A quick starting snapshot

• Tell me briefly, what prompted you to explore a new operator or acquisition partner right now?
• How many franchised locations does your development or ops team actively manage in the region under consideration? Options: 1-10, 11-25, 26-50, 51-100, 100+
• When you review quarterly scorecards, which three data points make you lean toward a new partnership versus staying with the incumbent? Options: Same-store sales growth, New unit openings cadence, Health and safety audit scores, Customer satisfaction/social sentiment, Manager retention, Unit-level profitability
• Describe the last time a partner missed an opening date or underperformed, what slipped first and how did it ripple through the system?

Which outcomes move the needle for your team

• Which single performance failure would make you stop a deal immediately, for example slipping openings beyond your committed window or repeated audit failures? Options: Missed opening beyond 60 days, Same-store sales below system average for two quarters, Failed health and safety audit, Loss of store managers during transition, Other
• How do you weight the following when ranking operators: near-term sales lift, speed of new openings, and audit consistency? Options: Sales lift > speed > audits, Speed > audits > sales lift, Audits > sales lift > speed, All equal, Other
• Which specific target would you set to call a partnership successful at 90 days, choose all that apply and add any thresholds Options: Same-store sales >= system average, New unit opens within committed cadence, Audit score >= your standard, Manager retention >= 75% post-close, P&L within forecast variance
• If a candidate operator can meet the numeric thresholds but has a stretched management span, which tradeoffs would you accept and which would you not?
• How soon after signature do you expect to see data proving the operator is on track, and what snapshot of KPIs would you want then? Options: 30 days, opening milestones, 60 days, management retention and sales, 90 days, performance vs forecast, Other

Who actually owns success and who feels the pain

• Who on your team must sign off for a development or acquisition approval, and what is their top veto criterion?
• Which stakeholders will assess post-close performance week to week, choose all that apply Options: VP Franchise Development, VP Operations, Regional Manager, Franchisor Brand Standards Team, Legal/Compliance, Other
• Who owns day-to-day monitoring of openings and audit performance once an operator is onboarded? Options: Regional operations team, Franchise development, Third-party auditor, Combined governance team, Other
• Walk me through who needs direct evidence of success for this deal to proceed, and what form that evidence must take
• How do you prefer escalation to work, for example immediate brand notification, 48-hour remediation plan, or something else? Options: Immediate brand notification, 48-hour remediation, Weekly governance call, On-site visit within 72 hours, Other

Where operations tend to break and why it matters

• What recurring operational failure do you see across your system that a new operator must not replicate?
• Which frontline metric usually signals trouble first at a store, choose one Options: Speed of service, Food safety audit score, Customer complaints on social, Labor cost spike, Inventory discrepancies
• How many additional stores can an operator add in a market before you expect service or audit scores to degrade? Options: Fewer than 5, 5-10, 11-20, 21-40, No set limit provided
• What operational constraint, if unmet, would force you to pause a rollout or acquisition integration immediately? Options: No access to payroll data, Missing vendor contracts, No named on-site owners, Unresolved health permit issues, Other
• Describe a recent example when a rollout went off plan and what the biggest lesson was for avoiding that next time

The alternatives you are weighing

• Which options are you actively considering right now, including incumbent operators, other multi-unit operators, or solving this internally? Options: Incumbent operator renewal, Another multi-unit operator, Internal expansion by your team, Smaller regional operator, Delay decision
• What would have to be true about your current approach for you to stay with it instead of switching providers?
• Has anyone on your team proposed a purely internal solution, and if so who, and what resources would they need? Options: Yes, development team, Yes, operations team, No internal proposal, Unsure
• Which concerns about switching vendors keep coming up in your internal conversations? Options: Operational disruption, Manager retention risk, Costs higher than forecast, Brand compliance issues, Other
• If an operator met your performance targets in a small pilot, what would prevent you from awarding them a larger territory immediately? Options: Procurement or legal delays, Unresolved staffing concerns, Insufficient management bench, Brand approval lag, Other

