Effective Date: October 15, 2026 Version: 1.0 Applies to: All Franchisees after execution of a Franchise Agreement, and the Company as franchisor, in respect of the period from signing to opening.
Article 1: Introduction and Scope
1.1 This Policy states the onboarding sequence from a signed Franchise Agreement to the opening of a Franchise Location: account provisioning, location setup and site approval, team onboarding and training, and the opening requirements that gate the launch. Countersignature starts the sequence; countersignature does not open a business. No Franchise Location opens until each requirement in Article 6 is satisfied and evidenced.
1.2 The Franchise Disclosure Document controls the offer and sale of franchises. No policy, portal page, or representative of the Company makes any earnings claim or financial performance representation; a financial performance representation, if made at all, appears only in Item 19 of the Franchise Disclosure Document. Where the franchise law of the state in which the franchised business is located gives the Franchisee rights greater than this Policy, that law prevails to the extent of the conflict.
1.3 This Policy implements the Franchise Agreement Policy and the Franchise Training Policy. If a provision of this Policy conflicts with a signed Franchise Agreement, the signed agreement controls for that Franchisee. If a provision of this Policy conflicts with the Terms of Use, this Policy controls for the subject it governs.
Article 2: Definitions
2.1 Account: the account a person or business establishes with the Company to use the Platform.
2.2 Company: All About Pawz, LLC, a Tennessee limited liability company, acting as franchisor.
2.3 Franchise Agreement: the written franchise agreement between the Company and a Franchisee, signed by both parties after delivery of the Franchise Disclosure Document.
2.4 Franchise Disclosure Document: the disclosure document the Company furnishes to a prospective Franchisee under the Federal Trade Commission Franchise Rule, 16 CFR Part 436.
2.5 Franchise Location: one franchised unit operated by a Franchisee under a Franchise Agreement, identified by business name, address, and operating status in the Company's records.
2.6 Franchisee: a person or business that holds a signed Franchise Agreement.
2.7 Operating Principal: the individual designated by the Franchisee as the person who operates the franchised business on a day-to-day basis.
2.8 Platform: the websites, applications, and services the Company operates under the name All About Pawz, including aapawz.com.
2.9 Products: goods offered for sale through the Platform.
2.10 Services: services offered through the Platform, including grooming, veterinary, pharmacy, and fulfillment services, as applicable.
2.11 User: any person who accesses or uses the Platform, whether or not the person holds an Account.
Article 3: Account Provisioning After Signing
3.1 Within five (5) business days after countersignature of the Franchise Agreement, the Company shall provision the Franchisee's account footprint. Provisioning requires the identity core for the business: business name, owner name, and owner email. The Company shall not provision an account where any element of the identity core is missing.
3.2 Provisioning creates: (a) the franchise account record, designated as a franchise account, linked to the Company's franchisor account, and in active status; (b) the Franchise Location record for the initial unit, in active status; (c) the Franchise Agreement record, stating agreement type, the royalty rate, the fee schedule, the term dates, and the stored signed agreement, with status active on countersignature; (d) the physical location record for the initial unit, designated as the primary location and in active status; (e) the Franchisee's owner user account for portal access, in owner status; (f) the link between the Franchise Location record and the owner user account; and (g) an audit record of the provisioning under the franchisor account. The Company shall send the Franchisee an invitation communication directing the Franchisee to the portal to complete the business profile, add locations, staff, and services, and connect the storefront website. Provisioning is complete on creation of the records in clauses (a) through (g), whether or not the invitation communication is received.
3.3 The business identifier assigned at provisioning is unique across franchise accounts and Franchise Locations. No two franchise accounts and no two Franchise Locations share an identifier.
3.4 The Company holds no standing access to the Franchisee's account after provisioning. The audit record under Article 3.2(g) records the provisioning act. Continuing Company access to Franchisee records is only as the Franchise Audit & Inspection Policy and the Franchise Agreement provide.
Article 4: Location Setup and Site Approval
4.1 Each franchised unit is recorded as a Franchise Location record stating business name, the assigned identifier, the owner account link, the full address, contact details, a connected website address where the Franchisee operates a connected site, and operating status. The Company records the initial unit at provisioning under Article 3.2; each additional unit receives a separate record as the Franchisee develops the unit under the Franchise Agreement.
