A franchise consultant runs a 30-unit audit program at $1,000 flat per unit, recovers $80,000 in CAM overcharges across the system, and the franchisor wants to renew the engagement next year. A second consultant runs the same program on contingency at 30 percent, recovers the same $80,000, walks away with $24,000. The first model paid $30,000 in audit fees regardless. Same work, different revenue.
I built CAMAudit because the audit production cost is now low enough that any of the three pricing models — flat, contingency, hybrid — leave room for healthy margin. The question is not which model is most profitable in the abstract. The question is which model fits the engagement in front of you.
This is the breakdown.
What franchise consultant fees look like for lease audits
Three structures dominate.
Flat per-unit. The consultant quotes a fixed price per unit, payable upfront or on delivery. Range is $500 to $1,500 depending on lease complexity, number of years included in the lookback, and whether the dispute letter delivery is bundled. The franchisee knows the cost; the consultant has no recovery risk.
Contingency. The consultant takes a percentage of recovered overcharges, typically 25 to 35 percent. Some structures cap the contingency at a maximum dollar amount per unit; others have a minimum fee that triggers if no recovery happens. Pure contingency is rare in franchise audits because the consultant absorbs all risk.
Hybrid. Fixed fee covers audit production ($250 to $500 per unit), and a smaller contingency percentage (15 to 25 percent) captures recovery upside. This is the most common structure in mature engagements.
Hourly. $200 to $400 per hour. Rarely used for audit work because the deliverable is repeatable per unit and clients prefer fixed pricing. Hourly fits the dispute negotiation phase, where back-and-forth with the landlord is unbounded.
The productized service framing explains why fixed and hybrid pricing fit franchise engagements better than hourly — the audit is repeatable, so the franchisee should pay for the deliverable, not for elapsed time.
How partners structure fees in practice
Most consultants running franchise programs offer two pricing tiers within the same engagement:
Tier 1, predictable: flat per-unit. Marketed to franchisees who want to know the cost upfront and do not want to wait for recovery to clear before paying.
Tier 2, zero-upfront: hybrid. Marketed to franchisees who would not sign up at flat pricing because they are unsure about recovery odds. The fixed component is small ($250 to $400) and the contingency captures the bulk of the consultant's revenue if recoveries clear.
The two-tier structure raises franchisee opt-in rates because it accommodates different risk preferences within the same program. Without the second tier, a chunk of franchisees who would convert to hybrid never convert at all.
The pitch to the franchisor usually does not mention pricing — that is between the consultant and individual franchisees. The franchisor only cares about the no-cost-to-corporate structure and the opt-in nature of the program.
What each model pays on real numbers
Worked numbers on a 50-unit casual dining system:
Flat at $750 per unit. 50 percent franchisee opt-in (industry baseline with franchisor endorsement) is 25 units. Revenue: $18,750. Software cost on the 5-pack tier at $49 per audit is $1,225. Net: $17,525. Risk: zero — the consultant gets paid regardless of recovery.
Contingency at 30 percent. Same 25 units. Industry-typical recovery rate when overcharges exist is roughly $3,000 to $5,000 per unit on average across CAM, taxes, and insurance reconciliations. At $4,000 average and 70 percent recovery clearance, that is 25 × $4,000 × 0.7 = $70,000 in recoveries, of which 30 percent is $21,000. Software cost the same. Net: $19,775. Risk: high — if recoveries do not clear, revenue collapses.
Hybrid at $400 fixed plus 20 percent of recoveries. Same cohort. Fixed: 25 × $400 = $10,000. Contingency: $70,000 × 0.20 = $14,000. Total: $24,000. Software cost the same. Net: $22,775. Risk: low on the fixed, captured upside on the contingency.
The hybrid wins on this system size. On smaller systems (10-unit), flat usually wins because the contingency tail is too thin. On larger systems (200+ unit) with high lease complexity, contingency can win because the recovery dollars per unit are higher.
The rollout sequence has the per-phase time investment, which matters for your effective hourly rate calculation across all three models.
