SBA 7(a) loan outcomes · FY2010–FY2019 cohort · Statuses as of June 30, 2026 · Last updated August 17, 2026
Signs Now Franchise Failure Rate: 17.4% SBA Loan Defaults (2010–2019 Federal Data)
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026. Figures also in the comparison table below.
About 1 in 6 Signs Now SBA borrowers failed to repay — well above the Sign Manufacturing average of 11.3%.
Between 2010 and 2019, 23 Signs Now franchisees financed with SBA 7(a) loans. 4 defaulted — a 17.4% charge-off rate, 1.5x the Sign Manufacturing average of 11.3%. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
What is the Signs Now franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Signs Now is a Sign Manufacturing franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to Signs Now franchisees: 23 loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019, of which 4 were charged off. Loan statuses are as of June 30, 2026, and the cohort has matured, so these are settled outcomes rather than projections.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY201923
- Charged off4
- Charge-off rate17.4%
- Sign Manufacturing franchise benchmark11.3%
- Brand vs industry1.5x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$197,787
- New SBA loans since 20204
- Early charge-offs since 20200
How does Signs Now compare with other Sign Manufacturing franchises?
The table sets Signs Now's charge-off rate beside its Sign Manufacturing peers and the two economy-wide benchmarks. All figures use the same cohort — SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019, statuses as of June 30, 2026 — and the same denominator of resolved loans, so they are directly comparable.
| Measure | Signs Now | Sign Manufacturing | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 17.4% | 11.3% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 23 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 4 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $197,787 | — | — | — |
What has Signs Now SBA lending looked like since 2020?
Since 2020, Signs Now franchisees have taken 4 new SBA 7(a) loans. None have charged off to date, though most remain outstanding and unresolved.
Loans approved since 2020, by fiscal year — counts only: 0 have charged off to date and most are still outstanding, so no rate is drawn.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2011 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2013 | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| FY2014 | 7 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2015 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2016 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2017 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| FY2018 | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| FY2019 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2020 | 1 | — | outstanding |
| FY2023 | 2 | — | outstanding |
| FY2024 | 1 | — | outstanding |
How to read this
A charge-off means a franchisee borrowed, operated, and failed severely enough that the SBA wrote off the government-guaranteed loan. Unlike franchisor marketing or Item 19 disclosures, this is an observed outcome recorded by a federal agency. One caveat cuts the other way: SBA borrowers are typically less capitalized than all-cash buyers, so these rates can overstate risk for well-funded operators.
How reliable is this number?
Signs Now's figure rests on 23 resolved SBA 7(a) loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019 — a matured cohort, so the rate is a settled outcome, not a projection. With 23 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 4.3 percentage points. Loans approved since 2020 are excluded from the rate because most are still outstanding; they appear on this page as counts only. Every Signs Now figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Based on 23 resolved loans — directional, not precise.
Frequently asked
- What is Signs Now's franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
- Between 2010 and 2019, 23 Signs Now franchisees financed with SBA 7(a) loans. 4 defaulted — a 17.4% charge-off rate, 1.5x the Sign Manufacturing average of 11.3%. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
- Is Signs Now a safe franchise investment?
- Between 2010–2019, Signs Now franchisees defaulted on SBA loans at 17.4% versus a 11.3% industry average. This data is one input for due diligence; it is not investment advice.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). Signs Now franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 17.4% (4 of 23 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/signs-now/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)