Boatsitters franchise
2025 filing · March 12, 2025
Boatsitters at a glance
A mobile boat-watch and management service that inspects, maintains and looks after customers' boats.
The business
- Franchisor
- Boatsitters.com Incorporated
- The company that sells the franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $42K–$63K
- A single territory
- Franchise fee
- $25,000
- For one territory of about 5,000 boat owners; added territories $15,000–$20,000 each
- Royalty
- 6%–25% + minimum
- Royalties by type of sale: 15% of initial inspection sales (25% outside your territory), a membership royalty on monthly maintenance inspections, and 6% of general service sales (10% outside your territory) with a monthly minimum
- Brand fund
- None now
- Up to 2% of gross sales, not charged at present
- Renewal fee
- See terms
- 25% of the then current initial franchise fee
- Agreement length
- 10 years
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 0
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 0
- Company-owned
- 0
- Change in 3 years
- 0
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
From Boatsitters.com Incorporated’s 2025 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Boatsitters among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Boatsitters | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $52,400 | Costs less than 96% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $25,000 | Lower than 82% of franchises |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 0 | Fewer than 97% of franchises |
How much a Boatsitters franchise costs
Opening a single territory costs an estimated $41,800 to $63,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital. It is one of the franchises under $50K.
The biggest costs are initial franchise fee ($25,000) and start-up marketing ($7,500 to $8,500). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $25,000 | ||
| Storage Unit | $0 | $500 | |
| Equipment | $1,100 | $1,500 | |
| Computer, Software, and Business Management System | $2,000 | $3,000 | |
| Service Vehicle | $0 | $8,000 | |
| Vehicle Wrap | $1,500 | $5,000 | |
| Start-up Marketing | $7,500 | $8,500 | |
| Insurance Deposits – Three Months | $2,000 | $3,000 | |
| Travel for Initial Training | $1,000 | $2,000 | |
| Professional Fees | $500 | $3,000 | |
| Licenses and Permits | $200 | $500 | |
| Additional Funds – Three Months | $1,000 | $3,000 | |
| Total | $41,800 | $63,000 | |
Source: Boatsitters.com Incorporated, 2025 filing, page 21
Boatsitters franchise fee
The franchise fee is $25,000, for one territory of about 5,000 boat owners; added territories $15,000–$20,000 each. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Boatsitters.com Incorporated, 2025 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | Royalties by type of sale: 15% of initial inspection sales (25% outside your territory), a membership royalty on monthly maintenance inspections, and 6% of general service sales (10% outside your territory) with a monthly minimum. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | Up to 2% of gross sales, not charged at present. |
| Technology | Up to $800 per month, currently $200 per month |
| Renewal | 25% of the then current initial franchise fee |
| Additional Employee Initial Training | Our then current training fee, currently $500 per person per day |
| Franchisee Directed Local Marketing | 2% of monthly Gross Sales |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Boatsitters.com Incorporated, 2025 filing, page 13
Other fees as filed, from pages 13–15. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Boatsitters does not share sales or profit figures for its locations. Talking to current and former franchise owners is the usual way to learn what a location earns.
Source: Boatsitters.com Incorporated, 2025 filing, page 44
How Boatsitters compares
Of the 139 mobile franchises on this site, Boatsitters is the 22nd cheapest to open and the 124th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Boatsitters | Typical mobile brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $42K | $96K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $63K | $167K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $25K | $35K | $40K |
| US locations | 0 | 10 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 91 of 139 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 139 brands in mobile franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: home-based franchises and franchise failure rates.
Source: Boatsitters.com Incorporated, 2025 filing, page 45
Who owns Boatsitters?
Boatsitters franchises are sold by Boatsitters.com Incorporated.
From Boatsitters.com Incorporated’s 2025 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Boatsitters.com Incorporated, 2025 filing, litigation on page 11, bankruptcy on page 11
Boatsitters filings
The figures on this page come from Boatsitters.com Incorporated’s 2025 filing, issued March 12, 2025, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | March 12, 2025 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other mobile franchises
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Boatsitters is also on these lists: business services franchises, home service franchises.