The AAFD is proud to acknowledge Chosen Payments as the AAFD’s branded partner powering the AAFD Electronic Payment Processing branded program. 

Chosen Payments leads the merchant industry and specializes in a variety of businesses, making them a well-rounded option for your electronic processing needs. The company has won the prestigious Data’s President’s Club award six years in a row and were included in Inc’s 5,000 Fastest Growing Businesses list.  

Franchisors have used Chapter 11 bankruptcy to both restructure their debts and to demand concessions from franchisees. A new Supreme Court decision could take away, or at least blunt, this practice. 

In the past, it wasn’t uncommon for a franchisor to try and use a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to secure better terms for itself at the cost of its franchisees. For example, a franchisor might have old franchise agreements that require significant support services and contain royalty rates of 2-4%.  A franchisor filing for Chapter 11 might as well try to force upon franchisees contracts with no support obligations and 5-10% fees.  

This story isn’t new. A big dreamer becomes dissatisfied with the corporate life – the strict schedule, limited vacation time, ceiling on earnings, few opportunities to be creative or make a difference, and answering to a boss who doesn’t appreciate the employee’s value – and ventures into small business ownership.  

Many merchants falsely believe all of the fees they pay go to their credit card processor. If that was the case there would probably be a lot more credit card processors out there today. The truth is, your processor actually keeps a very tiny portion of the transactions.

The AAFD is excited to welcome our newest supplier, Franchise Background Checks.  

Franchise Background Checks has been in business for over 20 years, providing franchisees with thorough background checks on their employees so that franchisees can hire the best and most qualified candidates for their open positions. Their parent company, Datasource, is a wholesaler of criminal information. Their network of researchers are able to perform county-level searches in each of the 3,400+ counties across the United States.  

Last week, Jay Inslee, the Washington state governor, signed House Bill 1450 which voids most non-compete agreements in Washington state. The law also prohibits francihisors from enforcing non-solicitation clauses. Here is a quick summary of what the law does and does not do, how it may be challenged in the courts, and how it will affect franchisees operating in Washington state or with Washington state based employees.