OPERATIONS MANUAL DOWNLOAD

The operations manual is one of the keys to successful franchising and

should be developed from your own experience and sets out exactly how
the business should be run to ensure success.
Your Operations Manual becomes a Bible for running your business.
It's a series of policies, procedures and instructions that make it
possible for you to operate your business efficiently and profitably.
We can provide you with the most complete operations layout that can
be purchased and adapted for any business. A few of the areas covered
in the operations manual are:

• Administration Requirements
• Accounting Procedures
• Marketing
• Human Resources
• Pricing Policy
• Sales Procedures

At our website How2franchise.co.uk we provide you with all you need

to Franchise your business at a fraction of the cost.

http://www.how2franchise.co.uk/contact_us.htm

2. TIPS ON HOW TO WRITE A FRANCHISE MANUAL

As any franchisor knows, a substantial part of any franchising

programme is the work done to abstract the successful workings of
the business being franchised such that it becomes a ‘replicable unit’
– that is, a business whose operation can be can practically and
effectively transplanted.
The cornerstone of this process is the development of a franchise
operations manual. Because the success of a franchising program is
closely allied to the way in which the operational processes of the
franchise business are captured, expressed and supported through
training, a perfunctory franchise manual which incompletely or
inaccurately addresses the requirements for expressing the operations
of the business will almost certainly doom a franchise to failure. Only
a quality encapsulation of franchise operations will allow effective
setup and support of the fledgling business.
This download sets out a working method for developing a quality
franchise operations manual and gives an insight into the
considerations and issues the franchisor will face in the process of
this task.
WHAT SHOULD BE IN A FRANCHISE OPERATION
MANUAL?
The primary purpose of the franchise manual is to support the
operations of the business - that is, to support the people working in
the business to do their jobs. A franchise manual should set out the
following inter-related aspects of an operating business:

• What the roles of the employees in the business are

• What the main processes or activity streams of the business are
• The tasks that are performed by employees of each role in each
stream
• The performance standards that attach to the tasks and to the
activity
• What the mechanisms for process management and
improvement are.

WHO SHOULD WRITE IT?

Because of the critical nature of this documentation, the short answer
is – the most competent resource/s you have at your disposal. The
longer answer will involve figuring out whether that is you
(the business owner), your key employees or specialists you bring in
specifically.

WHEN SHOULD IT BE WRITTEN?

The franchise manual will actually enable many of the complex
planning activities that go into setting up a franchise program. It
should be written first. You will see why as you read on.

THE PHASES OF WRITING

The process of writing a franchise manual is similar to the process of
writing any technical, reference or training document that is aimed at
an end-user who has a need to be supported to do particular things.
A franchise manual is a ‘user document’ – as much as any video
programming guide or word processing manual. Writing it involves
working through the following phases:

• Defining the purpose

• Analysing audiences, tasks and information needs
• Determining the contents
• Writing the contents
• Reviewing and evaluating what is written
• Fine tuning and publishing
In this downloads we will illustrate how these phases can be worked
through using the case of a fictitious example company – ABC Food
Services, fine food caterers.

ABC FOOD SERVICES – EVERYWHERE!

ABC Food’s operations were relatively smooth and quite profitable.
Their successful formula in catering for corporate events in
Birmingham was the precondition for taking ABC Food Services to
other geographical centres. This is how the franchise operations
manual that would help them do it was written.

Step 1 – Defining the purpose

As is proposed above, the purpose of a franchise manual is to support
the operations of a business – which is to say, the activities of the
individuals working in it. The directors of ABC Food Services, in
considering how a new ABC outlet might take wings at another
location, readily appreciated this purpose – but immediately upon
imagining what the manual might contain when finished saw that the
development of such a document contained a challenge to the way
their business currently operated. Are we actually operating as
efficiently as we can? In describing how we do things now are we
setting up the franchise to repeat our errors? In confronting the formal
expression of how their business operated, the directors of ABC
realised that the franchise manual had a dual benefit – ABC could
look to improve what it did at the same as it took stock of it. At the
very outset, the franchise manual project became a project of process
improvement and refinement as well as a documentation exercise.

