Under what condition is a Cool Binz franchisee required to pay the NORA fee?
Cool_Binz Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- We may provide services to national and/or regional accounts that require centralized overview and support, and for purposes of responding to requests and referrals for Services through our franchise system, managing those relationships, answering calls placed to our toll-free number or a national account on-line access system. In that case, we may charge you a National or Regional Accounts Fee ("NORA Fee") of up to five percent (5%) of Gross Sales generated by the account. The purpose of this fee is to defray the cost of providing national/regional account management services to the franchise system. We do not plan to charge a fee for simple referrals where we do not directly manage the relationship with the customer, but we reserve the right to do so.
Source: Item 6 — OTHER FEES (FDD pages 19–27)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Cool Binz's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee may be required to pay a National or Regional Accounts Fee (NORA Fee). This fee is charged if Cool Binz provides services to national or regional accounts that necessitate centralized oversight and support. These services include responding to requests and referrals through the franchise system and managing relationships with these accounts.
The NORA Fee can be up to 5% of the gross sales generated by the account. This fee is intended to cover the costs associated with providing national or regional account management services to the Cool Binz franchise system. While Cool Binz does not currently plan to charge a fee for simple referrals where they do not directly manage the customer relationship, they reserve the right to implement such a fee in the future.
Prospective Cool Binz franchisees should be aware that the NORA fee is "as incurred," meaning it will be charged when the franchisee benefits from Cool Binz's management of national or regional accounts. It is important for franchisees to understand the circumstances under which this fee will be applied and how it will impact their overall profitability. Franchisees should also inquire about the criteria used to determine which accounts are considered national or regional and how these accounts are assigned to individual franchisees.