From the filed FDD — automated extraction, check the source
2024 FDD · 1+ year old
COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS
Blinds, shutters & window film · parent company: not identified
CoolVu sells and installs window films and surface coatings for homes and businesses to reduce heat, glare, and UV, plus glass and surface protection solutions. A franchisee runs a mobile installation business, doing on-site consultations and applying films to windows and surfaces.
COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS went from 1 → 84 units over 2021–2023 — too small a starting base for a meaningful percentage per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. Most numbers on this page come from that document; others come from federal SBA loan records and labor and census data, each labelled with its source:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened, transferred and left the system, the main basis for our verdict, which rates how strong the disclosed record is, or says when the system is too new, the filing too old, or the disclosure too thin to judge.
Our rating · opinion
Too new to judge
This system grew to 81 franchised units from 0 at the start of its disclosed record — most units have not been open long enough to show how they perform over a loan term (median SBA time to default is about five years). The fiscal 2023 exit rate was 0.0%, below the 7.4% median across 82 comparable systems (home services). The early record looks clean, but it is early. Judge the disclosures, not a verdict.
Exit rate · fiscal 2023
0.0%
vs 7.4% median across 82 comparable systems (home services)
Cost to open
$58K–$97K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan losses
Too few to rate
0 seasoned resolved loans; 30 needed
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Data as of 2026-10-29. Figures come from COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS's public FDD filings (latest: MN 2024, extracted 2026-06-18) and SBA FOIA loan records (through FY2026), extracted by us and possibly containing errors. The rating is our opinion, not investment, legal, or tax advice. Franchisor or owner and see something wrong? Report a correction — we review every request.
What each source says
FDD record · SBA loans · model · auditor
The Item 20 record is too short or too small to rate; the loan record and model are context, not a verdict.
FDD record · Item 20
Too little history
Units went from 1 to 84 (2021–2023); exit rate 0.0% (fiscal 2023) vs 7.4% median.
SBA loans · vs same-year loans
Too few seasoned loans
0 resolved loans approved by FY2020; 30 needed.
Modeled risk
Not scored
Too little evidence for the model.
Auditor opinion · Item 21
Not extracted
We did not extract the audit opinion.
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
latest consecutive years · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness · shown, not counted in the verdict
Systemwide units
2021–2023
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2023, 0 of 39 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 0.0% (fiscal 2023), vs a 7.4% median across 82 comparable systems (home services). An exit is not a failure: this counts terminations, non-renewals and "ceased — other reasons" as reported, and excludes transfers to new owners.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 1 | 1 | 41 |
| Opened | 0 | 39 | 42 |
| Transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Outlets at end | 1 | 41 | 84 |
| Net change | 0 | +40 | +43 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan outcomes · compared with franchise loans of the same years
Banks have made 16 SBA-backed loans to COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS franchisees since 2023. Only 0 of its loans approved by FY2020 have resolved — fewer than the 30 we need to compare it fairly with other franchise loans, so we don't rate it.
All-time, 0 of 0 resolved loans charged off (—). That raw figure mixes every approval year since 2023 — loans made in 2006–08 failed at several times the rate of loans made in 2010–13 across all franchises — so it is shown as evidence, not as the score. 100% of the brand's loans have not resolved yet.
—
0 seasoned resolved · 30 needed
—
0 of 0 resolved, every approval year
—
charged-off $ ÷ approved $, defaulted loans
$138,125
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
shown with 10+ defaults
—
distinct banks lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%) · dashed line = all franchise loans that year
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS BY SBA FRANCHISE NAME/CODE · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL · EXPECTED = SAME-YEAR RATE ACROSS ALL SBA FRANCHISE LOANS, LOANS ≥ ~6 YEARS OLD
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $19,900 franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $58K–$97K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$58K–$97K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$19,900
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
See Item 6
not a single flat % — read the fee table
This is not profit. It covers what the FDD fixes: what you put in, and the royalty you owe on sales. Your take-home depends on labor, vehicles, supplies, insurance, and the months to breakeven, none of which the FDD fixes for your unit (some Item 19s include cost data — read it).
Build a real pro-forma for COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS with a buyer-paid CPAHow the earnings claim is built
FDD ITEM 19 · BASIS · 2024 FDD
This filing makes an Item 19 earnings claim; we have not yet read how it is built. Open Item 19 and check which units it covers, which it leaves out, and whether it shows costs.
Show the basis ↓Hide the evidence ↑
Public records
Bankruptcy, closure & federal court records · coverage is selective · dockets are not scored
We have no verified public-record signals published for COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS. This is not evidence that no events exist. Check PACER, the FDD's Item 3 (litigation) and Item 4 (bankruptcy), and recent news yourself.
6 questions to ask a COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS franchisee
Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls
The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These questions come from what COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS has disclosed. Each one carries the number it came from, so you can check the answer against the record.
- 01
Item 7 puts the cost to open at $58K–$97K, yet the average recent SBA loan to COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS franchisees was $138K — above the whole range. What did those loans pay for: new units, resales, real estate, several units at once? And what did you actually spend to open, all in?
A loan above the disclosed range can mean buyers routinely overspend Item 7, or that SBA money in this system funds resales, property or multi-unit deals. The filing doesn't say which; an owner can.
FDD Item 7 vs SBA approvals FY2020+
- 02
COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS makes an earnings claim in Item 19. Does your unit look like that number — and do you know which units they included to build it?
Item 19 is legal to build from a flattering subset. Ask whether they excluded new units, closed units, or company stores.
FDD Item 19 · 2024
- 03
How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?
Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.
Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner
- 04
What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?
Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.
FDD Items 6, 8, 11
- 05
If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?
The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.
Ask every owner you speak to
- 06
Who else should I call — including someone who left?
The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.
Ask every owner you speak to
Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?
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A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS’ numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Franchisors: send corrections with the page reference and we will review them against the filing and update or annotate the page. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS franchise questions, answered from the filings
How many COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS franchised outlets left the system last year?
In COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2023), 0 of 39 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 0.0% — compared with a 7.4% median across 82 comparable systems (home services) tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons" as the franchisor reported them; it excludes transfers to new owners. The FDD does not say why each outlet left, and an exit is not the same as a failure.
How much does a COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS franchise cost?
Per COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS's 2024 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $19,900 (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $58K–$97K (Item 7).
Does COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — COOL VU GLASS AND SURFACE SOLUTIONS makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2024 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.