Datasets:
FranchiseDepth FDD Database, 2026 edition: guide for AI assistants and analysts
Read this before querying. It says what every table and column means, the units, what NULL means, and how derived figures are computed.
Ground rules
- Every figure comes from a franchisor's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) as filed with a US state registry, or is calculated from those figures by the method stated below.
- NULL means not disclosed, not read, or not a single number. Never treat NULL as 0.
- Money is USD unless the column says otherwise. *_pct columns are percentages (6.5 = 6.5%).
- Join every table on brand_slug. brands has one row per brand.
- brands.edition_note is set when the FDD is not the brand's standard unit-franchise offer (master, regional, area representative, joint venture, license, non-traditional). Exclude those rows from unit-franchise comparisons.
- brands.hand_checked = 1 marks brands whose figures a FranchiseDepth audit checked against the FDD page by page.
- brands.older_fdd = 1 marks brands whose latest FDD on file is from 2022 or earlier. Filter on it when you need current filings, and say so when you cite one.
- Item 19 figures are what the franchisor chose to disclose, for the cohort it chose. Always state the cohort (cohort_label) and outlet_count with a figure. Compare brands with comparable_revenue, which applies one fixed rule.
- Figures are from the FDD year in brands.fdd_year. They describe that FDD, not today.
- This is information, not financial or legal advice. Verify any figure against the FDD before relying on it.
Tables
brands (25 rows)
One row per franchise brand: identity, the FDD the data comes from, and verification status.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Primary key used by every table. Also the FranchiseDepth page path: franchisedepth.com/franchise// |
| brand_name | TEXT | Brand name as shown on FranchiseDepth. |
| legal_name | TEXT | Franchisor legal entity as filed. |
| industry | TEXT | FranchiseDepth industry code, e.g. food-quick-service, home-services-cleaning. |
| industry_label | TEXT | Readable industry name. |
| sub_category | TEXT | Narrower category where assigned, else NULL. |
| fdd_year | INTEGER | Issuance year of the FDD all of this brand's figures come from (the latest on file). |
| fdd_filing_state | TEXT | State registry the FDD was retrieved from (WI, MN, or other); NASAA EFD where noted. |
| fdd_effective_date | TEXT | FDD issuance/effective date (YYYY-MM-DD) where printed. |
| fdd_source_url | TEXT | Where the FDD can be looked up: the filing's own URL when known, else the state registry or NASAA EFD search page. |
| franchisedepth_url | TEXT | The brand's FranchiseDepth page, which shows the same figures. |
| hand_checked | INTEGER | 1 if a FranchiseDepth audit compared this brand's figures to the FDD page by page, else 0. |
| corrections_logged | INTEGER | Number of logged corrections applied to this brand's data, each recorded with the FDD page it was checked against. |
| older_fdd | INTEGER | 1 when the latest FDD on file is from 2022 or earlier: its figures may be out of date. Filter on it if you need current filings. |
| edition_note | TEXT | Non-NULL when the FDD on file is not the brand's standard unit-franchise offer (master, regional, area-representative, joint-venture, license, non-traditional or conversion program). Exclude these from unit-franchise comparisons. |
fees (25 rows)
Item 5, 6 and 7 money figures, one row per brand. NULL = not disclosed or not a fixed number (see fee_notes).
