01Convenience Store & Fuel
Convenience store and fuel feasibility studies
New stores with fuel. Fuel by grade and diesel, inside sales by category, a five-year pro forma and financing cases.
02Who orders it
Who orders this study
An operator with a site under contract. You have a contract or LOI and want to know, before closing, what the store will sell and what it takes to finance it.
A franchisee whose brand or lender asks for one. Franchisors refer operators to us, and lenders want a third-party study in the loan package.
A fuel jobber weighing an incentive. You're deciding whether to put image money or a supply incentive into a dealer site and want to see what the store has to do to carry it.
A developer deciding what to do with a site. Build-to-suit, sale-leaseback or sell: you want a projection a buyer can underwrite instead of a seller's pro forma.
03The report
What's in the report
Delivered as a PDF, with a companion glossary. Sections in the order they appear.
- Executive Summary
- The findings on one page: what the site is feasible at under each financing structure, and the key figures.
- Site Analysis
- Where the site is, what's on the parcel, and whether the planned store fits it.
- Trade Area and Market
- Who lives, works and drives within 1, 2 and 3 miles, and what they spend.
- Traffic and Access
- State DOT traffic counts, how cars get in and out, and any road projects nearby.
- Competitive Environment
- Every operating fuel competitor within 3 miles, how each is rated, and new stores in the pipeline.
- Competitor Profiles
- A page on each nearby competitor and how the site compares. Facts only.
- Revenue Projection
- Gallons by grade, with diesel and DEF, inside sales by category, and other revenue, year by year.
- Financial Analysis
- The budget, operating costs, five-year pro forma, breakeven, and how each loan structure works on this store.
- Brand Program
- The brand's profile and the fees carried in the numbers.
- Conclusions
- What the store must sell to clear, the advantages and challenges, and the contingencies with who delivers each.
- Appendix
- Key assumptions with their source, data dates, glossary, use and limitations, independence statement and contact.
04Questions
Questions the study answers
- How many gallons a month can this site do, and how much of that is diesel?
- What will the store sell inside, and in which categories?
- What does the store need to sell just to break even?
- What does the project have to cost for the bank to say yes?
- How much cash do I need to put in, and what will it earn?
- Which loan fits here: SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA or a bank loan?
- Who am I competing with within 3 miles, and is anyone else coming?
- If I go 24 hours, or sell on the brand's fuel program, what changes?
- What has to be true before I close: zoning, environmental, permits, appraisal?
- Does the rent this store supports justify the real estate cost?
05Before you start
What to have ready
The online intake takes about five minutes. You can save it and finish later, or use the fillable PDF.
Required
- Your name, company and contact details
- The site address or a map pin, and your land status: owned, under contract or ground lease
- The brand, or "not decided"
- What you plan to build: store size, pumps, truck diesel lanes, food program, car wash, hours
- A rough all-in project cost, or "not sure yet"
- How you plan to pay, and whether you'll run the store yourself
Helpful, now or later
- Site plan or survey; purchase contract or LOI; zoning letter
- Franchise offer or FDD and fee schedule
- Fuel supply proposal, image allowance or incentive terms, and how you buy fuel
- Lender term sheet and construction estimates
- P&Ls from stores you already run
- Water and sewer availability letter
Anything you leave blank is carried at a stated allowance and listed in the report, with a note that it holds until your figure arrives. Anything you mark "send later" is requested again before the study is issued.
06Reading the study
How to read it
Start with the Findings page. It's one page and it gives you the answer first: the projection, and the first financing structure that works at your budget.
You won't see a bare yes or no. Every structure reads "feasible at" a specific project cost, loan amount or equity. Use that as your target. If the bank loan is feasible at a lower cost than your budget, the page tells you how far apart you are.
The financing cases run the same store through SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA and two bank loans. They show what each lender would test and where your numbers land. Hand the lender copy to your banker, and use the rest to decide where to push: budget, equity or program.
07Lenders
For lenders
The lender copy gives an underwriter the pages a credit memo needs, in the order a loan is tested: the determination by financing structure, the debt test, the five financing cases side by side, year-by-year statements and a balance sheet at closing, the management and contracts page, sensitivities, the contingencies to clear before closing, and every key assumption with its source and date. The study is not an appraisal and gives no opinion of market value.
USDA Business and Industry: a guaranteed loan over $1 million to a new business requires a feasibility study prepared by an independent qualified consultant acceptable to the Agency (7 CFR 5001.306). Our lender copy lists each element USDA asks for and the page that answers it. Rural eligibility and consultant acceptance are the Agency's decisions.
08FAQ
Common questions
How long does a study take?
Within 10 business days of a complete intake. The clock starts when we have the site, your plan, a budget figure and how you plan to finance it. Anything you mark "send later" doesn't hold up the start.
What does it cost?
Price is quoted per study and depends on the site and the store program. Send the intake or a site plan and we'll quote it.
Can I see a sample first?
Yes. We send an anonymized sample on request: a real study with the client replaced by a placeholder and the location generalized. We ask that it stays within your company.
Is the study built for lenders?
The lender copy follows the format SBA and USDA lenders look for and lays out the tests an underwriter applies, so each figure can be followed from the page. Whether a lender accepts any study is the lender's decision.
Has my franchisor reviewed it?
No. The study is prepared independently, and each copy says the brand has not reviewed, approved or endorsed it. Your franchisor's own documents govern.
The study says my site isn't feasible at my budget. Now what?
Read the "feasible at" line for each structure. It tells you the project cost, loan amount or equity at which the store works. That gives you something to negotiate: land price, building program, equity or supply terms.
Will you change the projection if I think it's low?
We don't move the baseline unless strong data shows we missed something, and if we change it you'll see why. P&Ls from stores you already run help most.
I don't have my franchise terms or a budget yet. Can I start?
Yes. Blank items are carried at a stated allowance, listed in the report, and replaced when your figures arrive.
Does it break out inside sales?
Yes, by category, with other revenue such as lottery and ATM on the same page. Franchisors have told us it's the part they read first.
Where do you work?
Anywhere in the U.S. We're based in Alabama, and much of our work so far has been in Georgia and Alabama.
09Background
We develop sites too.
Our founder has spent about eight years developing retail sites, with developments in more than 10 states. We write these studies the way we'd want one written for our own deal: plain numbers, no padding, and an honest answer when a site doesn't work.
10Process
How it works
Intake.
Fill out a short online form about the site, the store, the budget and how you plan to finance it. You can save it and finish later.
Quote.
We price each study individually, depending on the type of site, how much information is available and what's being built.
Delivery.
You get the finished study within 10 business days of a complete intake.
A complete intake means every required item and any documents the study depends on have been received. The schedule and scope are confirmed in your signed proposal.
Based in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. We take on sites anywhere in the U.S.