other cessations). Some of the 'ceased operations — other' figures are branch office consolidations rather than franchise failures: 3 in 2023, 4 in 2024 and 7 in 2025 were branch offices folded into their franchise office. Transfers jumped to 42 in 2025 from 22 in 2024. Company-owned outlets rose from 3 to 7 in 2025 (3 opened, 2 reacquired, 1 sold to a franchisee). Arithmetic check: the 2023 and 2024 Table No. 3 totals rows foot exactly; the 2025 row does not — 783 + 9 - 12 - 0 - 3 - 20 = 757, while the table reports 758 outlets at year end (Table No. 1 also reports 758). The one-unit difference is reproduced from the FDD, not introduced here. Exhibit F identifies 69 franchisees who left the system in the last fiscal year or had not communicated with the franchisor within ten weeks of the document date. The FDD also states that in some instances current and former franchisees have signed provisions restricting their ability to speak openly about their experience.
Source data notes (11) — inconsistencies found in the FDD itself during verification
Our verification re-reads every table. Where the FDD's own printed tables disagree, we document the discrepancy rather than silently "fixing" it. Classes: B = arithmetic error in the source's derived column; C = the printed tables genuinely disagree; D = a legitimate definitional difference (e.g., transfers netted, explained by a footnote); E = unresolved ambiguity. Figures a material C/E issue puts in doubt are excluded from our derived metrics, scores and rankings.
- [C/minor] Table 3 2025: The FY2025 Totals row prints 'Outlets Opened' 9, but the 47 state rows sum to 10 openings (FL 2, MO 1, NC 1, NY 1, SC 1, TN 1, VA 3). With 9 the Totals row does not foot: 783 + 9 - 12 - 0 - 3 - 20 = 757 against a printed end of 758. With 10 it foots exactly. Every other FY2025 Totals cell equals its state-column sum (start 783, terminations 12, non-renewals 0, reacquired 3, ceased-other 20, end 758), and the FY2023 (789+21-5-0-3-14=788) and FY2024 (788+16-8-0-1-12=783) Totals rows both foot and match their state sums. — Not an extraction error: the page image of PDF p.116 shows the printed Totals row as '2025 783 9 12 0 3 20 758'. The printed totals and the printed state rows genuinely disagree by one opening. The end-of-year figure the site uses, 758, is corroborated twice - by Table No. 1 (Franchised, end of 2025 = 758, net change -25) and by the sum of the state rows' own end-of-year column (758) - so only the openings count is in doubt. The state-row sum of 10 is the better figure; the printed 9 is treated as a typo but is not silently corrected.
- [C/minor] Table 3 vs Table 4 2025: Table 3 reports 3 franchised outlets 'Reacquired by Franchisor' in 2025 (TX 2, VA 1); Table 4 reports only 2 'Outlets Reacquired From Franchisee' (TX 1, VA 1). The one-outlet gap is in Texas. — Table 3's 3 is the figure that reconciles everything else. Table 4's Texas 2025 row prints start 2, opened 0, reacquired 1, closed 1, sold 0, ceased 0, end 3 - which only foots if reacquisitions were 2, matching Table 3. Both tables' TOTAL end-of-year figures are corroborated by Table No. 1 (franchised 758, company-owned 7), so the totals the site uses are not in doubt; the discrepancy is one outlet, 0.13% of the 783 franchised outlets at the start of 2025.
- [C/minor] Table 4 2025: Two internal breaks in the company-owned table. (a) The Texas 2025 row does not foot on its own numbers: 2 + 0 + 1 - 1 - 0 - 0 = 2 against a printed end of 3. (b) The Totals row prints 'Outlets Closed' 0 for 2025 while the Texas row shows 1 closure and Note (2) states 'In 2025, 1 Franchise office in Texas was acquired by Corporate and subsequently closed'. The state rows sum to reacquired 3 and closed 1, against the Totals row's 2 and 0. — The two errors offset, so the printed Totals row still foots to 7 (3 + 3 + 2 - 0 - 1 - 0) and matches Table No. 1's company-owned end-of-2025 count of 7. The coherent reading, consistent with Table 3 and Note (2), is reacquired 3 and closed 1: 3 + 3 + 3 - 1 - 1 - 0 = 7 and Texas ends at 2 + 0 + 2 - 1 = 3. Company-owned totals used by the site (3 start, 7 end) are corroborated and unaffected.
