You can’t know everything that is going on.  As a Franchisor, you can dictate how the franchisee should run their business, but unless you are physically there it takes considerable time, money and effort to oversee what’s going on.  What is important for your brand is that both you and your franchisees are protected.

One overlooked area of protection is not having a Registered Agent service for your franchisees.  A registered agent is a person or company who agrees to accept Service of Process on behalf of an LLC or a Corporation.  They will receive any legal documents including those pertaining to a lawsuit.

As business attorneys, we have seen the legal pain points clients experience in running their businesses and are always looking to help solve those embarrassing oversights.  One way we’ve done so is by starting up a registered agent service.  Our registered agent service helps:

  • Avoid being embarrassed at their business: a sheriff or process server is likely to serve us in our office instead of your franchisees in front of their customers.
  • No important deadlines missed: when a lawsuit is served the clock starts ticking. We notify clients immediately to help them not miss crucial court deadlines.
  • Anonymity: in a few states listing our company as the registered agent will keep the owner’s name out of public record.
  • State Records stay current: we will track that the registered agent state requirements are met to keep the business from being administratively dissolved. We even give notice to businesses to remind them if they have any annual filings coming due.

Recently, we have adapted our system to better serve franchises.  Our Franchise Registered Agent service adds:

  • Dual Notice. Anything the franchisee receives from us the franchisor will also receive.  You will know any legal difficulties arising as they arise giving you, the franchisor, a chance to make sure your brand is protected throughout the process.
  • Easier Company Meeting Minutes. Many business owners don’t realize this, but they are required to (or at least should) be keeping meeting minutes to track the decisions of the business. Minutes help strengthen the identify of the business (helps avoid a creditor piercing the corporate veil), outlines decisions that were made and how they were voted on to protect all business owners going forward.  We will provide your franchisees unlimited access to our minute’s platform, and even send out monthly reminders.

Sign up is easy.  Our service is available in all 50 states for a fee of $150 per year per business.