1 thing to verifyFranchisor financials: moderate concern

CarePatrol — full diligence report

The average CarePatrol unit reports $39k/mo in revenue.

Opening one costs $65k–$136k.

DisclosedItem 19 · 174 units reporting · Item 7 · 215 open units

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.

13 sections · 92 cited figures · 3 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
Drag to enter the capital you have available.

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

14 locked

Item 7, as the franchisor states it. 14 line items.

Initial Franchise FeeDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Initial Training FeeDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Initial Contact Center FeeDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Travel Expenses for TrainingDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Real Estate & Related ExpensesDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Office EquipmentDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Computer SystemsDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
SignsDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Certified Senior Advisor CertificationDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Professional Fees & Business LicensesDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Vehicle - Deposit & 3 Lease PaymentsDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Insurance - 3-6 monthsDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Additional Funds - 3-6 MonthsDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked
Total investmentDisclosedItem 7, p. 33Locked

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 — Table A - Gross Sales by Territory (60+ months)

13 locked

13 rungs, monthly, from disclosed revenue down to what the operator actually keeps. Every rung is labelled 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
Brand fundDisclosedItem 6Locked
Local advertisingDisclosedItem 6Locked
Technology FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Google Workspace FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Contact Center FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Certified Senior Advisor Annual Renewal FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Accounting Software FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Annual Conference Absentee FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked

What units actually make

9 locked

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

Table A - Gross Sales by Territory (60+ months)DisclosedItem 19, pp. 60-61Locked
Table A - Gross Sales by Territory (49-60 months)DisclosedItem 19, pp. 60-61Locked
Table A - Gross Sales by Territory (37-48 months)DisclosedItem 19, pp. 60-61Locked
Table A - Gross Sales by Territory (13-36 months)DisclosedItem 19, pp. 60-61Locked
Table B - Gross Sales by Owner (60+ months)DisclosedItem 19, pp. 60-61Locked
Table B - Gross Sales by Owner (49-60 months)DisclosedItem 19, pp. 60-61Locked
Table B - Gross Sales by Owner (37-48 months)DisclosedItem 19, pp. 60-61Locked
Table B - Gross Sales by Owner (13-36 months)DisclosedItem 19, pp. 60-61Locked
Units reportedDisclosedItem 19, pp. 60-61Locked

What we found in the document

0 locked

7 Items located and parsed. Every figure above cites one of them.

Item 1Item 5Item 6Item 7Item 19Item 20Item 21

Before you commit

1 locked

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

Operational tripwires
Locked finding

Franchisor financial condition

5 locked

5 findings from the audited statements.

1 medium
Locked finding
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Operational tripwires

3 locked

3 clauses that change what you signed up for. 2 are rated high.

2 high1 medium
Locked finding
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System scale and turnover

5 locked

Item 20, year-end.

Total unitsDisclosedItem 20, p. 66Locked
OpenedDisclosedItem 20, p. 66Locked
ClosedDisclosedItem 20, p. 66Locked
Changed handsDisclosedItem 20, p. 66Locked
Owner turnoverDerivedLocked

201 outlets is this record's reconstruction of the starting count, worked back from the year-end total and the year's openings and closures rather than read from Item 20 Table 1. Every rate below is a share of that starting count, not of today's. Check the reconstruction against Table 1 in your own copy.

Leaving — renewal, exit and transfer

Not yet read for this brand

Item 17 — how long you are in, what ends the agreement, what it takes to sell the business, and what you are still bound by after you leave.

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

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?
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Who runs it

6 locked

6 executives, with tenure and prior operating history.

Chief Executive OfficerChief Financial OfficerChief Marketing OfficerBrand PresidentVice President of OperationsVice President of Franchise Development
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