FICTIONAL EXAMPLE: Northfield Inspections is invented for teaching
Northfield Inspections: Q3 2026 franchise recruitment report
Unit: signed franchise agreements, net of reversals (0 reversals recorded this period) · Cost: included = media + management + production/tools + source fees + rep hours x $35 loaded · Currency: USD · Cohort: first inquiry quarter · Cutoff: 30 Sep 2026 · Attribution: original source captured at entry; unknown shown as its own row; broker credit follows the broker agreement
1. Summary
Q3 recorded 6 signings (period activity). The only matured cohort, Q1, has 8 net signings at an included cost of $12,950.63 per signed franchise. Q2 is half-way through its window and Q3 is too young to judge. The development team used 566 of 600 rep hours, and 11 Qualified Q3 candidates were still waiting for a first conversation at cutoff. Three decisions are requested in section 7.
2. Period activity, Q3 2026 (what happened in the quarter)
| Line | Value | Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Media spend | $34,000 | Meta 24,000 + Google 10,000 |
| Management and production/tools | $10,500 | 8,500 + 2,000 |
| Portal fees | $5,000 | |
| Broker and referral fees paid in Q3 | $0 | no broker or referral signing fell in Q3 (recorded zero) |
| Rep hours, all cohorts | 566 h = $19,810 | 566 x 35 |
| Period included cost | $69,310 | 34,000 + 10,500 + 5,000 + 0 + 19,810 |
| Signings in Q3 (gross / reversals / net) | 6 / 0 / 6 | 3 from Q1 cohort, 2 from Q2, 1 from 2025-Q4 |
| Period ratio | $11,551.67 | 69,310 / 6. Activity measure only, not what Q3 inquiries will cost |
3. Matured cohort: Q1 2026 by source (180-day window complete)
| Source | Inquiries | Graded | Not yet graded | Qualified | Nurture | Disqualified | Included cost | Net signed | Open late stage | Included cost per signed franchise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta (paid social) | 260 | 248 | 12 | 37 | 61 | 150 | $28,900 | 3 | 4 | $9,633.33 |
| Google Search (paid) | 70 | 68 | 2 | 18 | 16 | 34 | $13,325 | 2 | 2 | $6,662.50 |
| Franchise portal | 90 | 84 | 6 | 9 | 20 | 55 | $8,050 | 0 | 1 | not calculable (0 signed) |
| Broker | 12 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 2 | $50,700 | 2 | 1 | $25,350 |
| Referral | 8 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | $2,280 | 1 | 0 | $2,280 |
| Unknown source | 15 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | $350 | 0 | 0 | not calculable (0 signed) |
| Total | 455 | 433 | 22 | 78 | 105 | 250 | $103,605 | 8 | 8 | $12,950.63 |
Unknown-source cost policy: channel invoices are charged to the platform row that billed them, even when a candidate's source is unknown. The unknown row's $350 is logged rep time only (10 h x $35), not a fully allocated acquisition cost, and is not comparable with the channel rows. Unallocated spend: $0. Rows sum to $103,605.
4. Cohort maturity (net signings to date, by days since first inquiry)
| Cohort | Inquiries | Qualified | Not yet graded | Signed by day 90 | Signed by day 180 | Signed to cutoff | Open late stage | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-Q1 | 455 | 78 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Matured for 180-day comparison |
| 2026-Q2 | 491 | 78 | 32 | 3 | window ends 27 Dec | 3 | 12 | Compare at day 90 only |
| 2026-Q3 | 531 | 78 | 62 | window ends 29 Dec | not yet | 0 | 4 | Too young to judge |
At day 90, Q1 had 4 signings and Q2 had 3, each from 78 candidates first confirmed Qualified within their individual first 90 days. One agreement per signing candidate. In this fictional ledger, Q1 has no later regrades. Later Q2 qualifications can change the 180-day population, not the completed day-90 denominator. The 455-person source scenario is separate from S10’s 400-person process example.
Staff-rate sensitivity
House default: logged rep hours x loaded rate. Base $35/hour; high $50/hour. These are researched planning assumptions, not SMF/client pay. Sources, assumptions and labelled no-time-log fallback.
| Measure | $35/hour base | $50/hour high |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 period staff allocation (566 h) | $19,810 | $28,300 |
| Q3 period included cost | $69,310 | $77,800 |
| Q3 period ratio (6 signings; activity only) | $11,551.67 | $12,966.67 |
| Q1 cohort included cost (273 h) | $103,605 | $107,700 |
| Q1 cost per signed (8) | $12,950.63 | $13,462.50 |
| Q2 cohort included cost (279 h) | $80,490 | $84,675 |
| Q2 cost per signed to cutoff (3; provisional) | $26,830 | $28,225 |
| Q3 inquiry-cohort included cost (226 h; 0 signings) | $57,410 | $60,800 |
Period and inquiry-cohort populations are distinct. Source-level Q1 rows match S11; zero-signing costs per signed remain not calculable. Dollar ratios rounded to cents, half up. Decisions and rep-hour capacity unchanged. Full source/cohort sensitivity CSV.
5. Capacity
| Line | Q3 value |
|---|---|
| Rep hours available (2 reps) | 600 |
| Rep hours logged | 566 (34 spare) |
| Qualified Q3 candidates with no first conversation at cutoff | 11 (oldest waiting 6 business days) |
| Rep hours per signed franchise, Q1 cohort | paid 37.0 · broker 10.0 · all sources 34.1 |
6. Exceptions
| Issue | Effect on the numbers | Owner | Action | Review date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form-to-CRM delivery failed 11 to 14 Aug | 23 accepted Meta form submissions in the owned delivery log had no CRM record by submission ID; all 23 backfilled and matched by ID on 19 Aug; 9 still not yet graded | Marketing ops | Grade the 9; add a daily match of owned accepted submissions to CRM records by submission ID; review Meta's credited lead count separately (attribution observation, not delivery proof) | 15 Oct 2026 |
| 62 Q3 inquiries not yet graded | Q3 Qualified count is a floor, not final | Development lead | Clear backlog, oldest first | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Unknown source rose to 25 in Q3 | Source shares in Q3 are less certain | Marketing ops | Check hidden source fields on the two new landing pages | 15 Oct 2026 |
7. Decisions requested
- Hold Meta media at $8,000 a month for Q4; do not raise it. Supported by: 34 spare rep hours, 11 Qualified candidates waiting, and paid sources needing 37 rep hours per signing. Revisit when the queue is under 3 for four straight weeks or a third rep is approved.
- Keep the broker agreement, limited to the 5 secondary territories. Supported by: both Q1 broker signings came from secondary territories, where paid produced 3 of 55 Qualified. Broker included cost of $25,350 per signed franchise is above the $20,000 ceiling, so no broker coverage in metros. Re-check with Q2 at day 180.
- Hold portal spend flat at $5,000 a quarter until Q2 reaches day 180. Supported by: Q1 portal has 0 signings and 1 open late-stage candidate after 180 days, so cost per signed franchise is not calculable. Cut it in January if Q2 also ends its window with 0 signings and no late-stage candidate.
Northfield costs, hours and outcomes are fictional; staff-rate assumptions are researched. Source data: O14-cohort-source-data.csv and S11-signing-log.csv.