4.2 The Company shall approve the site for each unit against territory criteria under the Franchise Territory Policy and brand standards criteria under the Franchise Brand Standards Policy before build-out begins. Approval addresses location, visibility, adjacency, and compliance with the territory exhibit to the Franchise Agreement. A Franchisee that enters a lease or begins build-out before site approval acts without a required approval, and the consequences of an unapproved site rest on the Franchisee.
4.3 Before opening, the Franchisee shall configure the location-level settings for the unit: hours, services offered, and pricing within the bands the Franchise Brand Standards Policy states. The settings are the operating parameters of the location and are set deliberately before opening, as part of the opening requirements in Article 6.
Article 5: Team Onboarding and Training
5.1 The Franchisee shall provision staff user accounts with roles limited to the access each role requires. The Operating Principal's owner account is created at provisioning under Article 3.2. Staff accounts follow the same account model with role-appropriate permissions.
5.2 The Operating Principal shall complete training under the Franchise Training Policy before the location opens. Training completed during opening week does not satisfy this Article. Staff who handle payments, customer data, or animal care shall complete the compliance training relevant to the function before receiving system access for that function. Access follows training.
Article 6: Opening Requirements
6.1 No Franchise Location opens until each of the following is satisfied and evidenced: (a) the franchise account is provisioned under Article 3; (b) the Franchise Location record is complete and the site is approved under Article 4; (c) the Operating Principal's training is recorded complete under the Franchise Training Policy; (d) insurance certificates for the coverage the Franchise Agreement requires are filed with the Company, evidencing coverage in force and not merely promised; (e) the brand standards build-out is signed off by the Company as meeting the Franchise Brand Standards Policy in appearance, operation, and equipment; (f) payment processing is live, so that the location can accept payment on the first day of operation; and (g) the pre-opening inspection under the Franchise Audit & Inspection Policy is passed. Satisfaction of fewer than all seven items does not authorize opening.
6.2 The opening date and any deadline for opening are as the Franchise Agreement states. An extension of an opening deadline requires the Company's written approval, granted for cause, including construction delay or permitting delay, and not for inaction alone.
6.3 The Company's launch support is as the Franchise Agreement states and includes: (a) marketing assets for the opening, funded as the Franchise Marketing Fund Policy provides; (b) operational go-live assistance, on site or on call, for the first days of operation; and (c) monitoring of operations and results during the first week, with early intervention where the monitoring identifies a defect. Launch support does not transfer the Franchisee's opening duties to the Company.
Article 7: Liability
7.1 Exclusion of certain damages. To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither party is liable to the other for indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, or loss of goodwill, arising out of or relating to this Policy, even if the party has been advised of the possibility of those damages.
7.2 Cap. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Company's total liability arising out of or relating to this Policy shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts the Franchisee paid to the Company under the Franchise Agreement in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred dollars ($100).
7.3 Carve-outs. This Article does not limit (a) a party's indemnification obligations under this Policy; (b) liability for fraud or willful misconduct; (c) amounts the Franchisee owes under the Franchise Agreement; or (d) liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.
7.4 Essential purpose. The parties agree that this Article allocates risk between them, that it is an essential part of the basis of their bargain, and that it applies even if a limited remedy fails of its essential purpose.
Article 8: Indemnification
8.1 Duty. The Franchisee shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Company and its members, managers, employees, and agents from and against every claim, demand, action, loss, liability, judgment, settlement, cost, and expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) the Franchisee's breach of this Policy or of the Franchise Agreement; (b) the Franchisee's build-out, opening, and operation of the franchised business, including claims arising from services performed at a Franchise Location; (c) the Franchisee's violation of any law or of the rights of any person; and (d) taxes for which the Franchisee is responsible under the Company's documents or the Franchise Agreement.
8.2 Procedure. The Company shall give prompt written notice of a claim under this Article. The Franchisee shall control the defense with counsel reasonably acceptable to the Company. The Company may participate in the defense at its own expense. The Franchisee shall not settle a claim in a manner that imposes any obligation or restriction on the Company, or that does not release the Company fully, without the Company's prior written consent.
8.3 Survival. This Article survives the termination of this Policy.
Article 9: Enforcement and Appeals
9.1 Investigation. The Company may investigate any suspected violation of this Policy. The Franchisee shall cooperate with an investigation and shall produce the records this Policy requires the Franchisee to keep, including training records, insurance certificates, and inspection records.
9.2 Notice. If the Company determines that the Franchisee has violated this Policy, the Company shall give written notice stating the provision violated and the facts relied on, except where notice would compromise an investigation of fraud, a safety risk, or a legal obligation.
