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What is Franchising?
What are the advantages of Franchising?
What documents are needed to establish a Franchise?
Is it difficult to produce these documents on my own?
How much does it cost to have a Lawyer or Consultant draft my documents?
How long will it take to have a Lawyer or Consultant draft my documents?
How much does it cost to use FrankDocs documents?
Do I need a lawyer to customise my documents?
Can I use the FrankDocs documentation in other countries?
What is Franchising?
Franchising is not a business itself, but a way of doing business.
Franchising is a business relationship that involves two parties – Franchisor (the owner of the business providing the product or service) and independent people (the Franchisees). The Franchisor gives the Franchisee, under certain conditions, the right to market and distribute the Franchisor’s goods or service, and to use the business name for a fixed period of time.
The Franchisor provides all the knowledge, expertise and experience relating to the product, service and trademark, as well as the entire business concept itself from marketing strategy and plan, operational standards, systems and formats, to training, quality control and ongoing assistance, guidance and supervision. In short, Franchising allows a small business (the Franchisee) to have the tools and resources of big business (provided by the Franchisor).
A highly detailed Franchise Agreement ultimately defines the relationship between the parties and identifies and specifies the full obligations and responsibilities of both parties. This commercial contract varies in length and conditions from one business type to the next. It would be almost impossible for any two Franchise systems to have identical agreements.
What are the advantages of Franchising?
There are numerous advantages of Franchising from a Franchisors point of view.
Franchising allows you to rapidly expand your business with comparatively little capital. Franchisees use their own capital to start and fund their business. You can quickly grow your market share and brand recognition without the capital outlay and risk associated with attempting to do this yourself.
Franchising offers a proven successful format. This assures the Franchisee that there is a higher than normal success rate as their Franchise is modelled on a successful template that is already succeeding. Banks are more likely to fund the Franchisee as they see that the business is already proven and not a “start up”.
Franchising allows the Franchisor to gain continuous cashflow through the payment of royalties. This business model also allows the Franchisor to concentrate on growing the business rather than working in the business.
From a Franchisees perspective they are buying a “business in a box”. They are purchasing a turnkey, proven system including the operational systems of the business, suppliers, branding and advertising. Other Franchisees in the business are not competition, but rather, other business owners that share the same vision and can be a good source of innovation and support.
The initial investment in a Franchise is usually significantly lower than it would be in a “start up business.”
What documents are needed to establish a Franchise?
Three documents sets are critical:
Is it difficult for me to produce these documents?
Yes. The Disclosure Document and Legal Agreement are complex documents. They need to include specific information to ensure that they are credible documents. If these documents are not drafted correctly, they can leave you vulnerable to financial loss, lawsuits, regulatory action, and more. Every prospective Franchisee is going to give your disclosure document and legal agreement to their lawyer when initially considering purchasing your Franchise. If your documentation is sub standard then you will find it difficult to sell your franchises.
Your Operations, Human Resources and Branding Manuals, are the documents that direct your Franchisees to do business the way you want them to. If these documents are not written correctly you cannot expect your Franchisees to run the Franchises the way in which you specify and in a manner that will make the success of the Franchise more likely.
All three documents are very long and detailed. You and your Franchisees both benefit when they are clearly, concisely, and knowledgeably written.
Writing these documents from scratch isn’t a job for amateurs or even successful business people like you. That leaves you with two options: Hire an expensive lawyer or Franchise Consultant or use pre-written documents (like those we sell here at FrankDocs) and customise them.
Generally, in putting the documentation together yourself, you will need to deal with two different parties. The Lawyer will draft the Legal Agreement and possibly the Disclosure Document and a consultant would need to draft the manuals. This presents inherent difficulties as there are many places within the documentation that refer to other parties of the documents (for example, the Disclosure Document refers to the contents of the Legal Agreement and the Manuals, the Manuals refer to parts of the Legal Agreement and the Legal Agreement makes reference to the Manuals and the Disclosure Document).