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| initial_fee_low_usd | REAL | Item 5 standard initial franchise fee, low end (discounts are not the range; they are in fee_notes). |
| initial_fee_high_usd | REAL | Item 5 standard initial franchise fee, high end. |
| royalty_pct | REAL | Item 6 royalty as % of gross sales; the first/standard tier where tiered. NULL when the royalty is not a single % (see fee_notes). |
| royalty_min_monthly_usd | REAL | Minimum monthly royalty that applies from opening (steady-state amount where it steps up). With royalty_pct NULL, a fixed monthly royalty. |
| marketing_fee_pct | REAL | Brand/marketing fund contribution as % of gross sales. 0 = fund exists or is reserved but not currently charged. |
| marketing_min_monthly_usd | REAL | Minimum or fixed monthly marketing fund amount, where it applies from opening. |
| tech_fee_monthly_usd | REAL | Sum of fixed mandatory monthly technology/software fees paid to the franchisor or required vendors. |
| total_investment_low_usd | REAL | Item 7 total estimated initial investment, low end (new unit). |
| total_investment_high_usd | REAL | Item 7 total estimated initial investment, high end. |
| liquid_capital_usd | REAL | Minimum liquid capital the franchisor requires, where stated. |
| net_worth_usd | REAL | Minimum net worth the franchisor requires, where stated. |
fee_notes (25 rows)
Plain-text notes on fees that don't fit a single number: tiers, minimum schedules, discounts, fixed program fees.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| fee_notes | TEXT | Factual notes taken from Items 5-7 of the FDD. |
item19_figures (388 rows)
Every Item 19 financial performance figure on file: one row per metric x cohort. Long format; filter by metric and cohort.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| metric | TEXT | Normalized metric: gross_sales, total_revenue, gross_profit, net_profit, ebitda, average_ticket, transactions, labor_pct, occupancy_pct, other. |
| metric_label | TEXT | The metric's name as printed in the FDD. |
| cohort | TEXT | Normalized cohort: all_franchised, all_company_owned, performance_anchored (top/bottom bands, quartiles), open_24_plus_mo, open_12_24mo, open_lt_12mo, other. |
| cohort_label | TEXT | The cohort as printed in the FDD. |
| outlet_count | INTEGER | Outlets (or owners, where cohort_label says per franchisee) in the cohort. |
| period | TEXT | Reporting period as printed. |
| year | INTEGER | Reporting year. |
| unit_period | TEXT | annual, monthly or weekly: the period each value covers. |
| scope | TEXT | franchisee or company-owned. |
| avg_value | REAL | Average (mean). USD unless metric is a percentage (_pct metrics: percent). |
| median_value | REAL | Median. |
| min_value | REAL | Lowest value printed for the cohort. |
| max_value | REAL | Highest value printed for the cohort. |
| fdd_page | INTEGER | FDD page the figure was read from (PDF page), where recorded. |
comparable_revenue (25 rows)
One comparable revenue figure per brand that has one, picked by a single fixed rule so brands can be ranked.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| annual_revenue_usd | REAL | Gross sales or total revenue per outlet, annualized; median where printed, else average. |
| basis | TEXT | Which figure was used: median or average, the cohort and outlet count, and any annualization. |
| rule | TEXT | The selection rule (all-franchised cohort of 5+ outlets; never company-owned, top-performer or ramp-up cohorts). |
outlets_by_year (219 rows)
Item 20 Table 1: outlets at year end by outlet type, as printed.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| year | INTEGER | Year (FDD fiscal year). |
| outlet_type | TEXT | franchised, company-owned or total. |
| outlets_start | INTEGER | Outlets at start of year. |
| outlets_end | INTEGER | Outlets at end of year. |
turnover_by_year (75 rows)
Item 20 Table 3 (and Table 2 transfers): what happened to franchised outlets each year, as printed.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| year | INTEGER | Year. |
| outlets_start | INTEGER | Franchised outlets at start of year. |
| opened | INTEGER | Outlets opened. |
| terminated | INTEGER | Terminations. |
| non_renewed | INTEGER | Non-renewals. |
| reacquired | INTEGER | Reacquired by the franchisor. |
| ceased_other | INTEGER | Ceased operations for other reasons. |
| transferred | INTEGER | Transfers to new owners (Table 2); NULL where not read. |
| outlets_end | INTEGER | Franchised outlets at end of year. |
outlets_by_state (2,366 rows)
Item 20 outlets at year end by US state (and territory codes where printed).
