These questions to ask before buying a franchise help you verify what you are buying, the complete funding requirement and the rights and obligations in the agreement. Use these 15 questions to collect evidence, identify gaps and prepare for independent legal and accounting advice. A low entry fee, prospectus or positive sales conversation is only a starting point.
A cleaning business can reshape your workload and household finances. Due diligence should cover practical delivery as well as the documents: travel, customer contact, quoting, staff cover, quality checks and the timing of payments. The aim is to understand the proposed business well enough to make your own informed decision.
This guide offers general information for Australian buyers, including people considering AustClean. It does not establish any particular package, territory, return or legal outcome. Use the current documents for the exact opportunity and ask qualified advisers to resolve questions before you commit.
Which 15 questions should you ask before signing?
1. What exactly am I buying?
Request a written description of the rights, assets and services included. Separate permission to use a brand and system from ownership of equipment, a vehicle, software or customer contracts. Identify the agreement term and any conditions that must be met before opening.
Record each inclusion and exclusion. If a trailer, uniform, machine or launch service is discussed, ask where it appears in the documents, who owns it and whether an additional payment is required. Avoid assuming that a photograph or broad package name defines the purchase.
2. Which documents are current?
Check the dates and versions of the disclosure document, proposed franchise agreement and supporting schedules. Keep the information statement separate from a marketing prospectus. Request clarification where a presentation, email and contract describe different terms.
The Franchise Disclosure Register is a useful starting point for comparison, but franchisors supply its content. A listing is not government approval of the investment or a substitute for reviewing the actual documents.
3. What is the total funding requirement?
Build three lists: money needed to enter and set up, recurring payments, and cash kept available while the business operates. Include relevant equipment, vehicle costs, insurance, training travel, registrations, professional advice, initial supplies and local marketing. Record GST treatment and payment dates.
Keep household requirements visible without confusing them with business expenses. Test delayed customer payments and unexpected bills. Use the cleaning franchise cost guide to frame questions, then obtain a current written quote and have an accountant review the complete plan.
4. How is every ongoing fee calculated?
For each royalty, fixed charge, system fee or contribution, record the amount or formula, payment date, GST treatment and permitted increases. Ask whether a percentage applies to invoiced sales, receipts or another defined amount. Check the treatment of refunds and unpaid invoices rather than assuming the fee follows your bank balance.
Separate network marketing contributions from local marketing spending. The ACCC’s specific-purpose fund guidance explains the applicable disclosure framework. Paying into a marketing fund does not necessarily mean that amount will be spent advertising your individual business.
5. What must I buy from approved suppliers?
List compulsory products, equipment, software and services. Ask how prices change, whether alternatives can be approved, what happens during shortages and whether the franchisor receives rebates or other benefits. Include delivery charges and replacement needs when comparing costs.
The ACCC’s disclosure document guide covers supply arrangements, fees and other material information. Check the supplier terms against your service plan rather than treating an initial equipment package as the end of purchasing costs.
6. What work and territory rights are written down?
Ask for a precise description of the proposed area and the work you may undertake. Establish whether boundaries follow suburbs, postcodes, a map, customer categories or another definition. Check who owns customer relationships and whether any existing contracts require consent to transfer.
Use the territory guide for background, then inspect the actual schedule. Travel, site access, job windows and a practical operating base matter. A large map or growing population does not establish cleaning contracts or a viable daily route.
7. What exceptions limit exclusivity?
If exclusivity is offered, ask exactly what it covers. Discuss national accounts, online enquiries, existing customers, other brands, franchisor-operated work and neighbouring operators. Find out how boundary disputes and customers with several sites are handled.
Ask what circumstances permit changes to the area or service rights. Keep the written answer with the relevant clause. Do not convert a general statement about territory protection into a promise that no competitor can operate nearby.
8. What training and support are contracted?
Request the programme, delivery method, practical instruction, readiness checks and ongoing support process. Ask who attends, who provides support and whether travel, accommodation, refresher training or additional practice costs extra. Confirm any entry requirements.
Link the training to the work you plan to do: equipment, product safety, quoting, scheduling, invoicing, complaints and quality checks. A stated number of days does not establish competence for every service. Ask current and former operators how the actual support compared with what was described.
9. How are leads allocated and converted into work?
Separate an enquiry, a quote, an accepted job and a repeat customer. Ask how enquiries are received, allocated and followed up; whether you may decline them; and which marketing activities you must fund or perform yourself. Clarify response expectations and approval requirements.
Request written support for any claim about customers or work. A lead is not necessarily a booking, and a booking is not necessarily profitable. Check whether the proposal includes a contractual commitment or describes activity intended to generate interest.
10. What evidence underpins earnings statements?
Ask what each figure measures: turnover, gross profit, operating profit, owner remuneration or cash. Record the period, sample, assumptions, service mix and treatment of owner labour, tax, borrowing and capital spending. Consider whether the circumstances are comparable to the business you would operate.
