LEGAL · EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 29, 2026

Terms of Use

By using Franchise Watch Desk ("the site"), you agree to these terms. Read the Methodology page alongside this one — it explains how the numbers here are computed.

What this site is

Franchise Watch Desk is an independent research tool run by me, Don Drummond, CPA. Every verdict, distress flag and FDD Risk Score is a computed opinion derived from public records — franchisors' own FDD filings, SBA loan data, federal court dockets and state closure notices — cited on the page that shows it. The underlying figures are machine-extracted from the filings and may contain errors. No franchisor, broker or franchise system pays to appear, rank higher or be omitted; the Methodology page explains how ratings are computed.

Not advice

Nothing on this site is investment, legal, financial or tax advice, and using the site does not create an advisory, fiduciary or professional relationship with me. A verdict or a risk score is context for reading a filing, not a recommendation to buy, avoid or invest in anything. Franchise decisions are large and hard to reverse: check everything against the actual FDD, and get your own legal and financial counsel before signing anything.

The free call and paid work

The free 30-minute call at /consult 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. Projections, financing comparisons and take-home estimates are paid work.

Paid work is a non-attest advisory engagement governed solely by the engagement letter we both sign before work begins, which sets the scope, deliverables, fee and any limits on tax or financing work. 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. No lender approval, financing outcome or business result is promised.

Projections and other prospective financial information

Any projection, pro forma, breakeven or cash-need schedule I prepare for a client carries this statement on every page:

These projections were prepared by Don Drummond, CPA, from information you provided and public filings. No assurance is provided on them. Actual results will differ, and the differences may be material.

Estimates the site computes for the public, such as breakeven and owner-economics figures on brand pages, are not prepared for you by a CPA. This estimate is computed by software from the brand's public filings and any inputs you enter. No CPA prepared it for you and no assurance is provided on it. Actual results will differ, and the differences may be material.

Sharing a deliverable with your lender

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. Beyond your lender, deliverables are for your own use and may not be passed to or relied on by anyone else without my written consent.

Accuracy, and what to do if I'm wrong

• ▸ Every score and verdict links to the filing and Item it's drawn from — check the source, not just my summary of it.
• ▸ Coverage is partial: it leans heavily on Minnesota's registration-state filings, so franchisors that never register there may not appear at all. The Methodology page states this.
• ▸ If a number is wrong, the underlying filing is the arbiter. Send the brand, the page and what you believe is correct through the contact form, and I'll check it and fix genuine errors.
• ▸ Franchisors and their counsel can request a correction or submit a written response the same way. I acknowledge within two business days, re-check the figure against the filing, and correct, annotate or explain on the page, noting material corrections on the page they affect.
• ▸ Public records lag reality — an FDD reflects the franchisor's prior fiscal year, and litigation and closure records only cover what has been filed or reported. No flag is not proof of health.

No warranty

The site and everything on it are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied — including accuracy, completeness, timeliness, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Where evidence is thin the site says so ("Too new to judge," "Not Disclosed," confidence tiers on the risk score), but I don't guarantee any figure is error-free or current when you read it.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, I am not liable for any loss or damage — direct, indirect, incidental or consequential, including lost profits or a bad investment outcome — arising from your use of, or reliance on, this site or any decision made in connection with it. You are responsible for your own due diligence and decisions. Paid engagements are governed by their engagement letter. Nothing here limits liability that can't be limited under applicable law.

Third-party content and links

This site links to and cites material I don't control: FDD filings and other documents held by state regulators, SBA and EDGAR data, court dockets, news coverage, franchisor websites, and the Cal.com booking page linked from /consult. I'm not responsible for the content, accuracy or availability of those sites, and linking to them isn't an endorsement.

Ownership

The site's design, the Watch Desk verdict, distress-signal and FDD Risk Score methods, and the written analysis are mine. The source documents — FDDs, court filings, government data — remain public records; I cite and comment on them and don't claim to own them. Brand and franchisor names are the trademarks of their owners, used only to identify the system being discussed, and that use doesn't imply any affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement.

Don't scrape, bulk-republish or resell the site's computed scores, rankings or analysis without my written permission. Linking to a page, or quoting a figure with attribution back to the source page, is fine.

Acceptable use

Don't use the site or its forms to submit false information, disrupt or overload it, probe it for vulnerabilities without authorization, or use it for any unlawful purpose. I may block access from anyone who does.

Availability and changes

I may change, add to or discontinue any part of the site, or these terms, at any time, and will update the effective date above when the terms change. Continuing to use the site after a change means you accept it. I don't guarantee the site will always be available or error-free.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, and any dispute arising from them or your use of the site will be handled in the state or federal courts located in Virginia.

Summary of the professional terms

Contact

[email protected] — corrections, permissions, or questions about these terms. See also the Privacy Policy.