Franchising in Portugal: structuring ongoing support

A business can perform well without being ready to support independent business owners. When entering the Portuguese franchise market, a franchisor needs to turn the promise of ‘ongoing support’ into a clearly defined service. Setting out what will be provided, by whom and on what terms helps avoid mismatched expectations and commitments that are difficult to meet.

1. Turn the promise of support into a list of services

Ongoing support should not depend solely on the availability of the business founder. Before presenting the opportunity to prospective franchisees, identify recurring operational challenges and the expertise your head office team can provide after opening.

Draw up a list of services, distinguishing, for example, between:

• Operational support: answering questions about procedures and resolving difficulties in putting the franchise concept into practice.
• Sales and marketing support: guidance on campaigns, presenting the product or service offering, and using brand materials.
• Technical support: assistance with tools or solutions provided by the franchisor.
• Management support: jointly reviewing performance indicators and identifying improvements.

For each service, state the expected outcome. ‘Sales and marketing support’ is vague; ‘a meeting to review campaign results and propose local adjustments’ makes clear what will actually be delivered.

Also distinguish between what is included under the contract and what requires a separate agreement. An additional site visit, work by an external provider or a task specific to one outlet should not lead to unexpected charges. The terms and costs need to be disclosed and agreed in advance.

2. Create a support request process with clear priorities

A network in which everyone phones the founder directly may feel personal, but it is unlikely to provide consistent support. Establish a main channel for submitting requests, recording the issue, the outlet, the person responsible and the status of the response.

You do not need a complex platform from the outset. What matters is being able to see which requests have come in, who is handling them and what remains unresolved. Avoid leaving important decisions scattered across personal messages.

Set priorities according to the impact of each situation. A failure that prevents an outlet from operating needs different treatment from a question about a future campaign. Also define how urgent issues should be reported outside normal working hours, if you offer that cover.

Distinguish between the initial response time and the resolution time. Acknowledging receipt and explaining the next step does not mean the problem has been resolved. Where a solution depends on a supplier, explain that dependency and agree when updates will be provided, rather than promising a timescale beyond your control.

Appoint a deputy for each critical role too. Holidays, absences or business trips should not leave franchisees without a point of contact.

3. Align the contract with the support actually available

Portugal has no specific law establishing a general legal framework for franchise agreements or a mandatory list of support services. That does not mean there are no rules: the general principles of the Portuguese Civil Code apply, including freedom of contract and good faith in negotiating and performing contracts.

Where standard contractual terms are used, Decree-Law No. 446/85 of 25 October, as amended, is relevant. Portuguese and European Union competition rules also apply, alongside other rules relevant to the business activity.

The European Code of Ethics for Franchising is a self-regulatory instrument, not a Portuguese law with universal application. It emphasises ongoing commercial and technical assistance and is binding within the relevant association framework.

Have the support obligations reviewed by a legal adviser. The contract should identify the services, communication channels, frequency of scheduled support, limits on availability and terms for additional assistance. Sales materials should be consistent with those commitments.

Avoid both promising unlimited availability and reserving an unrestricted right to withdraw support. Providing assistance does not amount to guaranteeing results: the franchisee remains responsible for managing their business, subject to the law and the contract.

4. Check capacity and use support requests to improve

Before making commitments, estimate the work required to meet them. Allow for meetings, preparing responses, travel, following up unresolved issues and covering absences. Do not count only the time spent in direct contact with the franchisee.

Track a small number of useful indicators: open requests, time to first response, recurring issues and feedback on how useful the solutions are. A quick response that does not resolve the difficulty is not, in itself, good support.

Review recurring issues with your team. If several outlets ask the same question, an instruction may be unclear or a tool unsuitable. Use these cases to make improvements and communicate the solution to the affected outlets, without disclosing other business owners’ confidential information.

In practice: before signing the first agreement, prepare a table listing each support service, the person responsible, the communication channel, the response time and any applicable charges. Confirm that your team can deliver everything the table promises.