Creating Ironclad Franchise Documents

The success of your franchise is reliant on your franchise agreement and other documents (e.g., corporate agreements, policies, employee handbooks, etc.) to protect your franchise’s brand. Creating ironclad franchise documents will strengthen your franchise by providing consistency among different units.

Identifying the key features and characteristics of your franchise is the first step in preparing these documents. Your attorney can then develop these features into legal standards and obligations that are enforceable.

Capturing Important Concepts in the Four Corners of Your Franchise Documents

Some terms of your franchise documents will be relatively standard, but other parts will rely on your knowledge of the business and your expectations for participating franchisees. In general, well-developed documents contain little room for misunderstanding on the essential aspects of the franchise, such as:

• Intellectual property use: A big source of value for a franchise is the goodwill associated with its brand – embodied through trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property. Your agreements should address the manner in which your franchisees use trademarks and limit their ability to share critical information through non-disclosure and non-compete agreements.
• Operational standards: Many franchises are the result of operational practices that are repeatable and proven to work. This might be a method for cooking food, specifications for the layout of a storefront, or other methodologies that make your franchise a success. Explicitly stating these standards and requiring franchise units to follow them will maintain the consistency of your franchise’s brand.
• Training and education requirements: Your franchise will rely on the franchisees, and their managers and employees, to execute your operation standards. Training and education requirements for franchisees and employees are one way to promote uniformity and provide important updates to changes in the operation of the franchise.

Unforeseen circumstances are likely to occur with the operation of your franchise, which is why your documents should also be flexible and contain processes to make changes when necessary.

Hire an Attorney to Draft Your Franchise Documents

Your franchise documents are a written form of protection for the franchise brand. The process for drafting them requires careful consideration of the business, along with the experience of a knowledgeable franchise attorney.

The attorneys at Franchise & Business Law Group excel in listening to the unique concerns of your franchise and incorporating them into the necessary legal documents. We also provide other guidance on your franchise documents, based on our extensive experience in the franchise industry. If you have questions about your franchise documents, please do not hesitate to contact our office to see how our services can help you.

Schedule a consultation with Franchise & Business Law Group today.