9.3 Opportunity to cure. Where a violation is capable of cure, the Franchisee has ten (10) business days from notice to cure it and to confirm the cure in writing, except that a cure period stated in the Franchise Agreement or in the Franchise Termination Policy for the same ground controls. No cure period applies to fraud, a risk to the safety of a person or an animal, unlawful conduct, an opening in violation of Article 6.1, or a violation that by its nature cannot be cured.
9.4 Measures. If a violation is established and is not cured within the period allowed, the Company may, proportionate to the violation and subject to the Franchise Agreement and the Franchise Termination Policy: (a) issue a written warning; (b) withhold or withdraw opening authorization until Article 6 is satisfied; (c) suspend the Account or program participation, in whole or in part; (d) terminate the Franchise Agreement as Article 10 provides; and (e) exercise any other right or remedy available under the Company's documents or at law.
9.5 Appeal. The Franchisee may appeal a measure under this Article by written notice to legal@aapawz.com within thirty (30) days of the measure, stating the grounds and attaching the records relied on. The appeal is decided by a person who did not make the original decision. The Company's decision on appeal is final. A measure remains in effect during an appeal unless the Company directs otherwise in writing. An appeal under this Article does not replace a right the Franchisee holds under the Franchise Agreement or under applicable franchise law.
9.6 No waiver by delay. The Company's delay in acting on a violation is not a waiver of the violation or of any later violation of the same kind.
Article 10: Term and Termination
10.1 The term of the franchise, the grounds for termination, the cure periods by ground, and the post-termination duties are stated in the Franchise Agreement and in the Franchise Termination Policy, which are incorporated into this Policy by reference and govern in place of a general termination article.
10.2 This Policy takes effect for a Franchisee on execution of the Franchise Agreement and continues while the Franchise Agreement remains in effect. The Definitions, Liability, Indemnification, Enforcement and Appeals (for measures taken before termination), Dispute Resolution, and General Provisions Articles survive the end of the franchise, together with each duty the Franchise Termination Policy states as a surviving duty.
Article 11: Dispute Resolution
11.1 Any dispute arising out of or relating to this Policy, or to the relationship it governs, is governed by the Dispute Resolution Policy, which is incorporated into this Policy by reference. The Franchise Dispute Resolution Policy states the program procedure that applies in addition to the Dispute Resolution Policy.
Article 12: General Provisions
12.1 Amendments. The Company may amend this Policy by posting the amended Policy in the Document Center and giving notice to the Franchisee at the email address in the Account. An amendment that materially increases the Franchisee's obligations takes effect thirty (30) days after notice; other amendments take effect on posting. Continued participation in the Program after the effective date of an amendment is acceptance of it. An amendment to this Policy does not amend a signed Franchise Agreement.
12.2 Notices. Legal notices under this Policy shall be sent to legal@aapawz.com. Operational notices and all other communications shall be sent to support@aapawz.com. A notice to the Company is effective when the Company acknowledges receipt or, for email, one business day after sending, whichever is earlier. Notices to the Franchisee are effective when sent to the email address in the Account or posted to the Account's notice facility in the portal, whichever occurs first. The Franchisee shall keep the email address in the Account current.
12.3 Governing law. This Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the Dispute Resolution Policy, any proceeding arising out of this Policy shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Shelby County, Tennessee, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction there. Where the franchise law of the state in which the franchised business is located gives the Franchisee rights greater than this Policy, that law prevails to the extent of the conflict.
12.4 Severability. If any provision of this Policy is held unenforceable, the provision shall be enforced to the fullest extent permitted, and the remaining provisions continue in full effect.
12.5 Entire agreement. This Policy, together with the documents it incorporates by reference and the signed Franchise Agreement, is the entire agreement between the Company and the Franchisee for the subject of onboarding and supersedes every prior or contemporaneous statement, communication, or agreement on that subject, whether written or oral.
12.6 Assignment. The Franchisee shall not assign this Policy, the Franchise Agreement, or any right or obligation under either document without the Company's prior written consent, as the Franchise Transfer Policy further provides, and an assignment without consent is void. The Company may assign this Policy to an affiliate or in connection with a sale of all or part of its business, on notice to the Franchisee.
12.7 Waiver. A waiver of any provision of this Policy is effective only in writing and only for the instance stated. No waiver is a waiver of any other provision or instance.
12.8 Interpretation. Headings are for convenience only. "Including" means "including without limitation." This Policy shall not be construed against a party as its drafter. The English-language text controls over any translation.
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