Franchise Onboarding

This page explains franchise onboarding: what must be in place before signup, what information the signup form collects, the provisioning steps that create the franchise, and the opening checklist that follows. This page summarizes the Franchise Onboarding Policy, which governs.

Before signup: eligibility and the agreement

Onboarding starts after approval, not before.

Requirements that must be met before provisioning

1. Eligibility and approval are complete, covering financial qualification, background, and operational capability, governed by the Franchise Eligibility & Approval Policy, which governs.
2. The franchise agreement is ready to be created and signed. The agreement is governed by the Franchise Agreement Policy, which governs. The agreement record is created in pending status during signup and moves to active when signing is complete.

A franchise is not provisioned before the agreement process has begun. The Platform provisions businesses, not prospects.

The signup form

Franchise signup is run by an admin at the franchise signup page in the admin portal. There is no self-service franchise signup. The franchisee provides the information and the Platform team runs provisioning, because creation of a franchise unit is a consequential action.

The form collects

• Business identity. Business name (required) and web address (derived from the name and editable; it must be unique across the Platform, and a conflict is rejected with an error naming the address already in use).
• Owner. Owner name and owner email (both required) and owner phone. The owner email is where the portal invite is sent, so confirm it is correct.
• Location. Street address, city, state, postal code, phone, and business email. This becomes the primary physical location record.
• WordPress URL (optional). For a franchisee moving an existing site, the Platform records the address for the transition.
• Royalty rate (optional at signup). Entered as a number and stored on the agreement. The rate itself is a commercial term of the agreement, governed by the Franchise Fees & Royalties Policy, which governs.
• Send invite (on by default). Turn it off only if you are provisioning ahead of the owner's start date and will send the invite later.

Provisioning steps

Submitting the form runs provisioning as one operation, in this order

1. Create the franchise unit: the franchise's identity on the Platform, to which everything else is attached.
2. Create the franchise location record: business name, web address, address, contact details, WordPress URL, and active status.
3. Create the franchise agreement record: pending status, carrying the royalty rate and fee schedule references, pending until the agreement is signed.
4. Create the physical location record: the primary physical location, so location-aware features such as booking, local inventory, and tax resolve correctly from the first day.
5. Create the portal user for the owner: the owner as a portal user with the franchise owner role. This is the login that runs the franchise.
6. Write the audit record for the provisioning.
7. Send the invite email to the owner email, unless the invite was turned off.

After provisioning: the opening checklist

Provisioning is the beginning of onboarding, not the end. Complete the opening checklist before you open

1. Team onboarding. Create staff accounts under the franchise, assign roles, and enroll staff in training. Staff sign in to the franchise's portals.
2. Location setup. Configure services, pricing, hours, and appointment settings for the physical location.
3. Supply and catalog. Select the opening assortment from the enterprise catalog and confirm supply.
4. Payments. Set up the franchise's payment account for its own transactions. Payout arrangements must be live before opening.
5. Brand standards review. Confirm signage, interior, uniforms, and customer experience against the Franchise Brand Standards Policy, which governs. The pre-opening review checks compliance.

Problems and how to handle them

Web address already in use

The address must be unique across the Platform. If it is taken, the form returns an error naming the conflict. Choose a different address.

Invite email does not arrive

The franchise records are created even if the email fails, and the response notes that the email was not sent. Re-send the invite from portal user management. Do not run the whole signup again.

Agreement not signed

The franchise and location may be configured while the agreement sits at pending status.