Buying a franchise: how to secure head office support in your contract

When you join a franchise network, you are not just buying the right to use a brand. You are also paying for expertise, training and support that you would otherwise have to acquire yourself. Yet the phrase “comprehensive support” does not tell you who will help when you open your outlet or orders dry up. Before paying the initial fee, check what head office can actually provide and have its key commitments written into the contract.

1. Break support down into specific services

Start with a simple table. In the first column, list every service promised during discussions; in the second, its scope; in the third, the person responsible; and in the fourth, the price. For each item, make clear whether it is included in the initial or ongoing fee, or charged separately.

Group support according to when you need it:

• Before opening: initial training, provision of manuals, system set-up and operational readiness checks.
• At launch: a head office representative on site, help with supplies and assistance with early operational problems.
• During day-to-day operations: consultations, specialist visits, updates to procedures and training for new employees.
• When something goes wrong: a technical fault, a supply disruption or a serious customer complaint.

For training, the number of days alone is not enough. Ask about the content, language, location, number of participants and how knowledge will be assessed. Also clarify arrangements and costs for travel, accommodation, repeat training and training a replacement manager. These can generate expenses that the original offer does not reveal.

Distinguish support from monitoring. A visit during which head office merely checks compliance with standards is not the same as a practical consultation focused on your particular problem.

2. Check whether head office delivers on its promises

Ask for a sample opening plan and an anonymised example of routine support. Find out who provides it, what experience they have and who covers for them. The ability to explain a specific working process matters more than an impressive presentation.

Arrange conversations with several existing franchisees, ideally with different lengths of time in the network. Do not rely solely on one reference outlet selected by head office. Ask specific questions:

• What did head office actually do in the first week after opening?
• How was the most recent request for help handled, and when did a useful response arrive?
• Which services cost extra?
• What did the franchisee have to resolve themselves despite expecting help?

Compare their answers with your offer. A different experience does not necessarily mean commitments have been breached: older contracts may have different terms. Any discrepancy should, however, have a clear explanation.

Also ask to see a sample of the operations manual, if necessary after signing a reasonable confidentiality agreement. Protecting know-how is legitimate, but it should not prevent you from assessing what you are buying. Pay particular attention to procedures for situations you do not yet know how to handle yourself.

3. Turn the offer into enforceable commitments

The Czech Republic has no specific franchise law and no general obligation to provide prospective franchisees with a legally standardised franchise disclosure document. Nor is there a dedicated compulsory franchise register. This does not, however, mean that pre-contractual negotiations fall outside the law.

The main legal framework is Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code, particularly its general rules on contracts, fair dealing, pre-contractual information duties and liability for breach of contract. A franchise agreement usually combines several contractual elements, including a licence. The European Code of Ethics for Franchising is a self-regulatory standard, not Czech law; its relevance depends on whether the franchisor has committed to it or it has been incorporated into the contractual relationship.

Do not therefore assume that every statement in a franchise recruitment presentation automatically creates an equally specific enforceable entitlement. Set out key services directly in the contract or a binding schedule. For each one, specify its scope, timing, request procedure and price.

Instead of “the franchisor will provide ongoing assistance”, agree, for example, on access to consultations during specified working hours, a communication channel and a deadline for the first substantive response. Distinguish acknowledgement of a request from the start of work to resolve it. Where faults depend on third parties, guaranteeing an immediate fix may not be realistic, but you can specify a procedure and regular progress updates.

4. Address changes to support and failures to provide it

Check whether head office can unilaterally change the manual, price list or scope of services. Updating the franchise concept is normal, but it should not turn included support into a chargeable service without clear rules. The contract should also specify which document takes precedence if the agreement, a schedule and the manual conflict.

Agree in advance on the procedure for failures to deliver: whom you notify, how you document the problem, who takes over if the initial contact does not act, and what constitutes a reasonable period to put matters right. Depending on the importance of the service, you may be able to negotiate alternative provision or an appropriate fee reduction. Have these mechanisms checked by a lawyer; dissatisfaction alone does not generally entitle you to stop all payments unilaterally.

Keep requests and responses in a form you can retrieve. A phone call may help resolve a problem faster, while a brief written summary can help prevent a dispute over what was promised.

Practical takeaway: Before signing, seek answers to five questions for every important service: what will I receive, from whom, when, at what cost, and what happens if it is not delivered? If the answers are not in the contractual documents, the support arrangements are not yet clear enough.