Funding & fees
Franchise liquid capital vs net worth: what is the difference?
Separate accessible cash, total wealth and opening funds before assessing franchise eligibility.
Your research toolkit
Franchise articles & buying guides
Explore costs, due diligence, business models and day-to-day operations. Choose a topic or browse the articles below.
Funding & fees
Explore this topic →Separate investment, payment timing and owner cash. Use worked examples to build better questions for your own budget.
Funding & fees
Franchise fee vs total investment: avoid double-counting
Understand what an initial fee covers and reconcile it with the complete franchise opening budget.
Funding & fees
Hidden franchise costs: build a payment register
Find unquoted costs, payment dates and conditional charges before committing to a franchise.
Funding & fees
Franchise equipment finance vs cash purchase
Compare deposits, recurring payments, ownership and exit terms for franchise equipment.
Funding & fees
Franchise owner salary vs drawings: model both work and cash
Separate the owner’s labour cost, household withdrawals and business cash capacity.
Funding & fees
Minimum franchise royalty: when a percentage is not enough
Check how fixed minimums and sales-based royalties interact in a franchise fee model.
Funding & fees
Franchise marketing fund vs local advertising spend
Distinguish network contributions, mandatory local spending and your launch campaign budget.
Funding & fees
Franchise fit-out budget: compare quotations and exclusions
Build a site-specific fit-out register covering scope, dependencies and payment milestones.
Funding & fees
Seasonal franchise cash flow: plan beyond annual averages
Model quieter trading periods, uneven payments and reserve requirements month by month.
Funding & fees
Franchise debt service: cash after loan repayments
Add interest, principal and payment timing to a franchise cash model without double-counting.
Due diligence
Explore this topic →Investigate the offer, people and contractual commitments before moving from a shortlist to a transaction.
Due diligence
Franchise resale vs new territory: compare the evidence
Compare an existing franchise purchase with opening a new territory using different evidence tests.
Due diligence
Questions to ask existing franchisees: an interview plan
Use consistent operator interviews to test training, support, workload and opening assumptions.
Due diligence
Franchise discovery day checklist: prepare useful questions
Prepare for a franchise discovery meeting and turn presentations into a documented follow-up list.
Due diligence
Franchise brokers: questions about payment and selection
Understand how a franchise intermediary is paid and which opportunities their search actually covers.
Due diligence
Franchise renewal: costs, conditions and timing to review
Examine franchise renewal separately from your assumptions about running the business indefinitely.
Due diligence
Franchise territory exclusivity: map the exceptions
Check which customers, channels and locations a franchise territory actually protects.
Due diligence
Franchise approved suppliers: compare the complete purchasing cost
Review supplier restrictions, delivery terms and substitution procedures before modelling margins.
Due diligence
Franchise personal guarantees: questions for your adviser
Map personal commitments across franchise, premises and finance documents before signing.
Due diligence
Selling a franchise: transfer conditions and exit costs
Prepare an exit register covering approvals, liabilities and commitments that may survive a sale.
Due diligence
Franchise operating manual changes: planning for new requirements
Check how operating standards can change and how new requirements enter your investment plan.
US franchise disclosure
Explore this topic →Read specific US FDD sections with focused worksheets. These guides do not replace the current document or legal advice.
US franchise disclosure
FDD Items 5 and 6: build a US franchise fee register
Read initial and continuing fee disclosures together and connect them to payment timing.
US franchise disclosure
FDD Item 7: turn the investment table into a site budget
Use a US franchise initial-investment disclosure without mistaking its range for a site quotation.
US franchise disclosure
FDD Item 10: review franchisor-related financing
Connect disclosed financing arrangements to lender documents, cash payments and security questions.
US franchise disclosure
FDD Item 11: check training and franchise support
Turn US franchise support disclosures into a responsibility and launch-readiness checklist.
US franchise disclosure
FDD Item 12: read territory and sales-channel disclosures
Use Item 12 to identify territorial rights, conditions and unresolved channel questions in a US offer.
US franchise disclosure
FDD Item 15: owner involvement and management requirements
Check the operating role required by a US franchise before assuming absentee ownership.
US franchise disclosure
FDD Item 19: analyse earnings claims without forecasting income
Check the sample, measure and missing costs behind a US franchise financial performance representation.
US franchise disclosure
FDD Item 20: interpret openings, closures and transfers
Read outlet movements and franchisee contacts without inventing a franchise failure rate.
