Effective Date: October 15, 2026 Version: 1.0 Applies to: All Franchisees, each Franchisee's operating principal, and staff of a Franchised Business in customer-facing, animal-handling, payment-processing, and data-handling roles.
Article 1: Introduction and Scope
1.1 This Policy governs training for the franchise system: the initial training program, staff training, assessment and certification, ongoing and remedial training, training costs, and training records. The Franchise Agreement states the training obligation; this Policy states the program by which that obligation is performed and measured.
1.2 No Franchised Location may open, and no person may perform a function for a Franchised Business, until the training required by this Policy for that opening or that function is recorded as complete. Experience outside the franchise system does not substitute for training in the franchise system.
1.3 The Franchise Disclosure Document controls the offer and sale of franchises. No provision of this Policy, and no content in any portal, makes any representation concerning earnings, sales, revenue, or profitability of a Franchised Business.
1.4 Where the franchise law of the state in which the Franchised Business is located gives the Franchisee rights greater than this Policy, that law prevails to the extent of the conflict. If a provision of this Policy conflicts with the Terms of Use, this Policy controls for the subject it governs. If a provision of this Policy conflicts with the Franchise Agreement, the Franchise Agreement controls.
Article 2: Definitions
2.1 Brand Standards Manual: the Company's versioned and dated specification of the brand standards for the franchise system, governed by the Franchise Brand Standards Policy.
2.2 Company: All About Pawz, LLC, a Tennessee limited liability company.
2.3 Franchise Agreement: the franchise agreement between the Company and the Franchisee granting the franchise for the Franchised Business.
2.4 Franchise Disclosure Document: the disclosure document the Company provides to a prospective franchisee under the Federal Trade Commission Franchise Rule and applicable state franchise law.
2.5 Franchised Business: the business the Franchisee is granted the right to operate under the Franchise Agreement at the Franchised Location.
2.6 Franchised Location: the premises from which the Franchised Business is operated, as identified in the Franchise Agreement.
2.7 Franchisee: a person or business that has been granted a franchise by the Company and is a party to a Franchise Agreement.
2.8 Operating Principal: the individual who directs the day-to-day operation of the Franchised Business on behalf of the Franchisee.
2.9 Platform: the websites, applications, and services the Company operates under the name All About Pawz, including aapawz.com.
Article 3: Eligibility and the Opening Gate
3.1 The Operating Principal shall complete the full initial training program under Article 4 and shall pass the assessment under Article 6 before the Franchised Location opens. Completion is a condition of opening under the Franchise Onboarding Policy.
3.2 A second or additional Franchised Location of the same Franchisee is subject to the same rule: the individual who directs the day-to-day operation of that location shall complete the required training before that location opens.
3.3 Certification of completion under this Policy certifies that the named individual completed the stated curriculum and passed the stated assessment. Certification does not certify the performance, revenue, or profitability of the Franchised Business, and no certification is an earnings representation.
Article 4: Initial Training
4.1 The initial training program covers: (a) the brand standards, applied in practice; (b) Platform technology, including the point-of-sale system, customer relationship records, appointments, accounting, and inventory systems provided for the Franchised Business; (c) financial management, including reporting, royalty computation, and cash controls; (d) customer experience, including service standards and complaint handling; (e) animal care and welfare protocols; and (f) regulatory compliance, including health, safety, and data obligations.
4.2 The duration, location, and schedule of the initial training program are as stated in the Franchise Agreement and disclosed in the Franchise Disclosure Document. The Company shall state the duration, location, and schedule to the Franchisee before the Franchise Agreement is signed, as part of the disclosure the Franchise Disclosure Document contains.
4.3 The Company shall deliver the initial training program with qualified instructors, current materials, and hands-on components in which the trainee performs the actual operations of a Franchised Business. A program consisting only of recorded material and a quiz does not satisfy this Article.
4.4 The Franchisee shall ensure that the Operating Principal attends the full program. Absence from a required component is non-completion of that component, and Article 3.1 applies to the incomplete component.
