Proforma Franchise Costs, Fees & FDD

Year Business Began: 1978

Franchising Since: 1985

Headquarters: Cleveland, Ohio

Estimated Number of Units: 510

Franchise Description: PFG Ventures, L.P. is the franchisor. The franchisor offers franchises for the operation of businesses specializing in the sale and distribution of printed business products and services, including business forms, commercial printing, specialty advertising items, packaging, apparel, point-of-purchase displays, multi-media services and related business supplies. The Proforma system includes business management and e-commerce software, systems and solutions, accounting and order processing methods, advertising, marketing and promotional techniques, preferential vendor relationships, volume purchasing power, account acquisition programs, customer appointment setting programs, personnel recruiting, training and other matters related to the maintenance of uniform quality standards and to the efficient operation and supervision of businesses operated under the Proforma system.
Training Overview: Before giving franchisees the authorization to start operating the franchised business, the franchisor will provide three days of initial instruction in the operation of a Proforma franchised business. The training takes place through or a combination of on-site and remote sessions at either the franchisor’s Cleveland, Ohio Support Center, Tampa, Florida Support Center, the franchisee’s location, or remotely. The length and location of the initial training is dependent upon the franchisee’s sales volume. The invitation-only Energize Summits focus on supplier relationship building and are held annually in two different cities located throughout the U.S. Offered at a different site each year, lasting three to four days, the franchisor’s annual convention offers product, sales and operational training, various roundtable discussions, recognition banquet, vendor showcase and other events. Franchisees are not required to attend the annual convention, but the franchisor strongly suggests they attend.

Territory Granted: Franchisees will not receive an exclusive territory. The Proforma franchise is a non-exclusive license only and does not grant franchisees any exclusive market area or territorial rights. The franchisor does have a limited number of restrictions on customers it may enforce on franchisees or other franchise owners. The franchisor’s current policy is to establish at least one franchise owner per every 5,000 businesses in any market in an effort to gain at least a 10% share of that market’s revenue from the sale of products and services. The franchisor expects to make exceptions to that policy in situations, which, in its sole judgment, merit these exceptions.

Obligations and Restrictions: Franchisees will operate their Proforma franchise only through an established registered business entity (corporation, partnership or LLC). Franchisees must initially operate and manage the franchised business themselves. At no time may franchisees hire or retain a person to operate or manage the franchised business without first giving the franchisor written notice and obtaining its written consent. The consent may be withheld for any reason or no reason whatsoever at the franchisor’s sole discretion. Franchisees must also provide any individual whom the franchisor approves of with the training it requires. Franchisees only may advertise products and services on the Internet through web sites which the franchisor approves, which may be limited to web sites controlled by the franchisor or its affiliates. The Franchise Agreement prohibits franchisees from engaging in any business similar to a Proforma franchise without the franchisor’s prior written approval. For one year following the termination of the Agreement, precludes franchisees from selling any products or services similar to those sold in the franchisor’s system to customers of their franchised business and from contacting vendors or suppliers of their former franchised business on behalf of a third party not expressly exempted from this restriction.

Term of Agreement and Renewal: The Franchise Agreement becomes effective when both parties sign it, and the term extends until either party terminates the Franchise Agreement as provided for in the agreement.

Financial Assistance: The franchisor does not offer direct or indirect financing for the initial franchise fee of the franchised business. The franchisor does not refer or place financing on the franchisee’s behalf with any lenders, nor receive any consideration from lenders in referring the franchisee for financing or otherwise. The franchisor does not guarantee a franchisee’s note, lease or obligation. The Franchise Agreement authorizes the franchisor to invoice the franchisees’ customers, collect their account receivables, and pay their suppliers and certain other fees from the receivables the franchisor collects. The franchisee receives the balance after paying suppliers, the franchisor’s fees and other amounts to which he or she has agreed to pay the franchisor. Sometimes the franchisor advances funds on the franchisee’s behalf to pay his or her suppliers before they have received payment from the franchisee’s customers. At the franchisor’s discretion, it may advance money on the franchisee’s behalf to pay vendors for products before it has received payment from the franchisee’s customers. The franchisor reserves the right to change lenders and/or modify the terms of its financing arrangements at any time.

Estimated Initial Investment

Name of Fee	Low	High
Initial Franchise Fee (if franchisee has “relevant industry experience”)	$0	$0
Computer Hardware	$0	$4,000
Internet Service Provider and Anti-Virus Software	$30	$200
Equipment, Fixtures, Fixed Assets and Stationery	$700	$3,000
First Month Pre-Opening Lease, Rent & Security Deposit	$0	$2,000
Utility Deposits, Insurance, Licenses, Business Entity Registration	$300	$4,000
Travel, Room and Board for Initial Training	$1,000	$2,000
Supplemental Training Fee	$0	$495
Additional Funds Incurred during the Initial Phase (which usually lasts 3-6 months)	$6,000	$12,000
ESTIMATED TOTAL (start-up franchise for franchisee with relevant industry experience)	$7,030	$27,695

 
Other Fees

Type of Fee	Amount
Service Fee	5% - 8% of gross volume.
Marketing Fund	0.25% - 1% of gross volume.
Proprietary Order Processing Software License Fee and Communication and Technology Support Fee	$100 per month.
Monthly E-Mail Fee	$100 per month.
Supplier Rebates, Commissions & Consideration	100% of amount received.
Interest on Late Payments	15% per annum.
Payments to Third Parties	Cost of products the franchisee orders.
Supplemental Training Fee	Cost of meals and additional training materials.
Miscellaneous Fees: Direct Vendor Payment Charge	10% of the vendor invoice amount or a minimum of $100.
Payment Conversion Fee	3 times amount the franchisee collects.
Account Acquisition Fee	An amount equal to 24 times the average monthly service fee owed to the franchisor during the 24 months before the termination date.
Business Charter Default Fee	$1,000

The above information has been compiled from the FDD of Proforma. Year of FDD: 2025.
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