What is the significance of June 30, 2024, in relation to Belocal's Reporting Publications?
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, June 30, 2024, is a key date for determining which publications are included in the financial performance representation. Specifically, to be considered a "Reporting Publication" for the financial data presented, a BeLocal publication must have been in print as of June 30, 2024, and must have been in print for a full year. This means that only publications meeting these criteria were included in the calculations of average yearly commission payments.
This requirement ensures that the financial performance data presented is based on publications with at least one year of operating history under a franchisee's management. Belocal excludes publications that have not been in print for a full year because they do not consider the information from those publications to be as reliable. This approach aims to provide prospective franchisees with a more stable and representative view of potential earnings, based on established operations.
For a prospective Belocal franchisee, this means that the financial performance data provided is based on a subset of franchises that meet specific criteria related to their time in operation. It is important to understand that the reported averages and ranges may not reflect the performance of newer franchises or those that were not in print for a full year as of June 30, 2024. Therefore, while the data offers insights into potential earnings, individual results may vary depending on various factors, including the length of time in operation and local market conditions.