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| year | INTEGER | Year. |
| state | TEXT | Two-letter state or territory code. |
| outlets_end | INTEGER | Outlets in that state at year end (all outlet types combined unless the FDD splits them). |
agreement_terms (11 rows)
Item 17 franchise agreement terms, where extracted with high confidence. Partial coverage.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| term_years | REAL | Initial term, years. |
| renewal_count | INTEGER | Number of renewal terms. |
| renewal_term_years | REAL | Length of each renewal term, years. |
| renewal_fee | TEXT | Renewal fee as stated. |
| transfer_fee | TEXT | Transfer fee as stated. |
| cure_period_days | INTEGER | Cure period for defaults, days, where stated. |
| noncompete_post_term_years | REAL | Post-term non-compete, years. |
| noncompete_post_term_radius_miles | REAL | Post-term non-compete radius, miles. |
| dispute_resolution | TEXT | Dispute resolution method (arbitration, mediation, litigation). |
| governing_law_state | TEXT | State whose law governs the agreement. |
| fdd_page | INTEGER | FDD page of Item 17, where recorded. |
brand_metrics (25 rows)
Figures FranchiseDepth calculates from the tables above, one row per brand. Methods in AGENTS.md.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| total_outlets | INTEGER | Total outlets, latest year: the FDD's Table 1 total row, or franchised + company-owned for that year when the FDD prints no total row. |
| franchised_outlets | INTEGER | Franchised outlets, latest year. |
| company_outlets | INTEGER | Company-owned outlets, latest year. |
| states_count | INTEGER | US states with at least one outlet, latest year. |
| closure_rate_pct | REAL | Closure rate, % (method in AGENTS.md). NULL only when the FDD gives nothing to compute it from; closure_note says why. |
| closures | INTEGER | Terminations + non-renewals + ceased operations counted in closure_rate_pct. |
| closures_not_itemized | INTEGER | Part of closures filled from the table's start, opened and end counts because a cause cell was blank. |
| reacquired | INTEGER | Outlets the franchisor reacquired in the same years. Shown beside the rate, not counted in it (the location stays open). |
| franchised_outlet_years | INTEGER | Franchised outlets at the start of each year, summed over the years used (the denominator). |
| closure_year_from | INTEGER | First year used. |
| closure_year_to | INTEGER | Last year used. |
| closure_ranking_eligible | INTEGER | 1 when the base averages at least 20 franchised outlets a year (FranchiseDepth's ranking floor). |
| closure_note | TEXT | Why closure_rate_pct is NULL, when it is. |
| growth_pct | REAL | Outlet growth, % (method in AGENTS.md). |
| growth_outlets_from | INTEGER | Total outlets at the end of growth_year_from. |
| growth_outlets_to | INTEGER | Total outlets at the end of growth_year_to. |
| growth_year_from | INTEGER | First year-end of the growth window. |
| growth_year_to | INTEGER | Last year-end of the growth window. |
| growth_ranking_eligible | INTEGER | 1 when the window is three year-ends and starts at 20+ outlets. |
| all_in_fee_pct | REAL | Royalty % + marketing-fund % (method in AGENTS.md). |
| all_in_basis | TEXT | 'royalty + marketing fund', or 'royalty only (no marketing-fund % listed)'. |
alternatives (250 rows)
Up to 10 similar brands per brand, the list FranchiseDepth's alternatives pages use: same industry, same sub-category first, then closest Item 7 investment low end, ties to the larger system. Complete database only.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | The brand the alternatives are for. |
| rank | INTEGER | 1 = most similar. |
| alternative_slug | TEXT | The alternative brand (join to brands.brand_slug). |
| alternative_name | TEXT | The alternative's brand name, so the table reads on its own. |
| same_sub_category | INTEGER | 1 when the alternative shares the brand's sub-category. |
| alternative_investment_low_usd | REAL | The alternative's Item 7 total investment, low end. |
| investment_gap_usd | REAL | Absolute difference between the two brands' Item 7 low ends; NULL when either is not disclosed. |
| alternative_total_outlets | INTEGER | The alternative's total outlets, latest year. |
peer_ranks (171 rows)
