What you get — the report, in order
Every report follows the same fixed template, in this order. An AI-assisted, human-reviewed research report on one specific franchise you name:
FDD summary in plain English
What the franchise is, what the buyer gets, what the franchisor provides, and what the buyer must do — summarized from the FDD, with FDD item references throughout. No sales language, no franchisor marketing claims repeated as fact.
Fee and royalty math (tables)
Initial fees (FDD Item 5), each fee with amount and item/page cited. Other fees (Item 6): royalty %, brand/marketing fund %, other recurring fees — each cited. Estimated initial investment (Item 7): the full range with components shown, not a single blended number.
Territory and competition snapshot
Territory grant as described in the FDD (item cited). Nearby location counts from public sources (source + date). Competing concepts in your market where public data allows, with sources stated and gaps marked “not found in public sources.”
Owner-review sentiment analysis
Public owner/franchisee reviews summarized with sample size (n = __), sources listed, and date range — most frequent positive themes and most frequent negative themes, without cherry-picking, without inventing reviews, and without presenting sentiment as a verified fact about quality. Nothing is quoted that cannot be traced to a public source.
Failure / closure signals
Location-count changes, closure mentions in public sources, litigation mentions (FDD Item 3), and public news — each cited or marked unverified. Signals are items to ask about, never proof that a franchise is failing. If a signal is thin, the report says so.
Financing considerations (general information only)
Common financing routes buyers typically explore (SBA, franchisor financing if disclosed in the FDD, personal capital), described in general terms. No personalized financing advice, no route recommended for any buyer.
Questions to ask the franchisor (tailored checklist)
Derived from the report’s findings — the report’s most actionable section, and deliberately questions, not a verdict. In form: “Item 19 is absent — ask how existing franchisees’ performance is tracked.” “Owner reviews frequently mention supply costs — ask current franchisees about actual supply costs as a share of sales.”
Limitations note + appendix
What was not available (FDD not public, thin review sample, territory data gaps), what changed since the last public filing if known, and what to still check with an attorney/accountant — plus a source list for every section, so any figure can be re-verified from the appendix.
Sample format — illustrative figures from the published sample report, not a real franchise
How the fee math reads
Worked arithmetic on cited inputs, labeled as arithmetic — not as a prediction: at $600,000 in annual gross sales, a 6% royalty = $36,000 and a 2% brand fund = $12,000, for $48,000 in combined ongoing fees before any other Item 6 fees. In a paid report, every figure cites its FDD item/page or is marked “not found in public sources.” Estimates, where used at all, are labeled as estimates with their inputs shown.
If an FDD is not publicly available, the report says so plainly, lists what was available, and does not fill the gap with invented figures. FDDs change — every report is verified against the public sources available at order time, never copied from a prior report.
Sample report — see the format (SAMPLE)
SAMPLE throughout: the brand below, “Sunrise Smoothie Co.,” is fictional, and every figure is illustrative sample data from the published sample report — not a real franchise and not real FDD figures. A paid report replaces every sample figure with a cited figure from a real public source, or marks it “not found in public sources.” No verdict is given, and none is implied.
Open the sample report (SAMPLE — fictional brand, illustrative figures only)
Brand researched (sample): Sunrise Smoothie Co. (fictional) — Sources as of: sample date only.
Disclaimer: This sample report is a research summary for educational purposes only. It is not investment, legal, financial, or tax advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy, not buy, or invest in any franchise. Verify all figures against the current Franchise Disclosure Document and consult a licensed attorney and accountant before making any franchise decision. No earnings are predicted or guaranteed.
1. FDD summary (sample)
Sunrise Smoothie Co. (sample) is a fictional smoothie-bar franchise. The franchisor provides a store build-out guide, a menu system, and a supplier list; the buyer operates one retail location, hires and trains staff, and follows the franchisor’s operating manual. In a paid report, each sentence here cites an FDD item.
