01 / ICEWORKS BASICS
HEY THERE.

What is
Iceworks?

Iceworks is a locally owned, full-service commercial ice machine leasing business. Instead of requiring restaurants, bars, and commercial facilities to purchase expensive equipment outright, we provide turnkey ice equipment along with complete installation, routine maintenance, and prompt repairs through a simple monthly agreement.

Designed as a low-overhead, mobile business model, an Iceworks franchise allows you to start without the burden of commercial real estate and scale your fleet gradually. Because our system does not require fixed minimum daily hours from the owner, it offers the operational flexibility to build a scalable, recurring-revenue asset—either hands-on or alongside an existing career with trained management.

Why we're reaching out

Iceworks looks for prospective owners with relevant industry, sales, or business experience. If we've invited you personally, this is where we'll explain why your background caught our attention.

Work through the guide at your own pace. Your detailed financial entries stay in your browser; sharing a limited summary is optional.

Explore startup costs
OUR BUSINESS MODEL

A service business
built around ice.

01 / WHY CUSTOMERS LEASE

The ice is essential. The headaches aren't.

Commercial kitchens own most of their equipment outright, but ice machines and dishwashers are often a different story. Both require constant attention to water quality, sanitation, mineral buildup, and mechanical wear. When something breaks, repairs can be expensive, disruptive, and urgent.

That's where Iceworks comes in. Rather than tying up capital in equipment and taking on the responsibilities of ownership, customers get reliable ice production backed by professional service and predictable monthly expenses.

The benefits are simple:

  • Lower Upfront Costs: Preserve capital for the things that grow the business instead of purchasing expensive equipment.
  • Predictable Expenses: Replace unexpected repair costs with a manageable monthly lease payment.
  • Maintenance & Repairs: Routine maintenance and covered repairs are handled by experienced service professionals.
  • Health & Sanitation: Regular cleaning, sanitizing, and equipment maintenance help support food-safety standards and health-code compliance.
02 / WHY EXPERIENCE MATTERS

Experience doesn't come in the box.

There's an old story about a surgeon who said, “I could teach you how to remove an appendix in an hour. But teaching you what to do when something goes wrong? That takes years.”

Commercial ice equipment isn't so different. Installing a machine is one thing. Knowing how to keep it running, troubleshoot problems, and handle the unexpected is another. Iceworks has spent years building equipment-sourcing relationships, a network of experienced service professionals, specialized software, and operating systems so local owners don't have to figure it all out on their own.

03 / WHY LOCAL OWNERSHIP

When it's your town, it's personal.

Think about the difference between renting a home and owning one. Homeowners have a personal stake in their neighborhood. They get to know their neighbors, take pride in their property, and invest in the community because they're building something of their own.

Iceworks believes business ownership works much the same way. There's a difference between a company simply servicing an area and a local owner who knows the community, answers the phone, and builds relationships that last. That's why Iceworks combines the personal investment of local ownership with experienced local technicians and the infrastructure of a centralized support team.

02 / THE NUMBERSSINGLE-MACHINE OPERATING REFERENCES

The cost of
one machine.

Explore how the initial equipment purchase, installation, and scheduled maintenance costs add up over time. Adjust the assumptions to see how those costs change for a single commercial ice machine.

Average monthly lease charge Customer price reference
$245

A reported monthly lease-price reference for one machine. It is not used in the cost chart and is not a forecast of billed or collected revenue.

Equipment + installation Upfront acquisition and setup
$6,154.79

A reported single-machine cost reference for equipment purchase and installation. Actual costs vary by unit and conditions.

Preventative maintenance Usually twice each year
$250

A reported per-visit maintenance cost. This example starts with two planned visits annually; unscheduled repairs are excluded.

NINE-YEAR COST PLANNING EXAMPLE

What does one machine cost to keep in service?

Change the equipment and maintenance assumptions, then select a month to explore the costs. The illustration includes an initial equipment-and-installation outlay plus scheduled maintenance visits. It does not subtract lease payments or estimate business earnings.

Illustrative cumulative direct costsMonth 0–108 · one machine

Starting references (October 2026): $6,154.79 equipment + installation; $250.00 per maintenance visit; 2 planned visits each year. Your selected values may differ from these references.

Cumulative direct costsInitial equipment + installationScheduled maintenance steps
Selected month108 / 108
Equipment + installation$6,154.79
Scheduled maintenance$4,500.00
Total illustrated direct costs$10,654.79

18 scheduled maintenance visits through month 108.

