1 thing to verifyFranchisor financials: moderate concern

Budget Blinds — full diligence report

The average Budget Blinds unit reports $65k/mo in revenue.

Opening one costs $101k–$211k.

DisclosedItem 19 · 506 units reporting · Item 7 · 1,355 open units · 2026 FDD

Both figures are the franchisor’s own, straight out of the disclosure document. What is masked below is the rest of the analysis — and the capital check that follows measures your cash against that opening range.

14 sections · 113 cited figures · 0 operational tripwires · 14 diligence questions

Everything below is in the report. Every figure is cited to an FDD Item and page, and labelled with where the number came from. The labels are free. The numbers are what you are buying.

Franchise Edge automates franchise diligence. We read the franchisor’s own Franchise Disclosure Document — the filing a franchisor is legally required to hand you at least 14 days before you sign anything or pay anything — and run the work that takes a buyer weeks by hand: every disclosed cost, the unit economics behind the headline, the full fee stack, and what happened to the units that opened before you.

Your analysis is ready. The framework is below — every section, every cited figure, every question, exactly as it appears in the report.

New to FDDs? Here is what is in one

An FDD runs to 23 numbered Items and a few hundred pages. Four of them do most of the work in this report:

Item 7— what it costs to open, low to high. That is the range above, and it is the franchisor’s own estimate.
Item 19 — what units actually earn. A franchisor is not required to publish one at all; when it is missing, or when it reports profit where you expected revenue, that is itself a finding.
Item 20 — openings, closures, transfers and terminations, year by year. This is where churn shows up, and where a growth story either holds or does not.
Item 6 — the ongoing fees. Royalty and ad fund get quoted on a discovery call; the rest of the list usually does not.

Every figure in the report is cited to its Item and page, so you can check any of it against the document yourself.

Questions before you buy? jason@foundersplinko.com — a person, not a ticket queue.

Disclosedstated in this FDDDerivedour calculation from disclosed figuresBenchmarkour industry range, because the FDD does not disclose itInferredAI classification

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Against the total investment the franchisor discloses in Item 7. What it means for your loan, your coverage ratio and your payback is locked.

What it costs to open

13 locked

Item 7, as the franchisor states it. 13 line items.

Initial Franchise FeeDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

Initial Territory FeeDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

Travel and Living Expenses While TrainingDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

In-Person Training for Additional PersonnelDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

VehicleDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

Computer Equipment and SoftwareDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

Credit Card Processing TechnologyDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

Contractor's License and BondDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

Professional FeesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

Initial MarketingDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

Additional Tools and SuppliesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

Additional Funds - 3 MonthsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

Total investmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 14-16Locked

Buyer-fit underwriting

5 locked

What the deal asks of you, against what you told us you have.

Capital gapDerivedLocked

Loan neededDerivedLocked

Net worth requirementDisclosedItem 5Locked

Liquid capital requirementDisclosedItem 5Locked

Margin after fees, rent and debtDerivedLocked

The cash ladder — Single Territory Franchisees

13 locked

13 rungs, monthly, from disclosed revenue down to what the operator actually keeps. Every rung is labeled with where its number came from.

1. Gross revenueDisclosedLocked

2. − Franchise feesDisclosedLocked

3. − Fixed monthly feesDisclosedLocked

4. − Rent & occupancyDisclosedLocked

5. = Margin after fees & rentDerivedLocked

Not profit. Cost of goods, labor and operating costs have not been subtracted yet.

6. − Cost of goodsBenchmarkLocked

7. − LaborBenchmarkLocked

8. − Other operating costsBenchmarkLocked

9. = Operating EBITDABenchmarkLocked

Before debt service, owner compensation, depreciation and taxes.

10. − Debt serviceDerivedLocked

11. = Cash after debt, before owner drawBenchmarkLocked

All cash, so this is rung 9 unchanged. The operator has not been paid out of this yet.

12. Debt-service coverage ratioDerivedLocked

13. Years to recover the build-outBenchmarkLocked

Recovery of the build-out only. It does not include the operator's own time.

