Franchisee insurance tracking for franchisors
Collect every franchisee's certificate of insurance from a link, check its general liability limit and additional insured status against your franchise agreement, and chase each renewal before the policy lapses. Built for emerging franchisors with 20 to 300 units.
Ten franchisees free, no card needed. A setup call whenever you want one. Franchisees never pay.
The job this does
If your franchise agreement requires each franchisee to carry insurance and name you on it, someone at headquarters has to collect the proof: when a location opens, at every renewal, and whenever a policy changes. That person is usually in operations or franchise support, and certificates are one job among many.
With twenty locations a spreadsheet and a calendar reminder can keep up. With a hundred, a renewal comes due most weeks, and a lapse is easy to miss until someone asks for the certificate.
How it works for a franchise system
VendrVault was built to track vendor paperwork, and it treats each franchisee the same way: as a vendor of the Franchisee type. Your workspace and the emails your franchisees receive both use the word vendor: the invite says your company “is requesting your vendor documents”. Every email comes in your company's name and names the documents it asks for.
- Paste your franchisee list from Excel or Google Sheets, or upload a CSV, with a column for the location each one runs. Nothing is emailed until you choose to invite.
- Each franchisee gets one email in your company's name with a personal link. They upload a PDF or photograph the certificate on a phone, with no account, no password and no charge.
- AI reads each certificate's expiry date, coverage amount and named insured. From Starter, automatic review checks additional insured status and compares the general liability limit with your minimum, and says what is short. A person on your team approves every document.
- Reminders start 60 days before a policy expires, go out again as the date gets closer and after a lapse, and never more than once a day to the same franchisee.
- Every franchisee carries one status: compliant, action needed or blocked, with the reason written next to it.
What the Franchisee starter pack asks for
Pick the Franchisee type during setup and its requirements come with it:
- A certificate of insurance, set to require additional insured status and a certificate holder. Name your company in the request; whoever approves it checks that the name on the certificate is yours.
- Workers' compensation, for franchisees with employees.
- The franchise agreement, if you want a signed copy on file beside the certificates. Asked for only if they have it.
- A local business license, where one applies. Also asked for only if they have it.
No coverage limits come preset. Enter the general liability minimum your franchise agreement sets, once, on the Franchisee certificate requirement, and every franchisee's certificate is compared with it. Other limits on the certificate are read by whoever approves it. The pack is a starting point: add auto liability if franchisees deliver, or make the license required. There is no W-9 in it, because you collect from franchisees rather than pay them.
Locations, regions and reports
Add each location, or each region if that is how you run the system, and assign franchisees to the locations they operate. An owner of three units is one record assigned to three locations, so one renewed certificate keeps all three current. Filter the roster by location whenever someone asks about one.
On Growth, every location has a printable report: each franchisee there, its status, and every required document with its expiry date. A summary report puts every location's counts on one page. Both say what is on file and how it compares with your requirements; neither confirms coverage with an insurer, and both say so.
Compared with the spreadsheet you have now
| The job | Spreadsheet and inbox | VendrVault |
|---|---|---|
| A new location opens | Email the franchisee a list of what to send, then file whatever comes back. | Add the franchisee and send one invite. Their checklist says exactly what you need, and their status shows what is still missing. |
| A franchisee's policy renews | Someone has to remember to ask for the new certificate. | Reminders go out in your company's name from 60 days before the expiry date, and again as it gets closer. |
| A certificate comes in below your minimum | Someone reads every certificate line by line, when they have time. | From Starter, automatic review compares the general liability limit with your minimum and says what is short in a sentence. |
| Leadership or your own insurer asks who is covered | Rebuild the answer from a spreadsheet and an inbox. | Filter the roster by location, print a location's report, or export the status spreadsheet on Growth. |
A new location opens
Spreadsheet and inbox: Email the franchisee a list of what to send, then file whatever comes back.
VendrVault: Add the franchisee and send one invite. Their checklist says exactly what you need, and their status shows what is still missing.
A franchisee's policy renews
Spreadsheet and inbox: Someone has to remember to ask for the new certificate.
VendrVault: Reminders go out in your company's name from 60 days before the expiry date, and again as it gets closer.
A certificate comes in below your minimum
Spreadsheet and inbox: Someone reads every certificate line by line, when they have time.
VendrVault: From Starter, automatic review compares the general liability limit with your minimum and says what is short in a sentence.
Leadership or your own insurer asks who is covered
Spreadsheet and inbox: Rebuild the answer from a spreadsheet and an inbox.
VendrVault: Filter the roster by location, print a location's report, or export the status spreadsheet on Growth.
Franchisees learn nothing new: an email, a link, a checklist and an upload. There is no app to install and nothing to pay.
What it costs a franchise system
Free covers 10 franchisees. Starter is $49 a month for 50, Growth is $149 for 150, and Pro is $349 for 500, with two months free on annual billing. Count franchisees rather than units: an owner of three units is one record. Growth adds the location and summary reports, one-click fix requests and the status spreadsheet. Every new company gets 14 days of Growth without a card.
There is no implementation fee and no minimum term. See pricing for the full comparison. For more than 500 franchisees, email support@vendrvault.com.
What it does not do
- Franchise management: royalties, the disclosure document, training and field audits stay where they are.
- Confirming coverage with an insurer. VendrVault reads what the certificate says and compares it with your rules.
- Recommending limits. Your general liability minimum comes from your franchise agreement.
Questions from franchisors
How do franchisors track franchisee certificates of insurance?
Add each franchisee with the Franchisee vendor type, enter the general liability minimum your franchise agreement sets, and send each one a link. Franchisees upload a PDF or a phone photo without an account, VendrVault reads the expiry date and coverage amount, and reminders start 60 days before a policy expires. Each franchisee has one status, and you see all of them on one screen.
Do franchisees need an account or a password?
No. Every email carries a personal link that opens the franchisee's checklist, and they can upload from a phone. They never pay, and the emails come in your company's name.
Can VendrVault check that we are named as additional insured?
From Starter, automatic review checks that the certificate shows additional insured status where you require it, along with the expiry date and the general liability limit against your minimum. It does not check whose name is in the additional insured box, so the admin confirms that when approving. VendrVault does not confirm coverage with the insurer.
What limits should franchisees carry?
The ones your franchise agreement and operations manual set. VendrVault does not recommend or preset limits; you enter your own general liability minimum once for the Franchisee type, and every certificate is compared with it.
Keep reading
Certificate of insurance tracking
How COI collection, review and renewal work end to end.
For property managers
Vendor insurance across buildings, with reminders per vendor.
For association managers
Every HOA you manage, one vendor list, and a report for each board.
Florida association vendor insurance
What Florida condos and HOAs ask of vendors, and the records boards keep.
For general contractors
Subcontractor coverage and licenses, checked before mobilization.
Common questions
Straight answers on documents, AI, reminders and pricing.
Pricing
Free for 10 vendors, then $49, $149 or $349 a month.
Start with ten vendors, free.
Fourteen days of Growth to try reminders, AI reading and review. No card, no implementation fee.