Note 14 - Notes Receivable

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2024

Notes to Financial Statements

Loans, Notes, Trade and Other Receivables Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 14 - Notes Receivable

Notes from Franchisees

Several franchisees borrowed funds from us primarily to finance the initial purchase price of office assets, including intangible assets.

Notes outstanding, net of allowance for losses, were approximately $8.4 million and $9.6 million as of  September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Notes receivable generally bear interest at a fixed rate between 6.0% and 10.0%. Notes receivable are generally secured by the assets of each office and the ownership interests in the franchise. We report interest income on notes receivable as interest income in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. Interest income was approximately $138 thousand and $83 thousand during the three months ended  September 30, 2024 and September 30, 2023, respectively, and was approximately $424 thousand and $197 thousand during the nine months ended  September 30, 2024 and September 30, 2023, respectively.

We estimate the allowance for credit losses for franchisees separately from the allowance for credit losses from non-franchisees because of the level of detailed sales information available to us with respect to our franchisees. Based on our review of available collateral historical information, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts, we have established an allowance of approximately $623 thousand as of  September 30, 2024 and  December 31, 2023, for credit losses from franchisees.

The following table summarizes our notes receivable balance to franchisees (in thousands):

	September 30, 2024			December 31, 2023
Note receivable	$	9,061		$	10,245
Allowance for losses		(623	)		(623	)
Notes receivable, net	$	8,438		$	9,622