Cash flow at one franchise location, month by month
Updated 16 October 2026
Cash flow is the money that enters and leaves a business bank account in a period. Profit and cash differ because sales, fees and bills land on different dates. This page works a month through a location at the library medians from 431 brands' 2026 Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs), then at one brand's own figures. The FDD is the document a franchisor gives a buyer before a sale.
A worked month at the library medians
The median brand in the library reports $748,885 in average annual sales per location. That is $62,407 a month. The table spreads it across the four cost lines that brands publish most often.
| Line | Library median | One month |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 100% | $62,407 |
| Brand fees | 9.00% | $5,617 |
| Wages | 31.73% | $19,802 |
| Rent and building | 10.6% | $6,584 |
| Cost of goods | 29.10% | $18,160 |
| Left before insurance, loans and owner pay | 19.6% | $12,244 |
The four medians come from different brands, so the $12,244 is an illustration. Your own brand's FDD and your own ledger replace each line.
School of Rock reports average sales of $683,344, or $56,945 a month. At its own published rates, brand fees take $7,972, wages $8,371, occupancy $5,581 and cost of goods $20,899. That leaves $14,122 a month, or 24.8% of sales, before insurance, loans and owner pay.
When the cash arrives
Some locations collect cash before they deliver the service. At Woodhouse Spa, gift cards made up 35.4% of 2025 sales across 81 franchised spas. That cash arrives weeks or months before the treatment and its wages.
Some locations deliver first and collect later. A 1-800 WATER DAMAGE owner does the restoration work and then waits for the insurance carrier to pay. Wages and materials leave the account before the payment arrives.
The average franchised Woodhouse Spa sold $851,161 of gift cards in 2025. That is $70,930 a month arriving before any treatment is booked. A Woodhouse owner holds that cash against treatments, wages and product still to come.
What the royalty is charged on
The royalty is the share of sales a franchisee pays the franchisor. Brands define the sales it is charged on in different ways. Two Maids charges royalty on all billings, collected or still outstanding, so an unpaid invoice still carries its royalty. HealthSource Chiropractic charges royalty on funds actually collected, so its royalty follows the bank deposits.
Read your brand's definition of gross sales in the franchise agreement. It tells you whether the royalty follows your invoices or your deposits.
HealthSource Chiropractic reports average sales of $609,587 and charges a 7% royalty on collected funds. That is $42,671 a year at the average. A HealthSource owner pays royalty on a patient visit only after the payer's money reaches the account.
The opening reserve
Item 7 of the FDD is the table of estimated costs to open. Most Item 7 tables include a line for additional funds, the cash a new owner needs to cover the first months. 1-800 WATER DAMAGE lists $10,000 to $30,000 for the first three months. Compare that line with three months of your own projected wages and rent before you open.
Three months of wages and rent at the library medians come to $79,157, from $19,802 of wages and $6,584 of rent a month. The additional-funds line in an Item 7 table covers the cash a franchisor expects a new location to need. Set that line beside three months of your own wages and rent to see the gap.
A 13-week forecast
A 13-week cash forecast lists expected deposits and payments for each of the next 13 weeks. It shows the week a balance would drop below a set level, while there is still time to act. The 13-week cash flow template on this site is set up for a franchise location, with royalty and marketing columns.
A location selling $62,407 a month sells about $14,402 a week. At the 9.00% median fee load, brand fees take about $1,296 a week. A brand that sweeps royalty weekly takes that amount from the account every week, so the forecast carries it as a weekly line.
What this means for an owner
A location at the library medians has about $12,244 a month left after fees, wages, rent and goods. Insurance, loan payments and owner pay come from that amount. Gift cards and memberships bring cash in early, and insurance claims bring it in late. The royalty definition in the franchise agreement decides whether fees follow invoices or deposits. Three months of wages and rent at the medians come to $79,157, so an owner checks the Item 7 reserve line against that figure before opening.
Check one location
The Franchise Numbers Check is a free tool on this site. It takes one location's figures and sets them against the brand data Averan has published.
Where to next
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Planning another location? Fractional CFO covers the forecast and the cash plan behind it.
If you want this done for you
What happens next
Reading about it and having it done are different things. Here is exactly what happens if you want the second one.
- The call takes thirty minutesYou describe the business and where the numbers are letting you down. We give you an expert view of your situation, and what we would start with. There is no pitch deck.
- We look at the fileYou give us read access to the books as they are. We come back with what is wrong, what it will take to fix, and whether the answer is bookkeeping, controller work, or something else.
- We send a written scope and a priceIt lists what we do each month, what you get, the date it lands and the fee. We agree it before anything starts, and it does not change unless you agree.
- We take over the books and close the first monthWe set up access and systems and enter the opening balances. The first close lands on the date in the scope, and every one after it does too.