2. Fee and royalty math (sample figures — illustrative only)
| Fee | Sample figure | Sample citation |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35,000 (sample) | Sample FDD Item 5, p. 12 (illustrative) |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales (sample) | Sample FDD Item 6, p. 18 (illustrative) |
| Brand fund contribution | 2% of gross sales (sample) | Sample FDD Item 6, p. 19 (illustrative) |
| Estimated initial investment | $210,000–$385,000 (sample) | Sample FDD Item 7, pp. 22–26 (illustrative) |
Worked arithmetic on sample inputs (not a prediction): at $600,000 in annual gross sales, a 6% royalty = $36,000 and a 2% brand fund = $12,000, for $48,000 in combined ongoing fees before any other Item 6 fees.
3. Territory and competition snapshot (sample)
Sample territory grant: one protected territory defined by ZIP codes in the sample FDD (Item 12, sample p. 41). Nearby locations (sample): 4 locations in the sample metro, per the franchisor’s published location list dated sample month. Competing concepts in the sample market: 3 smoothie/juice concepts identified from public business listings — sources listed in the appendix of a paid report.
4. Owner-review sentiment (sample)
Sample size: n = 42 public reviews across two review platforms, sample date range. Most frequent positive themes (sample): training program, menu simplicity. Most frequent negative themes (sample): supply costs, territory questions. Sentiment is a summary of public reviews, not a verified fact about the franchise’s quality.
5. Failure / closure signals (sample)
Sample: 1 location closure mentioned in local news in the sample period (outlet + date cited in a paid report); no litigation items shown in the sample FDD Item 3. Signals are items to ask about, not proof of failure.
6. Financing considerations (general information only)
Buyers typically explore SBA loans, franchisor financing if disclosed in the FDD, and personal capital. No route is recommended for any buyer. Ask a lender and your accountant which routes fit your situation.
7. Questions to ask the franchisor (sample)
- Item 19 is absent in this sample — ask how existing franchisees’ performance is tracked.
- Owner reviews frequently mention supply costs — ask current franchisees about actual supply costs as a share of sales.
- Ask how the protected territory is defined and what happens if a second location opens nearby.
- Ask for the current FDD and confirm every figure in this report against it before deciding.
8. Limitations (sample)
This is a sample with fictional figures. A paid report lists real gaps honestly: FDD not publicly available, thin review sample, or territory data gaps are marked, not padded. This sample report is a research summary for educational purposes only — not investment, legal, financial, or tax advice, and not a recommendation to buy, not buy, or invest in any franchise. No earnings are predicted or guaranteed.
End of sample. No verdict is given, and none is implied.
Prices
Single-brand report
$349
One franchise brand, full template (see above)
Comparison report
$649
2–3 brands you name, side by side on the same template, plus a combined question checklist
Rush delivery
+$100, if offered later
Turnaround: a report is delivered as a PDF within a few business days of order, and the turnaround for your order is stated at order time, based on queue depth. After you order, the confirmation email restates that turnaround, what the report is and is not, and the disclaimer — before the work begins, not after.
What the report does NOT contain — ever
No buy/don’t-buy verdict. No "recommend / do not recommend." No score or rating that implies a recommendation — not even a soft one ("leaning positive," "on balance, attractive"). No earnings prediction. No legal conclusion. No financial advice ("you can afford this," "this is a good investment"). The report ends with questions and checks, not a recommendation. If you ask for a verdict, the answer is a templated decline with a referral to your attorney/accountant.
What you provide at order
Brand name (and 2nd/3rd brands for a comparison), and your market if relevant for the territory/competition snapshot. The confirmation email restates turnaround, what the report is/is not, and the disclaimer.
What is NOT included
No legal, financial, investment, or tax advice. No broker service, no negotiation with the franchisor, no introduction to franchisors, no financing arrangement, no personalized advice of any kind. No franchisor payment is ever accepted — the brand is paid only by the buyer. That independence is the reason to trust the report more than franchisor sales material.
Independence — how this brand is paid, and how it is not
Franchise File is an independent research publisher — not a broker, not a franchisor, not a regulator. It is paid only by the buyer. It takes no franchisor payment, no broker commission, and no paid placement.
Delivered reports are private to the buyer: the brand never publishes, forwards, or quotes a buyer's delivered report. Only the sample report on this page and anonymized insights are public. That independence is the reason to trust the report more than franchisor sales material — and it is also why the report contains no verdict: it ends with questions and checks, for you to take to your attorney and accountant.
