Benetrends vs FranFund: ROBS Provider Comparison

Use this comparison to decide which written proposal deserves closer review, not to crown a winner. DOL fiduciary materials support an objective process: ask providers for the same information, compare services and fees together, document the selection process, and keep monitoring the provider after selection.^[2][3]

If you are buying a franchise or small business and need ROBS administration plus financing coordination, FranFund publishes more detail about employee workflows and a separate Business Loans package. If you are focused on Benetrends’ Rainmaker structure, Roth Advantage option, stock appraisal wording, and audit-protection language, Benetrends gives you specific public claims to verify. Neither public source set answers every contract question.

A rollover as business start-up, or ROBS, generally moves eligible retirement-plan assets into a qualified retirement plan, a tax-favored retirement plan that must follow IRS and DOL rules, sponsored by a C corporation, meaning a corporation taxed separately from its owners. The plan then buys employer stock, or shares of the sponsoring company, and the corporation uses the proceeds for an operating business. The IRS describes this basic structure and also identifies compliance matters involving valuation, annual filings, prohibited transactions, employee coverage, promoter fees and business failure risk.^[1]

Benetrends and FranFund describe help with a retirement plan, a C corporation, employer stock, filings and ongoing administration. A provider can coordinate pieces of the transaction, but the employer, plan fiduciaries (the people responsible for acting prudently and in the plan participants’ interest), and appropriate professionals still need to understand the documents, fees, investment risk and continuing plan duties.^[1][2][3]

The comparison below uses only published setup and monthly fees checked on August 13, 2026. First year equals setup plus 12 monthly payments. Three years equals setup plus 36 monthly payments. The formulas do not include business purchase price, franchise fee, payroll, taxes, professional fees outside the public package wording, custodian or trustee fees not stated in the checked sources, state-specific costs not stated in the checked sources, SBA loan costs, or future exit costs.

These labels are deliberately modest. “Stated in checked source” means a provider page states the service area. “Coordination stated” means the source describes adjacent coordination but not necessarily an included service. “Not stated publicly” means the checked public sources did not answer the question; it is not a negative quality finding.

Material source support

These scenarios translate the pricing and service evidence into buyer profiles before the individual provider cards. They preserve the same caution as the rest of the page: use them to decide what to verify in writing, not to treat either company as the automatic choice.

Which provider profile fits which buyer?

Use these scenarios after reviewing the price math and service table. They summarize when each public source set may deserve closer written diligence; they do not recommend signing with either provider.

These are fit scenarios, not recommendations to sign. A lower first-year total can lose importance if the written scope excludes a service you need. A broader-sounding package can lose importance if the contract leaves key duties, pass-through charges or exit work outside the fee.

Ask both providers the same questions in writing. The DOL specifically emphasizes comparing providers on services, fees, compensation, responsibility and ongoing monitoring, and it notes that provider contracts must disclose service and compensation information for the arrangement to be assessed.^[2][3]

• Which entity-formation, plan-document, filing and state costs are included, and which are passed through?
• Who signs as trustee, plan administrator, named fiduciary and corporate officer, and what duties remain with the business owner?
• What valuation work is included at formation, annually, after material events and at sale or shutdown?
• What employee eligibility, enrollment, contribution, testing, notice and benefit-statement tasks are included?
• What audit, correction, VCP, DFVCP, prohibited-transaction and late-filing support is included or excluded?
• How are SBA, franchise, lender, closing, add-on loan and third-party professional fees priced?
• What cancellation, refund, renewal, termination, transition and data-export rights apply?
• What happens if the business fails, sells assets, sells stock, changes entity type or needs to terminate the plan?

ROBS funding can be a legitimate structure to evaluate, but it does not make the business investment safe. The plan exchanges retirement assets for stock in one privately held C corporation. If the business loses value, the retirement account can lose value as well. The IRS ROBS project specifically discusses failed businesses, bankruptcy, liens, dissolved corporations, valuation matters, Form 5500 (the annual retirement-plan information return), and Form 1120 (the C corporation income-tax return) issues.^[1]

Professional review is not optional for hard questions. A benefits attorney or qualified plan professional should review plan terms, fiduciary roles, prohibited-transaction risk, employee eligibility, amendments and correction procedures. A CPA should review corporate tax and payroll consequences. A valuation professional may be needed for employer-stock value, especially at transactions or exits. A lender should separately underwrite any SBA or conventional loan. Provider support does not replace those judgments.^[1][2]

Affiliate compensation has no role in this comparison. The page does not use review, product, offer, rating or price schema; it does not collect contact information; and it does not state that either provider should be selected for everyone.

The answers below resolve common comparison questions without changing the bounded conclusion above. Use them as prompts for written proposals when a provider’s public page does not state the term you need.

1. [1] IRS ROBS compliance project

   Official source checked August 13, 2026. The IRS explains that a ROBS arrangement uses rollover assets to buy stock in a new C corporation and identifies concerns involving Form 5500, Form 1120, valuation, prohibited transactions, discrimination and promoter fees.

2. [2] DOL: Meeting Your Fiduciary Responsibilities

   Official source checked August 13, 2026. The DOL explains fiduciary duties, service-provider selection and monitoring, reasonable fees, plan documents, participant disclosures, employer-stock fair-market-value transactions, Form 5500 reporting, correction programs and professional-review limits.

3. [3] DOL: Understanding Retirement Plan Fees and Expenses

   Official source checked August 13, 2026. The DOL says plan fiduciaries should evaluate services, fee categories, bundled and unbundled arrangements, provider compensation, ongoing monitoring and the effect of fees on retirement savings.

4. [4] Benetrends ROBS/RAPS cost

   Provider source checked August 13, 2026. Benetrends publishes Rainmaker at $4,995 setup and $155 per month; Rainmaker (Roth) Advantage at $9,995 setup and $195 per month; and states that incorporation services, legal, administrative and state filing fees, minutes, bylaws, stock issuance and management, retirement-plan creation, transfer coordination, stock appraisal, ongoing administration, recordkeeping, annual reports, annual fair-market-value assistance, and Gold Standard audit and liability protection are included.

5. [5] Benetrends ROBS 401(k) Funding

   Provider source checked August 13, 2026. Benetrends describes setting up a C corporation, designing a qualified retirement plan, transferring retirement funds, using plan funds to buy C-corporation stock, funding a small business or franchise, Audit Shield protection, ROBS+®, ongoing administrative and filing support, and pre-qualification for financing.

6. [6] FranFund pricing

   Provider source checked August 13, 2026. FranFund publishes FranPlan 401(k) Business Funding at a $4,995 one-time setup fee and required TPA service at $165 per month; setup includes corporation establishment, organizational documents, federal tax ID, 401(k) plan and corporate checking account assistance, asset transfers, stock certificates and attorney consultation. TPA includes contribution allocation, annual compliance testing, Form 5500, 1099-R, Form 945, fair-market-value support, Summary Annual Report, benefit statements, employee census review, enrollment support, plan amendments, audit assistance, transaction documentation, employee notifications, webinars, projections, plan design and QDRO review. Business Loans are a separate $2,500 one-time standard fee with add-on services available.

7. [7] FranFund homepage

   Provider source checked August 13, 2026. FranFund describes SBA Loans, FranPlan® 401(k)/IRA Rollover Funding, a free pre-approval letter based on FranScore®, in-house teams, continued guidance through TPA services after opening, a network of franchise-friendly lenders, and SafetyNet™.