Getting these two parties “on the same page” is critical to ensuring that all your documentation is cohesive and works as one suite, and therefore protects you and ensures that your Franchisees are able to operate the Franchise as efficiently and effectively as possible. If the lawyer and the consultant have even the slightest difference in approach or interpretation this can make you vulnerable to lawsuits and management problems. Because FrankDocs puts all the documentation together you are assured that the entire set of documents work together to form one cohesive suite.
How much does it cost to have a Lawyer or Consultant draft my documents?
Fees vary, but the general range is as follows:
How long will it take to have a Lawyer or Consultant draft my documents?
As with the cost of getting a Lawyer or Consultant to put together the documents, there is no absolute answer to this question.
Typical timeframes are:
FrankDocs has specifically designed the documentation to be quick easy to customise. It is impossible to say how long customisation will take in each individual customers case however, because the FrankDocs documents are so easy to customise, and because you know your business so well, you will find that your timeframe for customising the documentation will be a fraction of the timeframes that a lawyer or consultant would take.
Do I need a Lawyer to customise my documents?
No. FrankDocs documentation is written in such a way that it is easy for you to customise. As you know your business the best, you are the best person to do this.
However, FrankDocs recommends that you always ask your Lawyer to review any document that you have created with our products before signing to ensure that the information you are providing is true and correct and accurately represents your Franchise.
My company is located outside the UK. Does FrankDocs supply documentation for other countries where the legal system and requirements are different?
The simple answer is Yes. FrankDocs recognises that each country is different in terms of its legal system, accounting practice and business environment. All FrankDocs documentation is specific to the country for which it is intended. This ensures that the documents supplied to you are accurate and precise in their content. The last thing you need, after setting up a successful Franchise, is to have your business damaged due to insufficient or substandard documentation (both operational and legal).
FrankDocs has developed documents for many other countries, so you are able to purchase documents that are specific to the country you wish to operate in. Each set of documents fully complies with all laws and statues as well as the Code of Ethics and Conduct of the Franchise Association in the country for which it is intended.
Email us at support@frankdocs.co.uk for more information about which countries are available and if you have any specific requirements for your country.
Will the documents also be delivered in MS Word format when I purchase the product?
How can I edit the documents?
What happens if I lose my documents?
How are my documents delivered?
I understand that the FrankDocs documents are in Microsoft Word format. Will the documents also be delivered in MS Word format when I purchase the product?
Yes, all documents are in MS Word .doc and MS Excel .xls formats. This is a universal file format and can be used in any version of Microsoft Word and most other word processor programmes both PC and Mac OS based as well as computer or web based word processing applications.
FrankDocs can also deliver the documentation in a different format if required.
How can I edit the documents?
You can modify the documents easily. Each document comes with a comprehensive set of instructions on how to easily edit the document. All modifications can be done using the normal editing facilities available in MS Word or most other word processing programmes. There is no additional software required. If you are not comfortable editing the documents yourself, FrankDocs offers this as a service. Email us at support@frankdocs.co.uk
What happens if I lose my documents?
Simply email us and we will send you a replacement copy within 48 hours of the document templates you purchased from FrankDocs.
How are my documents delivered?
Once you have purchased online, FrankDocs automatically emails you a confirmation of your purchase. You will then receive an email from FrankDocs with the suite of documents that you ordered attached to the email in a zip file format.
How are FrankDocs templates better?
Do I need a consultant to start a franchise?
How much does it cost to use FrankDocs suite of documents?
How do you keep the costs down?
Why would I want to use a FrankDocs consultant?
Can FrankDocs do all of the work for me?
What if I need help completing just a single document?
Does FrankDocs sell Franchises?
How are FrankDocs templates better?
Simply put, the FrankDocs suite of documentation is superior to all other documents available because of five compelling reasons:
Do I need a consultant to start a franchise?
