Focus CFO franchise
2026 filing · April 14, 2026Fewer locations
Focus CFO at a glance
A fractional CFO practice whose owner, as an Area President, wins clients and provides or arranges part-time CFO services for small and mid-sized businesses. At the end of 2025 there were 65 Focus CFO locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Industry
- Business services
- Franchisor
- Focus CFO Group, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Current franchisor selling since
- 2018
- 8 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Westerville, Ohio
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $36K–$64K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $17,000
- Plus an $18,000 training fee
- Royalty
- None; revenue share
- No royalty. Focus CFO collects client fees and pays the owner a percentage of the revenue from clients in the owner's book of business and from clients the owner serves directly
- Brand fund
- None now
- No brand fund
- Renewal fee
- $2,500
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 65
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 65
- Company-owned
- 0
- Change in 3 years
- −61
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 15
- Most in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania
From Focus CFO Group, LLC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Focus CFO among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Focus CFO | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $50,000 | Costs less than 97% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $17,000 | Lower than 92% of franchises |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 65 | More than 69% of franchises |
How much a Focus CFO franchise costs
Opening one Focus CFO costs an estimated $36,000 to $64,000. 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 franchise fee ($35,000) and office equipment/general business expenses ($0 to $15,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $35,000 | ||
| Real Estate and Improvements | $0 | $4,000 | |
| Office Equipment/General Business Expenses | $0 | $15,000 | |
| Additional Training | $0 | $5,000 | |
| Additional Funds – 3 Months | $1,000 | $5,000 | |
| Total | $36,000 | $64,000 | |
Source: Focus CFO Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 13
Focus CFO franchise fee
The franchise fee is $17,000, plus an $18,000 training fee. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Focus CFO Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 9
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | No royalty. Focus CFO collects client fees and pays the owner a percentage of the revenue from clients in the owner's book of business and from clients the owner serves directly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | No brand fund |
| Renewal Fee | $2,500 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Focus CFO Group, LLC, 2026 filing, pages 9 and 19
Other fees as filed, from page 11. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Focus CFO 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: Focus CFO Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 33
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2025 / 2023–2025. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Focus CFO | Typical business services brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | +10% / −48% | 0% / +3.6% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 8.5% / 78% | 5.9% / 25% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical business services brand is the median of the 114 brands in business services franchises with three years of counts.
How Focus CFO compares
Of the 324 business services franchises on this site, Focus CFO is the 55th cheapest to open and the 102nd largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Focus CFO | Typical business services brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $36K | $77K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $64K | $136K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $17K | $45K | $40K |
| US locations | 65 | 32 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 187 of 324 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 324 brands in business services franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 105 (+13) | 0 | – | – |
| 2022 | 126 (+21) | 0 | – | – |
| 2023 | 82 (−44) | 0 | +11 | −55 |
| 2024 | 59 (−23) | 0 | +15 | −38 |
| 2025 | 65 (+6) | 0 | +11 | −5 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating. Since April 2023 new owners join as Area Presidents only; many earlier franchisees who worked as CFOs left the system.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 92 to 65 (−27, −29%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: Focus CFO Group, LLC, 2026 filing, pages 33–34
2021–2022: Focus CFO Group, LLC, 2024 filing, page 32
Where Focus CFO locations are
At the end of 2025, Focus CFO had franchised locations in 15 states. The most are in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
- Ohio25
- Michigan7
- Pennsylvania7
- Nevada5
- Kentucky4
- North Carolina4
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| Ohio | 25 |
| Michigan | 7 |
| Pennsylvania | 7 |
| Nevada | 5 |
| Kentucky | 4 |
| North Carolina | 4 |
| Tennessee | 3 |
| Florida | 2 |
| South Carolina | 2 |
| Connecticut | 1 |
Source: Focus CFO Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 34
Who owns Focus CFO?
Focus CFO franchises are sold by Focus CFO Group, LLC.
From Focus CFO Group, LLC’s 2026 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: Focus CFO Group, LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 9, bankruptcy on page 9
Focus CFO filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Focus CFO Group, LLC’s 2026 filing, issued April 14, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | April 14, 2026 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021–2022 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
