Buying a Franchise in Belarus: How to Check Post-Opening Support

Questions do not stop once your outlet opens: staff make mistakes, established processes break down, and manuals do not always cover unusual situations. As a prospective franchisee, you need to know who will help when this happens. In a well-run franchise network, support is an established process, not simply a promise to ‘stay in touch’. Check how it works before signing the agreement.

What the law says about ongoing support

In Belarus, franchising is specifically regulated by Chapter 53 of the Civil Code. The legal term for the agreement is a ‘comprehensive business licence agreement’. The rights holder grants the user the package of licensed rights specified in the agreement, and the relationship goes beyond buying a branded sign and a set of start-up instructions.

Article 910-3 of the Civil Code distinguishes between the rights holder’s obligations. Providing the necessary information and initial instruction is separate from ongoing technical and advisory assistance, including help with staff training. An important qualification applies to ongoing assistance: it is required unless the agreement provides otherwise. You should therefore not assume that every franchise automatically includes the same level of support.

Read the entire draft agreement. Wording such as ‘advice is provided where possible’ or ‘after opening, the user organises its operations independently’ needs clarification: does it exclude support, or merely emphasise the franchisee’s independence as a business owner? Pay particular attention to schedules and provisions limiting the rights holder’s obligations.

The agreement must be in writing and registered with the National Centre of Intellectual Property. Resolution No. 346 of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, dated 21 March 2009, also provides for the registration of amendments to the agreement. Bear these requirements in mind if the support procedure becomes a schedule to the agreement or is changed through a supplementary agreement. Registration alone does not prove that the support team is adequately staffed.

Check how support works in practice

Ask to see how a typical enquiry is handled: where the franchisee sends it, who receives it, how a specialist is assigned and where the response is recorded. A demonstration using an anonymised support ticket is more useful than a general description of a dedicated account manager. You do not need other businesses’ commercially sensitive information or customer data to carry out this check.

Find out which staff members are responsible for particular topics. One manager may coordinate enquiries without necessarily being able to resolve issues involving operational techniques, shift planning or product ranges. Ask who covers their holidays and what happens if your assigned adviser leaves.

Before buying, request:

• a list of the topics covered by advisory support;
• the support team’s working days and hours;
• a description of how complex enquiries are passed to a specialist;
• a sample report following a consultation or visit;
• details of how to access your outlet’s support history.

Also establish whether the franchisor only supports the launch or continues to review operating results regularly. A franchise with a strong launch team may prove weak when it comes to day-to-day management.

Distinguish between a response, a recommendation and a resolution

A promise to ‘respond promptly’ gives you no way to assess the quality of support. It is useful to distinguish in the agreement or a schedule between acknowledgement of an enquiry, a substantive response and a subsequent action plan. An automated notification confirming that a ticket has been logged should not count as advice.

Propose several categories of enquiry. A routine question about applying an instruction can wait until working hours. A situation that prevents a core process from being carried out needs a different contact procedure. Both parties must understand the urgency criteria; otherwise, every enquiry risks being treated as either ‘critical’ or ‘non-urgent’.

For each category, agree a response time, the person responsible and the next step. You do not necessarily need to demand a guaranteed resolution to every problem: the outcome may depend on action by the franchisee, a contractor or external circumstances. It is more realistic to specify an obligation to investigate the situation, request the necessary information, provide a practical recommendation and explain the next steps.

For example, instead of stating that ‘the manager helps improve efficiency’, you could agree regular reviews of the outlet’s performance figures, with written recommendations. This does not guarantee a profit, but it creates a measurable service that can be distinguished from a friendly chat.

Define the scope and cost of support

Record which consultations are included in ongoing support and which require a separate agreement. The main issue is not the range of additional services on offer, but whether help is available during normal operations. If every substantive answer attracts a fee, the value of the promised support changes.

For on-site support, clarify what warrants a visit, how it is agreed and who pays the travel costs. Establish whether the franchisor can replace a visit with a remote consultation and when this requires your consent. Do not accept an open-ended obligation to pay for any travel undertaken by the brand’s representatives.

At the same time, set out the franchisee’s obligations: to describe the problem, supply the necessary performance figures and explain what action has already been taken. Support works better when the request is sufficiently specific. However, the information requirements should not allow a response to be postponed indefinitely on the grounds that the enquiry is incomplete.

Agree what happens if support is not provided

Agree who should receive a follow-up enquiry if a deadline is missed and who will review complaints about the quality of advice. Keep enquiries, responses and agreed actions in one accessible channel. Follow up verbal discussions with a written summary.

Before committing to the deal, discuss with a lawyer the possible consequences of repeated failures to provide support: a deadline for remedying the breach, contractual liability or an agreed mechanism for adjusting fees. Do not assume that an unanswered enquiry automatically entitles you to stop paying royalties: doing so could put you in breach of the agreement.

Practical takeaway: before buying a franchise, get clear answers to four questions: who provides help after opening, what it covers, how quickly it is provided and what happens if it is not. A support process you can check is worth more than a promise of unlimited assistance.