What are the steps to buy a franchise in Florida?

Decide your budget, involvement and location; shortlist brands that fit; receive and read each franchisor’s disclosure document with a franchise attorney and an accountant; call current and former franchisees; arrange financing; complete the franchisor’s discovery process; sign at least 14 days after disclosure; register the business in Florida; then secure the approved location and open.

Do franchises have to register in Florida?

Florida does not register or review franchise disclosure documents, but section 559.802, Florida Statutes, requires a franchisor to file a franchise exemption notice with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, renewed annually, to be exempt from Florida’s Sale of Business Opportunities Act. You can ask the franchisor for its current notice.

What is Item 19 in a Franchise Disclosure Document?

Item 19 is where a franchisor makes financial performance representations, such as sales or earnings of existing units, if it chooses to make any. It is optional. Any figure about how a franchise performs should come from Item 19 of the franchisor’s own document, with its basis and assumptions, and from nowhere else.

How much does it cost to buy a franchise?

It varies by brand, and each franchisor publishes its own answer: the initial franchise fee in Item 5 of its disclosure document and the estimated total initial investment, line by line, in Item 7. Ongoing fees such as royalties and advertising contributions are in Item 6. BreakThru Realty’s matching questionnaire compares your budget against those published ranges for participating brands.

Should I sign a lease before the franchise agreement?

No. Sign the franchise agreement first, then have the franchisor approve the site, then sign the lease with the franchisor’s required rider in it. A lease signed before the franchise is awarded or the site is approved can leave you with a location you cannot use for the franchise.

How to Buy a Franchise in Florida

The steps, the documents, the Florida rules and the real estate, in the order they happen

BreakThru Realty matches prospective franchisees with participating franchise brands looking for Florida operators, then represents them in finding and securing the location. This guide is the whole process from the buyer’s side, in the order it happens, with the Florida specifics a national guide leaves out.

BreakThru Realty · Founder and Broker of Record: Tyson E. Sam, Florida License 3565210

Start the Franchise Match · The 14-Day Rule

Nothing on this website is an offer to sell a franchise. A franchise is offered only through the franchisor’s current Franchise Disclosure Document, which a prospective franchisee must receive at least 14 calendar days before signing a binding agreement with, or paying any money to, the franchisor or an affiliate.

The Steps, In Order

Buying a franchise is a sequence, and most mistakes come from doing the steps out of order: signing a lease before the franchise is awarded, or paying a deposit before the disclosure period has run. This is the order that protects the buyer.

Decide what you can invest, how involved you will be and where
Shortlist brands whose disclosure documents fit those answers
Receive and read each franchisor’s Franchise Disclosure Document
Hire a franchise attorney and an accountant to review it
Call current and former franchisees from Item 20
Arrange financing with an SBA lender or other lender
Complete the franchisor’s discovery process and be approved
Sign the franchise agreement, at least 14 days after disclosure
Form the business and register it in Florida
Find, get approved and secure the location
Build out, train and open

Reading the Franchise Disclosure Document

The Franchise Disclosure Document is laid out in 23 items in the same order for every brand, which makes brands comparable once you know where to look. Read all of it with your attorney, and read these items twice.

Item 1: the franchisor, its parents and its history
Item 3 and Item 4: litigation and bankruptcy
Item 5 and Item 6: the initial fees and the ongoing fees
Item 7: the estimated initial investment, line by line
Item 11: training, support and the time from signing to opening
Item 12: your territory and what protects it
Item 19: financial performance representations, if the franchisor makes any
Item 20: units opened, closed and transferred, and franchisee contacts
Item 21: the franchisor’s audited financial statements
Item 22: the franchise agreement and every other contract you will sign

The 14-Day Rule

Under the FTC Franchise Rule a franchisor must give you its disclosure document at least 14 calendar days before you sign a binding agreement with, or pay any money to, the franchisor or an affiliate. If the franchisor unilaterally changes a material term of the franchise agreement, you must receive the final version at least seven calendar days before signing. These periods exist so that you can take advice; a seller who asks you to shorten them, or to pay something to hold a territory before they have run, is a reason to stop.

Florida’s Franchise Rules

Florida does not review franchise disclosure documents, but it does require franchisors to file a franchise exemption notice under section 559.802, Florida Statutes, with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, renewed every year, before offering franchises in Florida. You can ask the franchisor for a copy of its current notice. Section 817.416, Florida Statutes, the Florida Franchise Act, prohibits franchisors and their agents from misrepresenting a franchise, and gives a buyer who was misled a claim. Your franchise attorney can tell you how both apply to your deal.

Talking to Current and Former Franchisees

Item 20 of the disclosure document lists current franchisees and those who left the system in the last year, with contact information. They are the best source of how the system actually works: the support, the training, the relationship with the franchisor, how long opening took, and what they would do differently. Former franchisees are the most important calls to make. What they tell you about their own experience is theirs to share; the franchisor’s own figures are in Item 19 or nowhere.

