Following best practices, franchisors must adjust to new accounting rules, which take effect for reporting years beginning January 1, 2019 for most franchisors. Publicly traded franchisors were required to comply for reporting years beginning January 1, 2018.
Do you wonder whether there is value in hiring a franchisee attorney to review your Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) before you commit to buying a franchise? Every prospective franchise asks that question. The question is legitimate. The answer is a resounding “yes”. A few hundred dollars invested today can literally save you and your family from personal bankruptcy.
When buying a franchise, you should beware of “freedom of contract”. Freedom of contract is a bedrock concept of the legal system. It presumes that every person understands every word of every contract and that their “self-interest” will cause them to not sign unfair or ill-advised contracts.
If you follow best practices as a franchisee, you will never use the computer for personal matters. It is tempting and far more convenient, but extremely dangerous. Most franchise agreements give the franchisor “unfettered” access to your computer and all information on it. If you email your sister complaining about how the franchisor treated you, the franchisor has the right to read it, and you should assume they will.
If you follow best practices as a franchisee, you will never use the computer for personal matters. It is tempting and far more convenient, but extremely dangerous. Most franchise agreements give the franchisor “unfettered” access to your computer and all information on it. If you email your sister complaining about how the franchisor treated you, the franchisor has the right to read it, and you should assume they will.
The Bundy Law Firm is proud to that its associate, Caroline Fichter is the 2016 recipient of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising Chair’s Award for Substantial Writing Work or Presentation for her law journal article “Surviving the Tempest: Franchisees in the Brave New World of Joint Employers and $15 Now.” In the article, Caroline and her co-author, Erin Conway of the Garner & Ginsburg firm in Minneapolis, explore the ramifications of recent national labor board decisions and minimum wage increases from a franchisee perspective.
Another day and two more prospective clients calling for help because they bought franchises. One in the senior health care industry; one in the men’s hair care industry. Both suffered devastating losses. In under two years, one lost $600,000; the other “only” $100,000. In both cases, they have nothing left and I had to talk to them about consulting a bankruptcy attorney.
Everyone planning to set up a new corporation or LLC faces the question of what state should they form the entity in. You read on the Internet or see ads on television about the “wonders” of incorporating in some particular state. The half of the truth that the proponents generally don’t tell you is what can later bite you.
Every day people eager to own a business invest $500,000 to a million dollars in franchises where the FDD said the top of the range for “estimated initial investment” was under $250,000-and where the “initial franchise fee” is only about $35,000. When buying a franchise, the first question they should be asking is what are they getting for all that money?
If you are considering buying a franchise, you need to beware of empty promises from the franchisor. Over the last few years, franchise agreements have become extremely one-sided. Recently, many franchisors are making no enforceable promises to provide franchisees with any support or assistance after their business opens.
