Franchise Validation Calls: 30 Questions to Ask Current Owners

Franchise validation calls are conversations with current and former owners of a brand you're considering, and they're the closest thing to a test drive that franchising offers. A sales presentation tells you what the franchisor hopes you'll believe. An owner who has been through the first year tells you what happened. This guide gives you 30 questions, organized by topic, plus advice on finding the right people and reading what they say (and don't say).

Why franchise validation calls matter more than marketing

Marketing is written by people paid to be persuasive. Owners are the ones living with the decision. If you do only one thing beyond reading the Franchise Disclosure Document, make these calls. It's also the step that most reliably separates a good fit from an expensive surprise.

For perspective, Franchise Business Review's 2026 benchmarks, covering 26,000 franchisees across 330 brands, found that 82 percent enjoy operating their business and 86 percent would recommend their franchise. The surveyed brands take part in the research, so the results lean positive, and the survey's lowest-rated area was overall financial picture. The takeaway: owners can be happy and still wish the economics were different. Your calls should explore both.

Validation calls fit into the middle of the process described in our guide on how to buy a franchise. By the time you've reached your discovery day (see what happens and how to prepare), you should already have made most of them.

Finding owners (Item 20)

Under the FTC's Franchise Rule (16 CFR Part 436 on eCFR), Item 20 of the FDD reports outlet counts and franchisee information, including contact details for current franchisees and for those who have left the system in the past fiscal year. Some franchisors also offer a hand-picked reference list. Take those calls too, but don't stop there.

A good list has three kinds of people:

• Recent owners (first year or two), who remember what launch was really like
• Established owners, who know how the business changes over time
• Former owners, who left, sold, or transferred, and can tell you why

Call at least five to ten, more if the brand is large. If you're considering a business-service model, our B2B franchise guide explains how those differ from consumer brands. Begin each call by saying who you are, that you're evaluating the franchise, and that you'd appreciate fifteen to twenty minutes. Most owners are generous with their time, especially if you're respectful of it.

Questions about getting started

1. What was your background before you bought, and how well did it prepare you?
2. How long was it from signing to opening, and did that match what you were told?
3. How was initial training? What was useful, and what was missing?
4. What did the first 90 days look like, day to day?
5. What surprised you most about the business in the first year?
6. Looking back, what would you do differently in your first six months?
7. How accurate was the estimated initial investment in Item 7 compared with what you actually spent? (This is about categories and surprises, not a request for your exact numbers.)

Questions about support

1. When you have a problem, who do you call, and how quickly do you get an answer?
2. How would you describe the franchisor's support after training ends?
3. Does the franchisor listen to owner feedback? Can you name a change that came from owners?
4. How useful are the technology and systems you're required to use?
5. How helpful is the marketing the franchisor provides, and what do you have to do yourself?
6. Do owners help each other? Is there a real community or just a directory?
7. Has the franchisor kept the promises it made before you signed?

If you're asking about a bookkeeping brand, include questions about the training platform, the CRM, and the client portal, and ask how often they change.

Questions about money (what owners can and can't share)

Many owners won't discuss their personal income, and some franchise agreements restrict what they can say. That's normal. It's also why Item 19 matters: a franchisor that chooses to provide financial performance information must follow specific rules, including a statement that your results may differ. Where Item 19 is silent, treat any number you hear informally as an anecdote and not a forecast.

You can still learn a lot by asking about experience rather than earnings:

1. Did the economics of the business turn out the way you expected?
2. What costs, other than the initial fee, were bigger than you anticipated? (See Items 5, 6, and 7.)
3. How long did you rely on savings or outside income before the business supported you?
4. What fees do you pay on an ongoing basis, and do you feel you get value for them?
5. Were there required purchases or approved suppliers that affected your costs (Item 8)?
6. How much working capital would you recommend someone keep in reserve?
7. For anything in Item 19, does it match what owners you know actually experience?

For a fee-by-fee explainer on one model, see How Much Does a Bookkeeping Franchise Cost? Every Line Item Explained. Always compare it against the current FDD, since fees change by year.

Questions about lifestyle

1. How many hours a week do you actually work, and what do those hours consist of?
2. Is the business what you pictured when you bought it?
3. What does your best week look like, and your worst?
4. How has it affected your family and your time off?
5. What kind of person thrives in this business, and who would struggle?
6. If you could talk to yourself before signing, what would you say?

If you're leaving a corporate role, our guide to leaving corporate to own a business covers the personal side of the transition in more depth.

Reading between the lines

Two questions deserve their own place at the end of every call.

1. Would you buy this franchise again? Pay attention to the pause before the answer and the words that follow it.
2. Who else should I talk to? Owners who are happy to give you a name are usually comfortable with the answer you'll get.
3. Is there anything I haven't asked that I should have? The most useful answer on the call often comes here.

A few patterns to listen for:

• Enthusiasm with specifics is a good sign. "The training prepared me well, and here is how" beats "It's great."
• Vague praise for the franchisor combined with detail about what the owner built alone may mean support was thin.
• Consistent complaints across several owners (slow response, surprise fees, unmet promises) are more telling than one unhappy voice.
• Former owners who won't speak may be bound by a settlement or agreement. That's worth asking the franchisor about directly.
• A reference list that's all long-tenured owners may mean newer owners aren't doing as well.

Take notes during every call, and write a short summary the same day. After a handful of conversations, patterns appear that no single owner would point out.

Frequently asked questions

How many validation calls should I make?

Many buyers aim for at least five to ten, mixing recent, established, and former owners. If every answer sounds the same, you may have reached the point of diminishing returns. If answers conflict, keep calling.

Will owners tell me how much money they make?

Often not, and that's fine. Earnings claims belong in Item 19 of the FDD, and owners may be restricted from sharing details. Ask about expectations, effort, and whether they'd buy again instead.

What if the franchisor won't give me contact information?

Item 20 lists current and former franchisees, so you should have names to start with. If the franchisor discourages you from calling, or only offers a hand-picked list, treat that as a warning sign.

Should I tell owners I'm considering a competitor?

You don't need to volunteer it, but there's no reason to hide that you're comparing brands. Honest owners won't mind.

Your next step

Pick one brand on your shortlist, open Item 20, and schedule your first three calls this week. If BooXkeeping is one of the brands you're considering, we encourage you to call our owners as part of your review. You can see how our process works, browse the FAQ, or explore ownership and ask us for our current FDD.

This article is general information for people researching franchise ownership. It isn't legal, tax, financial, or investment advice, and it isn't an offer to sell a franchise. A franchise offering is made only through a Franchise Disclosure Document. Talk with a franchise attorney, a CPA, and a financial advisor about your situation before you invest.