Franchise opportunities compared

    Chester Fried vs Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    Reviewed figures from each brand's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), side by side. Each figure carries its FDD year and page. This is not a ranking or recommendation, and the two FDDs may cover different years and location groups.

    Initial investment · Item 7

    Chester Fried

    $27,500 – $301,500

    2025 FDD · Item 7

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    $77,000 – $140,010

    2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 19

    Initial franchise fee · Item 5

    Chester Fried

    Not available

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    Not available

    Royalty · Item 6

    Chester Fried

    Not available

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    Not available

    Before you compare

    • Chester Fried figures come from its 2025 FDD and Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC figures from its 2026 FDD, so the years differ.
    • Chester Fried discloses more than one business format, so the investment range spans formats; the full report breaks them out.
    • Only neither brand has reviewed Item 19 figures here.

    Financial commitment

    Estimated initial investment (Item 7)

    Chester Fried

    $27,500 – $301,500
    2025 FDD · Item 7

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    $77,000 – $140,010
    TOTAL — $77,000 to $140,010
    2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 19
    Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5)

    Chester Fried

    Not available
    No single standard fee identified

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    Not available
    No single standard fee identified
    Royalty (Item 6)

    Chester Fried

    Not available
    No reviewed royalty record

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    Not available
    No reviewed royalty record
    Brand / advertising fund (Item 6)

    Chester Fried

    $10,000
    De-Branding Fee
    2025 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 16

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    Not available
    No reviewed brand or advertising fund fee

    System scale & health

    Total outlets (Item 20)

    Chester Fried

    994
    Outlets at end of 2024
    2025 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 39

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    Not available
    No reviewed outlet counts
    Net outlet change (Item 20)

    Chester Fried

    −87
    Calculated: 1,081 at end of 2022 → 994 at end of 2024

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    Not available
    Only one year reported
    Outlet exits (Item 20)

    Chester Fried

    Not available
    No complete exit records for a year

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    Not available
    No complete exit records for a year
    Franchising since (Item 1)

    Chester Fried

    Not available
    Not in reviewed records

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    2012
    From a verified franchisor listing
    Franchisor founded (Item 1)

    Chester Fried

    Not available
    Not in reviewed records

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    Not available
    Not in reviewed records

    Financial performance (Item 19), by location group

    Chester Fried

    Not disclosed — no Item 19 financial performance representation

    Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

    No reviewed Item 19 figures

    Item 19 groups are shown separately and never combined. Revenue or sales figures are not profit. Net outlet change and turnover are Franopolis calculations from the disclosed counts; turnover is a count-based rate, not a measure of owner earnings.

    Chester Fried vs Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC: common questions

    Which costs less to open, Chester Fried or Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC?
    Chester Fried: $27,500 – $301,500 (2025 FDD · Item 7); Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC: $77,000 – $140,010 (2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 19). These are each franchisor's Item 7 estimated initial investment. The low end of the disclosed estimate is lower for Chester Fried. At least one range spans several business formats. Estimates are not quotes, and the FDD years may differ.
    Do Chester Fried and Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
    Chester Fried makes no Item 19 financial performance representation; Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC has no reviewed Item 19 figures on file. Different location groups are not directly comparable, and revenue is not profit.

    Answers restate the reviewed figures above. Not a ranking or recommendation.

    How Franopolis reviews FDD figures

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