Terms of Use

Last updated: 6 September 2026

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of https://franchisebusinesses.com and the pages, tools, and other content published there (the "Site").

The Site is operated by X Enterprises, LLC, a Washington limited liability company ("X Enterprises," "we," "us," or "our"). Franchise Businesses is a DBA of X Enterprises, LLC, 18122 3rd Dr SE, Bothell, WA 98012.

The Site is a content and research website about franchise ownership, Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs), related tools, and franchise reporting topics. It does not require registration, an account, a subscription, or payment to read the public pages. These Terms are Site Terms of Use. They are not Product Terms of Service. The Site is not a login SaaS product and does not offer user accounts, pricing, a customer portal, or signup today.

Please read these Terms carefully. They include a disclaimer of warranties, a limitation of liability, and, in the Dispute Resolution section, a binding arbitration provision and a class-action waiver that affect your legal rights. By accessing or using the Site, you agree to these Terms.

Editorial disclosures that are specific to franchise research, earnings figures, affiliate relationships, and AI-assisted content also appear on /disclaimer. Those disclosures supplement these Terms. If there is a conflict on a franchise-research disclosure topic, the more specific language on /disclaimer controls for that topic. These Terms still govern access to and use of the Site.

Acceptance

By accessing or using the Site, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy (/privacy) and Cookie Policy (/cookies), which are incorporated by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Site.

Eligibility

The Site is intended for users who are at least 18 years old. It is not directed to children. We do not knowingly permit anyone under 18 to use it. By using the Site, you represent that you are at least 18.

What the Site is, and what it is not

The Site publishes independent editorial research, plain-language explanations of publicly available franchise information (including FDD items), tools such as checklists and an Earnings-Claim Decoder, and marketing pages about franchise reporting software. Customizations for reporting topics may be described on the Site.

We are not a franchise broker. We do not sell, broker, or recommend franchises. The Site is not a catalog of brands to buy. Nothing on the Site is a recommendation to buy, sell, invest in, or otherwise pursue any specific franchise opportunity. Franchise ownership involves substantial financial risk. The Franchise Disclosure Document filed by a franchisor is the source of truth for that brand's offering. Read /disclaimer before relying on any research page or tool output.

This Site does not, today:

create user accounts;
charge a public subscription price or run a consumer billing flow for reading the research pages;
host a customer login portal on this host; or
act as your franchise broker, attorney, accountant, or financial adviser.

We may add, change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Site at any time without notice. If a live product surface with accounts or paid subscriptions later ships on this host, Product Terms of Service may apply to that product. Until then, these Site Terms of Use govern use of the Site.

No professional advice

Content on the Site, including articles, summaries, comparison tools, earnings figures, checklists, and decoder output, is general information for education and research. It is not legal, financial, investment, tax, or franchise-sales advice. You should consult qualified professionals and read the relevant FDD and other primary sources before making any decision.

AI-assisted content

Some or all of the content on the Site may be generated or assisted by artificial intelligence and may be published with limited or no human review. That content may contain errors, inaccuracies, or omissions. Your use of, and reliance on, any content or tool output is at your own risk. See also /disclaimer.

Acceptable use of this Site

This section is a Site use rule. It is not a Product Acceptable Use Policy and does not create an account-based product.

You agree that you will not, and will not attempt to:

use the Site for any unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful purpose, or in violation of these Terms;
copy, reproduce, scrape, harvest, frame, mirror, republish, sell, or otherwise commercially exploit Site content except as expressly permitted;
use automated means (including bots, scrapers, or crawlers) to access, collect, or use content or data from the Site except as permitted by our published instructions (such as robots.txt);
introduce harmful code, or interfere with, disrupt, or impose an unreasonable load on the Site or its infrastructure;
attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Site or any connected systems;
use the Site to infringe the intellectual property or other rights of any party, or to transmit unlawful, defamatory, harassing, or infringing material;
misuse research tools to generate misleading franchise claims, fabricated earnings statements, or deceptive marketing; or
remove, obscure, or alter any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notice.

We may suspend or block access to the Site at any time, with or without notice, including for a violation of these Terms.

Intellectual property

Except for third-party and licensed materials, the content, design, text, graphics, tools, and other materials on the Site, and the selection and arrangement of that content, are owned by or licensed to X Enterprises and are protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and view the content for your own personal, non-commercial use. No other rights are granted.