Understanding the chart: Amounts below zero represent equipment and maintenance spending—not business losses. The illustration uses the figures you select and shows scheduled maintenance costs when each visit occurs.

Important information: This illustration is for cost planning only. It does not estimate customer payments, revenue, profit, investment recovery, or financial returns. It excludes unscheduled repairs, financing, royalties, labor, insurance, taxes, software, equipment replacement, and other business expenses. Actual costs may vary. The nine-year period is an illustrative planning horizon, not a prediction of equipment life or customer contract duration. How this tool handles your information.

03 / THE EXPLORERYOUR CAPITAL AT A GLANCE

Capital
readiness.

Enter your available funding, consider the startup costs, and identify questions to review with Iceworks. The optional Financial Snapshot provides additional context without being submitted.

Start with Steps 1–3. The Financial Snapshot is optional. Select any ? for an everyday-language explanation and examples.

Estimated cost to start an Iceworks franchise
What does this amount mean?

This is the estimated total amount of money someone may need to get an Iceworks franchise started, based on the investment range in our October 2026 brochure, which cites our January 5, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). It includes an initial franchise investment and other startup costs described in that document—not a fee you automatically pay all at once. Actual costs can vary, and the currently effective FDD controls.

What's an FDD?

FDD stands for Franchise Disclosure Document. It's a legal document a franchisor gives prospective owners before they sign a franchise agreement or pay certain fees. It describes the business, required fees, estimated startup investment, contract obligations, and important risks. Think of it as the official information packet to review with your advisers before deciding whether to buy a franchise.

—
Estimated startup range; review the current FDD
Money you could currently put toward the business
—
Cash less personal reserves, plus available financing
Additional money you may need to find
—
Based on your selected costs and available funds
STEP 1 OF 5 · FUNDING

Available funds

Your funding position

Enter amounts you can actually access. These are private, editable estimates. Zero is used for calculations when a field is blank; it does not mean an unreported amount is known to be zero.

Do not include retirement or unliquidated property
Exclude applications and conditional preapprovals
Set aside from accessible cash, not borrowed funds
Only costs not already counted in the published range

Your net worth and annual salary are not automatically available investment capital. You can enter them later in the optional Financial Snapshot without affecting the funding calculation.

STEP 2 OF 5 · EQUIPMENT PLANNING

Equipment costs

Optional extra equipment costs

Use this only for purchases that would be in addition to the published initial investment range, not for equipment that is already included.

Equipment + installation per extra placement—
Extra equipment + installations—
Maintenance planning allowance—

Illustrates costs for a chosen number of placements, not how many customers will sign. All included equipment is assumed purchased upfront for this cost-only comparison.

STEP 3 OF 5 · CAPITAL COMPARISON

Funding comparison

Your capital comparison

Here's how your available funding compares with the estimated cost of getting started. A difference between the two is a funding question—not a prediction of how your business will perform.

Accessible cash—
Less: protected cash reserves—
Committed financing—
Deployable funds—
Published startup range—
Additional commitments—
Optional additional equipment and maintenance—
Selected total capital requirement—
Selected capital gap, low to high—

STEP 4 OF 5 · OPTIONAL FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT

Financial information

Your Financial SnapshotExpand to explore liquidity, assets, liabilities, income and financing questions. Not required.

This section is for your own review. Enter numbers only if you want to. Fields left blank remain unknown; zero is a deliberate value. Entries are not saved, uploaded or submitted to Iceworks. Don't enter identity numbers or account details.

Income, available budget & financing context

An intention, not proof of available funds
Not counted as committed funding

Assets — keep spendable funds separate

Liabilities and personal obligations

For context only, not a lending decision
Used only to flag reconciliation differences
Assets entered—
Liabilities entered—
Partial net worth estimate—
Gross monthly income (if reported)—
Debt payments / gross monthly income—

Check these figures

  • Enter figures to see reconciliation checks.

Debt payments divided by gross monthly income is a simple contextual ratio, not a lender debt-to-income determination or approval. Annual income, net worth, retirement savings, and uncommitted financing do not increase deployable funds automatically.

STEP 5 OF 5 · YOUR READINESS SUMMARY

Readiness summary

Your Capital Readiness Summary

This is an explanation of the figures entered above. It is not a pass/fail score, financing decision or forecast.

Deployable funds—
Capital to explore, low to high—
Uncommitted financingNot entered
Additional financing statusNot specified
Intended investment budgetNot entered

Questions worth resolving next

Ongoing cost references

Expense and contractual fee references only. Some items may already be covered in the startup range or other budgets—avoid counting them twice.