Where each brand ranks against its peers on 8 metrics: the table on every FranchiseDepth brand page. Peers = the brand's sub-category when at least 8 peers disclose the metric, else its industry. Edition-only and cut brands are not peers. Complete database only.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| metric | TEXT | inv_low (Item 7 low end, USD), fee_low (Item 5 initial fee low end, USD), royalty (%), allin (royalty + marketing fund, %), liquid (liquid capital required, USD), outlets (total), growth (outlet growth %, brand_metrics method), closure (closure rate %, brand_metrics method). |
| value | REAL | The brand's value on the metric. |
| rank | INTEGER | 1 = best end of the peer group: lowest for cost, fee and closure metrics, highest for outlets and growth (see rank_order). |
| peers | INTEGER | Brands in the peer group with the metric disclosed, the brand included. |
| peer_median | REAL | Median of the peer group. |
| rank_order | TEXT | 'lowest first' or 'highest first'. |
| peer_group | TEXT | The sub-category name, or the industry when the sub-category has fewer than 8 peers. |
value_ratios (25 rows)
Revenue relative to cost, the figures behind FranchiseDepth's revenue-to-investment and revenue-per-royalty-point rankings. Revenue is comparable_revenue (not profit). Complete database only.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| comparable_annual_revenue_usd | REAL | comparable_revenue.annual_revenue_usd. |
| investment_midpoint_usd | REAL | Midpoint of the Item 7 total investment range ((low + high) / 2). |
| revenue_to_investment | REAL | comparable_annual_revenue_usd / investment_midpoint_usd. NULL when the Item 7 low end is under $50,000 (home-based and agent models). |
| royalty_pct | REAL | fees.royalty_pct. |
| revenue_per_royalty_point_usd | REAL | comparable_annual_revenue_usd / royalty_pct: revenue per percentage point of royalty. NULL without both figures or with a 0% royalty. |
closure_by_year (75 rows)
Closure rate per brand per year, on the same method as brand_metrics.closure_rate_pct.
| column | type | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| brand_slug | TEXT | Brand key. |
| year | INTEGER | Fiscal year. |
| franchised_outlets_start | INTEGER | Franchised outlets at the start of the year (summed over programs or state rows where the FDD prints several). |
| closures | INTEGER | Terminations + non-renewals + ceased operations. |
| closures_not_itemized | INTEGER | Part of closures filled from the year's start, opened and end counts. |
| closure_rate_pct | REAL | closures / franchised_outlets_start x 100. |
Views
- v_brand_summary: one row per brand with fees, outlets, closure rate, outlet growth, all-in fee and comparable revenue.
- v_closure_history: closure rate per brand per year, with the printed Table 3 columns beside it.
- v_state_footprint: outlets by state, latest year per brand.
- v_fee_burden: all-in fee (royalty + marketing % of sales) per brand.
Methods (the same formulas every FranchiseDepth page uses)
- Closure rate = franchised terminations, non-renewals and ceased operations ÷ franchised outlets at the start of each year, over the latest three years of Item 20. Where a cause is blank, it is filled from the table's start, opened and end counts. Transfers and reacquisitions are not closures. closure_rate_pct is reported whenever it can be calculated; closure_ranking_eligible marks an average of 20+ franchised outlets a year.
- Outlet growth = change in total outlets (franchised + company-owned) between the first and last year-end of the latest three years of Item 20. growth_ranking_eligible marks a full three-year window starting at 20+ outlets.
- All-in fee = royalty % + marketing-fund % of gross sales (Item 6). A blank marketing-fund % counts as 0 and is labelled royalty only.
- alternatives, peer_ranks and value_ratios (complete database) use the same rules as FranchiseDepth's alternatives pages, brand-page peer tables and revenue rankings; the table descriptions give each rule.
- comparable_revenue: gross sales or total revenue for an all-franchised cohort of 5+ outlets; median where printed, else average; weekly or monthly figures annualized; company-owned, top-performer, ramp-up and per-transaction figures excluded.
- outlets_by_year and turnover_by_year are the FDD's own Item 20 tables as printed. Where an FDD's tables disagree with each other, both are kept as printed.
The database documents itself
- SELECT * FROM table_docs; -- every table with its description and row count
- SELECT * FROM column_docs WHERE table_name = 'fees'; -- every column with its meaning
- SELECT * FROM meta; -- edition, build date, licence