3 things to verifyFranchisor financials: moderate concern
Ellie Mental Health — full diligence report
The average Ellie Mental Health unit reports $68k/mo in revenue.
Opening one costs $189k–$445k.
DisclosedItem 19 · 188 units reporting · Item 7 · 249 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.
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.
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
18 locked
Item 7, as the franchisor states it. 18 line items.
Initial Franchise FeeDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25Locked
Onboarding Package FeeDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25Locked
Credentialing Services CostsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Lease Deposit and Payments - 3 MonthsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Utility DepositsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Local Pre-Opening MarketingDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Furniture, Fixtures, & EquipmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Computers and Office EquipmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Leasehold Improvements/BuildoutDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Architectural and Engineering ServicesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Project Management Services FeeDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Exterior Signage, Interior Signage, and GraphicsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
InsuranceDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Permits, Licenses, and AccreditationDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Accounting and Legal FeesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Training ExpensesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Additional Funds - 3 MonthsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
Total investmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 24-25 – Locked
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 — Franchised Clinics New Patients
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 & occupancyBenchmarkLocked
5. = Margin after fees & rentBenchmarkLocked
Not profit. Cost of goods, labor and operating costs have not been subtracted yet.
6. − Cost of goodsBenchmark – Locked
7. − LaborBenchmark – Locked
8. − Other operating costsBenchmark – Locked
9. = Operating EBITDABenchmark – Locked
Before debt service, owner compensation, depreciation and taxes.
10. − Debt serviceDerivedLocked
11. = Cash after debt, before owner drawBenchmark – Locked
The operator has not been paid out of this yet.
12. Debt-service coverage ratioBenchmark – Locked
Lenders typically want 1.25 or better: $1.25 of operating profit for every $1.00 of loan payment.
13. Years to recover the build-outBenchmark – Locked
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 debtDerived – Locked
Return on your cashDerived – Locked
Debt-service coverage ratioDerived – Locked
What this unit could supportDerivedLocked
Ongoing fees and hidden costs
5 locked
5 separate charges in the agreement. Most buyers find four.
RoyaltyDisclosedItem 6Locked
No percentage royalty disclosed — confirm in Items 5–6 how this brand charges (some take a markup on required purchases rather than a sales royalty).
Qualified Clinician System FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Qualified Prescriber System FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Shared Services FeesDisclosedItem 6Locked
Annual National Conference Registration FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
What units actually make
7 locked
The franchisor's own numbers, and how wide the spread really is.
Franchised Clinics New PatientsDisclosedItem 19, pp. 59-61Locked
Franchised Clinics Patient AppointmentsDisclosedItem 19, pp. 59-61Locked
Franchised Clinics Collected RevenueDisclosedItem 19, pp. 59-61Locked
2024 Clinics Collected RevenueDisclosedItem 19, pp. 59-61Locked
2023 Clinics Collected RevenueDisclosedItem 19, pp. 59-61Locked
2022 Clinics Collected RevenueDisclosedItem 19, pp. 59-61Locked
Units reportedDisclosedItem 19, pp. 59-61Locked
What we found in the document
0 locked
11 Items located and parsed. Every figure above cites one of them.
3 things this document cannot settle, and how to settle them.
Disclosures to reviewItem 19 earnings basisOperational tripwires
Locked finding
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Franchisor financial condition
6 locked
6 findings from the audited statements.
1 medium
Locked finding
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Operational tripwires
4 locked
4 clauses that change what you signed up for. 1 is rated high.
1 high3 medium
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System scale and turnover
5 locked
Item 20, year-end.
Total unitsDisclosedItem 20, pp. 63-64Locked
OpenedDisclosedItem 20, pp. 63-64Locked
ClosedDisclosedItem 20, pp. 63-64Locked
Changed handsDisclosedItem 20, pp. 63-64Locked
Owner turnoverDerivedLocked
235 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 Operations OfficerVice President of Franchise DevelopmentVice President of Operational ExcellenceVice President of Field OperationsVice President of Finance