- [C/minor] Item 6, Part A: The 'Enterprise Account Client Management Fee - Temporary Staffing Services' row sits under 'Part A. The following entries only apply to Core Occupations Services' (PDF p.28) but its amount cell reads '10% of the Healthcare Occupations Gross Margin derived from Enterprise Account Clients' and its remarks column refers to 'Our portion of the Healthcare Occupations Gross Margin above'. The parallel rows in Part B (p.32) and Part C (p.37) correctly read Professional and Healthcare. — Verified on PDF p.28: the Healthcare wording is what the FDD prints, so this is a drafting inconsistency in the source, not an extraction error. Recorded as printed, with the anomaly flagged in the fee entry's basis_note rather than silently corrected to 'Core'. No Item 20 metric is affected.
- [D/minor] Table 1: Table No. 1 is internally consistent and reconciles to Tables 3 and 4 in every year: franchised 788/783/758 and company-owned 3/3/7 match the two status tables' end-of-year totals, the totals foot (791, 786, 765) and each year's ending count carries forward to the next year's start. — Not an error. Re-verified in this pass; Table 1 is what corroborates the FY2025 end-of-year figures in issues 1 and 3.
- [D/minor] Table 3: The Non-Renewals column is zero for every state in all three fiscal years, while terminations rise 5 to 8 to 12 and ceased-operations-other runs 14, 12, 20. — Verified: the printed non-renewals column is genuinely all zeros and the Totals row shows 0 in each year. This is a classification convention rather than an error - every agreement ending is recorded as a termination or as ceased-operations-other. Attrition should therefore be computed from terminations plus ceased-other, not from non-renewals.
- [D/minor] Table 2: Table No. 2 records transfers (29, 22, 42 for 2023-2025) but Table 3 has no transfers column, so a transferred outlet appears nowhere in the status table. FY2025 transfers were concentrated in California (8) and Wisconsin (5). — Legitimate table-definition difference and the standard FTC format: a transfer between franchisees does not change the franchised outlet count, so it correctly leaves Table 3's start/end columns untouched. All three annual transfer totals were verified against the state rows.
- [D/minor] Table 1 / Table 3 vs Item 19: All Item 20 tables count Branch Offices as separate outlets (Table 1 Note (1) 'include Branch Offices'; Table 3 Note (1) 'This Table 3 includes Branch Offices'), whereas Item 19 Note 8 combines a main office with its Branch Offices into one Unit ('In 2025 64, or 9.58% of the Units had Branch Offices'). — Legitimate definitional difference explained by footnotes in both items. The 765 Item 20 outlets are not directly comparable to the Item 19 unit population, and Branch Office consolidations account for 3 (2023), 4 (2024) and 7 (2025) of the 'ceased operations - other' figures per Table 3 Note (1).
- [D/minor] Table 1: Item 20 covers U.S. locations only (Table 1 Note (1)). International operations exist through affiliates but no international outlet table is provided. — Legitimate scope definition disclosed in the footnote; the site's unit counts are U.S.-only and no U.S./international split question arises.
- [D/minor] Table 1 2025: The system contracted 21 outlets net in FY2025 (786 to 765) after being flat in FY2023 and losing 5 in FY2024, while company-owned outlets grew from 3 to 7 (3 new company outlets in GA, OH and OK plus reacquisitions). — Not an error. Re-verified against Tables 1, 3 and 4; the direction of growth is negative under either reading of the disputed FY2025 openings cell (9 or 10), so issue 1 cannot change it.
- [D/minor] Table 5 2026: Table No. 5 projects 15 new franchised openings for FY2026 against 9 (or 10) actual franchised openings in FY2025, with 5 franchise agreements signed but not yet opened and 0 projected company-owned openings. — Not an error. The Totals row (5, 15, 0) was verified against the state columns; a projection exceeding the prior year's actuals is a forward-looking disclosure, not an inconsistency.
Company-owned outlets (Table 4)
| Year | Start | Opened | Reacquired from franchisee | Closed | Sold to franchisee | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
Read: How to read Item 20.
