Bottom line
- Total investment $48K – $90K including a $35K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 75/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
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 Ledgers unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
95%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Ledgers franchisees operate tax preparation and accounting service centers, serving individual and small business clients with tax filing, bookkeeping, and financial advisory services. Day-to-day operations involve client intake, tax return preparation, financial statement compilation, and compliance advisory. The model relies on seasonal tax season demand and year-round accounting service revenue.
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 · 10 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
Ledgers presents high risk due to catastrophic unit decline, pending fraud litigation, undisclosed financial performance, and going concern status—this franchise system appears to be collapsing with serious governance issues.
Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 rating
- 01MED50% unit decline year-over-year indicates systemic franchise failure and severe market contraction
- 02HIGHPending litigation alleging fraud and breach of contract raises serious governance and trustworthiness concerns
- 03MEDNo disclosed average revenue or net income prevents assessment of franchisee profitability and ROI
- 04HIGHJohn Hewitt litigation history and Liberty Tax connection suggest pattern of legal and operational problems
- 05HIGHGoing concern status indicates potential insolvency and franchisor sustainability risk
- 06MEDHigh 10% royalty rate on undisclosed revenues creates opacity and cash flow risk for franchisees
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
11 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Ledgers · FDD (2025) PDF