Hi,
I am in the process of setting up an independent driving school. The idea is to set up a business infrastructure that I use to schedule lessons, take payments, market the business, etc. I will then allow colleagues of mine, functioning as independent instructors, to use these systems as well, marketing themselves under my business name, logo, etc.
Some of the operating principles are:
I will not take a cut of, or account for, the money they make for lessons. Any online payments will be moved through our payment provider directly to the instructor. They are responsible for their own bookkeeping and GST
When looking at the most appropriate business structure, I released that I am probably looking at a Franchise setup, where I am the Franchisor and all other instructors Franchisees. The reason being:
So, my question is, is there any other association form I can use to achieve this other than a Franchise (e.g. user license, distributor, contractor etc) under Commercial Law? I don't want a shared ownership, etc, only independent contractors operating on their own without me having to account for them, pay them, etc.
The reason being to avoid the copious amount of documents I'm currently having to produce (started and getting there) as a franchise (Franchise Agreement, Disclosure Statement, Operations Manual, etc)? Especially the Disclosure statement with its audit requirements, etc. will be a pain to maintain. I still need an ops manual and a contract with each instructor anyway of course, but a Franchise setup is so formal.
I am in the process of setting up an independent driving school. The idea is to set up a business infrastructure that I use to schedule lessons, take payments, market the business, etc. I will then allow colleagues of mine, functioning as independent instructors, to use these systems as well, marketing themselves under my business name, logo, etc.
Some of the operating principles are:
- They will pay me a monthly fee for doing this, but no upfront fee to join.
- We will all have the same lesson prices, although each individual instructor can offer cash discounts on their own.
- We will all use the same promotional material towards students and the market, plus a common set of values.
- The student will contract directly with the individual instructor, not with my company (this will clear in the student agreement).
- We will have a common phone number new students can call. I will then allocate them an instructor serving their area. Instructors can also recruit their own students, but not "steal" them from other instructors.
- We will have a recommended area from where instructors can recruit students.
- Each instructor manages their own lesson bookings through the common scheduling systems.
I will not take a cut of, or account for, the money they make for lessons. Any online payments will be moved through our payment provider directly to the instructor. They are responsible for their own bookkeeping and GST
When looking at the most appropriate business structure, I released that I am probably looking at a Franchise setup, where I am the Franchisor and all other instructors Franchisees. The reason being:
- We operate under a common marketing scheme and price schedule
- I want everyone to share the same values and act the same towards students and reserve the right to terminate their agreement if they do not comply (e.g have a quality framework for all to follow)
- They pay me a fee to use the services
- I will do most of the marketing but recommend they promote the business as well and recruit new instructors, etc.
So, my question is, is there any other association form I can use to achieve this other than a Franchise (e.g. user license, distributor, contractor etc) under Commercial Law? I don't want a shared ownership, etc, only independent contractors operating on their own without me having to account for them, pay them, etc.
The reason being to avoid the copious amount of documents I'm currently having to produce (started and getting there) as a franchise (Franchise Agreement, Disclosure Statement, Operations Manual, etc)? Especially the Disclosure statement with its audit requirements, etc. will be a pain to maintain. I still need an ops manual and a contract with each instructor anyway of course, but a Franchise setup is so formal.