Have your accountant examine the supporting records and downside assumptions. Read the franchise owner earnings guide as background, not a personal forecast. Do not infer a guaranteed result from an example, an average or the performance of one operator.
11. What do current and former operators report?
Seek a range of perspectives using the contact information supplied in the disclosure document. Ask about actual workload, cash timing, unforeseen costs, support, complaints and reasons for leaving or staying. Compare experiences with the written offer.
The ACCC’s before-you-sign guidance recommends these conversations alongside independent advice. Keep dated notes and distinguish personal experience from a promise about your business. One enthusiastic or disappointed interview cannot establish the outcome for everyone.
12. What extra capital spending could be required?
Ask about required equipment replacement, vehicle or branding changes, technology upgrades and other significant spending during the agreement. Record potential timing, responsibility and the documents explaining it. Initial set-up costs are only one part of the investment.
Discuss the period available to recover required spending with your lawyer and accountant. If a large outlay could arise near the end of the term, examine it alongside renewal rights and the possible value of assets after exit. Avoid assuming finance or a resale will cover the gap.
13. What happens at renewal?
Check whether renewal is an option, a discretion or unavailable. Record notice deadlines, eligibility conditions, fees, required investment and whether the terms can change. Ask what happens to customer work, equipment and branding if the agreement expires.
Compare the franchise term with any vehicle finance, leases or other commitments. A mismatch may leave obligations continuing after the franchise rights end. Have your lawyer explain the actual clauses and applicable Code requirements.
14. How can I sell or exit?
Understand approval requirements, transfer costs, buyer conditions, notice, early termination and restraint clauses before you enter. Ask what happens during illness or an inability to work. Consider how equipment, customer records, contracts and outstanding payments would be handled.
Cooling-off rights are separate from an ordinary sale or negotiated exit. The ACCC’s ending-an-agreement guidance explains relevant circumstances and limitations. Get advice on the dates and process that apply to your transaction.
15. What did my independent advisers identify?
Use a lawyer and accountant with franchising experience who act for you. Ask them to explain unresolved risks in plain language, including guarantees, cash needs, fee bases, required spending, renewal and exit. Give them the full documents and relevant written representations.
Keep an open-issues list. For each issue, record the evidence requested, the response received, your adviser’s view and your decision. A completed checklist organises a decision; it does not certify that an investment is safe or suitable.
Which Australian Code requirements should you check?
The current Franchising Code began on 1 April 2025, with further rules applying from 1 November 2025. Use the ACCC’s current Code guidance, not a summary that treats the superseded 2015 Code as the present framework. Which provisions apply can depend on the transaction and agreement dates.
The information statement is generally provided first, within seven days of interest being expressed. Final pre-signing documents generally precede entry into the agreement by at least 14 days. Limited opt-out circumstances exist. The ACCC’s document-obligations guidance explains the detail. This disclosure process is distinct from the cooling-off regime.
For agreements entered into, renewed or extended from 1 November 2025, the Code requires a reasonable opportunity to obtain a return on required investment during the term. The ACCC’s agreement guidance explains that this does not guarantee profitability or remove business risk. Ask your lawyer how the provisions apply.
How should you record the answers?
Create an evidence file before signing or paying. Use the following blank structure for each of the 15 questions. Keep documents dated and preserve unanswered items so they remain visible during review.
| Question or issue | Evidence requested | Document and date reviewed | Unresolved gap | Adviser or next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your question | Written answer or supporting record | Source and relevant clause | What remains unclear | Who will clarify it |
Research the proposed area yourself. Whether you are considering work in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth or Adelaide, customer types, competing providers, travel and access arrangements need closer investigation than a broad market label. The AustClean state guides provide location context; confirm exact territory rights and any availability directly.
What else do buyers commonly ask?
Is requesting an information pack enough due diligence?
No. A pack introduces the opportunity. You still need the current documents, supporting evidence, independent advice and your own assessment of the practical and financial requirements.
Does appearing on the disclosure register mean a franchise is approved?
No. The register is government-hosted, but its franchise information is supplied by franchisors. It does not certify profitability or suitability. Cross-check the listing against the current documents.
Is the pre-signing period the same as cooling off?
No. They are separate processes with different purposes and rules. Ask your lawyer to confirm the relevant dates, documents, possible exceptions and any leasing-related considerations.
Can I operate part-time?
Check the agreement and proposed service model. Cleaning, customer responses, travel and administration may create obligations outside your preferred work windows. Obtain clear written expectations before relying on part-time operation.
What if a question has no clear answer?
Keep it open, request clarification and discuss its significance with your adviser. Do not treat an unanswered cost as zero or an unwritten promise as a confirmed inclusion. Decide whether you have enough information to proceed.
What is the next step for an AustClean enquiry?
Request the AustClean Information Pack, gather the current proposal and use these questions in your discussion. Learn more in the AustClean FAQs for background, then resolve material questions in writing before deciding. Take the time needed for a careful review of your own circumstances.