How does the payment of the development fee affect the initial franchise fee for Bigfoot Forestry?
Bigfoot_Forestry Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ur first (1st) Bigfoot Forestry Business at the time you sign this Agreement. Each Franchise Agreement shall be our then-current form of Bigfoot Forestry Franchise Agreement, the terms of which may vary materially and substantially from the terms of the Initial Franchise Agreement; provided, however, that the initial franchise fee imposed under each Franchise Agreement shall be determined in accordance with the
table set forth in Part B of ATTACHMENT "A". Your payment of the development fee pursuant to §5 shall be deemed to include and satisfy the initial franchise fee imposed under each Franchise Agreement you sign pursuant to this Agreement. Unless we agree otherwise, you may not provide Bigfoot Forestry Services in a given Franchised Territory before the parties sign a Franchise Agreement for that Franchised Territory.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 42–162)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bigfoot Forestry's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, payment of the development fee covers the initial franchise fees for each Bigfoot Forestry Business under the Area Development Agreement. Specifically, the development fee is the total of all initial franchise fees for all Bigfoot Forestry Businesses that the developer is required to open under the agreement.
For a prospective area developer, this means that instead of paying an initial franchise fee for each individual location as it opens, the developer pays a lump sum upfront. This lump sum covers all the initial franchise fees for the territories they are obligated to develop.
This arrangement has a few key implications. First, the development fee is nonrefundable once the agreement is signed, regardless of whether all the locations are eventually opened. Second, the initial franchise fee for each location is determined according to a table, with the first franchise costing $49,900 ($47,400 for veterans), the second costing $44,900, and the third (and subsequent) costing $39,900 each. Therefore, the development fee will be the sum of these fees for all required locations. Finally, no Bigfoot Forestry Services can be provided in a Franchised Territory until a Franchise Agreement is signed for that territory.