(MONEY Magazine) – As the accompanying story explains, when you buy a franchise you make a trade-off. In return for a great idea and expert advice on running your business, you must sign a contract written by the franchisor primarily for its own benefit, not yours. Sometimes the arrangement works out fine. "There aren't many arguments when everyone's making money," says San Diego franchisee advocate Robert L. Purvin. But fewer than a quarter of franchisors will give you gross earnings estimates, and very few track or disseminate figures on franchisee profits. So how much money you'll make is far from guaranteed. If the advantages you expect don't materialize, profits can be slim and corporate support may be disappointing. In short, it may become tough for your franchise to survive.

That's why it's important that the franchise you choose offers not just solid opportunity but also a reasonably fair contract. To identify a list of exceptionally equitable franchises, we canvassed small business development experts, franchise attorneys and franchisees. Our experts say these three franchisors fit the bill:

Great Harvest Bread (800-442-0424). Montana-grown wheat and a New Age business philosophy are what's cooking at this 17-year-old bakery franchise with headquarters in Dillon (pop. 4,998). Customers who walk into any of the company's 93 outlets in 33 states across the country get a big, free slice of its trademark whole-wheat bread, a marketing ploy contributing to Great Harvest's 25% average annual growth rate.

For the most part, franchisees are treated with equal generosity. Pay an initial $24,000 franchise fee, plus a setup cost from $100,000 to $300,000 depending on the size of your shop and local costs, and you get a five-year contract with a company pledge to "weigh advice to you with the same seriousness we would give our own business." Owners are granted territories defined by a generous 16-mile radius for the first 18 months (an eight-mile radius thereafter), giving them better protection than many other franchisors offer against encroachment by other stores in the same franchise. And franchisees can walk away from their agreement on any grounds at any time. In contrast, the company can terminate a franchisee only for a serious infraction, such as repeated default on royalty payments. Signing on, however, isn't easy. Last year, Great Harvest got 7,500 inquiries for 15 avail able slots.

Unlike many franchise firms, which discourage communication among franchisees, Great Harvest promotes it. The contract requires that all franchisees be linked by E-mail, and each year the company provides every franchisee an all-expenses-paid trip to visit any colleague's store and swap tips. (Sorry, but there are no outlets in Hawaii, yet.)

The Italian Oven (800-332-6836). At this 87-outlet chain, a fam ily of four can sit down to pasta or pizza cooked before their eyes in a wood-fired oven and walk out having paid a check under $25. Italian Oven, based in Latrobe, Pa., is designed for diners who want more luxury than Pizza Hut but less wallet damage than the more upscale Olive Garden. This national franchise targets the increasingly popular "value niche" that, analysts say, accounts for the chain's impressive 59% annual growth since 1991.

"Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck was my inspiration," admits founder James A. Frye, who got started in 1989. "He made pizza into haute cuisine. I felt I could do the same thing for the average family."

Italian Oven's contract is unusually specific in spelling out franchisor obligations, including initial and ongoing training, management and marketing services. Although franchisee-friendly, the requirements for ownership are pricey and geared to entrepreneurs who want to run more than one outlet. Rather than purchase rights to a single restaurant, a buyer must sign up for an entire territory, typically five or more Italian Ovens that open on an agreed-upon schedule. Each has a $39,500 franchise fee in addition to the nearly $500,000 it costs to actually set up shop. Franchisees must also pay a nonrefundable $10,000 deposit for each planned outlet in their territory. But this multiple-outlet policy provides protection against encroachment. And franchisees with more than one outlet can buy in bulk-helping to raise profits. Those who fail to expand forfeit their exclusive territories, though they retain the rights to their existing restaurants.

Sylvan Learning Centers (800-284-8214). The decline in the quality of education may be bad news for America's 48 million school-age kids, but the demand for improving Johnny's and Jane's test scores has spurred the growth of Sylvan's 517 franchised tutoring centers across the country. Parents pay $25 to $35 per hour for 36-hour courses in math or reading improvement that the company promises will increase a kindergartener's to high schooler's comprehension by the equivalent of one grade.

Thanks to Sylvan's exclusive contract with the Educational Testing Service, which sponsors most academic admissions and professional certification tests, franchisees have additional opportunities to profit. For a fee of $50 to $100, customers can take the ETS exams via computer at 280 Sylvan sites. "We find that this adds an average of 10% to 30% to a center's revenues," says Doug Becker, Sylvan's president (pictured at left).

Franchisees get an initial nine-day training course at Sylvan's Columbia, Md. headquarters plus yearly updates of 20 hours or more. For this and other support, including educational materials and a well-developed advertising plan, they pay a franchising fee of $29,000 to $39,000 and get a 10-year contract. Outlays for office rent, furnishings, supplies and other expenses can boost the initial investment to more than $100,000. Unlike most franchisors, Sylvan is confident enough about outlets' performance to provide earnings estimates--quite helpful for potential buyers. (That's not to say that a fly-by-night franchisor wouldn't provide bogus estimates, since these numbers aren't required by law to be audited.) Last year, Sylvan says, median revenues per franchise were $168,000 and $222,000, depending on enrollment. Another plus: The company redesigned its contract in 1990 with input from franchisees, a move practically unheard of in the industry. One useful revision: Sylvan can't refuse to renew the contract of a franchisee in good standing.

--Lani Luciano