Bottom line
- Total investment $10K – $38K including a $10K franchise fee, 25.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 72/100.
- System contracting at -8.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one ITEX unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
-120%
Negative
Overview
About
ITEX franchisees operate local barter exchanges that facilitate non-cash transactions between member businesses. Day-to-day operations involve recruiting business members, matching trade opportunities, processing transactions, and collecting fees on completed exchanges. Franchisees earn only 75% of transaction fees collected (franchisor retains 25%), making success entirely dependent on driving transaction volume in their territory.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 30 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
ITEX is a declining barter exchange franchise with a history of SEC fraud, no financial transparency, unsustainable commission-only economics, and a shrinking unit base suggesting the business model is broken.
Score breakdown · what drove the 72 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSystem shrinking: 5.7% unit decline YoY with only 33 locations suggests dying franchise model
- 02HIGHSEC fraud history: 2000 judgment for misstated financials indicates historical credibility issues with franchisor
- 03MINORNo financial disclosure: Average revenue and net income not provided in FDD Item 19 prevents ROI validation
- 04MEDUnsustainable commission structure: 25% royalty on transaction fees only (not gross revenue) creates thin, unpredictable income dependent on franchisee hustle
- 05MINORNo territory protection: Open territory invites internal competition and cannibalization among 33 remaining franchisees
- 06MINORDecaying unit base: Lost 2 locations in past year; franchise likely entering death spiral if trend continues
- 07MINOR5-year term is short: Minimal time to recoup $10K-$37.7K investment before renegotiation uncertainty
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
64 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
ITEX · FDD (2026) PDF