Does the additional funds estimate for a new Bojangles restaurant include advertising costs?
Bojangles Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
11 Additional funds (3 months initial phase). You will need capital to support on-going and miscellaneous expenses to the extent these costs are not covered by sales revenue. New businesses often generate a negative cash flow for some period of time. These figures are an estimate of the additional funds that you may require for operating expenses during the initial three months of business. They include payroll, taxes, insurance, food, paper, supplies, utilities, point of sale system maintenance and support fees, licenses and permits, bank charges and repair and maintenance expenses. They do not include advertising or royalty fee payments made to us. They also do not include real estate or leasehold costs. These figures are estimates, and we cannot guarantee that you will not have additional expenses starting the business. Your costs will depend on factors such as: the size of your Restaurant; how closely you follow our methods and procedures; your management skill, experience and business acumen; financing costs; local economic conditions; the local market for restaurants; the prevailing wage rate; competition; and the sales level reached during the initial period.
Source: Item 9 — Initial inventory. The estimate covers initial inventory of products, including food and paper products, and cleaning, office and general supplies for the opening of the Restaurant. (FDD pages 27–30)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bojangles's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the additional funds estimate for the initial phase of a new restaurant does not include advertising costs. The FDD specifies that these additional funds are meant to cover ongoing and miscellaneous expenses not covered by sales revenue during the first three months of operation.
The estimate ranges from $30,900 to $186,400 and includes expenses such as payroll, taxes, insurance, food, paper, supplies, utilities, point of sale system maintenance and support fees, licenses and permits, bank charges, and repair and maintenance expenses. However, the document explicitly states that advertising costs are excluded from this estimate, as are royalty fee payments, real estate, and leasehold costs.
As a prospective franchisee, it is crucial to budget separately for advertising expenses, as these are not covered in the initial additional funds estimate provided by Bojangles. This exclusion could significantly impact the initial capital required to launch the franchise, as advertising is essential for attracting customers and establishing the brand in a new market. Therefore, franchisees should carefully consider and plan for these additional costs to ensure they have sufficient capital to support their Bojangles restaurant during its initial months of operation.