The terms used in Digital Rocket franchise reporting.
FDD
Franchise disclosure document. On this site, the term identifies the disclosure document in the relevant franchise process; counsel controls the legal interpretation.
Item 19 / FPR
Item 19 is the U.S. FDD section associated with a financial performance representation. Do not turn campaign reporting into an earnings claim without counsel review.
Qualified candidate
A person who meets the franchisor's documented commercial routing criteria. It is not a legal conclusion, credit decision, or prediction that the person will buy.
Validation
The franchisor-defined milestone in which the candidate completes the recorded validation step. The exact event must be named before measurement begins.
Discovery
The declared discovery-stage completion event. Invitation, booking, attendance, and completion must not be collapsed into one status.
Signed franchise
An executed franchise agreement counted under the franchisor's stated policy. Deposits, verbal commitments, and weighted pipeline are separate measures.
Where marketing stops and legal review begins.
The FTC Franchise Rule Compliance Guide describes the U.S. Item 19 framework and its exceptions; franchise counsel should review each use. See the FTC compliance guide and the FTC consumer guide.
| Question | Marketing/operations owns | Counsel or franchisor owns |
|---|---|---|
| Did a candidate move stages? | Timestamp, source, and declared stage rule. | Whether the process and disclosure were compliant. |
| Can a result be advertised? | Exact measured record and approval status. | Whether the statement is an FPR or needs disclosure. |
| Is a candidate suitable? | Recorded commercial-routing criteria only. | Legal, financial, disclosure, and award decisions. |
What these terms do not establish.
- They do not define the law outside the United States.
- They do not certify an advertisement, FDD, FPR, or sales process as compliant.
- They do not make one franchisor's stage names portable to another.
- They do not turn pipeline probability into a completed commercial outcome.
Review status.
- Reviewer
- Digital Rocket editorial desk. Independent franchise-counsel review is not yet recorded.
- Review date
- July 13, 2026
- Owner
- Digital Rocket franchise measurement desk
- Corrections
- Submit a source, scope, or terminology correction through Digital Rocket contact.
- Contact
- Use the contact route and identify the exact term and jurisdiction.
- Source register
- Official-source and proof ledger