Operational readiness and must-have constraints

• Which integrations or data feeds must be available before you consider a pilot, for example payroll exports, POS sales feeds, or audit reports? Options: Payroll export access, POS sales feed, Existing audit history, Vendor contract list, Lease documents
• Who in your organization controls those connectors or data sources, and how quickly can they grant access?
• Which internal headcount or technical capacity will you commit to support a 60-day acquisition integration? Options: Dedicated project manager, IT support during cutover, HR support for transitions, No dedicated resources available, Other
• How clean and centralized is the data we would rely on, such as historical sales by store and payroll by location? Options: Centralized and clean, Mostly centralized with gaps, Decentralized and needs cleanup, Unknown
• Which regulatory or franchisor approvals are required to proceed, and what typical lead times have you seen? Options: Brand development approval, Local health permits, Lease assignment approval, Franchisor legal review, Other
• If required systems or approvals are not in place, which single deficiency would stop this project from starting? Options: No payroll access, Franchisor withholding approval, Missing critical permits, Lack of on-site leadership, Other

Clear acceptance criteria that let everyone move fast

• Which exact KPIs will you use to accept a successful integration at 30, 60, and 90 days, list metrics and thresholds?
• How do you prefer to measure same-store sales impact, as percentage change year over year, dollar uplift versus forecast, or relative rank within the market? Options: YOY % change, Dollar uplift vs forecast, Relative rank vs peers, Other
• What minimum audit score or pass rate do you require to consider compliance acceptable post-close? Options: 90%+, 80-89%, 70-79%, Custom threshold
• If a pilot meets the agreed thresholds, what decision or authority would accelerate awarding additional territory that week? Options: VP approval, Joint governance signoff, Franchisor written consent, Automated threshold trigger, Other
• Which commercial or legal terms, if unresolved, would prevent you from accepting a pilot even if KPIs are met? Options: Price adjustments, Employee transition commitments, Retention incentives, Indemnity clauses, Other

Practical logistics that determine timing

• Which documents or site facts do we need before we can commit to a 60-day close and integration, pick all that apply Options: Payroll roster by store, Current manager employment agreements, Vendor contract list, Lease details and assignment terms, Recent audit reports
• How quickly can your team turn over the requested documents once a term sheet is signed? Options: Within 3 business days, Within 1 week, 2-4 weeks, Longer than 4 weeks
• Which on-site readiness items typically take the longest to resolve during integrations, choose two Options: Permits and inspections, GC scheduling and remodel, Payroll conversions, Vendor onboarding, IT and POS cutover
• Who will be the named owner on your side for day-to-day integration questions, and who is the backup?
• If the seller can demonstrate a 60-day integration plan with named owners and milestones, how likely are you to proceed without renegotiating price? Options: Very likely, Somewhat likely, Unsure, Unlikely

Final decision triggers and next steps

• What internal approvals remain outstanding for you to sign a development agreement or close an acquisition, and what are their typical timelines?
• Which single commitment from the operator would make you comfortable signing the week the pilot proves performance? Options: Named GM retention plan, Firm opening schedule, Remodel funding commitment, Warranty on performance targets, Other
• How will you communicate success or concerns to your board or brand leadership, and how often will they want updates during the first 90 days? Options: Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly, On milestones only
• What would be the fastest realistic timeline from agreement to first pilot store opening, given your approvals and readiness? Options: 30 days, 45 days, 60 days, 90+ days
• Which next step would you like from us after this discovery, a pilot proposal, a detailed 60-day playbook, or an executive summary for your leadership? Options: Pilot proposal, 60-day playbook, Executive summary, Another discovery session

• Operational Model Review

• Confirm the current state and cost
• You confirm the seller's management coverage model and playbooks will prevent the speed-of-service and audit slippage you observed.
• Seller to run the 60-day playbook against two recent acquisitions and deliver a gap report highlighting retention, systems conversion, and timeline risks
• You agree the 60-day acquisition sequence addresses retention, systems conversion, and closing timeline risk without retrading.
• Map management coverage to your territories
• Buyer to provide three months of most recent same-store sales, health and safety audit scores, and openings cadence for the target territories
• Walk the labor and scheduling controls
• Seller to provide a sample 90-day ramp dashboard from a recent opening showing daily sales, labor metrics, coaching checkpoints, and escalation logs
• You identify remaining evidence needed before a decision and commit to the next validation steps.
• Show back-office and procurement continuity
• Joint: agree on two pilot sites for live validation of the playbook and set observation dates
• Run the 60-day acquisition playbook on a real scenario
• Walk the 90-day new-unit ramp plan
• Validate alignment to your outcomes