Step 2 – Defining audiences, tasks and needs

The franchising business needs to consider the roles in which its
employees act. How roles are defined however is often a grey area.
Smaller businesses often don’t extend their conception of their human
resources beyond an identification of the actual individuals working
for them, i.e. Bill is responsible for X, Y and Z. Separation of Bill
from his role/s is important – if or when Bill separates himself from
the business the role/s he inhabited must continue to be fulfilled.
The ‘audiences, tasks and needs’ step in developing a franchise
manual involves separating employees from functional role and then
defining the characteristics of the role in terms of the business tasks
the role is responsible for carrying out. An individual employee may
have a number of roles, and a single role may be shared by a number
of employees. Conceptualising the business this way is critical to
being able to transfer it elsewhere, where others can be trained to
perform its roles.
The directors of ABC developed a matrix which specified the roles of
the business and the tasks belonging to them. Around this they were
able to shade in a whole range of other important details – for
example, they specified the experience and capacities required by an
employee to qualify for employment in a role. They also were able to
list what support an employee needed in role – in other words,
knowledge needed to do their job that it was not expected that they
possessed before joining the business. These were the knowledge
‘needs’ the franchise manual had to supply. Taking the process
further, the directors grouped the functional roles within the main
activity streams of the business – sales and marketing, orders and
inventory, production, dispatch and administration. They now had the
elements and activities of the business laid out before them in a way
that corresponded to how the business functioned, and they were able
to specify in a detailed way the performance levels that needed to be
defined to meet the objectives of the business plan for the franchise –
and to validate that they could be achieved.

Step 3 – Determining the contents

Armed with a framework from defining audiences, tasks and needs,
the directors of ABC listed at a high level the topics that needed to be
covered in the franchise manual. The topics were of two kinds – tasks
and information topics. The tasks were descriptions of activities
carried by employees in particular roles; the information topics
provided background, concepts and descriptions of performance
standards for the business. The end product of this phase was a
detailed table of contents for the manual, and an estimation of the
amount of work involved to do the actual writing.

Step 4 – Writing the contents; Step 5 – Reviewing and evaluating

what is written; Step 6 – Fine tuning and publishing.
These steps are grouped in a block because they are repeatable in
sequence. Once the ‘blueprint’ for the franchise manual has been
developed, the writing process involves an iterative cycle of input
gathering, drafting, reviewing, revising and re-drafting. For the
directors of ABC, who were keen to harness the capacities for process
improvement that the franchise manual project offered, this was an
intensive but highly rewarding period of activity. As the true nature of
ABC’s operations were captured in print the opportunity for a critical
evaluation of what the business was actually doing arose. For a
successful and ‘franchisable’ business, a remarkable amount of
process development and refinement took place. Numerous
inefficiencies were uncovered, some costly duplications and one or
two terrifying ‘gaps’, which had the potential to really derail the
smooth running of the business entirely and which were hidden by
actions that capable employees had been taking on their own
initiative, unbeknownst to the directors.
At the process end, the directors of ABC were delivered a twofold
outcome that was as valuable as it was comforting – a franchise
manual that reflected reliable business operations. From what was
expressed in the manual they were able to build a highly-convincing
franchise marketing package. They were also able to immediately and
directly benefit by improved operations in their own parent unit of
ABC Foods.

3. AN EXAMPLE OF A HOWTO - FRANCHISE OPERATIONS

MANUAL - THIS IS AN ACTUAL CONTENTS PAGE

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purpose of Manual
1.2 Restrictions to Usage

2. YOUR FRANCHISOR
2.1 History and Background
2.2 Ethos and Standards
2.3 Philosophy
2.4 Requirements
2.5 Objectives

3. THE BUSINESS FILE

Thinking
Talking
Business Options
Planning

4. LEGAL FORMAT
What Kind Of Business Should I Be?
Self-Employment
End Of Tax Year Date
Tax, National Insurance, And VAT
A Client Led Service
Insurance
Accounts
Your Business Plan
Terms And Conditions
Administration
5. THE BENEFITS OF FRANCHISING
History And Background
To The Franchisee
To The Franchisor
To The Customer

6. FRANCHISE COMMUNICATIONS
Head Office Contact Point
Visits And Liaisons
Regular Meetings
Regular Newsletters
Training Seminars
Head Office Support Services

