Belocal Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $2K – $12K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
BELOCAL is a franchise publishing hyper-local community print and digital magazines funded by local advertising. Franchisees run a local edition selling ad space, curating content, and managing distribution, typically home-based.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A BELOCAL franchise requires a total initial investment of $2K – $12K, including a $735 franchise fee and an ongoing 15.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $2K – $12K
- 0th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subsetProjection
- Royalty
- 15.0%
- 48th pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 148
- 52nd pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business Services median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $2K – $12K including a $735 franchise fee, 15.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports earnings rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 70/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +2 franchised outlets in the latest year (103 opened, 101 closed) (Item 20).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -12.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- N2 Franchising, Inc.
- Parent company
- The N2 Company
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and President
- JP Hamel
- CEO experience
- 2025 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 9151 Currency Street, Irving, Texas 75063
- Auditor
- A+G LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $77.5M
- vs $82.5M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 9
1 other brand on this site name The N2 Company as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- JP Hamel
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2016
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 34
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 95% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $735 | $735 | |
| Office Furniture & Equipmentnot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Computer Hardware & Softwarenot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Office Supplies and Stationerynot refundable | $90 | $125 | |
| Insurance Coverage (1 year)not refundable | $400 | $650 | |
| Initial Training Expensesnot refundable | $0 | $1K | |
| Attorney and Professional Feesnot refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Licenses and Permitsnot refundable | $0 | $500 | |
| Entity Formationnot refundable | $100 | $500 | |
| Additional Funds (for first 3 months of operation)not refundable | $600 | $1K | |
| Total initial investment | $2K | $12K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $2K – $12K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $600 – $1K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $735 – $735
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 15.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- No advertising fund required; franchisees are not require…
- Total fee load
- 15.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 15.0% |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $735 |
| Total fee load | 15.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for BELOCAL is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one BELOCAL unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Reported as earnings, not sales — gross sales is not profit
- Item 19 type
- earnings
- Sample size
- 84
- vs category median 37 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $4K→$199KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 56 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
Compared against 296 Business Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 15.0% — above the Business Services median of 9.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports earnings rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System contracting at -12.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Business Services medians
How Belocal Compares
Category median of published Business Services brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 148
- Opened
- 103
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 101
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 68.2%
- Company-owned
- 13
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 91%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +10.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -12.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 2
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 6
- Reacquired
- 12
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 60
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 4.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 57.2%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 1.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 58.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 39 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
224 current owners across 39 states.
- TX 28
- FL 20
- CA 15
- NC 14
- OH 14
- MA 10
- AZ 9
- CO 9
- GA 9
- IL 9
- TN 9
- SC 8
- +27 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 54 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
Two administrative actions: (1) California DFPI consent order (Oct 2020) - affiliate Neighborhood Networks Publishing violated California Franchise Investment Law by failing to provide disclosure documents; $10,000 cost reimbursement. (2) Washington DFI consent order (April 2019) - affiliate violated Washington Franchise Investment Protection Act; $4,000 cost reimbursement. No other litigation disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · A+G LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 audited financial statements for N2 Franchising, Inc. (FYE June 30, 2023/2024/2025) are attached as Exhibit A but are image-only scans not captured in the OCR text; no figures extractable.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 70 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth (1.5% YoY) suggests market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MINORTwo regulatory compliance violations in California and Washington indicate disclosure/registration failures to prospective franchisees
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees in same market
- 04MINORHigh royalty rate (15% of advertising value) is contingent on subjective valuation and creates revenue uncertainty
- 05MINORVery low franchise fee ($735) may indicate weak brand support or insufficient franchisor resources
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 15.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 3 years |
|---|---|
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 0 |
| Territory type | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 90 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Irving, Texas (AAA office nearest to principal place of business) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | TX |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two administrative actions: (1) California DFPI consent order (Oct 2020) - affiliate Neighborhood Networks Publishing violated California Franchise Investment Law by failing to provide disclosure documents; $10,000 cost reimbursement. (2) Washington DFI consent order (April 2019) - affiliate violated Washington Franchise Investment Protection Act; $4,000 cost reimbursement. No other litigation disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 12 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 9 hrs
- Training location
- Via Live Webinar or designated training location (Indianapolis, Indiana or other designated location)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 8 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Publisher Hero CRM
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Publisher Hero CRM
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
278 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a BELOCAL franchise?
The total investment to open a BELOCAL franchise ranges from $2K – $12K, with an initial franchise fee of $735. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do BELOCAL franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the BELOCAL FDD discloses outlet figures from $4K to $199K but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns BELOCAL?
BELOCAL is franchised by N2 Franchising, Inc.. Its parent company is The N2 Company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the BELOCAL FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the BELOCAL FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is BELOCAL's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for BELOCAL (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many BELOCAL franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, BELOCAL has 148 total units in the United States, including 135 franchised units and 13 company-owned units. 103 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is BELOCAL a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates BELOCAL as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 70 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.