IFA Forums / Franchise Administrators Network / Franchise Administrators Network

Insurance Certificates - Compliance and Tracking

Mr. Mitch Filiere — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:06:12 GMT

I was curious to see how other franchisors monitor their franchisees for compliance with their franchise agreement insurance requirements, including the annual renewal process. Do they track compliance and the certificates in-house with a special software package or excel, or do they outsource the compliance process?

Thank you.

Job Description

talmir.ali — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:03:02 GMT

Business Opportunity-Web designing Franchise

A few quick questions...
• Would you like to be your own boss?
• Do you want to run your own business?
• Do you want to achieve financial freedom operating in an industry continually on the rise?
If you answered yes to the above, keep reading...
• Imagine web design made easy
• Imagine operating your very own web design business without spending years learning all the technical jargon.
• With us you can!
• We have developed easy to use software which allows you to create fantastic looking websites in no time at all.
• No technical knowledge required – it is that easy!!
We have successful licensees in countries all over the world following our simple, yet highly effective business model to better their own lives and achieve financial freedom.

By using our services you can design websites quickly, increase your profitability and gain fantastic market share due to the prices and quality of websites you produce.

With the assistance you can literally build a website in a few hours, whilst still charging the prices of traditional web designers. Think about this for a second, because you are designing websites quickly, your profitability will go through the roof. Our services are so quick

It allows you to position your prices where you can undercut all the competition with price, but not quality. We have identified a massive gap in the market; there are too many businesses, sports clubs, and community groups etc that don't have a website.

This opportunity costs 10,000 USD*, to find out more please mail to the following address mark.willson@zkam.org
*financing opportunities available

Online Tutoring Franchise Is Available

talmir.ali — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:05:01 GMT

ONLINE TUTORING FRANCHISE
Start Your Own Business!!!

Get ready for the ride of your life!!!

The best online business on the planet!!! Earn unlimited income, simple and easy!!!
Low start up fees and low monthly overhead.
No inventory carrying costs.
Products and services that appeal to the masses with stable, growing and long-term demand.
A business vehicle that produces a very lucrative income with the potential to be in positive cash flow in 2-8 weeks.
If you are ready to operate your own business, boost your income and improve the quality of your lifestyle, you owe it to yourself to look closely at our business and follow up by contacting us for a brief interview.

This opportunity costs 10,000 USD*, to find out more please mail to the following address mark.willson@zkam.org

* Financing opportunities available

Credit Scores for Franchise Prospects

LFillers — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:32:46 GMT

In light of current economic conditions, we have learned that we may want to consider a franchise prospects credit score as part of our franchise approval process and should look for franchise prospects who have a FICO score of at least 700. Our current vendor provides us with a credit report, but it does not include the prospects credit score. Through my research I have found that I can obtain the credit score directly from the credit reporting agencies like Transunion, but that necessitates a monthly fee and at our volume it does not seem worthwhile. Do any of you obtain credit scores for your franchise prospects? What company do you use?

Franchise Agreements Early Renewals

jbrown — Mon, 21 May 2007 06:46:18 GMT

Any pros or cons and type of incentives that have been used for early renewals?

Job Description

DeAnn — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:42:38 GMT

Does anyone have a good, written job description for representatives within the Franchise Administration and/or Franchise Compliance Department?

Client Contracts

BethGeorge — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:08:11 GMT

When a Franchisor require the Franchisee to use a particular contract for service with their clients...who is responsible to make sure the contract complies with State Law the Franchisor or Franchisee?

Establish a Franchise Association of Pakistan

uzairzavary — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 05:25:56 GMT

Hello!

My name is Uzair Zavary, and I represent a group of franchisees in Pakistan who are aiming to establish A Franchise Association of Pakistan. I need help. Whats the correct procedure to get accredited by the International Franchise Association & World Franchise Council.

Thank You,

Uzair Zavary

Contract Management Recommendations

Mr. Jamie J. Griffin, CFE — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 10:45:01 GMT

Good Morning,

I'm in the market for contract management and compliance software which will facilitate storage and retrieval functions, performance documentation, insurance requirement compliance, renewals, etc. The software can be server based or online. We have no contract management system at this time and this will be our first system. Does anyone have a contract management solution they would recommend?

