1 thing to verifyFranchisor financials: moderate concern

The Exercise Coach — full diligence report

The average The Exercise Coach unit reports $25k/mo in revenue.

Opening one costs $263k–$481k.

DisclosedItem 19 · 210 units reporting · Item 7 · 221 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 · 106 cited figures · 4 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

22 locked

Item 7, as the franchisor states it. 22 line items.

Initial Franchise FeeDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Initial Training FeeDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Initial Training ExpensesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Legal Fee Reimbursement (lease review)DisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Lease Deposit & Rent (3 Months)DisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Utilities DepositsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
ConstructionDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Interior & Exterior SignageDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Decorating, Cleaning Station, Furniture, Fans & FurnishingsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Equipment PackageDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Technology SystemsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
First Aid EquipmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Opening InventoryDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
UniformsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Grand Opening Marketing CommitmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Business LicensesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Professional FeesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
InsuranceDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Pre-opening PayrollDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Surety Bond Premium (Initial)DisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Additional Funds (3 months)DisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked
Total investmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 11-12Locked

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 — All Franchised Studios Gross Sales

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

The operator has not been paid out of this yet.

12. Debt-service coverage ratioBenchmarkLocked

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-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

11 locked

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

RoyaltyDisclosedItem 6Locked
Brand fundDisclosedItem 6Locked
Royalty Fee MinimumDisclosedItem 6Locked
Digital Marketing FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Local Marketing CommitmentDisclosedItem 6Locked
Technology Fee (proprietary technology)DisclosedItem 6Locked
Technology Fee (third-party technology)DisclosedItem 6Locked
EXERBOTICS Balance Tracker RentalDisclosedItem 6Locked
Balance Tracker RentalDisclosedItem 6Locked
Proprietary Technology FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Third-Party Technology FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked

What units actually make

15 locked

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

All Franchised Studios Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
Franchised Studios Quartile 1 Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
Franchised Studios Quartile 2 Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
Franchised Studios Quartile 3 Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
Franchised Studios Quartile 4 Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
Company-Owned Studios Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
All Qualifying Studios Combined Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
Franchised Strength Plus Studios 2025 Baseline Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
Company-Owned Strength Plus Studios 2025 Baseline Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
All Strength Plus Studios Combined 2025 Baseline Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
All Reporting Studios Marketing ExpenseDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
All Reporting Studios Payroll ExpenseDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
All Reporting Studios Rent ExpenseDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
All Reporting Studios Utilities ExpenseDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked
Units reportedDisclosedItem 19, pp. 41-45Locked

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.

Item 19 earnings basis
Locked finding

Franchisor financial condition

5 locked

5 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.

4 medium
Locked finding
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System scale and turnover

5 locked

Item 20, year-end.

Total unitsDisclosedItem 20, p. 46Locked
OpenedDisclosedItem 20, p. 46Locked
ClosedDisclosedItem 20, p. 46Locked
Changed handsDisclosedItem 20, p. 46Locked
Owner turnoverDerivedLocked

215 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?
Locked finding
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Who runs it

3 locked

3 executives, with tenure and prior operating history.

Chief Executive Officer and ManagerChief Operating OfficerWellness Director
Locked finding
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The Exercise Coach Franchise Review (2026): Cost, Item 19 Earnings, Fees — from the actual FDD