Franchise entry fee (droit d’entrée)
The lump sum paid by the franchisee at contract signing, covering access to the brand, initial training and launch support. Its amount should reflect the value transferred, not the franchisor’s revenue appetite.
In practice
Entry fees range by an order of magnitude across sectors — from a few thousand euros for light service networks to hundreds of thousands for capital-intensive restaurant concepts. A coherent entry fee justifies itself line by line: training days, on-site support, territory exclusivity. Inflating it to fund the franchisor’s operations weakens the network from the outset, as undercapitalised franchisees struggle from day one.