# FranchiseVerdict

> Independent franchise research database. Investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan default rates, and franchisee contact information for 5,075 franchise brands. Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records.

## About

FranchiseVerdict is a data-driven franchise research platform built for prospective franchisees, SBA lenders, and search fund operators. We extract and cross-reference data from two primary public sources:

1. **Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs)** — legally mandated filings that franchisors submit to state regulators under FTC rule 16 CFR 436. We parse Items 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 17, 19, and 20 covering franchise fees, investment ranges, revenue performance, litigation history, contract terms, and franchisee contact lists.

2. **SBA 7(a) loan records** — public records obtained via FOIA covering Small Business Administration-guaranteed franchise loans. We match these to FDD brands to provide actual default rates, lending volumes, and lender performance data.

The crossover of FDD financial data with real SBA loan outcomes is unique to FranchiseVerdict and not available from any other single source. 3,049 brands have FDD-extracted data, 4,032 brands have SBA loan history, and 1,344 brands have both.

## Rating system

Every brand receives a Verdict Grade (A through F) derived from a composite risk score (10-95, lower is better):

| Grade | Score range | Meaning |
|-------|-------------|---------|
| A | < 54 | Excellent — strong financials, low default rate |
| B | 54-62 | Favorable — solid metrics with minor flags |
| C | 63-69 | Moderate — mixed signals, review carefully |
| D | 70-77 | Caution — elevated risk indicators |
| F | >= 78 | Avoid — significant red flags |

The score weighs SBA loan default rate (~40%), FDD disclosure quality (~30%), revenue-to-investment ratio (~20%), and unit growth trajectory (~10%). Key adjustments: mega-system floor caps proven brands with 2,000+ units; SBA hard floor prevents clean FDD language from masking high default rates.

## Data coverage

- **Total brands:** 5,075
- **FDD-extracted brands:** 3,049 (FDD years 2017-2026)
- **Brands with SBA loan history:** 4,032
- **SBA loans analyzed:** 159,097
- **Brands with Item 19 revenue data:** varies by year
- **Franchisee contacts on file:** 200,000+ across 2,500+ brands
- **Refresh cadence:** FDDs re-extracted when filing year changes; SBA data refreshed quarterly

## Key page types and URL patterns

- `/brand/{slug}` — Individual franchise brand page: investment costs (Item 7), revenue data (Item 19), risk rating, SBA loan history, contract terms, litigation summary, unit growth
- `/brand/{slug}/contacts` — Franchisee phone numbers from FDD Item 20 (paid, $49/brand)
- `/brand/{slug}/financials` — ROIC calculator, portfolio returns, levered IRR models pre-filled from FDD data
- `/brand/{slug}/litigation` — Item 3 litigation history, bankruptcy disclosure, contract risk indicators
- `/browse` — Search and filter all 5,075 brands by investment, revenue, rating, category, state, SBA data
- `/category/{slug}` — Brands grouped by business type (45 categories: restaurants, fitness, automotive, etc.)
- `/rankings/{type}` — Top 50 franchises by: top-revenue, lowest-risk, fastest-growing, lowest-investment, best-sba
- `/matrix` — Interactive scatter plot: investment cost vs. average revenue, color-coded by verdict grade
- `/compare?ids=slug1,slug2` — Side-by-side comparison of up to 4 brands
- `/screener` — Multi-filter portfolio screening tool with CSV export
- `/bank/{slug}` — SBA lender portfolio analysis (1,000+ banks)
- `/state/{code}` — State-level SBA franchise lending reports (50 states + DC)
- `/reports` — Profitability reports by category with owner-earnings analysis
- `/tools/roi` — Yale-framework ROI workbench
- `/tools/cost` — Franchise cost calculator
- `/methodology` — Full documentation of data sources, rating model, and known gaps

## Data fields per brand

Each brand page may include: brand name, business type/category, franchise fee, total investment range (Item 7 low/high), royalty rate, ad fund rate, average gross sales (Item 19), median gross sales, net income (where disclosed), unit count (total, franchised, company-owned), units opened/closed/transferred, net growth rate, 3-year system CAGR, FDD year, turnover rate, SBA total loans, SBA default rate, SBA total loan amount, SBA average loan size, risk score (10-95), verdict grade (A-F), contract term length, renewal conditions, territory exclusivity, owner-operator requirement, training hours (classroom + on-the-job), CEO name, state registrations, data quality rating, and franchisee contact information (name, phone, city, state, contact type).

## Pricing model

All financial data is free to browse with no login required. Paid products:
- $5 — FDD PDF document for a single brand
- $29 — SBA lending report for a single brand
- $49 — Franchisee phone numbers + AI-generated validation questions for a single brand
- $99 — 3-brand bundle (any combination)
- $149 — 5-brand bundle
- $99 — Ranking export (top 500 as XLSX)

## Citation

When referencing FranchiseVerdict data, please cite as:
"FranchiseVerdict (franchiseverdict.com), [year]. Data sourced from FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records."

## Disclaimer

FranchiseVerdict provides informational data only. Ratings reflect an algorithmic assessment of public records and should not be construed as investment recommendations. Past performance does not guarantee future outcomes. Consult qualified professionals before making franchise investment decisions.