how to franchise your restaurant in 5 steps

Create a Franchise Disclosure Document

Before you can begin selling a franchise, prospects must be issued and disclosed a Franchise Disclosure Document, or FDD. This document provides several important to details for prospective franchisees, including:

  1. Financial information and historic sales of your current restaurants.
  2. Territory and region protection.
  3. Detail on legal relationship between you and franchisee.
  4. Any royalty or additional fees paid to franchise.
  5. Estimated start-up costs.
  6. Operation requirement.
  7. Information about the franchise management and operations team.

Craft a Franchise Operations Manual

Now that your prospective franchisees have signed an FDD, you’ll need to provide them with a franchise operations manual. An FOM is a guide that will help new franchisees manage their locations. This step-by-step information can have everything from training to menu recipes, standards, approved supplies, marketing guidelines, BOH and FOH operations, and many more vital pieces towards keeping each franchise location in sync.

Trademark Intellectual Property

Patent and trademark all logos, concepts, and valuable assets before developing your franchise. This can be completed by sending them to the U.S Patent and Trademark Office.

Establish a Franchise Company

Yes, you may already have an existing company. Now, you’ll need to develop a franchising company. A franchise company is different than your current one. Why? When disclosing your financial statements in an FDD, you’ll now be disclosing them as the franchise company, not your initial site. This will give prospective franchisees more transparency regarding the franchise rather than your first site.

Issue then Register Your FDD

You’ve followed all the previous steps. Next step: Issuing and registering your FDD. When you register an FDD, it makes it legally compliant and follow state guidelines. Once completed, you can begin selling and offering franchisee licenses in-state. You may also register your FDD in other states in order to sell franchisee opportunities there, too.

Look Into Franchise-Friendly POS Systems

Is your restaurant looking to expand from one location into a franchise? SpotOn has great tools for multi-unit and franchise operators. From easy-to-access reports and payroll integrations, get it all with SpotOn. Contact POS Philly, your local SpotOn provider, today to get started.