How to Prepare a Franchise Operating Manual
By Kathy Davidson
Filed under Franchise 101
The franchise operating manual is the heart of any successful franchise business. This is one of the fundamental documents that blueprints the way every single operation in the franchise is executed. This manual should be prepared before your franchise business launches and can be refined as many times as needed along the way.
Writing a good franchise operation manual can be a challenging task. There are a lot of potential difficulties you may face especially if this is your first time writing similar documents. Here are a few tips that should help you get started.
How to prepare a good franchise operating manual:
- Keep in mind that the manual you are writing is like the Bible for your franchise business – it should include a detailed description of all good practices as well as information about the way every single aspect of the business operations. Make sure you have included all important details n the manual.
- Use simple, understandable language. This will ensure that the franchisees can understand what is written in the franchise operating manual.
Write the manual in a way that you can edit and build upon later on. This is one of the documents that should change as the business grows and as business environment changes. - If you are planning to grow internationally, you should take into account any local differences. You may need to prepare a different franchise operating manual for each one of the countries where you intend to grow.
- Get the manual reviewed by a qualified attorney or other legal consultant specializing in franchise issues. Once again, if you plan to expand internationally, make sure your overseas manuals are compliant with local laws and regulations.
After we have covered the main points that you need to keep in mind, let’s see which the main parts of any franchise operating manual are.
The nondisclosure agreement (NDA). This is one of the backbones of your franchise business. The agreement basically governs how confidential material, knowledge and information should be handled by the franchisees.
Timetable. The timetable is another fundamental part of your franchise operating manual. This is the section that explains the stages before a franchisee opens their business. For example this section may states what should happen 2 months before opening, 1 month before opening, 3 weeks before opening and so on. There is no standard way of compiling this section and you should tailor it according your type of business and requirements.
Staff policies. This section describes the way the franchisee will work – it covers everything from the way the business environment should look to working times and hygiene requirements. The office equipment and inventory can be included in this part of the franchise operating manual or in a stand alone section.
Business processes. This section of the franchise operating manual governs the way the business is executed. Working times, housekeeping, duties of the staff, inventory and equipment management, security and safety procedures are all described in this section.