How you pay for it

9 locked

The loan this unit would need, and whether the unit can carry it.

Loan amountDerivedLocked

RateBenchmarkLocked

TermBenchmarkLocked

Monthly paymentDerivedLocked

Cash you put inDerivedLocked

Cash after debtDerivedLocked

Return on your cashDerivedLocked

Debt-service coverage ratioDerivedLocked

What this unit could supportDerivedLocked

Ongoing fees and hidden costs

9 locked

9 separate charges in the agreement. Most buyers find four.

RoyaltyDisclosedItem 6Locked

Local Area Marketing (ceiling)DisclosedItem 6Locked

Technology FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked

National Advertising Fund Payment (Tier 1)DisclosedItem 6Locked

National Advertising Fund Payment (Tier 2)DisclosedItem 6Locked

National Advertising Fund Payment (Tier 3)DisclosedItem 6Locked

Technology Fee for Additional TerritoryDisclosedItem 6Locked

Convention FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked

CareerPlug Employee Recruiting ApplicationDisclosedItem 6Locked

What units actually make

4 locked

The franchisor's own numbers, and how wide the spread really is.

Single Territory FranchiseesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 40-43Locked

Two Territory FranchiseesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 40-43Locked

Three or More Territory FranchiseesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 40-43Locked

Units reportedDisclosedItem 19, pp. 40-43Locked

What we found in the document

0 locked

11 Items located and parsed, with 1 gap named below. Read those before relying on the figures above.

Item 1Item 5Item 6Item 7Item 10Item 11Item 12Item 17Item 19Item 20Item 21PARTIAL READ

Before you commit

1 locked

1 things this document cannot settle, and how to settle them.

Operational tripwires

Locked finding

Franchisor financial condition

4 locked

4 findings from the audited statements.

1 medium

Locked finding

Operational tripwires

0 locked

No clause here carried enough detail to report. That is not a clean bill of health — Items 8, 12 and 17 are where these live.

System scale and turnover

5 locked

Item 20, year-end.

Total unitsDisclosedItem 20, pp. 51-61Locked

OpenedDisclosedItem 20, pp. 51-61Locked

ClosedDisclosedItem 20, pp. 51-61Locked

Changed handsDisclosedItem 20, pp. 51-61Locked

Owner turnoverDerivedLocked

1,366 outlets were open at the start of the year, as Item 20 Table 1 discloses, and the year's openings and closures reconcile to the year-end count stated in the same table. Every rate below is a share of that starting count, not of today's.

Leaving — renewal, exit and transfer

31 locked

Item 17, counted rather than characterised. 19 terms the table states, across how long you are in, how it ends, how you sell it and what happens after — plus the grounds it gives each side to end the agreement, and 12 questions to take to a franchisee.

How long you are inHow it endsHow you sell itWhat happens after

Initial termDisclosedItem 17, pp. 37-39Locked

RenewalDisclosedLocked

Longest possible holdDisclosedLocked

Cost to renewDisclosedLocked

Renewal is on the then-current agreementDisclosedLocked

Franchisor may terminate without causeDisclosedLocked

Defaults you can cureDisclosedLocked

Defaults you cannot cureDisclosedLocked

Grounds the table gives you to terminateDisclosedLocked

Franchisor approval required to transferDisclosedLocked

Conditions for approvalDisclosedLocked

Right of first refusalDisclosedLocked

On death or disabilityDisclosedLocked

Non-compete after you leaveDisclosedLocked

RadiusDisclosedLocked

Non-compete while you are inDisclosedLocked

How disputes are resolvedDisclosedLocked

WhereDisclosedLocked

Under which state's lawDisclosedLocked

Locked finding

Who to call, and what to ask

13 locked

14 questions, grouped for operators running a unit today, operators who left last year, placing whoever answers the phone.

What do you actually run for cost of goods, as a percent of sales?

Locked finding

Who runs it

6 locked

6 executives, with tenure and prior operating history.

PresidentChief Operating OfficerChief Executive Officer and President of HFCChief Financial Officer of HFCVice President, General Counsel and SecretaryChief Development Officer

Locked finding

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