What Franchise Royalties Actually Pay For

A franchise royalty is an ongoing fee, usually a percentage of your gross sales, that you pay the franchisor for the brand, the systems, and the support that come with the name. That fee pays for real infrastructure a solo operator would otherwise have to build and fund alone. At a College Hunks Hauling Junk® franchise, that ongoing structure is a 7% royalty, plus a 2% brand development fee and a 1% technology fee. Here is what each of those dollars actually does.

What is a franchise royalty?

A royalty is a recurring payment, typically calculated as a percentage of gross sales rather than profit, that a franchisee pays for the ongoing right to operate under the brand and its system. Because it is tied to sales, it scales with the business: you pay more as you grow and less when volume is light. It is the mechanism that lets a franchisor keep investing in the brand and support that every owner draws on.

What do franchise royalties actually pay for?

The royalty and its related fees fund the parts of the business that make a franchise more than a name on a truck: national brand marketing, the technology platform, ongoing coaching and training, and the systems that book and route jobs. In practice, a well-run franchise reinvests those fees into demand generation and owner support, so the value you get back should outweigh what you pay in. That reinvestment is the difference between buying a brand and buying a business system.

How much are College Hunks royalties, and what do they fund?

The College Hunks Hauling Junk® ongoing fee structure is straightforward, and each piece maps to a specific part of the support engine.

The Sales & Loyalty Center fee is worth understanding, because it pays for a national team that books thousands of jobs a week and feeds owners’ calendars, which is a real part of the training and support owners get. Together these fees fund the brand media, coaching, and booking engine that a single operator simply cannot fund alone.

Are franchise royalties worth it?

The honest test is whether what the fees buy grows your business by more than they cost. An independent keeps every dollar of gross sales but pays for the brand, the marketing, the technology, and the lead generation out of pocket, in time and money. A franchise owner pays a percentage and gets a demand engine, a coached playbook, and a recognized brand in return. Which is the better deal depends on how much the system lifts your revenue, which ties directly to how the franchise model works and what a fair look at the full investment breakdown shows.

How are royalties collected and calculated?

Royalties are almost always calculated on gross sales, not profit, which is an important distinction: you pay the percentage on what the business brings in before expenses. Collection is typically automated through the franchisor’s technology, often on a weekly cadence, so it is steady and predictable rather than a lump-sum surprise. Because the rate is a percentage, the dollar amount rises and falls with your volume, which keeps the cost aligned with how the business is actually performing. Understanding that the fee is tied to sales, and what those sales-funded services deliver back, is the key to judging whether the structure is fair.

Get your questions answered

If you want to understand exactly what the royalty and fees fund before you decide, talk to our Franchise Development team. We read every message that comes in, with no pressure at all: plain answers about the fee structure and what stands behind it.

Financial information shared in this content is drawn from Item 19 of the 2026 CHHJ Franchising, L.L.C. Franchise Disclosure Document (Issuance Date: April 30, 2026). See Item 19 for material assumptions, the underlying data set, and full required disclosures. Past performance does not guarantee future results. New franchisees may earn less.

This information is not an offer to sell or solicitation to buy a franchise. A franchise offering can only be made through the delivery of a Franchise Disclosure Document. Certain states regulate the offer and sale of franchises; if you are a resident of one of these states, we will not offer you a franchise unless we have complied with applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements in your state.

College Hunks Hauling Junk®, College Hunks Moving®, and the H.U.N.K.S logo are registered trademarks of CHHJ Franchising, L.L.C. © 2026 CHHJ Franchising, L.L.C. All rights reserved.