• Operational Model Review Session
• Operational Model Review Deck
• Operational Model Solution Brief

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Operate Store-Level Daily Operations
• Conduct Weekly District Visits and Coaching
• Manage Centralized Accounting and Accounts Payable
• Administer Payroll and Employee Benefits
• Manage Labor Scheduling and Daypart Optimization
• Provide Monthly P&L Management and Cost Control
• Administer National Procurement and Vendor Contracts
• Perform Site Selection and Demographic Modeling
• Negotiate and Execute Retail Lease Agreements
• Manage Construction and Fit-Out with GC Network
• Deploy Opening Team and Execute 90-Day Ramp
• Execute 60-Day Acquisition Integration and Conversion
• Provide General Manager Training and Bench Deployment
• Enforce Brand Standards and Health-Safety Remediation

Operate Store-Level Daily Operations

• Do you require us to run the daily store-level opening and closing checklists (cash, food safety checks, POS reconciliation)? Options: Yes, No
• How many stores will require our daily operations support on day one? Options: 1-5, 6-20, 21-50, 51-150, 151+
• Which store-level KPIs must be reported daily (choose from sales run rate, average ticket time, drive-thru service time, waste counts)? Options: Daily sales run rate, Average ticket time, Drive-thru service time, Waste counts, Other
• Provide the target same-store sales trend you will accept during the first 90 days (percentage vs prior period). Options: Maintain flat (0%), Increase 0-5%, Increase 5-15%, Increase >15%
• Which store-level operational artifacts will we integrate on go-live (POS merchant IDs, inventory SKU list, store-level payroll file, daily sales feed)? Options: POS merchant IDs, Store inventory SKU list, Store-level payroll file, Daily sales feed, Other
• Who will own day-to-day corrective action when a store fails a food-safety checklist item?

Conduct Weekly District Visits and Coaching

• How many district manager visits per store per month do you expect (weekly, biweekly, monthly)? Options: Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly
• Which coaching artifacts should be used during visits (P&L variance report, mystery-audit form, service-speed stopwatch, manager 1:1 checklist)? Options: P&L variance report, Mystery-audit form, Service-speed stopwatch, Manager 1:1 checklist, Other
• When a district visit identifies a repeat deficiency, what escalation timeline do you require for remediation (48 hours, 7 days, 30 days)? Options: 48 hours, 7 days, 30 days, Custom
• Which data feed should district managers use for store coaching sessions (daily sales feed, labor schedule export, weekly inventory snapshot)? Options: Daily sales feed, Labor schedule export, Weekly inventory snapshot, Other
• Describe the minimum contents of a district visit report (visit date, issues found, corrective actions, owner, due date).
• Who will be the named owner for scheduling and documenting recurring coaching cadences at the district level?

Manage Centralized Accounting and Accounts Payable

• Which accounts payable artifacts will be centralized (store deposit reports, vendor invoices, daily cash deposits, vendor remittance instructions)? Options: Vendor invoices, Store deposit reports, Daily cash deposits, Vendor remittance instructions, Other
• How frequently do you expect centralized AP to process store invoices (weekly, twice weekly, daily)? Options: Daily, Twice weekly, Weekly, Biweekly
• Provide the acceptable invoice processing SLA from invoice receipt to payment authorization (days). Options: 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, Custom
• Which financial artifact do you require for month-end close for each store (store P&L, inventory valuation, petty cash reconciliation)? Options: Store P&L, Inventory valuation, Petty cash reconciliation, Other
• Do you require centralized control over store-level vendor master data (supplier contact, payment terms, tax ID)? Options: Yes, No
• Who will own approvals for exceptions to standard payment terms (e.g., expedited vendor payment)?

Administer Payroll and Employee Benefits

• Which payroll artifacts must convert on cutover (employee master, pay rates, accrued PTO balances, direct-deposit banking info)? Options: Employee master, Pay rates, Accrued PTO balances, Direct-deposit info, Other
• What is your required payroll cutover date relative to acquisition close (same payroll cycle, next payroll cycle, two cycles out)? Options: Same payroll cycle, Next payroll cycle, Two cycles out
• Do you require benefits administration to be centralized immediately or after a transition window (immediate, 30 days, 90 days)? Options: Immediate, 30 days, 90 days
• Identify any collective bargaining or written employee agreements at store level that will affect payroll or benefits processing.
• Which pay-frequency applies at your stores (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly)? Options: Weekly, Biweekly, Semimonthly
• Who will own payroll reconciliations for the first two payroll cycles after cutover?