Refund and correction terms
A $349 report (and a $649 comparison) far exceed the $50 auto-approve threshold, so any full-report refund request is escalated to the owner — it is never auto-approved. The first remedy for a factual error is a correction: the report is corrected, the correction is noted, and the corrected report is re-delivered. Delivered reports are private to the buyer and are never published, forwarded, or quoted by the brand. Only the sample report and anonymized insights are public.
Disclaimer (on every report cover and appendix)
This report is a research summary for educational purposes only. It is not investment, legal, financial, or tax advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy, not buy, or invest in any franchise. Verify all figures against the current Franchise Disclosure Document and consult a licensed attorney and accountant before making any franchise decision. No earnings are predicted or guaranteed.
Methodology — which FDD items are covered, and how every figure is cited
Every report follows the same fixed template (the 8 sections above). The fee, territory, and performance sections are built from named FDD items, and the citation standard is the same on every line:
- Item 3 — litigation mentions, cross-checked in the failure / closure signals section.
- Item 5 — initial fees: each fee, its amount, and its item/page citation, in a table.
- Item 6 — other fees: royalty %, brand/marketing fund %, and other recurring fees, each cited — the inputs for the worked fee arithmetic.
- Item 7 — estimated initial investment: the full range, with components shown, not a single blended number.
- Item 12 — the territory grant, as described in the FDD, behind the territory and competition snapshot.
- Item 19 — financial performance representations: if Item 19 is absent, the report says so; if it is present, the report reports what Item 19 states, with citation, without projecting it onto the buyer. No earnings are predicted or guaranteed either way.
The FDD summary in section 1 carries FDD item references throughout, and every financial figure in the report either cites its FDD item/page or is marked “not found in public sources.” Estimates, where used at all, are labeled as estimates with their inputs shown. The appendix closes the loop: a source list for every section — figure → FDD item/page or public source → date pulled — so you, your attorney, and your accountant can re-verify any figure.
Where the research comes from — public sources only
- State franchise registration / disclosure filings — several states publish FDD filings or registration records online; the franchisor's home state and the buyer's state are checked first.
- FTC Franchise Rule resources — the FTC's guidance explains what an FDD must contain (23 items); it is used to check template completeness, not as a source of brand figures.
- SEC filings — for publicly traded franchisors, filings may disclose unit counts, revenues, and litigation; the filing and date are cited.
- The franchisor's own public disclosures — opportunity pages, press releases, published unit counts. Treated as franchisor claims, not independent facts, and labeled as such.
- Public owner reviews — platform, sample size, and date range are recorded for every sentiment claim; a platform's self-selected reviews are never presented as a representative survey, and reviews are never invented.
- Job postings — a hiring signal only, never a financial claim.
- Location counts — the franchisor's published location finder, news announcements, and business registries, cross-checked against at least two sources where possible.
- News and litigation mentions — public news archives and court records for Item 3 cross-checks, cited by outlet and date.
No leaked, stolen, or non-public FDDs. No private personal data about franchise owners, buyers, or franchisor staff. No data scraped behind logins. If the FDD for a brand is not publicly available, the report states that plainly, lists what was available, and does not fill the gap with invented figures. Every report is verified against the public sources available at order time, never copied from a prior report — and if a prior figure is superseded by a newer filing, the next report uses the newer filing and notes the change.
Sourcing standard
Every financial figure cites its FDD item/page or is marked “not found in public sources.” Every sentiment claim states its source and sample size. Estimates, where used at all, are labeled as estimates with their inputs shown. If an FDD is not publicly available, the report says so plainly, lists what was available, and does not fill the gap with invented figures. FDDs change — every report is verified against the public sources available at order time, never copied from a prior report.
Estimate your cost
Computed only from the prices on this page — nothing else is added.
Total:
Formula: report price × number of reports. Rush delivery (+$100) is not included — this page lists it as “if offered later.”
Contact Franchise File
Send a message with the form below. It posts via Netlify Forms on the live site. Prefer email? Write to hello@franchisefile.co directly.
Get started
Questions or ready to start? Email Franchise File and tell us what you need.
hello@franchisefile.co