For franchise consultants, independent or in a network

Check every brand you shortlist against your client's life, before they sign.

FranStack is a research and matching tool for franchise consultants. It weighs each brand's FDD history, its development team and its discovery process against your client's capital, hours, location and goals, and keeps a dated record of why every brand made the shortlist.

20 minute live walkthrough on a sample client. [Free during the beta.]

Source on every fact Rated by working consultants A tool, not a network
The FranStack match screen. Client and brand are fictional.
JE
Jordan Ellis
$300K liquid · $150K to $400K target · Austin, TX
Interests: home services, semi absentee
Excellent 80+ Good 65 to 79 Fair 50 to 64 Weak below 50
HS
Home Services Brand AExcellentHow this scored
$180K to $240K · 64 units · 22 states
Strong segment match in home services.
Investment range $180,000 to $240,000 fits your budget.
+2 more
86
1Your client's money, target, location and interests at the top.
2Every brand scored for fit with this client, not ranked by popularity.
3The reasons written out, and "How this scored" opens the full breakdown.
Why FranStack exists

Most people only ever buy one franchise.

They put in their savings and years of their life. FranStack exists so every brand you put in front of them has been checked against the whole picture, not the marketing material alone.

  1. First conversation
  2. Shortlist
  3. Discovery
  4. Signing
  5. Opening day
  6. Year one
  7. Year five and on
Where FranStack does its workWhere your client lives with the decision

Everything FranStack does happens before your client signs, because that is the only time the facts can still change the decision.

What FranStack checks

The brand is one of three things that decide the fit.

The FDD is where every check starts. It shows a brand's history. It does not show how the franchisor works with candidates, or whether the business suits this client.

The brandIts FDD history, and right for this client?
The peopleThe franchisor's development team.
The processHow discovery runs, stage by stage.

People and process are rated by consultants who worked with the brand.

When one is missing
Missing: the process

Steps got skipped.

Good brand, good team, but discovery moved on before your client understood the costs or spoke with franchisees.

Missing: the people

Rushed to decide.

Good brand, careful process, but questions went unanswered and your client felt hurried toward a yes.

Missing: the brand

Wrong business.

Good team, careful process, but not a model your client's capital, hours or skills suit.

All three

The right fit for your client.

FranStack weighs all three before a brand reaches your shortlist.

What changes

Better for you.
Better for your client.

You recommend with the facts in front of you. Your client sees the FDD facts side by side, before they commit their savings.

For you
  • Less digging: lawsuits (Item 3), bankruptcy (Item 4) and units opened, closed and transferred (Item 20), already in each brand's record.
  • See how other consultants rate a brand's development team and discovery process before you introduce a client.
  • See why each brand made the shortlist, written out, so you can explain it to your client.
  • A dated record of what you checked for each client, private to your account.
Clients who do well become the referrals that build a practice.
For your client
  • A shortlist built around their capital, hours, location and the kind of business they want to run.
  • Litigation, bankruptcy and unit termination history from the FDD, shown before they go deep into discovery.
  • Registration status in the 14 states where a franchisor must register before selling there [with the date it was last checked].
  • A real choice: no single parent company can fill their shortlist.
What your client sees

A side by side comparison you can send.

Fictional brandsExport PDF
Brand A
Brand B
Brand C
Investment
$180K to $240K
$95K to $170K
$155K to $330K
Franchise fee
$45,000
$59,500
$49,900
Units
64
258
172
Item 19
Disclosed
Disclosed
Not disclosed

Investment, fees, units, closure rate and the Item 19 median revenue where the FDD discloses one, exported as a PDF. Fit scores and your private notes stay in your account.

A shortlist is a starting point, not a guarantee of results. Clients should still read the full FDD, speak with current and former franchisees, and have a franchise attorney and an accountant review it before signing.

How the score works

Facts you can check.
Money never moves a match.

