FREE · 30 MINUTES · NO COMMISSION
Talk to a CPA before you sign
Don Drummond, CPA · Virginia #43775
Internal audit and controls: SOX programs at XO Communications, governance and risk at Deloitte. More about me →
You're asking about the FDD Read ($750, 5 business days).
We still start with the free call. I only take paid work when we both think it would change your decision, and it starts under a signed engagement letter.
A franchise broker is paid by the franchisor to place you — in something — and earns a placement fee, typically when you sign. I'm paid by you, and the job is the opposite: keep you from a six-figure mistake, including talking you out of a bad deal.
The free call is an educational session, not an engagement. Send your details, then pick a time; I confirm bookings within one business day.
What the record shows
The brand's Item 20 outlet history and exits, how its franchisees' SBA loans ended, its audit opinion and litigation on file.
What the filing says it costs
Items 5, 6, 7 and 19 as filed, and the lines worth questioning.
Which questions matter
What to ask current and former franchisees and the franchisor before you spend money.
What it doesn't cover
Projections, breakeven, take-home estimates and financing comparisons (SBA, ROBS, HELOC) are paid work. See the Deal Review.
Two short steps, then you pick a time. I confirm bookings within one business day.
An educational session, not an engagement. No charge, no obligation. I'll never sell your email; I'll send a few follow-up notes about your brand, and every one has an unsubscribe link.
For buyers and owners only. Franchisors, brokers and vendors: contact form
The fine print
The free 30-minute call is an educational session, not an engagement. It covers what the public record shows on the brand you name, and which questions matter before you spend money. It does not create an engagement or a client relationship, and nothing said on it is a recommendation about any deal. Projections, financing comparisons and take-home estimates are paid work.
Paid work is a non-attest advisory engagement under an engagement letter we both sign before it starts. I do not perform an audit, review, compilation or examination, and nothing I deliver expresses an opinion or any assurance on anyone's financial statements or projections.
None of it is investment or legal advice. Tax advice is given only where the engagement letter includes it.
You may share a deliverable with your lender as part of your own loan application. The lender receives it for information only, and no lender or other third party may rely on it. The lender package is your application, prepared with my help. It is not my representation to the lender.
No franchisor, broker or lender pays me for buyer work or for any brand's coverage on this site.
I am a CPA licensed in Virginia (#43775). Work for clients in other states is subject to those states' applicable rules.