# Comparison worksheet

Print this page or copy the tables into a notebook. Fill them from two current FDDs, in ink if you can stand it. The point of a static sheet is that it cannot invent a total, blend two disclosure years, or turn a missing Item 19 into a peer average.

Date every row. GDK's FDD issued 3 September 2024 and The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill's FDD issued 17 August 2023 are not the same vintage. A 6% royalty in both years is still two different documents.

## Header

<table>
<caption>Document identity. If a cell is unknown, leave the em dash.</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th scope="col">Field</th>
<th scope="col">Brand A</th>
<th scope="col">Brand B</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><th scope="row">Trade name</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Legal franchisor (Item 1)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Issue date</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">State filing / effective date, if any</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">FDD delivered (date and time)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Earliest federal signature/payment date</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Offered format (kiosk, inline, express, full, imbiss)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">US offering? (yes / no / paused)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Worked reminder: Doner Shack in this set is "No current US registration" as of 2026. That row is "no," and the rest of the sheet should stop.

## Fee stack (Items 5 and 6)

<table>
<caption>Recurring percentages and the initial fee. Do not add unlike bases. Do not put a zero in a missing rate.</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th scope="col">Field</th>
<th scope="col">Brand A</th>
<th scope="col">Brand B</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><th scope="row">Initial franchise fee (Item 5)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Royalty % and base</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Royalty cap / increase right</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Brand fund %</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Local advertising %</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Technology or similar % or $</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Other required Item 6 rows (list)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Percentage subtotal, if both royalty and fund are disclosed</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Examples you may copy only from filings in front of you, illustrated here from this set:

- GDK, FDD issued 3 September 2024: $30,000 fee; 6% royalty; 3% brand fund; 2% local, waived if the store joins a cooperative that can levy up to 2%; royalty and brand fund may be raised annually with no cap.
- Capriotti's, May 2024 comparative study: $40,000 fee; 6–7% royalty; 2% brand fund rising to as much as 4%; 1.5% local; 0.65% technology.
- bluTaco, May 2024 comparative study: no initial fee; royalty not disclosed. Leave the royalty cell as an em dash, not 0%.
- Döner Haus, 2026 FDD: $35,000 fee; 3% royalty; 2% brand fund.

If a brand is missing royalty or brand fund, this site's ranking leaves it unranked. Your sheet should do the same.

## Item 7

<table>
<caption>One format only. If the FDD prints two formats, use two sheets.</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th scope="col">Field</th>
<th scope="col">Brand A</th>
<th scope="col">Brand B</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><th scope="row">Format and square feet</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Total low</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Total high</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Does the high column sum to the printed total?</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Additional-funds amount and months</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Grand-opening line</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Multi-unit minimum, if any</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Footnotes that change the low end</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Shah's Halal Food, FDD issued 10 April 2024: printed high $405,000; line items sum to $410,000. Write both. Great Greek, FDD issued 17 August 2023: low end uses a discounted fee for affiliated-brand owners; first-time buyer pays $39,500. GDK: per outlet inside a five-outlet minimum. Mad for Chicken, FDD issued 3 May 2024: full restaurant $320,125–$687,700 and a separately disclosed express $242,500–$466,700 — two sheets. Wienerschnitzel has no Item 7 total in this dataset; the cell stays an em dash.

## Item 19 population

<table>
<caption>Not the best number in the table. The population.</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th scope="col">Field</th>
<th scope="col">Brand A</th>
<th scope="col">Brand B</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><th scope="row">FPR made? (yes / no)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Metric (gross, COGS, payroll, profit, other)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Period</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Outlet type (franchised / affiliate / mixed)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Eligible population vs included vs excluded</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">How many met or exceeded the average, if stated</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">One-sentence limitation</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

GDK 2024: one franchised mall unit, full year, $1,383,053 gross. Shah's 2024 and Halal Guys 2024 sources: no representation. Mad for Chicken 2024: revenue only, twelve affiliate and three franchised. Great Greek 2023: revenues, COGS and payroll for six affiliates, plus high/low of six franchise restaurants open two years. Döner Haus 2026: discloses figures for a short operating history, corporate and early franchised units — copy metric and sample from that Item in the FDD.

