How to Write a Franchise Operations Manual

The franchise operations manual is one of the most important documents for any franchise business. It can make the difference between a successful and profitable franchise and a poor performing one.

Writing your franchise operations manual can be a frustrating task, especially if you are new to this business. Here are some tips that can help you throughout the process.

Franchise operation manual tips:

• Get ready. If you have never written a franchise operation manual, you will need to get familiar with the document prior to writing one. Of course every business is unique and there are different business procedures in every company. However you do not need to get into details at this stage. All you need to do is to get familiar with this type of documentation. Find as many operations manuals as you can and read them carefully. Pay close attention to their structure, the information listed and make notes about the most important details. Try to get franchise operations manuals of successful franchises and such that have businesses similar to yours.

• The first draft. After you have an idea what a franchise operation manual is you can proceed to writing the first draft of your own manual. As you have already noticed, the manual can be a bulky document so you will probably need a lot of time outlining all the information and even more time writing the details. This is where a specialized franchise tool can help you. There are some great software products that can provide you with the main frame of your manual. If you choose to use such software, all you will need to do is to customize the ready template.

• Get the draft reviewed. Once you have your franchise operations manual draft ready, you can get it reviewed by other members of the management team. Your management team is the people who know most about the business and each member of the team can contribute to the writing process. In addition, having the manual read by many people will help you a lot in refining it and making it better.

• Get the second draft reviewed by professionals. Once you have an almost ready version of the manual, get a legal professional to review it. This is very useful especially in cases when you are aiming to get franchisees from many different countries. A legal processional specializing in franchising will be able to point out any weak sides of the manual as well as fill any holes that may arise from a legal point of view. You can also get a franchise consultant to review the manual. This step is recommended especially if it is your first franchise business and this is the first time you are preparing such document.

• Make it official. Once you have the second draft ready, apply the final corrections and make the official version of the franchise operations manual. Remember that you may need to review it and change it on a regular basis as your business develops and the market changes.