2 document warnings3 things to verifyFranchisor financials: moderate concern
Puddle Pool Services — full diligence report
Opening one costs $102k–$136k.
Item 19 gives no per-unit figure this report will stand behind: 1 outlet of 44 reported.
Item 7 · 44 open units
Item 19 reports 1 outlet out of 44 outlets in the system. That describes those outlets, not what a new franchisee should expect, so no system figure is published.
That range is 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
14 locked
Item 7, as the franchisor states it. 14 line items.
Initial Franchise FeeDisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11Locked
Training ExpensesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11 – Locked
Initial Marketing LaunchDisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11Locked
Initial Inventory of Tools, Equipment and ChemicalsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11Locked
Business Licenses and PermitsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11 – Locked
Leak Detection Package (optional)DisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11 – Locked
Pressure Washing/Surface Cleaning and Soft Washing (optional)DisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11 – Locked
Computer/Phone SystemDisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11 – Locked
CRM SetupDisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11Locked
Vehicle WrapDisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11 – Locked
Professional FeesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11 – Locked
Uniform, Business Card, Other Physical Marketing MaterialsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11Locked
Total investmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 9-11 – 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 — Item 19 top line
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 revenueInferredLocked
Ask the franchisor why no franchisee FPR is published, and go straight to the Item 20 roster. A franchisor that will not put franchisee revenue in writing has told you something.
2. − Franchise feesInferredLocked
3. − Fixed monthly feesInferredLocked
4. − Rent & occupancyInferredLocked
5. = Margin after fees & rentInferredLocked
6. − Cost of goodsInferredLocked
7. − LaborInferredLocked
8. − Other operating costsInferredLocked
9. = Operating EBITDAInferredLocked
10. − Debt serviceInferredLocked
11. = Cash after debt, before owner drawInferredLocked
12. Debt-service coverage ratioInferredLocked
13. Years to recover the build-outInferredLocked
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
23 locked
23 separate charges in the agreement. Most buyers find four.
RoyaltyDisclosedItem 6Locked
Brand fundDisclosedItem 6Locked
Royalty Fee MinimumDisclosedItem 6Locked
Technology FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Call Center Fee (first territory)DisclosedItem 6Locked
Call Center Fee (each additional territory)DisclosedItem 6Locked
Year 1 Local Advertising (months 4–12)DisclosedItem 6Locked
Year 2+ Local Advertising MinimumDisclosedItem 6Locked
Brand Development Fund Contribution (if established)DisclosedItem 6Locked
Late FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Interest on Overdue AmountsDisclosedItem 6Locked
Non-Sufficient Funds FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Successor Agreement FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Transfer FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Additional Trainee FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Remedial Training FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Audit/Examination of Books FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
11 clauses that change what you signed up for. 4 are rated high.
4 high7 medium
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System scale and turnover
5 locked
Item 20, year-end.
Total unitsDisclosedItem 20, pp. 33-35Locked
OpenedDisclosedItem 20, pp. 33-35Locked
ClosedDisclosedItem 20, pp. 33-35Locked
Changed handsDisclosedItem 20, pp. 33-35Locked
Owner turnoverDerivedLocked
2 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
9 locked
10 questions, grouped for operators running a unit today, operators who left last year.
What do you actually run for cost of goods, as a percent of sales?
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Who runs it
5 locked
5 executives, with tenure and prior operating history.
CEO / FounderFranchise Partner Head of Coaching (Pre/Post Onboarding)Chief Marketing OfficerChief Technology OfficerDirector of Field Operations