Ownership and operations
Items 11, 12, 15, 17Owner-operator required Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals)
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-03-27
- Item
- Item 15
- Page
- PDF p. 88
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 640459
must actively be involved in the day-to-day operation of the business and be the "on-premises" supervisor
The franchisee (or the principal member/shareholder of an entity franchisee) must be actively involved in day-to-day operations and serve as the on-premises supervisor, and that person must hold at least 51% equity in an entity franchisee. A minimum internal staff of three is required: a Sales Representative, a Staffing Consultant and a Front Office Coordinator. Attendance at the annual International Leadership Conference (Core) or Catalyst conference (Professional/Healthcare) is mandatory at the franchisee's expense.
View operating requirements, territory and contract term
| Owner involvement (Item 15) | Owner-operator required Disclosed
The franchisee (or the principal member/shareholder of an entity franchisee) must be actively involved in day-to-day operations and serve as the on-premises supervisor, and that person must hold at least 51% equity in an entity franchisee. A minimum internal staff of three is required: a Sales Representative, a Staffing Consultant and a Front Office Coordinator. Attendance at the annual International Leadership Conference (Core) or Catalyst conference (Professional/Healthcare) is mandatory at the franchisee's expense. The franchisee (or the principal member/shareholder of an entity franchisee) must be actively involved in day-to-day operations and serve as the on-premises supervisor, and that person must hold at least 51% equity in an entity franchisee. A minimum internal staff of three is required: a Sales Representative, a Staffing Consultant and a Front Office Coordinator. Attendance at the annual International Leadership Conference (Core) or Catalyst conference (Professional/Healthcare) is mandatory at the franchisee's expense. |
|---|---|
| Initial training | Initial training is up to one week of classroom training in Oklahoma City, OK, in Tualatin, OR, or virtually at the franchisor's discretion, plus two weeks at the franchisee's own office (or virtually or at a designated field-training site). It is normally held about three weeks before opening. The franchisee must attend personally and complete the program to the franchisor's satisfaction; internal staff may attend at the franchisor's discretion. For Core Occupations the syllabus is 40 classroom hours and 68 to 70 on-the-job hours across inside sales, outside sales and business management; the training agenda is described as up to four weeks. The franchisor pays flights and lodging for up to two people at the classroom session; meals and incidentals are the franchisee's. Disclosed
Item 7 budgets $2,500 to $5,000 of training costs for a Core office, covering the franchisee's own expenses and pre-opening staff salaries. |
| Multi-unit / development options | Multi-unit ownership is common: Item 19 Table 5 reports 85 franchisees owning 217 units in FY2025, averaging 2.55 units each. Additional franchises require an approved Expansion Application. Initial franchise fees are discounted for principal owners (51% or more) who sign further franchise agreements for other locations: 25% off the second, 35% off the third and 50% off more than three additional agreements. Within an existing territory a franchisee may add Branch Offices ($3,000 fee, $39,450 to $74,850 estimated investment) and Recruiting Stations ($300 fee). Disclosed
Fee discounts from Item 5; multi-owner counts from Item 19 Table 5 (page 103); expansion approval process from Item 12. |
| Territory (Item 12) | The franchisee receives a protected but expressly non-exclusive territory, sized from GbBIS available-jobs data with no stated minimum. Within the territory the franchisor will not establish other franchised or company-owned outlets offering the same services, and will refer leads from client locations in the territory to the franchisee. Protection does not extend to Direct Hire Services or, in some circumstances, to Enterprise Accounts, and the affiliate platform Reflik may offer competing services inside the territory. The franchisee must keep an office in the territory, may not send associates to client locations in another franchisee's territory, and may not market outside the territory without written approval. Territory rights are also conditioned on minimum performance standards. Disclosed
Minimum performance standards (Item 12, page 81) are set per occupation addendum. For Core Occupations: after 12–24 months, at least $50,000 of combined gross margin and gross receipts per fiscal quarter with a minimum $41,500 of Core gross margin; after 24–36 months, $70,000 with a $58,100 minimum; after 36 months, $118,750 with a $98,750 minimum. Missing them for two or more quarters can, at the franchisor's option, be a default permitting termination. |
| Initial term | 5 years Disclosed
Initial term is five years. |
