How To Franchise Your Business
- Writing the Pre-Opening Manual

The Pre-Opening and Operations Manuals are required in order to franchise your business. Both have equally important functions in your Brand and your franchisee’s success.

The Pre-Opening Manual is critical to helping the new franchisee understand and believe that the franchisor is truly committed to their financial and operations success. This manual will ensure that they open on time and maximize their investment dollars wisely. The longer their opening is delayed the more money they will need for living expenses and the longer it will take them to break even. It is even possible if their opening is delayed too long that they might not have the needed capital to open their franchise.

On the franchisor’s side if you are opening 25 units in a year, and each of their openings are delayed for two months, you have lost 50 months of royalties. 50 months of royalties is the equivalent of 4 years, 2 months of royalties. If your average royalties are $2,000.00 per month you will be losing $100,000.00 in royalties. Over a 10 year period that is $1,000,000.00 dollars lost through inefficiencies and poor planning. So a Pre-Opening Manual is VERY important and following it rigorously is even more important.

Management 2000 works with its clients to prepare the company’s Pre-Opening Manual. The following are subjects recommended to include in the Pre-Opening Manual:

• Opening Time Line and detailed activities (everything that must happen between the signing of the franchise agreement and the opening of the first location).
• Real estate assistance, procedures and procedures.
• Site selection criteria for locations.
• Prototype franchise unit building plans.
• Equipment purchasing specifications.
• Grand opening marketing plan (what, when, where, who and how)
• In unit pre-opening training (what, when, where, who and how).

Management 2000 creates an outline with client input, acquires the material and provides drafts and a final copy. A master copy of the manuals is sent to the franchisor in order to keep the manuals up to date. If the franchisor would prefer to have an outside company keep the manuals updated, we can provide that service. We also offer the ability for the franchisor to have the entire system online with passwords for the franchisees which includes a reporting system of how the Operations Manuals are utilized by the franchisees.

As you can see, having clear and concise manuals are vital to the success of your franchise system. It is important to spend the necessary time and money to create these properly and not “cut-corners.” A project to write manuals from “scratch” can be completed in a three to four month time-frame, with everyone’s compete cooperation.

Management 2000 has worked with over 1,300 Franchise Companies in our 29 plus years of operation. Our experience includes working with existing franchise companies as well as companies who are just getting the franchise area up and running. References are available upon request.

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