Starting a Franchise in Belgium: Build Your PID Evidence File

If you want to expand an existing Belgian business through franchising, you need more than an attractive concept. Prospective franchisees need reliable information about the business, the franchise model and the market in which it operates. Before your first recruitment discussions, build an evidence file to support your pre-contractual disclosure document, known in Belgium by the Dutch abbreviation PID. This internal file helps you gather facts, explain differences and prevent information from becoming outdated. It also lays a solid foundation for trust across your franchise network.

1. Start with the Belgian legal framework

Belgium has specific rules on pre-contractual disclosure for commercial cooperation agreements. These are set out in Book X, Title 2 of the Belgian Code of Economic Law (known by the Dutch abbreviation WER). Franchise agreements that meet the statutory definition fall within their scope.

Under Article X.27 of the Code, the prospective franchisee must receive both the draft agreement and the separate PID at least one month before entering into the agreement. Article X.28 sets out the information the PID must contain. The document has two parts: key contractual provisions and information enabling the prospective franchisee to assess the commercial cooperation properly, including socio-economic information.

The evidence file is not an additional document required by law. It is your internal supporting record for the information you provide. It may include financial documents, details of your existing outlets and relevant market information. It replaces neither the PID nor the draft agreement.

Ask a Belgian franchise lawyer to turn the current statutory content requirements into a checklist for your franchise model. Do not rely solely on an old template: the rules have changed, and a document used in the past may no longer be complete.

2. Give each item a source, date and meaning

A useful file is more than a collection of separate documents. Create a central register recording where each piece of information comes from and exactly what it means. A simple spreadsheet may be enough to begin with.

Include at least these internal checking fields:

• Subject: which part of the PID does the information support?
• Source: for example, annual accounts, an internal outlet register or a market publication.
• Reference period: what date or period does the information cover?
• Scope: does it relate to your business, a single outlet or a wider market?
• Responsible person: who checks its accuracy?
• Limitation: what qualification needs to be retained when using it?

Scope deserves particular attention. The turnover of your entire business does not necessarily tell you anything about the performance of an individual outlet. Nor does a market study covering the whole of Belgium automatically describe conditions in a particular municipality.

For external information, keep not just the figure but also its definition and any relevant explanatory notes. A growth rate without a clearly defined market or measurement period can give a misleading impression. Wherever possible, use the original publication rather than a commercial summary.

3. Show what your franchise model has actually demonstrated

When moving from running your own business to franchising, it is easy to blur different types of experience. You may have run a successful business for years without having any experience of supporting independent franchisees. Make that distinction clear.

Prepare a factual history of your business concept. Record when it began, which company-owned outlets are operating and which elements have actually been put into practice. Separate existing activities from planned expansion. An outlet still in preparation should not appear alongside operating locations without an explanation.

Also record which company carries out each activity. The financial results of your operating company are not automatically those of a separate company that will become the franchisor. Ask your accountant to help explain these differences clearly.

If you lack experience in a particular area, do not fill the gap with a firm promise. For example, state clearly that you do not yet have any franchisees, if that is the case. Discuss with your lawyer how missing or non-applicable information should be handled under the statutory disclosure requirements.

This approach is not about turnover forecasts. It is about making the existing facts on which prospective franchisees base their assessment verifiable.

4. Arrange checks before issuing each new PID

Appoint one person to manage the evidence file. Have the substance checked by those who know the information: the accountant for financial data, the operations manager for outlets and the lawyer for how it is presented in the legal documents.

Before each disclosure, check whether any material facts have changed. Examples include a completed financial year, an outlet closure or a change within the company. Then retain a dated version of the file supporting the PID you issued.

If you discover an error afterwards, do not simply correct it in your internal records. Seek advice on what information the prospective franchisee needs to receive again and what this means for the next steps. Under certain conditions, failures in pre-contractual disclosure can lead to nullity under the Code of Economic Law. Careful data checking is therefore more than good administration.

Practical takeaway: before preparing your first PID, create a single source register with a date, definition and responsible person for each item of information. Then have it checked to ensure that your file fully and clearly supports the current statutory disclosure requirements.