Franchisee support: what should head office commit to?

In a successful owner-run business, it is natural for staff to turn to the owner whenever they have a question. When building a franchise network, that personal availability is no longer an adequate operating model. Before taking on your first franchisee, define what support head office will provide, who will handle enquiries and how you will demonstrate that commitments have been met. The aim is not unlimited availability, but a reliable working relationship.

1. Plan specific services rather than promising ‘ongoing support’

Build your support plan around the questions that arise in your own business. Record the issues staff need help with, the problems the owner resolves personally and the situations that require an external specialist. This will reveal which tasks might otherwise fall through the gaps in an independently run franchise business.

Draw up a short list of support services. For each item, assign someone responsible, a contact channel, a committed timeframe and a clear limit on what is covered. The list might include:

• Operational queries: interpreting shared procedures and agreeing how to handle situations that fall outside them.
• Systems support: receiving and passing on reports of faults with tools provided by head office.
• Business reviews: reviewing the outlet’s performance together at pre-arranged meetings.
• Specialist referrals: flagging when a question needs an accountant, lawyer or another professional.

Distinguish between services included in the ongoing fee and support that can be commissioned separately. For an exceptional on-site visit, for example, clarify the fee, travel costs and approval process in advance. The franchisee should not discover these charges after the work has been done.

These boundaries also include the franchisee’s responsibilities. Set out what information, error messages or background they need to provide so that head office can offer meaningful help. Providing support does not mean taking over the franchisee’s responsibility for running their own business.

2. Turn the legal framework into contractual commitments you can meet

In Hungary, Act V of 2013 on the Civil Code expressly recognises franchise agreements as ‘jogbérleti szerződés’ in Sections 6:376–6:381. It is therefore incorrect to say that Hungarian law does not regulate this type of agreement at all. Alongside the franchise-specific provisions, the Civil Code’s general rules on contracts also apply. Any contractual terms must also respect mandatory legal requirements.

However, there is no general official register exclusively for franchise systems, nor a standard pre-contractual disclosure document prescribed by law. This does not remove the parties’ duties to cooperate and provide information. The European Code of Ethics for Franchising is not legislation: its relevance depends, among other things, on membership obligations and contractual commitments.

Do not leave the details of support to broad promises. The agreement, or a schedule properly incorporated into it, should specify the scope of services, availability, exclusions and how failures to meet commitments will be handled. The general legal framework alone does not tell you when head office must call a franchisee back about a stalled workflow.

Distinguish the obligation to provide support from a promise of results. Head office may commit to regular analysis and recommendations, but this is not the same as guaranteeing profit or sales growth. Support promises made during recruitment should match the actual terms of the agreement.

3. Treat acknowledgement and resolution separately

For a franchisee, there is a significant difference between head office receiving a query, starting work on it and resolving it. Your support procedures should distinguish these three stages.

Define what counts as an operationally disruptive fault, an urgent query and a routine request for advice. An access problem that prevents someone from using the central system may require a different process from a suggestion for a future change to the product or service range. Explain the categories with examples, not just labels.

Only promise deadlines you can actually meet. Specify whether timeframes apply during working hours only and when the clock starts. Where an issue depends on an external provider, it may be more appropriate to commit to passing it on and providing regular updates than to guarantee a resolution.

There should also be a clear escalation route when an issue stalls: who takes it over, when a manager becomes involved and who updates the franchisee. The founder’s personal phone should not become the final escalation point for every issue.

4. Measure the actual support workload

Before making commitments to your first franchisee, test the support procedures within your own business. Staff should request help through the designated channel, and head office should log and handle issues just as it would later for franchisees.

Monitor the types of enquiries, the staff time spent on each case, recurring problems and how well cover arrangements work. Do not look only at an average week: your commitments need to remain manageable during staff holidays, supplier disruptions and periods when several requests arrive at once.

Your records should clearly identify the request, the person responsible, the next step and the outcome when the case is closed. Franchisees should be able to flag when an answer has not resolved their problem. Recurring questions can also inform new guidance or clearer procedures, helping support activity build the network’s shared knowledge.

Practical takeaway: before signing the first agreement, draw up a list of support services, assign responsibilities and cover arrangements, then test your proposed response procedures. Only promise franchisees what head office can deliver through an organised process, rather than as a personal favour.