## Item 20 movement

<table>
<caption>Ending count is the snapshot. Movement is the story.</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th scope="col">Field</th>
<th scope="col">Brand A</th>
<th scope="col">Brand B</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><th scope="row">Units total (as-of year)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Franchised / company</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Licensed or other non-franchise, if disclosed</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Openings, last three years (sum)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Terminations + non-renewals + cessations</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Transfers / reacquisitions</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Item 1 narrative count vs Item 20 year-end</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Shah's 2024: 58 total, 14 company, 0 franchised, 44 licensed. Pepper Lunch 2024 comparative record: 6 US units; operator site claims 500+ internationally — put the website claim in a note, not in the unit cell. GDK: 7 at year-end 2023 vs Item 1's nine at issuance.

## Training, territory, renewal

<table>
<caption>Items 11, 12 and 17. Trace summaries to the agreement before treating them as the deal.</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th scope="col">Field</th>
<th scope="col">Brand A</th>
<th scope="col">Brand B</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><th scope="row">Classroom hours / on-the-job hours</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Who must attend; who pays travel</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Territory (protected / exclusive / none)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Carve-outs (airports, campuses, delivery, other)</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Initial term</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Renewal right and conditions</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Right to sell / transfer fee</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Then-current agreement on renewal?</th><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Capriotti's: no protected area. Wienerschnitzel: no renewal, no right to sell, 20-year term. Great Greek: 35-year term. bluTaco: 0 classroom, 11.5 on the job, term until either party terminates.

<div class="checklist" markdown="1">

Using the sheet

- One format per sheet; Mad for Chicken full vs express is two sheets.
- One disclosure year per column; do not mix a 2023 Great Greek fee with a 2025 verbal.
- Em dash if the filing is silent. Never a peer average.
- After both columns are filled, list mismatches to take to counsel and to operator calls.
- This sheet is not legal, tax or investment advice and not a ranking.

</div>

## A filled-in miniature, for method only

Do not copy these cells onto a live deal. They illustrate how a completed row should look, with source years visible.

| Field | GDK (illustration) | Shah's Halal (illustration) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Issue date | FDD issued 3 September 2024 | FDD issued 10 April 2024 |
| Format | 1,200–1,400 sq ft; five-outlet minimum | 1,200–2,000 sq ft full restaurant |
| Item 5 | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| Royalty / fund / local | 6% / 3% / 2% (coop may replace local; uncapped increases on royalty and fund) | 5% / 1% / 1% |
| Item 7 | $690,500–$1,123,000 | $197,000–$405,000 (lines sum to $410,000 high) |
| Additional funds | $15,000–$20,000 / 3 months | $10,000–$30,000 / 3 months |
| Item 19 | One full-year mall unit, $1,383,053 gross | No representation |
| Item 20 | 7 franchised (2023); Item 1 claimed 9 | 58 total; 0 franchised; 44 licensed |
| Training | 40 classroom + 120 OTJ | 19 classroom + 85 OTJ |
| Territory | Non-exclusive, no minimum size, venue/delivery carve-outs | Driving distance up to five miles; non-traditional excluded |
| Term / renewal | 10 years; option if not bottom 10% | 10 years; one additional term |

A third column for Wienerschnitzel would show 20 years, no renewal, no sale, no protected area, 323 units, and an em dash for Item 7. A fourth for bluTaco would show em dashes for royalty and Item 7, 0 classroom hours, and an at-will term. That is the sheet working.

If you add a live Brand C, copy the header date first. Mixing Great Greek's August 2023 figures with a 2026 verbal from a broker is how columns go bad.

## Related reading

- [How to read an FDD](/how-to-read-an-fdd/) — the first pass that feeds this sheet
- [Ongoing fees](/ongoing-fees/) — how to classify Item 6 before totaling
- [What it costs to open](/what-it-costs/) — Item 7 footnotes
- [Item 19](/item-19/) — population before metric
- [Glossary](/glossary/) — the vocabulary the blanks use

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