"Franchise Businesses," "X Enterprises," and related logos and brand features are our trademarks or DBA marks. Other names, logos, and marks on the Site (including franchisor brand names) are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification, commentary, and research. Use of a third-party name or mark does not imply affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement, except where we expressly say so.

Third-party links, affiliates, and tools

The Site may contain links to third-party websites and may describe affiliate or referral relationships. Affiliate and advertising disclosures for this Site appear on /disclaimer (including /disclaimer#affiliate). Your use of any third-party website or service is at your own risk and is subject to that third party's terms.

A separate mill path on this host may describe an affiliate program application form. That page is not a promise that a staffed affiliate program is open, that any commission rate is guaranteed, or that an application will be accepted. Program terms, if any, will be stated at the time of a real offer.

Copyright complaints

We respect intellectual property rights. If you believe content on the Site infringes your copyright, send a notice with the information required under 17 U.S.C. section 512(c)(3) (identification of the work, the allegedly infringing material and its location, your contact information, and the required statements and signature) by mail to X Enterprises, LLC, 18122 3rd Dr SE, Bothell, WA 98012, or by email to editor@franchisebusinesses.com with "DMCA" in the subject line. X Enterprises, LLC designated agent is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office (Registration No. DMCA-1077248). We may remove material claimed to be infringing and may stop repeat infringers from accessing the Site.

Disclaimer of warranties

THE SITE AND ALL CONTENT, MATERIALS, TOOLS, AND FEATURES ON IT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT ANY CONTENT OR TOOL OUTPUT IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR CURRENT, THAT ANY EARNINGS FIGURE OR FDD SUMMARY MATCHES A FRANCHISOR'S CURRENT FILING, OR THAT THE SITE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. WE DO NOT WARRANT ANY FRANCHISE OUTCOME, INVESTMENT RESULT, OR REPORTING RESULT. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL X ENTERPRISES OR ITS MEMBERS, MANAGERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, GOODWILL, OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) THE SITE OR ANY CONTENT OR TOOL, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SITE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US $100).

NOTHING IN THESE TERMS EXCLUDES OR LIMITS ANY LIABILITY THAT CANNOT LAWFULLY BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Indemnification

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless X Enterprises and its members, managers, officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or relating to your use of the Site, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of a third party.

Dispute Resolution; Binding Arbitration; Class-Action Waiver

Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights.

Informal resolution first. Before starting any arbitration or proceeding, you agree to first write to X Enterprises, LLC, 18122 3rd Dr SE, Bothell, WA 98012, or email editor@franchisebusinesses.com, and attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.

Binding arbitration. Except as set out below, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to the Site or these Terms will be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its applicable rules, rather than in court, and will be seated in the State of Washington (or conducted remotely, as the rules permit).

Class-action waiver. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you and we agree that each may bring claims against the other only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, consolidated, or representative proceeding.

Carve-outs. Either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court, and either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to protect its intellectual property or confidential information.

Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration and class-action waiver provision by sending written notice to X Enterprises, LLC, 18122 3rd Dr SE, Bothell, WA 98012, or to editor@franchisebusinesses.com, within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, stating your name and your intent to opt out. Opting out will not affect any other provision of these Terms.

If this Dispute Resolution section is found unenforceable in whole or in part, the remainder will apply, and any claims not subject to arbitration will be resolved in the courts identified below.

Governing law and venue

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or the Site are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the Dispute Resolution section, you agree to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Washington for any matter not subject to arbitration, and you waive any objection to such venue. The Site is operated from the United States and is intended primarily for users located in the United States. If you access it from elsewhere, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with your local laws.

Changes

We may update these Terms from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted is your acceptance of the revised Terms.

Miscellaneous

These Terms, together with the policies incorporated by reference and the disclosures on /disclaimer, are the entire agreement between you and us regarding your use of the Site. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it. You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign them. Section headings are for convenience only.

Contact

Questions about these Terms may be sent to editor@franchisebusinesses.com or by mail to X Enterprises, LLC, 18122 3rd Dr SE, Bothell, WA 98012. Publishing an email address or street address is not a promise of a staffed helpdesk or a fixed reply time.

Franchise Businesses is a DBA of X Enterprises, LLC, 18122 3rd Dr SE, Bothell, WA 98012.