| Renewal | Renewal terms are five years, and further renewal terms may be granted at the franchisor's discretion. The franchisee must apply between six and twelve months before expiry. The franchisor may grant renewal in its sole discretion and may require substantial compliance with the agreement, satisfaction of monetary obligations, signing the then-current franchise agreement (which may contain materially different terms), completion of re-training, a business case presentation to Express leadership, conformance to current location specifications, and a general release. No renewal fee is listed in Item 6. Disclosed
|
| Staffing | A minimum of three internal staff is required (Sales Representative, Staffing Consultant, Front Office Coordinator). The office is expected to be about 1,000 to 1,500 square feet for a Core Occupations business and 1,200 to 1,500 square feet for Professional or Healthcare, and must be suitable for interviewing candidates and meeting clients. Disclosed
Office size expectations are from Item 7 note 2 (page 51). |
Risk and legal observations
Items 3, 4, 8, 15, 17 — summarized neutrallyLitigation: 8 matter(s) disclosed Disclosed · Bankruptcy: None disclosed Disclosed
View legal disclosures, restrictions and guarantees
| Litigation (Item 3) | 8 matter(s) disclosed Disclosed Item 3 discloses eight matters. One is pending: a former Canadian franchisee filed a pro se action in December 2025 in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against the franchisor and two employees, alleging fraud and fraudulent misrepresentation, civil conspiracy, conversion, unjust enrichment, interference with economic relations and bad faith under the Arthur Wishart Act, seeking $1,000,000; the franchisor denies the allegations and says no court date has been set. In fiscal 2025 the franchisor itself filed five debt-collection suits in Oklahoma against franchisees or former franchisees. Two prior matters are reported as resolved: a putative wage-and-hour class action brought in 2012 by an associate against the franchisor, a franchisee and the franchisee's client in California, which received final settlement approval in December 2021; and a 2020 suit by a franchisee alleging misrepresentation about the territory it purchased, settled in July 2021 with the franchisor denying wrongdoing, the agreements terminated and the office closed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy (Item 4) | None disclosed Disclosed Item 4 states that no bankruptcy is required to be disclosed. |
| Personal guaranty | Required Disclosed
If the franchisee is a corporation or other entity, anyone who owns an interest in the entity must personally guarantee performance of all obligations under the Franchise Agreement and be personally liable for breach, by signing the Guaranty attached to the agreement. |
| Non-compete | During the term and for 24 months after termination the franchisee may not engage in any business competitive with the franchisor's, or solicit or divert business from any current or former client or franchisee. Item 17 states no geographic radius for the post-term restriction. The franchisor does not require the franchisee's own employees to sign confidentiality or non-compete agreements. Disclosed
Sections 17.1 and 17.2 of the Franchise Agreement. A 24-month restriction with no stated radius is broader than a radius-limited covenant; the enforceable scope would depend on the agreement text and applicable state law. |
| Transfer restrictions | All transfers require the franchisor's approval, and 'transfer' is defined broadly to include involuntary transfers, transfers of any ownership interest in the franchisee entity, and transfers of material assets of the business. The franchisor holds a right of first refusal to match any offer for the business or an interest in the franchisee. A transfer fee of 10% of the sale price applies, with a $5,000 floor and a ceiling of 50% of the then-current initial franchise fees; no fee applies for transfers to the franchisee's own corporation or LLC or an approved transfer to a spouse or adult children. On death, the interest must be transferred to a spouse, adult children or a third party within 12 months; on permanent disability, within 6 months of notice. Transfers ran at 29, 22 and 42 per year over the three reported years. Disclosed
Transfer fee detail from Item 6 Part E (page 43); transfer counts from Item 20 Table No. 2 (page 113). |
| Termination / non-renewal | The franchisor may not terminate without cause. Curable defaults carry cure periods of 10 days, 30 days, or longer where state law requires, and include sending associates into another franchisee's territory, continuing business with a suspended client account, failing to pay amounts due, failing to submit reports, and failing to obtain insurance. Non-curable defaults include felony conviction, abandonment or closure, willful misrepresentation, failing to remit client payments within 24 hours of receipt, submitting false accounts, repetition of a cured default, unauthorised transfer, misuse of confidential information, loss of a required licence and bankruptcy. Missing the Item 12 minimum performance standards for two or more quarters can also, at the franchisor's option, be a default permitting termination. Either party may terminate on 30 days' notice if continuing the business becomes untenable because of force majeure-type events. On termination the franchisee must cease operating immediately, pay any deficit within 20 days of the monthly accounting statement, remain responsible for outstanding receivables, and hand over customer lists, records and the manual. Disclosed