THE BUSINESS
Starting Your Business
Building Your Business
Market Potential And Competition
Your Functions As Owner / Manager
Competitive Advantages

FRANCHISEE RESPONSIBILITIES
Maintaining Standards
Adherence To The Methods
Corporate Image
Use Of The Franchisors Name
Working Your Territory
Your Objectives

MARKETING
Initial Launch
Marketing Methods
Marketing Items

SALES
Pricing Policy
Customer Service

OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
Sales Ledger
Purchase Ledger
Accounting Period Report
Annual Accounts
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Banking And Reconciliation
Accounting Period Report
Annual Accounts
Vat Registration
Monitoring Weekly Results
Business Insurance
Management Service Fee
Business Stationery
Procedure Checking

RECRUITMENT
Selection And Recruitment
Ways To Find Staff
Application Form
Interviewing
Competence Tests
References
Job Offer Letter
Employment Terms And Conditions
Employment Records
Job Description
STAFF
Induction And Training
Recognition And Motivation
Performance Appraisals
Dismissal
Payment Procedures
Accident Book
Uniforms and Appearance

WORKING TIME REGULATIONS

EMPLOYED VS. SELF-EMPLOYED (STAFF)

CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

EQUAL PAY

MATERNITY PAY AND LEAVE

DISCRIMINATION

DISMISSAL
 EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS

PENSIONS

24. TIME MANAGEMENT

25. HEALTH AND SAFETY

(WE ALSO HAVE A FABULOUS NHS MANUAL)

26. YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY

WE WOULD SUGGEST YOU BUY OUR FANTASTIC

COMPREHENSIVE OPERATIONS MANUAL
Use this complete and thorough operations manual template, covering
all aspects of your business and based on the best the practices within
the franchising industry.

SAVE TIME & MONEY

You will save countless hours researching, writing and editing
documents. Our Operations Manual can allow a complete stranger to
take over the operation of your franchise.
This Manual is available at truly fantastic Price of £499 You can not
buy a better 230 paged comprehensive manual like ours - cheaper!
A Franchise Operations Manual pays for itself many times over in
Franchise Sales and by lowering the cost of Franchisee control. By
giving the Franchisee and the Franchisee's employee’s absolute
direction in the business operations. Our Manual specialists have
taken over 18 years to develop this brilliant template, developed in
Microsoft Word and consists of over 230 pages on all aspects of
business operations.
The manual is designed to accommodate any type of business Food,
Retail, Manufacturing and Service Businesses. If you have any
specific rules, processes, systems, methods particular to any business
can be easily be inserted. The manual is completely flexible and can
be personalised to individual business easily.
By showing the prospective franchisee the operations manual you
will gain their respect and achieve sales because of your proven
expertise outlined in the manual, there is nothing as impressive as a
detailed operations manual. Of course, you could take the time and
create your own template, but that may take you hours or days, and
you will just go back to procrastinating again. For the cost of less
than what you make in running your business, you can have the entire
business operations manual shipped to your office, and finally stop
putting your valuable business assets in jeopardy!
www.howto-franchisemybusiness.com/buy_now.html"

Order Now £499

The manual is licensed for use in one business. The license gives the
purchaser the rights to modify, add too, delete items and make as
many copies of the manual necessary for their franchisees.
The manual is expandable and can be printed in black and white or in
full colour.

TESTIMONIALS!

“Rod I can honestly say that it is beyond our expectation and we have found
it so valuable and easy to use, I was a little cautious about the purchase but
my fears were put to rest once the product was downloaded. I found it to be
excellent value and has saved us months of work and although, I thought, I
already had a good Operations Manual it soon became clear how bad it was.
I have now incorporated your product into our network and the feedback
has been positive. Thank you for a great product”.

Keith Walker MD
www.bluemoonagencies.co.uk

We purchased the entire howtofranchiseyourbusiness.com package a few

weeks ago. We had talked to franchise consultants but had decided that we
would be spending too much time explaining our business to them, when
we were perfectly capable of writing documents and designing our own
marketing. We found the package to be incredibly useful and time-saving.
Of course the templates needed adapting, but it's much easier to write a
manual when you have something to work with. It is of course a lot
cheaper too! Keep up the good work.

Best wishes, Paula

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