Manage Labor Scheduling and Daypart Optimization

• Which labor-scheduling artifact will be authoritative (proprietary scheduling file export, timeclock export, daily labor forecast)? Options: Scheduling file export, Timeclock export, Daily labor forecast, Other
• How many dayparts do you operate per location and what are their typical windows (breakfast, lunch, dinner, late-night)?
• Which optimization target should the scheduling engine prioritize (labor percentage of sales, speed-of-service seconds, manager coverage)? Options: Labor percentage of sales, Speed-of-service, Manager coverage, Other
• Provide the acceptable labor percentage thresholds by daypart for each concept if available.
• Do you require integration between the scheduling system and POS sales forecast to auto-generate shifts? Options: Yes, No
• Who will approve exceptions to scheduled labor (overtime, call-outs) at store level?

Provide Monthly P&L Management and Cost Control

• Which P&L cadence do you require (store-level monthly P&L, consolidated regional P&L, both)? Options: Store-level monthly P&L, Consolidated regional P&L, Both
• Which cost categories must be monitored with variance thresholds (COGS, labor, occupancy, utilities)? Options: Cost of goods sold (COGS), Labor, Occupancy, Utilities, Other
• Describe the variance threshold that should trigger a remediation plan for a store (e.g., COGS > target by X%). Options: COGS >2%, COGS >5%, COGS >10%, Custom
• Do you require standardized monthly P&L templates and a close checklist for each store? Options: Yes, No
• Which system will provide the source data for monthly P&L (POS sales extract, inventory valuation, payroll export)? Options: POS sales extract, Inventory valuation, Payroll export, Other
• Who will own approval of monthly store-level corrective action plans for P&L variances?

Administer National Procurement and Vendor Contracts

• Which vendor contract types should be centralized (protein/meat, dairy, dry goods, disposables, equipment maintenance)? Options: Protein/meat, Dairy, Dry goods, Disposables, Equipment maintenance, Other
• Provide the top 10 SKUs by spend that must be included in national procurement pricing.
• Do you require vendor onboarding documentation to include cold-chain receiving windows and product shelf-life limits? Options: Yes, No
• Which procurement KPIs do you require reporting on (fill-rate, invoice error rate, rebate capture)? Options: Fill-rate, Invoice error rate, Rebate capture, Other
• When will preferred-vendor agreements need to be in place relative to store openings or acquisition close (prior to build, at open, within 30 days)? Options: Prior to build, At open, Within 30 days
• Who will own exceptions when a local vendor needs to be used instead of a national contract?

Perform Site Selection and Demographic Modeling

• Which demographic and traffic artifacts must be provided for site evaluation (trade-area report, 90-day pedestrian counts, competitive map)? Options: Trade-area report, 90-day pedestrian counts, Competitive map, Other
• How many candidate sites do you expect per new-unit development assignment? Options: 1-3, 4-7, 8+
• Do you require a lease-abstraction summary as part of site selection deliverables? Options: Yes, No
• Specify the minimum parking and drive-thru metrics required for a valid site (spaces per seat, cars per hour at peak).
• Who will approve the final site selection from the provided short-list?
• Which population or trade-area thresholds must a site meet (e.g., daytime population, household income band)?

Negotiate and Execute Retail Lease Agreements

• Do you require full lease negotiation support including term, TI (tenant improvement) allowance, and exclusivity clauses? Options: Yes, No
• Which lease artifacts must be delivered at signing (fully executed lease, lease abstract, rent schedule, rentable area sketch)? Options: Fully executed lease, Lease abstract, Rent schedule, Rentable area sketch, Other
• What is the maximum acceptable lease commencement lead time from executed lease to store opening (months)? Options: <3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12+ months
• Do you require landlord approval of GC and subcontractors as a condition in the lease? Options: Yes, No
• Who will own negotiation exceptions requested by landlords (e.g., signage variance, delivery hours)?
• List any deal-specific lease clauses that must be preserved during negotiation (radius restriction, ROFR, co-tenancy).