The termination rows of the Item 17 table run from PDF page 91 to page 93; post-termination obligations are on page 95. |
| Supplier restrictions (Item 8) | The franchisee must buy or lease the Computer System and licence the Required Software from the franchisor or suppliers it specifies, and the franchisor and its affiliates are the only approved suppliers of the Computer System, Required Software and advertising. Otherwise the franchisee is not required to purchase from the franchisor or its affiliates, but must buy only from approved suppliers meeting the franchisor's specifications, and the franchisor may designate a single supplier for any item. Background checks must go through designated vendors (CICS, GSN, S2Verify, First Advantage). Unless the franchisee opts out, the franchisor or its designee provides payroll services for the associates. The franchisor estimates that purchases made to its specifications are 30% to 40% of total purchases at establishment and 5% to 10% during ongoing operation. In the last fiscal year the franchisor derived $82,894.54 of revenue from franchisee purchases of the computer system, which it states is 0.003% of its total revenue of $3,230,407,000; affiliates derived $0. No officer owns an interest in any supplier, and there are no purchasing cooperatives. Disclosed
The stated 0.003% ratio does not reconcile with the two dollar figures given ($82,894.54 of $3,230,407,000 is about 0.0026%, which rounds to 0.003%). Both figures are reproduced as disclosed. |
| Dispute resolution | Either party may submit a dispute to a mutually agreed mediation service; arbitration is not mandated by the Item 17 table. Choice of forum is the state or federal courts in Oklahoma and choice of law is Oklahoma, in each case subject to applicable state law. The cover page carries a state-required risk warning that disputes must be resolved by mediation, arbitration and/or litigation only in Oklahoma, which may cost more and may push a franchisee toward a less favourable settlement. Each party bears its own mediation costs and half of the mediator's and agency's costs. Disclosed
Out-of-state dispute resolution risk factor appears on cover page v (PDF page 6). |
- The franchisor, not the franchisee, invoices clients, funds associate payroll and collects receivables, remitting the franchisee's share of gross margin on the 25th of each month. Client invoices unpaid after 75 days are charged back to the franchisee, first against a reserve account funded by 1% of gross margin and then against the franchisee's share.
- Minimum performance standards apply per occupation addendum and rise with unit age; for Core Occupations a unit open more than 36 months must produce at least $118,750 of combined quarterly gross margin and gross receipts. Missing them for two or more quarters can be treated as a default permitting termination.
- Franchised outlets declined for three consecutive years, from 789 to 758, with openings falling from 21 to 9 a year while closures rose to 32 in 2025 and transfers rose to 42.
- The territory is protected but expressly not exclusive: direct-hire services, Enterprise Accounts and the affiliate platform Reflik may all compete inside it.
- Item 20 states that in some instances current and former franchisees have signed provisions restricting their ability to speak openly about their experience, which limits reference checking.
- Attendance at the annual International Leadership Conference (Core) or Catalyst conference (Professional/Healthcare) is required each year at the franchisee's own expense.
- The initial term is five years, shorter than the ten-year term common in franchising, and renewal is at the franchisor's sole discretion subject to a business case presentation and a general release.
Summaries are neutral paraphrases of the cited document and are not legal advice. Read the full Items in the current FDD and consult a franchise attorney.
Illustrative unit economics
Model estimateNo calculator for this brand: the Our Portion of Core Occupations Gross Margin (Royalty) is charged on gross margin, not sales — a revenue-driven model would misstate it. The disclosed fees are listed in the fee table above; modeling them against a revenue slider would misstate the economics rather than illuminate them.
Sources and provenance
Primary source: 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals) · issued 2026-03-27. Find the FDD at Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search. We cite source pages and do not redistribute PDFs.