Financing a Franchise

Most franchise buyers finance part of the investment, commonly with an SBA-backed loan, and lenders look at the brand as well as the buyer: the disclosure document, the franchise agreement and the unit’s real estate. Talk to an SBA lender early, before you commit to a brand, so that you know what you can borrow and what the lender will need. Other routes, including retirement-account funding structures, carry tax consequences to take to an accountant first.

Setting Up the Business in Florida

A franchise usually operates through a company you form, and Florida has a handful of registrations to put in place before you open. Your attorney and accountant will advise on the entity; the registrations themselves are public and straightforward.

Form the company with the Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)
Obtain a federal employer identification number from the IRS
Register with the Florida Department of Revenue for sales tax and reemployment tax
Obtain the county and city local business tax receipts where you operate
Obtain any state licence your industry needs, for example food service
Put insurance in place as the franchise agreement and lease require

The Location

The location is usually the largest commitment after the franchise itself, and it comes with its own contract, often a ten-year lease with a personal guaranty. Do not sign a lease before the franchise is awarded and the site is approved by the franchisor. Have a tenant representative on your side of the negotiation and your attorney review the lease against the franchise agreement. BreakThru Realty represents franchisees in the site search and the lease or purchase across six South Florida counties.

Start the Franchise Match

Complete the franchise matching questionnaire on this page: capital, industries, involvement, Florida areas, units, timeline and experience. The broker reviews every profile and introduces you only to the participating brands you choose.

Broker of record direct: (786) 914-1017 · sales@breakthrurealty.com

How BreakThru Realty Works Within Franchise Law

Franchise seller status	BreakThru Realty acts as a franchise seller only for participating franchisors, only under a written agreement, and is named as a franchise seller on the receipt page (Item 23) of each participating franchisor’s Franchise Disclosure Document.
Disclosure timing	Nothing on this website is an offer to sell a franchise. A franchise is offered only through the franchisor’s current Franchise Disclosure Document, which a prospective franchisee must receive at least 14 calendar days before signing a binding agreement with, or paying any money to, the franchisor or an affiliate. The franchisor delivers the document. BreakThru never shortens that period, and never asks a candidate to sign or pay before it has run.
Earnings claims	BreakThru Realty makes no representation about the sales, income or profit of any franchise. If a franchisor makes financial performance representations, they are in Item 19 of its Franchise Disclosure Document, and that is the only place a candidate should read them.
Florida	Before BreakThru presents a brand, the franchisor confirms in writing that its annual franchise exemption notice under section 559.802, Florida Statutes, is filed with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and current. Florida’s Franchise Act, section 817.416, separately prohibits misrepresentation in the sale of a franchise.
Other states	BreakThru presents opportunities for Florida territories. A candidate who lives in, or wants a territory in, a state that registers franchise offerings or franchise sellers is referred to the franchisor directly.
Compensation	BreakThru Realty is paid by participating franchisors, under a written agreement, when a candidate it introduced signs a franchise agreement; candidates pay BreakThru nothing for matching. Where BreakThru also represents a franchisee in a lease or purchase, both roles and both sources of compensation are disclosed in writing before that engagement is signed, and the franchisee is free to choose other real estate representation.
Independent advice	Legal questions go to a franchise attorney, tax and structuring questions to an accountant, and financing questions to an SBA lender; every candidate should have the first two review the Franchise Disclosure Document and the franchise agreement before signing.

Questions Franchise Buyers Ask

What are the steps to buy a franchise in Florida?: Decide your budget, involvement and location; shortlist brands that fit; receive and read each franchisor’s disclosure document with a franchise attorney and an accountant; call current and former franchisees; arrange financing; complete the franchisor’s discovery process; sign at least 14 days after disclosure; register the business in Florida; then secure the approved location and open.
Do franchises have to register in Florida?: Florida does not register or review franchise disclosure documents, but section 559.802, Florida Statutes, requires a franchisor to file a franchise exemption notice with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, renewed annually, to be exempt from Florida’s Sale of Business Opportunities Act. You can ask the franchisor for its current notice.
What is Item 19 in a Franchise Disclosure Document?: Item 19 is where a franchisor makes financial performance representations, such as sales or earnings of existing units, if it chooses to make any. It is optional. Any figure about how a franchise performs should come from Item 19 of the franchisor’s own document, with its basis and assumptions, and from nowhere else.
How much does it cost to buy a franchise?: It varies by brand, and each franchisor publishes its own answer: the initial franchise fee in Item 5 of its disclosure document and the estimated total initial investment, line by line, in Item 7. Ongoing fees such as royalties and advertising contributions are in Item 6. BreakThru Realty’s matching questionnaire compares your budget against those published ranges for participating brands.
Should I sign a lease before the franchise agreement?: No. Sign the franchise agreement first, then have the franchisor approve the site, then sign the lease with the franchisor’s required rider in it. A lease signed before the franchise is awarded or the site is approved can leave you with a location you cannot use for the franchise.

For Franchisors

For Franchisees

Related on BreakThru Realty