What must a prospective Budget franchisee do to view the Budget Manual in confidence?
Budget Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Budget will lend you one copy of the Manual and any other manuals Budget provides for franchisees.
The Manual is confidential and remains Budget's property.
Budget may modify the Manual as Budget determines useful to preserve or enhance the efficient operation, image, or goodwill of Budget's Proprietary Marks and Budget Franchises, but any modification will not alter your status or rights under the Budget License Agreement.
You may view the Manual in confidence if you sign and return a Confidentiality Agreement to Budget (See Exhibit D).
You must return the Manual and any other manuals to Budget when required under the Budget License Agreement (the Budget License Agreement, Article III) (see Item 8).
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 37–61)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Budget's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Budget Manual contains confidential information and remains the property of Budget. To view the manual in confidence, a prospective franchisee must sign and return a Confidentiality Agreement to Budget. This agreement is included as Exhibit D in the FDD.
This requirement is fairly standard in franchising. Franchise operations manuals often contain proprietary information about the franchisor's systems, processes, and trade secrets. Franchisors take steps to protect this information from being disclosed to competitors or used in ways that could harm the brand.
By signing a Confidentiality Agreement, the prospective franchisee agrees to keep the contents of the Budget Manual confidential. Franchisees are also obligated to return the manual to Budget when required under the Budget License Agreement, as specified in Article III and further detailed in Item 8 of the FDD.