As part of your evaluation of a franchise opportunity and related due diligence, it’s important you carefully review the Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDD) with the assistance of qualified franchise counsel. Specific focus should be placed on certain items in the FDD, including but not limited to, the background and experience of franchisor management, litigation, investment, territory, financial performance and most importantly, franchise system growth and franchisee turnover.
Although each item in an FDD is important, some are more important than others. For example, Item 20 and its tables contain critical statistics that disclose franchise system growth, classification of franchisee terminations, franchises sold but not opened and other key data. A recent analysis by Franchise Grade® revealed that since 2010, 297 franchise systems, representing 13% of the franchises, had errors in their Item 20. The 3 franchise sectors that had the highest percent of franchise system errors are: Personal Services 25.6%, Quick Serve Restaurants 18.2% and Commercial and Residential Services 16.2%.
You can review the details here.
Let this be a warning to you to carefully review Item 20 in an FDD for errors. Although there can be changes in a franchise system from one year to another, the information disclosed in Item 20 should be accurate. If errors are found in an Item 20, you should assume that other items in the FDD such as Items 6 and 7 might also contain errors.
When evaluating a franchise opportunity, you need to confirm that the information in Item 20 is correct. To do otherwise, could lead to problems in your future.
Not sure how much can you afford?
Fill out our Franchise Affordability Calculator
Voyage Franchising
Related Articles
Franchising and Murphy’s Law
When it comes to franchising, Murphy’s Law comes into play more often than desired. In many cases, a new franchise takes off slower than anticipated.
Franchise Candidates Need to Dig Deeper
Before a prospective franchisee invests they must review the information disclosed in the Franchise Disclosure Documents.
Franchisors Need to Avoid Wasting Their Franchisee Leads
When franchisors strategize their system growth, the major focus is placed on the amount and quality of their franchisee leads.
There’s More to a Franchise Than the Fees
The most immediate consideration is usually how much is the franchise fee and other ongoing payments like royalty and advertising fees.
Monitoring your Consumer Sentiment Is Key to Selling your Franchise
In the franchise industry, franchisors can view comparisons and relationships between consumer satisfaction for the products or services a franchise offers.
How Franchisors Can Build Brand Recognition
In a recent study by the research team at Franchise Grade has indicated that 71% of franchise systems have 100 or fewer franchise units.
Franchisings Biggest Problem – Consumer Driven Investing
A good consumer experience is not a reason to invest in a franchise. It skews the decision-making process of a prospective franchisee from start to finish.