Franchise payback calculator

Enter investment, sales, compatible franchise fees and your operating-cost assumption to model a simple payback period. The result is not a forecast of owner earnings.

The starting values are an illustrative scenario, not figures from a named FDD. Selecting a brand loads a calculated midpoint of its cited Item 7 range, fee estimates derived from Item 6, and an Item 19 sales figure when available. Operating costs and owner salary remain your assumptions. Replace the example inputs before using a result. Historical sales do not predict a proposed outlet's sales.

Load a franchise’s FDD figures

Automatic fee loading excludes brands whose charges need sales mix, enrollment, transaction counts or other inputs beyond annual sales.

Startup investment ($) Yearly sales ($) Percentage fees (% of sales) Fixed fees per year ($) Operating costs (% of sales: rent, payroll, supplies, utilities) Owner salary you’ll take separately ($/year; zero if none)

Yearly fees: —
Modeled yearly surplus before tax and financing: —
Modeled surplus margin: —
Payback period: —

How payback is calculated

Modeled yearly surplus = sales − percentage fees − fixed fees − operating costs − separately entered owner salary. Simple payback = startup investment ÷ positive yearly surplus. Avoid counting owner salary or franchise fees again inside your operating-cost percentage. The model does not separately include financing, taxes, ramp-up, later capital expenditure or changing sales. It is not accounting profit, owner take-home income or a guaranteed recovery period. Review Item 7 exclusions before setting investment, and conditional Item 6 fees before entering a combined rate.