Franchise Facts Report → methodology

Methodology & sources

Every figure on this site comes from a franchisor’s own Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), filed with a state franchise registry and structured by us. Nothing is estimated or editorialized.

Where the data comes from

Franchisors that sell in registration states must file their FDD with the state securities regulator, and those filings are public records. We ingest the Minnesota Dept. of Commerce CARDS franchise registrations (and additional state registries over time), download each brand’s most recent “Clean FDD,” and extract the structured fields below.

What we extract

• Item 7 — total initial investment. The low–high range to open and operate through the initial period.
• Items 5 & 6 — fees. Initial franchise fee, royalty, and ad/brand-fund contributions.
• Item 19 — financial performance representation. Whether the franchisor discloses earnings, and the reported figures. Disclosure is optional under the FTC Franchise Rule — across the brands we’ve parsed, about 61% include one.
• Item 3 — litigation. Disclosed legal proceedings, with franchisee-initiated actions flagged.
• Item 20 — outlets. Openings, closures, transfers, and terminations — the franchisee-churn signal.

Limits

• Figures are as disclosed in the most recent registered FDD; a franchisor may have filed a newer FDD elsewhere.
• Where a field couldn’t be parsed cleanly from the PDF, we show “see the FDD” rather than assert a number.
• This is an informational product — not legal, financial, or investment advice, and not affiliated with any franchisor. Always read the full FDD and consult a franchise attorney and accountant.

Coverage: 44 brands.