Forte Commercial Cleaning franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Forte Commercial Cleaning franchise takes $8,850 – $69,200 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $7,500 – $20,000. To qualify, Forte Commercial Cleaning asks for $20,000 in liquid cash. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Forte Commercial Cleaning franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $7,500 | $20,000 | $7,500 to $20,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $8,850 | $69,200 | $8,850 to $69,200 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $20,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $8,850 | $69,200 | $8,850 to $69,200 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Forte Commercial Cleaning's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | Not disclosed |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Not disclosed |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | Not disclosed |
See the full Forte Commercial Cleaning cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Forte Commercial Cleaning's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Forte Commercial Cleaning's disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $8,850 — about 90% below the Professional Services median of $84,700.
- Initial franchise fee of $7,500 — about 81% below the Professional Services median of $39,700.
Category medians are computed from the Professional Services brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Professional Services franchises
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How Forte Commercial Cleaning's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2020: began the window at 37 units; 36 units opened, 29 closed, ending at 43 units. (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Forte Commercial Cleaning or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Forte Commercial Cleaning for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Forte Commercial Cleaning is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Forte Commercial Cleaning grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Forte Commercial Cleaning can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Forte Commercial Cleaning franchise
Forte Commercial Cleaning is a professional services franchisor with 43 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2020, it began the window at 37 units; its filings record 36 unit openings and 29 closures, ending at 43 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is CALY, LLC.
Litigation history not in our data for Forte Commercial Cleaning — FDD Item 3 is the primary source to check directly.
From the franchisor's materials
We license and train franchisees to operate a Forte™ business. As a Forte™ business, you will offer janitorial services specializing in commercial cleaning. Franchisees may generate customer contracts themselves or they may accept or reject contracts that we generate and offer to franchisees. The grant of a franchise authorizes you to engage in our complete system under the name Forte™ and other proprietary marks. Our system, which includes, among other things, confidential manuals, cleaning methods, standards for supplies, chemicals, equipment, teaching methods, merchandising, marketing, décor, the sale of products and services and other confidential business information, procedures, specifications and services as we may develop. As a Forte™ franchisee, you will have the opportunity to use the Forte™ system only within a specific territory. You will be required to establish an entity to act as the franchisee and to purchase specific materials, supplies and equipment and to strictly follow our standards, methods, policies and procedures in the operation of your franchise business, which are more particularly described in our franchise agreement attached as Exhibit “A” to this disclosure document.
Forte Commercial Cleaning franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Forte Commercial Cleaning franchise cost?
- $8,850 – $69,200 all-in to open, per Forte Commercial Cleaning's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Forte Commercial Cleaning units are there?
- 43 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Forte Commercial Cleaning's units held up?
- 88% of units at risk between 2017 and 2020 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).