Manage Construction and Fit-Out with GC Network

• Which construction milestones must be included in the project schedule (permit issuance, slab pour, rough-in inspection, final inspection)? Options: Permit issuance, Slab pour, Rough-in inspection, Final inspection, Other
• Do you require GC selection through a preferred network or open bid process? Options: Preferred GC network, Open bid process
• Which construction deliverables must be provided at turnover (as-built drawings, equipment commissioning checklist, HVAC balancing report)? Options: As-built drawings, Equipment commissioning checklist, HVAC balancing report, Other
• When must remodel scope be priced and approved relative to acquisition close (pre-close estimate, within 30 days post-close, within 90 days)? Options: Pre-close estimate, Within 30 days post-close, Within 90 days
• Who will own permits and inspectors coordination at the municipal level for each build?
• Provide the maximum construction budget tolerance you will accept before requiring re-approval. Options: 5%, 10%, 15%, Custom

• Asset Purchase Agreement
• Transition Services Agreement (TSA)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Integration Statement of Work (SOW)
• Employee Transition & Retention Agreement
• Contract Assignment & Consent Schedule
• Closing Checklist & Escrow Instructions
• Governance & Execution Charter

• Go-live Health Check (weeks 1-4)
• First Measurement (weeks 4-10)
• Acceptance Gate Review (around day 90)
• Operational Monthly Check-in (months 3-6)
• Quarterly Performance Review

• Document any required coaching sessions or temporary staffing plans and schedule them within the next two weeks.
• Produce a documented acceptance decision with pass/fail recorded for each Solution Scope criterion and a named signatory for the decision.
• For any failed criteria, agree a remediation plan with concrete verification steps and dates.
• Publish the acceptance decision document including pass/fail status for each criterion and the named signatory.
• For conditional or failed items, publish the remediation timetable and verification checkpoints.
• Transition accepted scopes into the agreed ongoing review schedule and update the journey status accordingly.
• Quick KPI snapshot
• Ensure same-store sales growth rate and manager retention rate remain on an acceptable trajectory or have a corrective plan in place.
• Reduce the count of high-severity open issues and confirm closures or escalations for long-lived items.
• Update the shared issue tracker with status changes and target close dates for all items discussed.
• Reconfirm scope, acceptance criteria location, and owners
• Prioritize enhancement requests and publish the next steps and expected trial dates.
• Executive summary of quarterly outcomes
• Confirm quarterly performance against the Solution Scope targets and determine where additional remediation is required.
• Agree the prioritized list of operational improvements and monitoring checkpoints for the next quarter.
• Publish the quarterly performance summary with evidence and next-quarter priorities.
• Open tickets for any agreed enhancements with timelines for pilot and rollout.
• Schedule the next quarterly review and any interim checkpoints required for conditional items.
• Confirm the deployment finished according to the deployment checklist and that all critical systems are reachable and functioning.
• Document a prioritized list of open issues with owners and agreed resolution dates.
• Publish the go-live validation checklist and evidence of system conversions for async review.
• Log all open issues in the shared channel with target resolution dates and severity tags.
• Schedule the First Measurement meeting within the 4-10 week window.
• Present first outcome data against targets
• Determine whether the same-store sales growth rate and health and safety audit score are trending toward the targets recorded in Solution Scope.
• Produce a timebound remediation plan addressing the top 3 drivers of variance with clear completion dates.
• Publish the remediation plan with milestone dates and acceptance criteria for each remediation task.
• Update the project timeline to reflect new dates for the acceptance gate where required.
• Capture any vendor, payroll, or remodel dependencies that must be resolved before acceptance and mark them for escalation if unresolved.
• Restate acceptance criteria from Solution Scope
• Deployment and systems validation
• Present outcome data against each criterion
• Diagnose variance root causes
• Open issue burn-down
• Detailed review on major variances
• Review closed and outstanding remediation items
• Document pass/fail per criterion and formal decision
• Training, coaching and staffing adjustments
• Agree corrective actions and timelines
• Early adoption and operational signals
• Enhancement and change requests
• Prioritize enhancements and monitoring for the next quarter
• Agree remediation plan for any failed criteria
• Confirm readiness and timeline to acceptance gate
• Blockers and incident triage
• Agree remediation actions and next checkpoint
• Close loop into ongoing success cadence