My company is a quick service restaurant company with 65+ stores in 13 states. Over 50 of the stores are company-owned. We tend to segment our business between company and franchised stores. On the franchise side, we need to store, track performance and insurance certificates. On the company side, we have a variety of services, installation, construction, and operational contracts to keep up with. We're looking for a solution that can help with both but are open to any thoughts experiended members of this group may have.

Regards,
Jamie

Cut costs and reduce stress that comes with running a business

dperez — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:54:08 GMT

Hello all,

My name is David and I work for a company called Dalrada Financial Corporation. Here at Dalrada, our goal is to help business owners cut costs and reduce much of the stress that comes with running a business. Our program combines workers' compensation insurance, payroll processing services, human resources support, and benefits administration and is offered as a package to business owners. In addition, we have a safety and loss control team who are available to all of our clients. We currently process payroll and cover over 40,000 worksite employees. Due to this large buying power, we are able to offer workers' comp rates that are extremely competetive. Should you like further information, please check us out online at www.dalrada.com or contact me directly. It would be my pleasure to prepare no cost, no obligation quotes for anyone interested.

Best regards,

Brand Control

Web2Print — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:55:28 GMT

As your number of franchise locations grows, so does the variation of your corporate branding. All with good intentions, your franchisees become marketing vigilantes as they attempt to create collateral specific to their location. Low-resolution logos, typos and unauthorized images roll out to the public and can reflect poorly on your corporate standards.

Imagine now, an easy-to-use online solution that allows these franchisees to customize anything from business cards to brochures to signs to billboards, but all under preset company guidelines. Let’s call it “controlled flexibility”. Corporate templates accessible online with preset editable areas and predefined libraries of fonts, colors, images and styles, all of which require final approval by corporate (if desired) and ready to print in hi-res by a printer of your choice.

You can greatly reduce the demand on your graphics and marketing department – one of our clients saving $500,000 a year! Through the implementation of our online document solution, you can control the look, design and brand presentation while individual franchisees can add content such as their contact information, location maps, service hours, featured specials, etc. By having your team supply the template design and the franchisees providing personalized content, each party portrays its strength to the total benefit of the consumer while maintaining brand control.

Call me now for an online demo from the comfort of your own office and start saving your company image today!

Bill Aberson

Solutions Specialist

Piedmont Graphics

(o) 888.288.7518

baberson@pgprint.com

New to Franchising

Andrea Harrison — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:32:06 GMT

I recently became a Franchise Legal Administrator. I have been a Paralegal for over 15 years and I have a wealth of knowledge and experience, however franchising is very new to me. Unfortunately, I did not have the privilege of being trained by my predecessor and I have basically jumped right in without any real training at all. I am trying my best to catch on and get up to speed on my own however this is uncharted territory for me. Please advise as to what options I may have as far as the following are concerned: training seminars/classes/workshops (and or materials); and materials that give instructions on the Legal Process as it relates to the job of a Legal Administrator. Thank you.

Corporate Branding

JakeM — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 20:29:40 GMT

Hello, my name is Jake Mann with The Sign Factory. We are a specialized sign vendor in corporate branding. Our focus is to create a high quality and consitent visual brand for your company. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss your requirements in detail, and can be available to meet you at your request. Please feel free to visit our web site to view some of our latest projects @ www.thesignfactoryusa.com .

Sincerely,

Jake Mann

Account Executive

1-800-585-2066 Ext. 112

Maryland

Ms. Susan Suhr — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:46:07 GMT

Is anyone experiencing significant delays getting amendments and renewals approved by Maryland?

New FTC Rule Overview

joanp — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:01:52 GMT

FTC Announces New Franchise Rule

Dear Franchisor,

As the oldest active provider of UFOC electronic disclosure and automated receipt services (Franchise E-Disclosure™) tailored to the franchise industry, Franchise.com is pleased to provide you with a critical franchise regulatory update from David Holmes, Holmes & Lofstrom, LLP.

David has twice been the Co-Chair of the California State Bar Franchise Law Committee and is currently the Vice-Chair of the Commission charged with establishing Franchise and Distribution Law as a certified specialty in California. Lori Lofstrom is also a past Co-Chair of the California State Bar Franchise Law Committee and has spoken widely on the subjects of franchising and franchise law.

