When franchisees need to transfer or sell their territories, it's important to follow specific steps to ensure a smooth transition. This article outlines the process for transferring territories based on different scenarios, offering key considerations to keep in mind.
This article covers:
Considerations before transferring territories
Before you start the transfer, it's a good idea to consider the following:
Franchise Agreement:
Review your franchise agreement for clauses about territory sales and account transfer procedures.
Financial Transactions:
Settle all outstanding customer balances.
Decide how to handle refunds for future bookings if payment was made to the previous territory owner.
Scenario 1: Selling the entire geographic area
Once the sale is confirmed, please follow these steps to smoothly transfer Bookwhen account ownership from the existing franchisee to the new owner:
Inform Bookwhen:
Contact Bookwhen support via live chat or email to start the account transfer process. We'll guide you through the necessary steps and documentation.
Notify Customers:
Inform existing customers about the sale and introduce the new franchisee via email or announcement.
Invite the New Owner:
Log in to your Bookwhen account, select Accounts then Team from the left-hand dashboard menu, and invite the new franchisee as a "Team Member."
If you’ve reached your team member limit, please contact us on support for help.
Pause Public Page and Payment Options:
Temporarily take your public page offline to stop new bookings and payments.
Remove your Stripe payment gateway by selecting Manage next to Stripe in the Payments section, then Remove Stripe option:
Remove Previous Owner:
Delete the previous owner’s account from the team members.
Update Billing Details:
The new franchisee must update the billing details to start receiving Bookwhen invoices. Please notify us on support once this is done to ensure the new details are correct.
Update Contact Information:
The new account owner should ensure that they are listed as the “reply to” by changing this to their public-facing email address.
Update the account contact details to include the new owner's contact info (email and phone). Update any social media links if needed.
Create a public leader profile and publish this.
Add New Stripe Payment Details:
The new franchisee needs to set up Stripe to process payments for bookings.
Republish Booking Page:
Review and update the booking schedule as needed, then republish the public booking page so customers can start booking.
Scenario 2a: Selling part of the geographic area (one location per Schedule Page)
If your franchise operates on a one-location, one-schedule-page basis, transferring part of the territory is straightforward. Bookwhen can easily transfer the relevant location and all bookings and customer data to the new owner.
Inform Bookwhen:
Contact Bookwhen support via live chat or email to start the account transfer process. We'll guide you through the necessary steps and documentation.
Notify Customers:
Inform customers about the change and introduce the new franchisee.
New Franchisee Account:
The new franchisee should follow the steps for creating a new account by using the HQ’s unique sign-up link.
They will need to set up Stripe on their account.
They do not need to create any new events at this stage or create any booking fields.
Please advise Bookwhen support what the commission fee will be for the new account.
Transfer Schedule Page:
Let Bookwhen know which schedule page needs to be transferred. We’ll move the page, including all bookings and customer data, to the new account and notify everyone once the transfer is complete.
Please note: This transfer will include all past and future bookings and customer information for the new admin. Make sure to plan for any refunds related to future bookings, as payments for these may have already gone to the previous franchisee.
Scenario 2b: Selling Part of the Geographic Area (Multiple Locations in One Schedule Page)
If the franchisee is selling part of their territory, we can assist with transferring locations, bookings, and customer data to the new owner. Transferring locations from a single schedule page may take some time, so we recommend planning ahead to ensure a smooth process.
Inform Bookwhen:
Contact Bookwhen support via live chat or email to start the account transfer process. We'll guide you through the necessary steps and documentation.
Notify Customers:
Inform customers about the change and introduce the new franchisee.
New Franchisee Account:
The new franchisee should follow the steps for creating a new account by using the HQ’s unique sign-up link.
They will need to set up Stripe on their account.
They do not need to create any new events at this stage or create any booking fields
Please advise Bookwhen support what the commission fee will be for the new account.
Transfer Locations and Schedule Page:
Let Bookwhen know which locations or events need to be transferred. We'll create a new schedule page in the current franchisee’s account, move the events there, and then transfer the entire schedule page to the new account.
We’ll notify everyone once the transfer is complete.
This process will transfer all past and future bookings and customer data to the new admin. Be sure to consider how refunds for any future bookings will be handled, as payments for those may have already been made to the previous franchisee.
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