BOT Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a BOT franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2024), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
BOT discloses little or no owner-earnings data (Item 19) — the franchisor won't put real profit in writing.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Item 19 not provided in FDD excerpts. No financial performance representations disclosed.
What a BOT franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 7% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 1% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 8% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $156,755 – $470,765 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
7% royalty + 1-3% brand fund + 3-5% local marketing + $485/person technology fee + $1500/employee laptop fee.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Is BOT worth it? — how it compares to 60 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8% of sales | lower than most (median 9%) |
| Startup cost | from $156,755 | about average (median $191,992) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade F | less honest than most of the category |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every children's education & childcare franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a BOT
The franchisor's framing: Item 19 not provided in FDD excerpts. No financial performance representations disclosed.… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
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BOT franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a BOT franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $156,755–$470,765.
- How much do BOT franchise owners make?
- BOT discloses little or no earnings data (Item 19) — meaning the franchisor won't put real owner profit in writing. That's a red flag worth questioning.
- What are the BOT franchise fees?
- BOT's FDD discloses a 7% royalty on gross sales, a 1% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 7% royalty + 1-3% brand fund + 3-5% local marketing + $485/person technology fee + $1500/employee laptop fee.
- What is the BOT franchise profit margin?
- BOT discloses no Item 19 earnings representation, so no profit margin can be derived from the FDD at all. Any margin figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
- What is the BOT franchise failure rate?
- Virginia addendum discloses franchisor stockholders equity is negative ($539,629) as of December 31, 2023.
- How many BOT locations are there?
- BOT's Item 20 outlet table isn't clearly stated in the filing excerpt — request the full Item 20 before relying on any unit count.
- Does BOT have complaints or lawsuits?
- BOT discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a BOT franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. BOT scores F on disclosure honesty, carries about 8% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare BOT to similar franchises
See all franchises ranked by disclosure honesty →
Source: MN CARDS 31415-202404-12 (Clean FDD 2024). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with BOT or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.