Read the fine print before the check.

Franchise attorneys typically charge $2,000–$5,000+ for an FDD review that takes days or weeks. VetMyFranchise gives you a structured 12-section FDD analysis in minutes for $49 — a research starting point, not a substitute for legal review. We recommend using our report alongside professional legal advice for major investment decisions.

Every franchise includes a free executive summary with key stats, red and green flags, and questions to ask the franchisor. You also get free access to our franchise comparison tool (up to 4 side by side) and industry benchmarks showing how each franchise ranks against peers. No account needed.

An FDD is a legal document that franchisors must provide to prospective buyers. It contains 23 items covering everything from fees and litigation history to financial performance. We extract and structure the disclosures from these documents to surface the insights that matter most.

A comprehensive 12-section analysis personalized to your situation — including financial fit analysis based on your capital, location-specific insights, competitive positioning with industry benchmarks, risk assessment, and red flags.

Most reports are generated and delivered to your email within minutes of purchase. You also get a secure download link that you can access anytime.

We analyze FDDs across 2,000+ franchises to build industry averages and percentile rankings. When you view a franchise, you see how its investment costs, fees, and system size compare to other franchises in the same industry.

Initial franchise fees typically range from $10,000 for low-cost service brands to $75,000+ for established national chains, with total startup investment commonly between $75,000 and $500,000 once you add real estate, equipment, inventory, training, and working capital. Each FDD discloses the full investment range in Item 7. VetMyFranchise lets you compare the total investment range across 2,000+ franchises side by side.

The franchise fee (disclosed in Item 5) is the one-time payment for the right to use the brand and system — typically $20,000 to $75,000. The total investment (Item 7) includes the franchise fee PLUS real estate, build-out, equipment, signage, inventory, training, insurance, and 3-6 months of working capital. A $40,000 franchise fee can easily mean $300,000+ in total cash needed to open the doors.

Home-services, cleaning, mobile, and online-based franchises typically have the lowest startup costs — many under $50,000 total investment when you skip retail real estate. VetMyFranchise lets you filter the 2,000+ franchise library by investment range to find concepts that fit your available capital.

Item 19 is the Financial Performance Representation — the only place in an FDD where the franchisor can disclose actual revenue or earnings figures from existing units. Disclosure is OPTIONAL: only about half of franchisors include an Item 19. When present, it usually shows average or median revenue per unit, sometimes broken down by location size or tenure. A missing Item 19 is a yellow flag — not necessarily disqualifying, but you should ask the franchisor why.

The royalty rate (disclosed in Item 6) is the ongoing percentage of gross revenue you pay to the franchisor for the duration of your agreement. Typical royalties range from 4% to 8% of gross sales, paid weekly or monthly. There may also be a separate ad fund contribution (often 1% to 3%) on top of the royalty. Higher royalties demand higher unit economics to make sense for the franchisee.

Yes — you should always have a franchise attorney review the FDD and Franchise Agreement before signing. VetMyFranchise gives you a structured breakdown of every FDD section so you can identify the issues to discuss with your attorney, but it does not replace legal review. Most franchise attorneys charge $2,000 to $5,000 for a full FDD review.

Many franchisors offer veteran discounts on the initial franchise fee — commonly 10% to 25% off, sometimes higher. Programs vary widely; the discount is disclosed in Item 5 of the FDD. The International Franchise Association maintains a VetFran directory of participating brands. VetMyFranchise reports surface fee discounts where they appear in the FDD.

Look at the full picture: total investment vs. your available capital, royalty and ad-fund rates against industry medians, system size and growth trend (Item 20), litigation history (Item 3), and any financial performance disclosed in Item 19. Talk to existing franchisees from the Item 20 contact list — they will tell you what really happens after you sign. VetMyFranchise structures all of this into a single 12-section deep-dive report.