Sincerely,

Nancy Ghanem
Founder and President
Franchise.com
(760) 634-5800
nghanem@franchise.com

New FTC Rule and UFOC Changes Announced

David E. Holmes, Holmes & Lofstrom, LLP

On Tuesday, January 23, the Federal Trade Commission announced approval of a new FTC Franchise Rule. This long-anticipated and important development will involve revisions to nearly every UFOC disclosure item and, we believe, brings franchise regulation forward into the 21st Century. As an aside, the FTC's explanation and presentation of the new Rule (including the "Statement of Basis and Purpose") is over 390 pages long, with extensive footnotes! In general, suggestions from members of the professional franchising community have been widely adopted in the new Rule.

This new Rule is effective as of July 1, 2007, but Franchisors can “phase in” the new Rule and use their current UFOC format or the new FTC Rule format for one year from this effective date. As of July 1, 2008, franchises can only be offered using the new FTC Rule format, subject to minor changes to conform with state requirements.

We anticipate that Franchisors with a 12/31/06 fiscal year will generally use the current UFOC for all of 2007, and will begin to work toward converting to the new format in late 2007 to prepare for filings consistent with the New Rule in the Spring of 2008.

In the interim, we look to registration states to mirror the revisions to the FTC Rule in their disclosure requirements and hope that greater disclosure requirement uniformity will be the net result, although that hope has not always been fulfilled in the past!

The changes to the UFOC and related practices are many, but highlights include the following:

· The first personal meeting "trigger" for providing a UFOC will no longer be present in federal law (but may remain in state regulations), allowing Franchisors to have face-to-face discussions without the need to deliver a UFOC.

· The 10-business day pre-sale disclosure requirement (sometimes confusing to apply) has been converted to a 14 calendar day requirement, subject to a prospective Franchisee's request for earlier delivery. The completed agreement must now be in the prospective Franchisee's hands 7 calendar days before signing or paying funds.

· All Franchisors will be allowed to use electronic means for delivery of the disclosure document.

· Item 3 (Litigation) will include litigation filed by a Franchisor against its Franchisees.

· Earnings claims (now called Financial Performance Representations) will remain optional.

· Exemptions have been expanded, including:
- the sale of franchises located outside the U.S.
- franchises involving investments of at least US$1,000,000 (excluding unimproved land and amounts financed by the Franchisor).
- investments to sophisticated individuals - net worth over US$5,000,000 and with over 5 years experience.
- sales to selected officers, etc. of the Franchisor.
(many of these exemptions are similar to ones adopted by California in the last few years)

· Disclosures re brokers are eliminated from Item 2.

· "Risk Factors" on the cover page regarding choice of law or venue are no longer required (but may still be wise under state law).

· Information must be supplied re "trademark-specific" independent Franchisee associations.

· Item 20 as been revised to help resolve certain "double counting" issues which could have the effect of inflating apparent system turnover. (We understand that Franchise.com is currently programming an online application that will dynamically compile Item 20 figures and tables compliant with the new Rule, who maintain the status of their units on its servers - this may be very helpful from a practical standpoint).

There will be significant implications for Franchisors in transitioning to the new format, but ultimately aspects of the new FTC Franchise Rule will be beneficial to both Franchisors and Franchise investors. The IFA will be reviewing the final amendments to the Rule in the next few days and provide additional guidance, as well as announce dates and locations of regional Legal Roundtable programs that will help clarify the New Rule. Holmes & Lofstrom also anticipates counseling clients as to activities they may want to undertake in the short term in order to make the transition to the new Rule format an easier one. A press release explaining the Commission's decision and an embedded link to the new Franchise Rule can be found at the FTC's website (www.ftc.gov).

If you have any questions as to how this may affect your franchise system, please contact any of the franchise attorneys at Holmes & Lofstrom, who worked along with many colleagues to provide comments and suggestions which were incorporated by the FTC in the New Franchise Rule.

Revised FTC Rule

joanp — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 14:42:13 GMT

If you haven't heard or received an e-mail, the FTC has completed the revised FTC rule. There is a large amount of information available at www.ftc.gov. The rule will voluntary begin on July 1, 2007 and be required in July 1, 2008. There are some very exciting changes including new chart formats! Learn more about the updates at the IFA Legal Symposium in May, taking place in Washington DC. There will be a session explaining the new rule and a panel of examiners will answer all of your questions.

Joan