Tool sheds light on the franchise industry’s financial data, making it easier for candidates to understand what brands look for in the awarding process
As franchising continues to grow, one of the biggest challenges prospective franchise owners may face is securing a loan to develop their business. But thanks to bQual, a tool developed by BoeFly that is transforming the sales and financing components of franchise development, and 1851 Franchise, a leading source for business and franchising news, navigating the world of franchise financing just got a little easier. At the beginning of 2016, 1851 Franchise partnered with BoeFly to introduce the new Franchise Finance Index—a monthly snapshot of the franchisee landscape, conceived and built with the prospective franchisee in mind.
To compile the March 2016 Franchise Finance Index, BoeFly and 1851 Franchise collected and analyzed bQual financing statistics sourced from franchisee activity from brands that account for approximately 9,000 franchise units around the country. These franchise brands used bQual to educate prospective franchisees on their vital financial details – such as business credit score (SBSS by FICO), FICO consumer credit score, a copy of their Equifax credit report, and an overall fundability assessment of their loan prospects.
The March 2016 Franchise Finance Index represents bQual submissions from brands like Checkers, Smoothie King, Wayback Burgers, Papa Murphy’s and many more. The top three most active states in March 2016 were California, Texas and Florida. Applicants’ average liquid assets were $258,495 and their average retirement savings were $309,463. The average FICO score was 751.61 and the average business credit score (SBSS by FICO) was 193.05.
“At BoeFly, it’s our mission to help educate early stage franchise candidates about their financing needs so they can make the best decision possible about their future business investment,” said Mike Rozman, chief executive officer of BoeFly. “The March 2016 Franchise Finance Index provides a snapshot of those numbers and offers insight into what we see across the industry here at BoeFly and how it applies to the greater franchising landscape.”
Since 2009, BoeFly, the premier online marketplace connecting small business borrowers with lenders, has been educating future and current business owners on the process of financing a franchise. In 2014, the company introduced a new weapon to its franchising arsenal—bQual, a tool to transform the development process for potential franchisees by making it easier to find a proper lender and to better understand their economic standing. bQual provides individuals with vital financial details, such as their business credit score (SBSS by FICO) required on most Small Business Administration loans, their FICO consumer credit score, a copy of their Equifax credit report, and an overall fundability assessment of their loan prospects. Ultimately, the impact is twofold—it helps the franchisees by giving them the insight they need to move forward with confidence, which in turn delivers the franchisor a meaningfully higher lead-to-franchise sale conversion rate.
Chief Brand Strategist and Publisher for 1851 Franchise Nick Powills believes the March 2016 Franchise Finance Index will continue to shed light on what type of candidates brands are looking for. 1851 Franchise works with more than 50 franchise brands, and Powills knows firsthand what it takes for candidates and franchisors to grow and thrive in the industry.
“In today’s business world, it’s vital for franchisors to identify the right candidates while also providing those potential franchisees the kind of information they need to make the most informed decision possible before taking the next step into franchise ownership,” said Powills. “Through the data provided in the Franchise Finance Index, franchisors are able to eliminate unqualified candidates earlier in the process while streamlining development for more qualified prospects.”
BoeFly helps prospective and existing small business owners secure fast, efficient and competitive financing through its on-line matching platform, which connects borrowers with lenders from among its more than 5,000 participating banks and specialty finance companies. Lenders benefit by being presented with only those loan requests that fit their lending profile, dramatically lowering their cost and time of origination. BoeFly is the leading franchise lending solution, having supported franchisees from more than 395 unique franchise brands since 2014, including Carl’s Jr., Meineke, Jamba Juice and Kiddie Academy. Founded in 2010 by small business owners and small business lending experts, BoeFly’s marketplace has accommodated over $4.5 billion in transactions. For more information, visit www.boefly.com.
1851 Franchise was created to fill a much needed hole of content—to bring the franchise world together through an online educational resource where readers will find daily news from thought leaders, journalists and entrepreneurs. With more than 200,000 readers monthly, no singular digital destination currently exists that speaks directly to the industry—the franchisees, the franchisors and the suppliers. As a leading small business and franchise magazine, 1851 pulls stories from real-life experiences and leans on their team’s vast knowledge of the business’s inner-workings to bring the readers stories that are both relevant and meaningful. 1851’s staff of writers and contributors is comprised of industry professionals with one goal in mind—to increase their readers’ scope of consciousness with inspiring stories, breaking business news and ahead-of-the-curve trends. By challenging their readers to think smarter about themselves and the world of business, 1851 aims to fuel passionate discussion on every article they publish.