8

things weighed for every client, against every brand

CapitalInterestsLocationKind of businessHoursFDD historyDevelopment teamDiscovery process

Capital counts most, then interests, then the development team and discovery process. FDD history means lawsuits (Item 3), bankruptcy (Item 4) and units opened, closed and transferred (Item 20). Missing data counts as neutral, never as a clean record. "How this scored" shows every part.

4of 10

is the most brands one parent company can hold on a shortlist

A rule on top of the score, so a company that owns many brands cannot fill your client's list by volume. The same applies to outside sales companies that sell for several brands, called franchise sales organizations. You can still check any brand for this client yourself.

What consultants rate, 1 to 5

Consultants rate the brands their clients went through, scoring only the stages they saw.

Development team

Communication, how candidates are treated, and how accurately the brand is represented.

Discovery process

Clear next steps, questions on costs and Item 19, FDD review support, and validation calls with franchisees.

Every fact shows its source.

FDD figures show the FDD and its year. Details consultants add, like contacts or territory, only count once other consultants confirm them. Where a brand's FDD is still missing, the gap is marked.

Money never moves a match.

Commission is not part of the score. Franchisors do not pay FranStack, and no brand can pay for a place on a shortlist.

What FranStack does not do.

It does not sell franchises, predict earnings or promise results. Reading Item 19, calling current franchisees and an attorney's review stay part of your process.

Straight answers

Questions consultants ask first.

What is FranStack, exactly?

Web software you log into, on a computer or phone. You add a client, it builds a scored shortlist from every brand on record, and you compare brands side by side and export a PDF for your client.

Is it a network? Do I have to leave mine?

No. FranStack is a tool, not a network. It does not ask you to leave your network or change who you place clients with.

What does it cost, and who pays for it?

[Free during the beta. You will see the price before you pay anything.] Consultants pay for FranStack. Franchisors do not.

Can I limit a shortlist to brands I can place?

[Confirm before launch: how a consultant narrows a shortlist to the brands their network or firm works with.]

How many brands are in it?

707 brands on record, [number] with a current FDD loaded. Missing FDD facts count as neutral, never as a clean record, and every gap is marked.

What goes in the PDF my client receives?

Investment, fees, units, closure rate and the Item 19 median revenue where the FDD discloses one, with a note that the facts come from public FDDs and that you make the recommendation. Fit scores and your notes are never included.

Who rates development teams and processes, and who sees it?

Consultants rate the brands their clients went through, on set criteria from 1 to 5. Scores show as averages [with the number of ratings beside each, and no score until [number] consultants have rated]. [Who can see an individual rating, and whether franchisors can see and respond to their averages: confirm before launch.]

Who can see my clients?

Only you. Client files are private to your account. Other consultants and franchisors never see them.

Does it follow clients after they open?

No. Everything FranStack does happens before signing, while the decision can still change.

Who built it?

[Founder names, years in franchising and role. Whether any founder has worked for a franchisor, a franchise sales organization or a consultant network.]

Private beta

Built with working franchise consultants.

[Built by founder names: years in franchising and role, and whether any founder has worked for a franchisor, a franchise sales organization or a consultant network.] In beta with [number] consultants, [independent and in networks].

“[One or two sentences from a beta consultant on what FranStack changed for them.]”

[Name, firm, years consulting]
Book a walkthrough Already on FranStack? Sign in
What happens next
  1. 1

    Tell us who you are

    Your name, your firm and the kind of clients you work with. Nothing about your clients.

  2. 2

    A 20 minute walkthrough

    Live, on a sample client, so you see a shortlist being built.

  3. 3

    Your login works the same day

    [Free during the beta.] Try it on the next client you sit down with.

FranStack is a research tool for franchise consultants. It does not offer or sell franchises, make financial performance representations or predict any franchisee's results. Franchises are offered only through the franchisor's Franchise Disclosure Document.

© 2026 [Company legal name, address]