When each model fits
Flat fits when:
- Lease complexity is low and recovery odds are uncertain
- Franchisees are budget-stable QSR or fast-casual operators who price predictability over upside
- The program needs to convert quickly and pricing simplicity is the conversion lever
- You do not have the cash flow to wait 4 to 9 months for contingency to clear
Contingency fits when:
- The system has documented occupancy cost overruns (the franchisor's data shows units running over benchmark)
- Lease portfolios are anchor-tenant retail with sophisticated landlord billing patterns where recoveries tend to be larger
- You have enough other engagements to absorb the cash-flow lag
- The franchisee population is sophisticated enough to push disputes through to recovery
Hybrid fits when:
- Mixed franchisee population (some want predictability, some want upside)
- Medium system size (30 to 100 units)
- You want to build a long-term relationship and need the fixed fee to cover audit time while the contingency aligns incentives on recovery follow-through
The niche services inventory covers the adjacent revenue lines (lease renegotiation, occupancy benchmarking) that work as upsells once the audit relationship is established. Those are typically priced flat or hourly because the deliverables are not recovery-driven.
The companion piece on program packaging walks through the full engagement structure these fees fit into.
Where CAMAudit fits
The platform's per-audit cost is the floor for any pricing model you choose.
Single credit: $79. 3-pack: $179 ($59 per audit). 5-pack: $249 ($49 per audit). At even the highest tier, the platform cost is well under 10 percent of a $750 flat fee. That margin holds across flat, contingency, and hybrid pricing because the audit production cost is the same regardless of how you charge the franchisee.
White-label at /partners/white-label does not change the per-audit cost — it adds your branding to the report and dispute letter so the deliverable looks like yours. Revenue-sharing at /partners/revenue-sharing inverts the model entirely: you refer the franchisee to CAMAudit, the franchisee pays the platform directly, and you earn a commission per audit. That fits consultants who want to monetize without operating the audit production.
You can run a free single-unit audit at /scan to have a deliverable to show franchisees during the sales conversation, regardless of which pricing model you settle on.
Closing CTA
Pricing is the lever that determines whether your franchise audit program is a one-off or a recurring revenue line. Flat for predictability, contingency for upside, hybrid for the middle. Pick the structure that fits your cash flow and the engagement.
Run a free audit at /scan, then look at white-label for branded delivery or revenue-sharing for referral economics. The right model is the one that lets you stay in business across the slow months between system pitches.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are franchise consultant fees for lease audits?
For lease audit work, franchise consultants typically charge $500 to $1,500 flat per unit, or 25 to 35 percent of recovered overcharges on contingency, or a hybrid of $250 to $500 fixed plus 15 to 25 percent of recoveries. Hourly engagements run $200 to $400 per hour but rarely fit audit work because clients want predictable pricing. The model that fits depends on system size, lease complexity, and the consultant's risk tolerance.
How do partners actually structure franchise consultant fees?
Most partners offer two or three pricing tiers: a flat per-unit rate for franchisees who want predictability, a contingency rate for franchisees who want zero upfront cost, and a hybrid for the middle. The franchisor endorsement covers all tiers. Partners avoid pure hourly because the audit work is repeatable and clients balk at open-ended billing. Software cost on CAMAudit is sub-$50 per audit at pack tiers, so margins hold across all three structures.
What does franchise consultant fees cost or pay?
On a 50-unit system: flat at $750 yields $37,500 with no recovery risk. Contingency at 30 percent on $150,000 of recovered overcharges yields $45,000 but only if the recoveries clear. Hybrid at $400 plus 20 percent of recoveries on the same system yields $20,000 fixed plus $30,000 contingency, totaling $50,000. The hybrid model has the best risk-adjusted return in most franchise engagements because the fixed component covers your audit time regardless of recovery outcome.
Where does CAMAudit fit into franchise consultant fees?
CAMAudit's per-audit cost is the floor for your pricing. At $79 single credit, $59 per audit on the 3-pack, and $49 per audit on the 5-pack, the platform fee is a small slice of any per-unit price you set. White-label adds branding without changing the per-audit unit economics. Revenue-sharing inverts the model — instead of charging the franchisee, you refer them to CAMAudit and earn a commission per audit they run.
See also: Franchise Benchmarking Services