Seven checks before you wire any 'performance deposit'

Why deposits deserve their own checklist

Six-figure "deposits" — refundable, rebatable, or "re-earnable" — are the signature structure of clinic business-opportunity offers. Some are legitimate commercial terms. All of them deserve the same seven checks, run in order, before any wire.

1 · Age the entity

Look up the LLC and the domain. A company selling $100K packages that was formed months ago is not automatically bad — it is automatically unproven, and the burden of proof shifts to it.

2 · Visit the address

Virtual-office suites and registered-agent addresses are normal for startups and abnormal for companies claiming operating clinic networks. Know which one you're looking at.

3 · Demand substantiation in writing

Any earnings, retention, or margin figure quoted to you as a business buyer should come with a written substantiation file. Under the FTC's business-opportunity framework, that is not a courtesy — it is the standard the seller should already meet.

4 · Read the deposit's escape hatches

"Re-earnable" through what? Purchases from the seller? Then the deposit is a supply lock-in — you re-earn your own money by buying their product. Model the true cost of that obligation, and ask what happens to the balance if you stop buying.

5 · Find the words 'no refund'

Read for refund, buyback, cure, and termination terms before signing anything labeled 'MOU' or 'letter of intent' — some are drafted to be immediately binding.

6 · Call three operators, chosen by you

Not references chosen by the seller. From any list they provide, pick your own three; ask each what they paid, what arrived, and what they'd do differently.

7 · Price the exit before the entrance

Who owns the brand, the customer list, and the location goodwill if you leave? The answer belongs in the agreement, not the pitch.

Where we stand — disclosedThis site is published by Atlas Metabolic, which offers a 0%-royalty license model in this category (partner owns their own brand; final agreements control). We think the honest comparison — documents, fees, ownership at exit — favors that structure, and you should verify that skepticism-first: see how Atlas structures it, and hold us to the same diligence standard this site applies to everyone else. If you want to see ongoing-fee structures side by side at your own numbers, use the RoyaltyMath calculator.