No. Franchising is a process that has been in existence for many decades and is a well tested system. Many thousands of Franchisors have gone before you and there will be many after you. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. If you’re the kind of entrepreneur who recognises your ability to make significant savings and wants the satisfaction of doing it yourself in the knowledge that no one knows your business like you do, then you can do nearly all of the documentation yourself using the FrankDocs system using our proven franchising tools.
FrankDocs is about offering you, the customer, as much choice and flexibility as possible. This is reflected in our documentation and also reflected in the services that we offer our clients.
In some circumstances you may not wish to customise the documentation yourself and would feel more comfortable in having the extra assurance that comes with having your documents drawn up by experts. Email us at support@frankdocs.co.uk to inquire about how we can help.
How much does it cost to use FrankDocs suite of documents?
Having been Franchisors and Franchisees ourselves, we know that capital is precious. We’re able to price the documentation well below what you would pay a Lawyer or Consultant. In addition we have bundled the documents so you only need to purchase what you require at the time. Many clients purchase one part of the documentation (for example the Disclosure Document and Legal Agreement) and customise them and then purchase the manuals and customise these.
How do you keep the costs down?
By using the internet as the basis of our business, we are able to sell our documentation on a larger scale and therefore drastically reduce the cost of putting together the documentation. We pass these savings on to you.
We found that many “professional” advisors were in the market and had no actual experience as either a Franchisee or Franchisor and were simply taking advantage of the market and charging fees that were clearly excessive for the work involved. We found that many advisors could put together Legal Agreements, but not Manuals, or vice versa. There was a need in the market for one company with experience in all aspects of Franchising to provide documentation that includes the Legal, Manuals and Recruiting templates in one coherent suite of documentation. FrankDocs entered the market in response to calls for more “real world” documentation that reflects practical experience and at a reasonable cost.
If a consultant isn’t necessary, why would I want to use a FrankDocs consultant?
Again, it’s all about choices. There are several good reasons to spend the extra money on a FrankDocs consultant:
If you fall into these categories, we can help. Email us at support@frankdocs.co.uk to inquire about how we can be of assistance to you.
Can FrankDocs do all of the work for me?
Definitely. We can save you the time and labour of completing our templates and deliver documents that are complete and ready to use.
What if I need help completing just a single document?
We’re here to help. Email us at support@frankdocs.co.uk to see how we can be of assistance to you.
Does FrankDocs sell Franchises?
No. We sell document templates and, when our clients request it, we put together the documentation for them based on the templates. We have no financial interest in our customers’ Franchise and do not sell any Franchises for our customers.
Who are FrankDocs?
What industries do you serve?
What do I do now?
Who are FrankDocs?
FrankDocs is an internet based franchise consultancy company. FrankDocs has a global presence offering services into many countries including UK, USA, India, Canada, South Africa and Australia. Our staff have extensive experience as Franchisees, Franchisors and Franchise Consultants. By leveraging off our real world experience (the good, bad and ugly experiences) in Franchising, FrankDocs is able to offer high quality documentation that has been tested and succeeded in today’s competitive business environment.
We supply templates that enable clients to customise documents to their exact requirements at a fraction of the cost of using traditional sources of documentation such as lawyers and consultants. All our documentation has been thoroughly scrutinised by Lawyers and Accountants and all our documentation complies with the British Franchise Associations Code of Ethics.
What industries do you serve?
Our documentation is suitable for any kind of franchise. The documents are written in such a way to be very flexible in allowing you to customise them to meet your exact requirements.
What do I do now?
Simply purchase the documents online here. FrankDocs uses PayPal to facilitate payment. You can pay using any major credit card at PayPal. You don’t need an account at PayPal to purchase. Once you have completed the PayPal purchase process, you will be returned to the FrankDocs website and immediately receive a confirmation email. FrankDocs will then email you the suite of documents that you have ordered in a zip file format attached to the email. You can begin customising your documents straight away.