For Caring Senior Service franchisees in California, when are initial fees collected?
Caring_Senior_Service Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The following is added to Item 5 of the Franchise Disclosure Document:
The Department has determined that we, the franchisor, have not demonstrated we are adequately capitalized and/or that we must rely on franchise fees to fund our operations. The Commissioner has imposed a fee deferral condition, which requires that we defer the collection of all initial fees from California franchisees until we have completed all of our pre-opening obligations and you are open for business. For California franchisees who sign a development agreement, the payment of the development and initial fees attributable to a specific unit in your development schedule is deferred until that unit is open.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 53–204)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Caring Senior Service's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, initial fees from franchisees in California are subject to a fee deferral condition. This means that Caring Senior Service is required to postpone collecting any initial fees from California franchisees until all pre-opening obligations have been fulfilled and the franchisee is open for business.
For franchisees in California who sign a development agreement with Caring Senior Service, the payment of both the development and initial fees related to a specific unit within the development schedule is also deferred. This deferral lasts until that particular unit is open and operating.
This condition is imposed because the Department has determined that Caring Senior Service has not demonstrated adequate capitalization and/or relies on franchise fees to fund its operations. This deferral provides a significant benefit to California franchisees, as it reduces their upfront financial burden and aligns the payment of fees with the commencement of business operations.