Under what condition can a Crawlspace Medic franchisee include salaries for attending advertising meetings in their local advertising expenditures?
Crawlspace_Medic Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
- 13.2.2. Within ten (10) business days of Franchisor's request, Franchisee shall provide a quarterly expenditure report accurately reflecting Franchisee's Local Advertising expenditures for the preceding quarterly period. The following costs and expenditures incurred by Franchisee shall not be included in Franchisee's expenditures on Local Advertising for purposes of this Section, unless approved in advance by Franchisor in writing: (i) incentive programs for employees or agents of Franchisee; (ii) research expenditures; (iii) salaries and expenses of any of Franchisee's personnel to attend advertising meetings, workshops or other marketing activities; (iv) charitable, political or other contributions or donations.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 42)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to the 2024 Crawlspace Medic Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are generally prohibited from including salaries and expenses for their personnel attending advertising meetings, workshops, or other marketing activities as part of their local advertising expenditures.
However, this exclusion has an exception. A Crawlspace Medic franchisee can include these costs if they receive prior written approval from the Franchisor. This means that franchisees need to seek and obtain explicit permission from Crawlspace Medic before allocating funds spent on salaries and related expenses for attending advertising-related events towards their minimum local advertising expenditure requirements.
This requirement ensures that Crawlspace Medic maintains control over how franchisees allocate their local advertising budgets, allowing them to ensure funds are used in ways that align with the brand's overall marketing strategy. It also prevents franchisees from potentially misallocating funds to cover personnel costs that may not directly contribute to effective local advertising campaigns. Franchisees should document all requests and approvals to avoid potential disputes during expenditure reporting.