Safeguard
Formerly known as Strategic Franchising Systems
Bottom line
- Total investment $11K – $65K including a $2K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 72/100.
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
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 Safeguard unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
205%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Safeguard franchisees typically operate as business service consultants or resellers, selling or distributing Safeguard products/services (likely security, IT, or business systems solutions) to small and medium businesses. Day-to-day activities involve sales prospecting, client relationship management, order fulfillment, and customer service within their local market.
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 · 21 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
This franchise displays high-risk characteristics including undisclosed financials, going concern issues, affiliate litigation over commission tracking and unfair practices, stagnant unit count, lack of territory protection, and a business model with minimal franchisor revenue commitment.
Score breakdown · what drove the 72 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial instability or restructuring risk
- 02MEDNo revenue or net income disclosure (missing Item 19) — impossible to validate ROI claims or unit economics
- 03HIGHLitigation involving affiliate entity (Safeguard Business Systems) with multiple serious allegations including breach of contract, commission disputes, and unfair pricing/sourcing requirements — suggests systemic operational issues
- 04MINOR45 units with unknown growth trajectory — stagnant or declining unit count typical of struggling systems
- 05MINORNo territory protection — franchisees face direct competition from other franchisees and company
- 06MINORExtremely wide investment range ($11,080–$65,130) suggests inconsistent startup costs and unclear business model
- 07MINORZero royalty structure is unusual and may indicate weak franchisor support or cash flow problems
- 08MINORLow franchise fee ($1,500) combined with no royalties suggests franchisor generates minimal recurring revenue to support 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
32 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Safeguard · FDD (2025) PDF