US franchise disclosure
FDD Item 21: questions about franchisor financial statements
Prepare an accountant’s review of the franchisor’s financial position and support capacity.
US franchise disclosure
US franchise FDD waiting period: organise the review timeline
Understand the federal 14-calendar-day disclosure baseline and preserve time for actual document review.
Launch & operations
Explore this topic →Turn a proposed operating model into site, staffing, capacity and continuity questions.
Launch & operations
Franchise location scorecard: compare sites consistently
Compare candidate franchise locations using evidence, operating constraints and clearly stated assumptions.
Launch & operations
Franchise premises lease: questions before committing
Align lease obligations with franchise approval, fit-out responsibilities and the operating plan.
Launch & operations
Franchise opening timeline: map dependencies and decisions
Plan a franchise launch around approvals, suppliers, staffing and cash commitments.
Launch & operations
Franchise staffing costs: build a shift-based model
Translate opening hours and service tasks into staffing hours and a transparent cost scenario.
Launch & operations
Restaurant franchise delivery margins: cost each order
Compare delivery and in-store orders using contribution after channel-specific costs.
Launch & operations
Restaurant franchise food waste: measure the operating loss
Create a practical waste log and test purchasing and production changes without compromising safety.
Launch & operations
Franchise equipment downtime: prepare a continuity plan
Map critical equipment, response routes and the cash effects of interrupted trading.
Launch & operations
Service franchise customer acquisition cost: count paying customers
Measure acquisition spending against completed paid work rather than raw enquiries.
Launch & operations
Appointment-based franchise capacity: turn time into bookings
Model bookable hours, utilisation and cancellations for a service franchise.
Launch & operations
Opening a second franchise location: readiness checks
Test management, cash, permissions and shared operating capacity before expanding.
Business models
Explore this topic →Compare the actual work, assets and customer relationships behind different franchise formats.
Business models
Home-based franchises: costs, workload and practical limits
Evaluate a home-based franchise without assuming that no shop means no overhead or operating constraints.
Business models
Cleaning franchises: compare routes, contracts and staffing
Compare a cleaning franchise’s promised support with customer acquisition, labour and payment requirements.
Business models
Gym franchises: membership economics and operating questions
Review gym membership receipts, retention, staffing and equipment commitments before comparing offers.
Business models
Tutoring franchises: instructor role, enrolment and centre capacity
Compare education-franchise offers through teaching responsibility, enrolment and term-time workload.
Business models
Pet-care franchises: compare home visits, grooming and premises
Evaluate pet-care service formats through capacity, travel, facilities and local requirements.
Business models
Vending franchise vs business opportunity: what are you buying?
Separate equipment sales, placement promises and franchise rights in a vending proposal.
Business models
Laundromat franchises: equipment, utilities and utilisation
Assess laundry-franchise proposals through site infrastructure, machine use and continuing asset costs.
Business models
Hotel franchise vs management agreement: compare the roles
Distinguish brand rights, property ownership and hotel operating responsibility before comparing proposals.
Business models
Kiosk franchise vs full store: compare footprint and operating limits
Compare kiosk and shop formats through menu, storage, landlord terms and total project scope.
Business models
Drive-through franchise vs dine-in: site and service trade-offs
Compare restaurant formats through vehicle access, kitchen throughput and complete site requirements.
Start with the foundations
01How much does a franchise really cost?
Build a complete opening budget, from the franchise fee to working capital.
Read the guide →
02How to compare franchise opportunities
A practical framework for comparing availability, commitments and costs.
Read the guide →
03Questions to ask before buying a franchise
Turn your shortlist into a focused conversation with each franchisor.
Read the guide →
04How to read a Franchise Disclosure Document
Build an evidence file and a question log for your US franchise review.
Read the guide →
05Franchise royalties and ongoing fees explained
Model monthly percentage charges and fixed fees with an interactive calculator.
Read the guide →
06Franchise break-even calculator: sales and daily orders
Test the sales your operating cost assumptions would require.
Read the guide →
07Franchise vs independent business: how to compare
Compare control, support, costs and the work each route requires.
Read the guide →
08Franchise working capital: plan your operating cash reserve
Separate accounting working capital from cash runway, with a reserve calculator.
Read the guide →
09Franchise revenue vs profit: what can the owner actually earn?
Use a worked example to distinguish sales, operating surplus and available cash.
Read the guide →