In this, our final section in our Advice for Future Franchisors series, we will discuss legalizing your Franchise System and distributing information to potential franchisees.

Now that you, the franchisor, have all your paperwork completed in a blue line (last edit version) give it all to a full-service Franchise Attorney. A good franchise attorney will evaluate all of the documents that will be given to franchisees. They will create a red-lined version (with proposed changes) of all the areas that need changing for legal reasons. It is best to sit down with your franchise attorney, so they can explain the reasoning behind the changes.

After learning about your franchise, through the Operations Manual and spending time with your training staff, the franchise attorney can then competently start creating the legal documents necessary for you to start offering your franchise to potential franchisees. There are a minimum of three documents most franchisors want: the Franchise Disclosure Document (required by federal law); the Franchise Agreement (the legal contract between you and your franchisee) and an Area Representative or Master Franchisee Agreement (which allows for larger territory sales or area development arrangements). Once all the legal documents are finalized, you are ready to begin franchising.

We hope that you have found this series informative, and always remember that we welcome comments and if you would like to contact our offices to discuss franchising, we can be reached in our Tampa, Florida office at 813-625-9590 or our Austin, Texas office at 512-535-0090.