Journey Payroll & HR franchise
2024 filing · April 17, 2024Growing
Journey Payroll & HR at a glance
A payroll and HR services business handling payroll, HR and related services for small businesses. At the end of 2023 there were 7 Journey Payroll & HR locations in the US, 5 franchised and 2 company-owned.
The business
- Industry
- Business services
- Franchisor
- Journey Franchising LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2017
- 7 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Fort Collins, Colorado
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $79K–$122K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $70,000
- For one protected territory.
- Royalty
- 5%
- 5% of monthly gross revenue, deducted before the franchisor remits net revenue
- Brand fund
- 2.25%
- 2.25% of gross revenue, paid with the royalty
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- Some financing offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2023
- 7
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 5
- Company-owned
- 2
- Change in 3 years
- +2
- Franchised locations, 2021–2023
- States
- 6
- Most in Arizona, California and Colorado
From Journey Franchising LLC’s 2024 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Journey Payroll & HR among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Journey Payroll & HR | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $100,423 | Costs less than 87% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $70,000 | Higher than 95% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 7 | Fewer than 66% of franchises |
How much a Journey Payroll & HR franchise costs
Opening one Journey Payroll & HR costs an estimated $78,575 to $122,270. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital. It is one of the low-cost franchises.
The biggest costs are initial franchise fee ($70,000) and rent (3 months) ($0 to $15,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $70,000 | ||
| Initial Telephone System Costs | $75 | $750 | |
| Journey User Software Fee | $0 | $1,020 | |
| Training Expenses | $0 | $2,000 | |
| Computers and Office Equipment; Furniture | $1,000 | $7,000 | |
| Rent (3 months) | $0 | $15,000 | |
| Marketing Materials | $1,500 | $3,000 | |
| Paper Inventory | $250 | $1,000 | |
| General and Professional Liability, Worker’s Compensation, and Cyber Security Insurance | $3,000 | $6,000 | |
| Licenses, Permits and Professional Fees | $250 | $1,500 | |
| Additional Funds – 3 Months | $2,500 | $15,000 | |
| Total | $78,575 | $122,270 | |
Source: Journey Franchising LLC, 2024 filing, page 17
Journey Payroll & HR franchise fee
The franchise fee is $70,000, For one protected territory.. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Journey Franchising LLC, 2024 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of monthly gross revenue, deducted before the franchisor remits net revenue. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2.25% of gross revenue, paid with the royalty. |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Journey Franchising LLC, 2024 filing, page 12
Sales and earnings
No figures Journey Payroll & HR 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: Journey Franchising LLC, 2024 filing, page 39
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2023 / 2021–2023. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Journey Payroll & HR | Typical business services brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | 0% / +67% | 0% / +3.6% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 0% / 0% | 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 Journey Payroll & HR compares
Of the 324 business services franchises on this site, Journey Payroll & HR is the 168th cheapest to open and the 213th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Journey Payroll & HR | Typical business services brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $79K | $77K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $122K | $136K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $70K | $45K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 7% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 2.3% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 7 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 (+1) | 1 | – | – |
| 2021 | 3 (0) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 5 (+2) | 2 | +2 | 0 |
| 2023 | 5 (0) | 2 | 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: franchise failure rates.
Over 4 years, from the start of 2020 to the end of 2023, franchised locations went from 1 to 5 (+4, +400%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2023 filing.
Source: Journey Franchising LLC, 2024 filing, page 40
2020: Journey Franchising LLC, 2023 filing, page 60
Where Journey Payroll & HR locations are
At the end of 2023, Journey Payroll & HR had locations in 6 states. The most are in Arizona, California and Colorado.
- Arizona2
- California1
- Colorado1
- Mississippi1
- New York1
- Oregon1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| California | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Colorado | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| New York | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Oregon | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Journey Franchising LLC, 2024 filing, page 41
Who owns Journey Payroll & HR?
Journey Payroll & HR franchises are sold by Journey Franchising LLC. Its filing names no parent company.
From Journey Franchising LLC’s 2024 filing, page 8.
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: Journey Franchising LLC, 2024 filing, litigation on page 11, bankruptcy on page 11
Journey Payroll & HR filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Journey Franchising LLC’s 2024 filing, issued April 17, 2024; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 filing | April 17, 2024 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2021–2023 |
| 2023 filing | April 15, 2023 | NASAA depository | Locations, 2020 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
