How does Belocal define 'Commission payments' in the context of Item 19?
Belocal Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
This historical financial performance representation relates to Commission payments we paid from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 ("Reporting Period") to 84 BeLocal Publications that were in print as of June 30, 2024 and that had been in print for a full year ("Reporting Publications") and to 88 franchisees who were active franchisees for the Reporting Period ("Reporting Franchisees"). By "in print," we mean that the publication that had been in print for at least one year under the franchisee's management. By "active franchisee" we mean actively involved in in-print activities for at least one Publication for the entirety of the Reporting Period.
We had a total of 135 BELOCAL publication franchises during the Reporting Period. We excluded the Commission payments made to publications that were not in print for the full year. We do not include information for franchisees who have been operating less than one year because we do not consider that information to be as reliable as information from franchisees who have been in operation for at least one year. We also excluded the Commission payments made to publications that were managed by 4 franchisees whose Commission payments were calculated using a different formula than the rest of our franchisees. We do not include in this disclosure document financial information about Publications managed by our affiliate. We do not include in this disclosure document financial information about our franchisees who operate the 13 Test Publications.
Source: Item 19 — FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPRESENTATIONS (FDD pages 55–59)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Belocal's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 19 provides financial performance representations based on 'Commission payments' made to franchisees. Belocal specifies that this data pertains to payments from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, referred to as the "Reporting Period." The data includes 84 Belocal publications that were in print as of June 30, 2024, and had been in print for a full year, as well as 88 franchisees who were active during the Reporting Period.
Belocal clarifies that "in print" means the publication operated under the franchisee's management for at least one year. An "active franchisee" is defined as someone actively involved in in-print activities for at least one publication throughout the entire Reporting Period. The Item 19 data excludes commission payments to publications not in print for the full year to ensure reliability.
Furthermore, Belocal excluded commission payments to publications managed by four franchisees whose commission calculations differed from the standard formula. The financial information also excludes publications managed by Belocal's affiliate and the 13 test publications. This focused approach ensures that the financial performance data presented in Item 19 reflects a consistent and comparable set of operational circumstances for prospective franchisees to review.