View all sources, provenance and verification notes
| Document | Obtained from | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Express Services, Inc. (Express Employment Professionals) Registry file 640459 · 430 pages Registration effective 3/27/2026, status Registered. Issuance date on the cover is March 27, 2026; the document reports fiscal year 2025 data. | Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search | Issued 2026-03-27 Retrieved 2026-08-29 | Newest available at retrieval |
AI-assisted extraction from the archived FDD text, independently machine-verified against the cited source (two passes plus tie-break); not human-reviewed. Extracted 2026-08-29. Last updated 2026-09-05. AI-assisted extraction independently machine-verified against the cited source document (2026-09-02): two independent AI reading passes plus tie-break re-inspection of every disagreement; 72 of 77 material fields confirmed (68 with the exact page citation re-confirmed), 0 corrected, 0 unresolved, 5 confirmed not disclosed. No human has reviewed this profile. Fiscal year covered: FY2025 (Dec 28, 2025). See how we use AI and verify data.
Fields flagged as uncertain (5)
- investment.franchise_fee_low / franchise_fee_high — recorded as the standard $40,000 initial franchise fee for one Authorized Occupations Addendum (Item 5). The cover page instead frames initial fees payable to the franchisor or an affiliate as $50,000 to $57,000 for a Core office because it adds the $10,000 to $17,000 Computer System purchase, which Item 7 shows as a separate 'as incurred' line payable to the franchisor and/or suppliers rather than a lump sum at signing.
- fees.technology — $630 per month is the sum of the two fixed monthly charges disclosed ($420 communications, $210 cloud). Per-user ($49.50), per-workstation ($8.28) and Core-only ESP testing ($41.67) charges are excluded because they scale with headcount and no unit count is disclosed.
- item19.headline_auv — Table 2 (526 units open more than 24 months) was chosen as the broadest blended per-unit figure. Table 6 covers more units (601) but reports Core Occupations sales only, so it is a service-line figure rather than a per-unit total; it is recorded as a separate metric.
- item19.population_share_of_system — left null because Item 19 counts a unit as a Territory with branch offices folded in, while Item 20 counts branch offices separately, so 526 of 758 would not be a like-for-like ratio.
- fees.royalty — expressed as 40 with unit pct_other because the base is Gross Margin (client billings net of associate wages and payroll costs), not gross or net sales. Site comparisons against percentage-of-sales royalties are not like-for-like; Item 19's disclosed 8.4% of annual sales is the closer equivalent.
Extraction notes (8)
- Expected validator warning: item20.franchised_status 2025 does not foot. The FDD's own Table No. 3 totals row reads 783 start + 9 opened - 12 terminations - 0 non-renewals - 3 reacquired - 20 ceased other = 757, but reports 758 at year end, matching Table No. 1. The 2023 and 2024 rows foot exactly. The figures are reproduced as printed rather than adjusted.
- One FDD internal inconsistency was left unreconciled: the cover page gives the branch-office investment range as $30,950 to $74,850 while the Item 7 branch table totals $39,450 to $74,850. The Item 7 line items add to $39,450, so the table figure is recorded in alternative_formats.
- Item 8 states the franchisor's revenue from franchisee computer-system purchases was $82,894.54, described as 0.003% of total revenue of $3,230,407,000; the exact ratio is about 0.0026%. Both figures are recorded as disclosed.
- This FDD covers three brands under one franchise agreement (Express Employment Professionals, Specialized Recruiting Group, Express Healthcare Staffing) selected by occupation addenda, with a separate Item 7 table for each plus a branch office table. The Core Occupations table is used for the main investment figures because it is the standard Express Employment Professionals staffing office; the others are in alternative_formats.
- An 'Opt-out Franchisee' alternative fee structure exists (Item 6 Part D) for franchisees using their own approved payroll company: 8% of Total Billings as royalty and 2% of Total Billings to the marketing fund, with no bonus eligibility. The standard Parts A-C structure is recorded in fees.royalty and fees.ad_fund.
- No advertising or purchasing cooperatives exist as of the document date (Item 7 notes and Item 8), so the optional fees.cooperative field is omitted.
- Item 20 counts are U.S. only and include branch offices; some 'ceased operations - other' entries are branch offices consolidated into their franchise office (3 in 2023, 4 in 2024, 7 in 2025) rather than closed franchises.
- Verification 2026-09-02: fix_page /risk/noncompete 95 → 96
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