Software & technology fee / month—
National convention fee / year—
Continuing royalty rate—
Preventative maintenance / visit—
Maintenance visits per machine / year—
Franchise fee already in the startup range—

The royalty percentage is a contractual fee reference. This tool does not model gross sales, calculate royalties, or estimate business earnings.

What this tool can—and cannot—tell you

It compares stated funding sources with published startup costs and user-selected extra expenses. It does not predict customers, machine placements, leasing revenue, profits, payback, cash flow, investment returns or franchise success. Net worth isn't necessarily spendable cash. Actual expenses, financing conditions and franchise terms may differ. Consult the governing Franchise Disclosure Document, your lender and your professional advisers.

Cost reference: . Cost-reference date: . This educational aid is not a franchise offer, financing approval or suitability determination. Detailed Financial Snapshot entries remain local. A limited readiness summary is transmitted only if you explicitly consent through a verified secure invitation. Iceworks deletes submitted summaries after 90 days; see our privacy page for details. Submitting a summary never unlocks a PUDI score or report; Iceworks may discuss selected market research separately. No analytics scripts are included. Printing or saving a PDF is controlled by your browser.

04 / YOUR POTENTIAL TERRITORYMARKET NOT SELECTED
ICEWORKS · TERRITORY RESEARCH

Market Research Preview

We research potential commercial foodservice customer concentration and service-area conditions before discussing new franchise territories. Iceworks can discuss detailed, reviewed research privately at a later meeting, at its discretion.

Foodservice establishments We assess potential commercial kitchens and other businesses that might use commercial ice equipment.
Market boundaries We distinguish a city from its surrounding metropolitan service area so counts use comparable boundaries.
Location density Our internal PUDI research compares the concentration of qualifying establishments; it does not forecast customers, installs, or earnings.

Market-specific research has not been verified for this invitation. No PUDI score or confidential underlying formula is included in this public page.

Request a follow-up market discussion

Our territory research can inform a later conversation about market boundaries, foodservice locations, and local conditions. Completing this tool or submitting a summary does not unlock any PUDI score, formula, or market report. Iceworks may choose to discuss selected research with you during a follow-up meeting. You can use this tool without sharing anything.

05 / FRANCHISE EDUCATIONTHE DOCUMENTS, THE FEES, THE QUESTIONS
A SHORT GUIDE TO FRANCHISING

What to understand
before signing.

The purpose of this page is to help you ask better questions—not to tell you whether you should purchase a franchise.

01 / THE BUSINESS

What does owning a franchise mean?

You operate your own business while licensing an established company's brand and systems. You generally pay an initial franchise fee and ongoing fees, follow the franchise agreement, and remain responsible for funding and operating your business. Franchisor support does not eliminate business risk.

02 / THE DOCUMENT

What is an FDD?

FDD stands for Franchise Disclosure Document. It's the formal disclosure document you receive before entering a franchise agreement. It describes fees, estimated startup costs, the franchisor's obligations, restrictions, franchisee information, and other important terms. Read it carefully and have your lawyer and accountant review it.

03 / THE COSTS

Which fees should I expect?

The initial franchise fee is just one component of getting started. You should also review equipment and installation, available working capital, insurance, ongoing software charges, royalties, and any annual fees.

Initial franchise fee—
Continuing royalty—
Technology fee—
Convention fee—

The initial franchise fee is already included in the estimated startup investment range—don't add it twice. The effective FDD and franchise agreement control; confirm current amounts and what's included.

What do the fees mean?

Initial franchise fee: generally a one-time payment for rights under the franchise agreement and the initial support described in your FDD. Royalty: the continuing fee based on gross revenue—not profit. Technology fee: a recurring charge associated with the technology systems specified in the franchise documents. Convention fee: a listed annual charge associated with the franchise convention. Ask exactly what each payment covers, when it's due, and whether other charges apply.

04 / YOUR DUE DILIGENCE

What should I investigate?

Ask what equipment and expenses are included in the estimated startup range, what additional cash reserves you may need, whether financing is actually available, and what responsibilities you'll have for customers and service. Review territory terms, talk with existing franchise owners, and understand the conditions for renewal, transfer, or termination.

Important: Available cash is different from net worth. The calculator below focuses on how much capital you can reasonably commit—not what the franchise will earn.

The costs shown here are informational and should be reconciled to the most current Iceworks Franchise Disclosure Document. No part of this page guarantees territory availability, franchise acceptance, financing, or future financial performance.