What is excluded from the definition of 'Gross Sales' when calculating fees for a Ben Jerrys franchise?

According to Ben Jerrys's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Gross Sales, which is used to calculate royalty and marketing fees, does not include sales taxes or other taxes that the franchisee collects from customers and then remits directly to the appropriate taxing authority. This means that Ben Jerrys franchisees will not pay a percentage of their sales tax collections to the franchisor.

For a prospective Ben Jerrys franchisee, this exclusion is beneficial because it lowers the base upon which the royalty and marketing fees are calculated. This can result in a tangible reduction in the amount of fees paid to Ben Jerrys, as sales taxes can represent a significant portion of total sales, depending on the location and applicable tax rates.

Most franchise agreements follow a similar practice of excluding sales taxes from gross sales for the purpose of calculating royalties. This is a standard and fair approach, as the franchisee is merely acting as a collection agent for the government in these transactions and the money is never really revenue for the business.