How to check a franchise’s support before signing

A brand may look attractive yet still offer too little support for your level of experience or the needs of the business. Before joining a franchise network in Spain, check who will help you, in which situations and what they are committed to providing. This is not about collecting sales promises, but about verifying resources, other franchisees’ experiences and written obligations.

1. Distinguish practical support from sales promises

Phrases such as ‘comprehensive guidance’ or ‘ongoing support’ mean little unless they explain what you will receive. Start by asking for a list of services covering three stages: setting up the business, opening and day-to-day operations.

For each service, ask for the following details:

• Responsibility: which person or team provides it, and who covers for them.
• Scope: which tasks head office handles and which remain your responsibility.
• Frequency: whether there are scheduled visits, regular reviews or support only on request.
• Contact channels: how enquiries are logged and urgent issues are reported.
• Cost: what is included and what incurs an additional charge.

For example, ‘help with recruitment’ might mean providing a job advert template, rather than selecting employees. Similarly, sales and marketing support may be limited to supplying promotional materials, without managing local campaigns.

Match these services to the specific gaps in your skills and experience. If you have never managed stock or led a team, you need to know how you will develop those capabilities. Support does not replace your responsibilities as an independent business owner, but it should enable you to put the business model into practice.

2. Examine the training and head office resources

Ask for the initial training programme before making a commitment. Check the content, duration, delivery format, trainers and who is eligible to attend. Also find out who pays for travel, accommodation and training for employees recruited after opening.

Duration alone does not demonstrate quality. It is more useful to check whether the programme includes supervised practice, assessments and a process for revisiting material that participants have not fully understood. Ask what happens if you or your team need more preparation before opening.

Request a demonstration of the tools you will use: the operations manual, support platform, management software and materials covering updates. Head office may protect its know-how through confidentiality arrangements or show only samples; that should not prevent it from explaining how these resources work or demonstrating that they exist.

Next, assess the support team’s capacity:

• How many outlets does each support manager look after?
• What operational experience do the people assigned to you have?
• How are holidays, sickness absence and staff changes covered?
• What additional resources are planned if the network grows?

There is no universal staffing ratio that guarantees good service. Consider the complexity of the business, the distances involved and the tasks promised together. A large organisational chart is not enough either if nobody can identify your point of contact.

3. Check the service with current franchisees

Speak to franchisees whose outlets have been operating for different lengths of time and, where possible, to operators in circumstances similar to your own. Do not rely solely on testimonials selected for a sales presentation. Try to gather a range of experiences, while respecting each person’s confidentiality and availability.

Replace general questions with specific examples. Instead of ‘Do they help you?’, ask: ‘What happened the last time the management system failed?’ or ‘What support did you receive during the first few weeks?’.

It is also worth asking about the most recent support visit, the improvements suggested and any follow-up. Distinguish between a visit intended to solve problems and an inspection solely intended to check compliance with standards: both may be necessary, but they serve different purposes.

Record each response, separating facts, opinions and unresolved issues. One isolated bad experience does not prove a wider failing; several consistent accounts warrant asking for explanations. Raise any discrepancies with head office and request clarification that can be verified, without turning the conversations into accusations.

4. Put commitments into the contract

In Spain, Article 62 of Law 7/1996 on the Regulation of Retail Trade and Royal Decree 201/2010 provide the specific legal framework for franchising. Article 2 of that Royal Decree includes ongoing commercial or technical assistance throughout the term of the agreement as one of the elements of the franchise relationship. However, it does not set a universal schedule for visits or a single deadline for responding to enquiries.

For this reason, ask for the contract or an appendix to identify the services, their limits and the financial terms. Training, visits, support channels and the procedure for reporting breaches should all be clearly specified. Also check what head office can change unilaterally.

As a business owner, you should not assume that you have the same protections as a consumer. In the event of a breach, the remedies available will depend on the contract, the facts and the general rules that apply, particularly Spain’s Civil Code and, where relevant, its Commercial Code. An independent lawyer should review the obligations and the options for bringing a claim.

Practical conclusion: prepare a table listing each promised service, the evidence obtained and the clause that covers it. If any of these elements is missing, clarify it before signing.