How do the restrictions on suppliers for All County in Item 8, the franchisee's obligations in Item 9, and the estimated initial investment in Item 7 interrelate?
All_County Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
tly the only approved suppliers for any products or services.
Approved Suppliers. We may require that you purchase all specified services and products from us, our affiliate, or our designated approved supplier, as we may specify periodically to you during the term of the Franchise Agreement. Approved suppliers and specifications are determined based on the current needs for operating the Franchise Business. We evaluate approved suppliers based on price, service, quality, and other commercially reasonable benchmarks. The identity of approved suppliers and these specifications are updated periodically in writing by modifying the appropriate sections of the Operations Manual. We will send you modified sections by updating our web site, through the United States mail, or by any other commercially reasonable means.
Proposed Suppliers. We have procedures in our Operations Manual for approving vendors and suppliers you propose. It takes up to 90 days to evaluate new vendors or suppliers. We may approve or disapprove any supplier, and we may approve a supplier conditionally, provided however, that approval will not be unreasonably withheld. If you propose to use any brand and/or supplier that is not then approved by us, then you must first notify us in writing. You must submit sufficient information, specifications and samples concerning the brand and/or supplier so that we can decide whether the brand complies with our specifications and standards and/or such supplier meets our approved supplier criteria. In evaluating any supplier you propose, we will, subject to reasonable restrictions and conditions to protect our trade secrets and confidential information, disclose to the proposed supplier applicable standards, specifications, processes, and procedures for the item in sufficient detail to enable the proposed supplier to demonstrate fully its capacity and capabilities to supply the items. Within 90 days after we receive all requested information, we will communicate to you in writing our decision to approve or disapprove your proposed supplier.
We may prescribe procedures for the submission of requests for approval and impose obligations on approved suppliers, which will be incorporated in a written license agreement with the supplier. We may obtain from you and/or the approved supplier's reimbursement of our reasonable costs and expenses incurred in the approval process and on-going monitoring of the supplier's compliance with our requirements. We do not act as an agent, representative or in any other intermediary or fiduciary capacity for you in our relationship with an alternative supplier you propose and we approve. We may impose limits on the number of approved suppliers. We have the right to monitor the quality of goods or services provided by approved suppliers in a manner we deem appropriate and may terminate any supplier who does not meet our quality standards and specifications, as may be periodically in effect. We may disapprove any supplier whom we previously approved, and you may not, after receipt of notice of disapproval, reorder from any supplier we have disapproved.
We or our affiliate may be approved suppliers for any items. We formulate and modify, at our sole business judgment, specifications and standards we impose on Franchisees and suppliers. Specifications and standards are issued to Franchisees through our Operations Manual and to suppliers by written agreement. Other than us, Kwikrents, Inc., and All County Property Management and Realty, Inc., there are no other suppliers to the Franchise Business in which any of our officers owns an interest.
Computer Hardware and Software. You must use specified software and hardware for the Franchise Business. You must use designated real estate management software as part of the Franchise Business. Any computer software and hardware we require you to use is not our proprietary property. We have the right to develop proprietary software.
You must use our required, customized version of Rent Manager® real estate management software as part of the Franchise Business. You will be required to sign an "Activation Agreement" with London Computer Systems, Inc. as a condition of using the Rent Manager® software. A sample copy of the Activation Agreement is included as Exhibit G to this Franchise Disclosure Document.
Insurance. You must maintain in force: (a) commercial general liability (including completed operations/product liability) insurance and blanket liability insurance;
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to All County's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 8 outlines restrictions on approved suppliers, which directly impacts a franchisee's obligations detailed in Item 9, and subsequently influences the estimated initial investment presented in Item 7. All County may require franchisees to purchase specified services and products from approved suppliers, including themselves or their affiliates. These approved suppliers are evaluated based on price, service, quality, and other commercially reasonable benchmarks. The identity of these suppliers and their specifications are periodically updated in the Operations Manual, with changes communicated via the All County website, mail, or other reasonable means. Franchisees can propose their own suppliers, but All County has up to 90 days to evaluate and decide whether to approve them.
Item 9 lists the franchisee's obligations, referencing sections in both the Franchise Agreement and the Disclosure Document. Specifically, obligations such as pre-opening purchases/leases and ongoing product/service purchases are linked to Item 8, highlighting the importance of adhering to All County's supplier restrictions. Furthermore, compliance with standards and policies, as well as maintenance and remodeling requirements, also tie back to the approved suppliers listed in the operations manual. This means that franchisees must source goods and services from approved vendors to meet All County's standards, affecting how they manage and maintain their franchise.
Item 7 details the estimated initial investment, which is directly affected by the supplier restrictions. For example, franchisees must purchase or lease a desktop personal computer that complies with All County's specifications, and this is included in the initial investment estimate. Similarly, the cost of insurance, which franchisees are required to maintain at specific coverage levels with approved carriers, also contributes to the initial investment. The FDD states that the total estimated proportion of all required purchases and leases in relation to all purchases and leases you will make in establishing the business is 10% to 12%. The total estimated proportion of all required purchases and leases in relation to all purchases and leases you will make in operating the business is less than 30%.
Therefore, the interplay between these items is crucial for prospective franchisees. The restrictions on suppliers dictate where franchisees can source products and services, which in turn affects their obligations to maintain standards and policies. These obligations directly influence the initial investment required to start and operate the All County franchise, as franchisees must factor in the costs associated with approved suppliers and specified products. Understanding these interrelations is essential for franchisees to accurately assess the financial and operational requirements of the franchise.