Plan the first 90 days as an operating handover

Define who owns each routine

Opening creates recurring work immediately. List customer service, scheduling, purchasing, cash handling, payroll, maintenance and reporting as applicable to the model. Assign an accountable person and a backup. A task assigned to everyone can become a task nobody checks.

Use the franchisor’s approved procedures and your local professional advice as the starting point. Ask what must be completed before opening and what support is available afterward. Keep training completion separate from proof that a team can perform a process consistently.

Choose a small review rhythm

Schedule short operational reviews that fit the business: what failed, what customers needed, what stock or staffing issues arose and which actions remain open. Do not build a dashboard so large that collecting information crowds out acting on it.

Track cash and contractual reporting separately from promotional milestones. An enthusiastic launch does not establish a sustainable operation. Have an accountant help set a review process that uses reliable records and clear definitions.

Document the handover to ordinary operations

The people who support opening may not be the same people who respond later. Record names, channels and escalation steps. Before the launch team leaves, walk through an ordinary problem and confirm who will handle it. The first 90 days are a planning frame, not a guarantee about when a location stabilizes or earns income.

Put it on paper

• Assign routine tasks and backups.
• Review a small set of operational issues consistently.
• Confirm the ongoing support and escalation path.

Continue with the franchise research checklist, our FDD guide, and the research directory.