Article 5: Staff Training
5.1 Staff in a customer-facing, animal-handling, payment-processing, or data-handling role shall complete the training modules for that role before receiving access to the systems for that function. An animal-handling module shall be completed before a staff member handles an animal in the Franchised Business; a payment and data module shall be completed before a staff member processes a payment or accesses customer information through the point-of-sale system.
5.2 The Company provides the training program and the modules. The Franchisee is responsible for ensuring that the Franchisee's staff attend and complete the required modules. A failure of staff completion is a compliance failure of the Franchisee.
5.3 Training materials are the Company's confidential system information. The Franchisee shall not distribute training materials outside the Franchised Business, shall not use them for a non-franchised operation, and shall return or destroy them on termination as stated in the Franchise Termination Policy.
Article 6: Assessment and Certification
6.1 Initial training concludes with an assessment, written, practical, or both, measured against the competency standards of the curriculum. The Operating Principal shall pass the assessment; attendance without a passing assessment does not complete training and does not clear the gate in Article 3.1.
6.2 An individual who does not pass an assessment is entitled to one retake after targeted remediation of the modules in which competence was not demonstrated. The remediation re-teaches the specific modules; the whole program is not repeated unless the Company determines that the failure is not confined to specific modules.
6.3 A second failure delays opening until competence is demonstrated. The Company may require additional supervised practice before a further assessment. The opening date moves where the standard is not met; the standard does not change because an opening date is approaching.
6.4 On a passing assessment, the Company shall record completion and issue the certification for the individual and the curriculum completed. The effect of certification is stated in Article 3.3.
Article 7: Ongoing and Remedial Training
7.1 The Company provides ongoing training for: (a) a new product or new service launch, before the Franchised Business offers the product or service; (b) a system or technology update, as part of the change and not by release notes alone; (c) an annual refresher requirement for the Operating Principal, as stated in the Franchise Agreement; and (d) remedial training under Article 7.2.
7.2 Where an inspection or audit under the Franchise Audit & Inspection Policy identifies a deficiency that training addresses, the Company may order remedial training for the individual or role responsible. The Franchisee shall ensure attendance and completion of remedial training so ordered, within the period the order states.
7.3 Attendance at an annual franchisee conference or convention is required only where the Franchise Agreement so states. No such requirement is imposed by notice under this Policy alone.
Article 8: Training Costs and Fees
8.1 A training fee is payable under this Policy only if the fee is stated in the Franchise Agreement and disclosed in the Franchise Disclosure Document. The Company shall not impose a training charge that neither document states.
8.2 Whether initial training for the Operating Principal, and for any additional attendee the Franchise Agreement names, is included in the initial franchise fee or charged separately, and the allocation of travel and lodging costs for training, are as stated in the Franchise Agreement and disclosed in the Franchise Disclosure Document.
8.3 The cost principle for ongoing training is: training made necessary by a change the Company makes to the system is borne by the Company; training made necessary by a deficiency of the Franchisee, including remedial training under Article 7.2, is borne by the Franchisee, in each case as the Franchise Agreement provides.
Article 9: Records
9.1 The Company shall maintain training records stating the individual, the curriculum or module completed, the date, the assessment result, and any certification issued. Those records are the evidence for the opening gate in Article 3.1 and for any later question concerning whether an individual was trained.
9.2 The Franchisee shall maintain staff-level training records for the Franchised Location and shall produce them on inspection or audit under the Franchise Audit & Inspection Policy. The Company's records evidence the training of the Operating Principal; the Franchisee's records evidence the training of staff.
Article 10: Liability
10.1 Exclusion of certain damages. To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither party is liable to the other for indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, or loss of goodwill, arising out of or relating to this Policy, even if the party has been advised of the possibility of those damages.
10.2 Cap. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Company's total liability arising out of or relating to this Policy shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts the Franchisee paid to the Company under this Policy in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred dollars ($100).
10.3 Carve-outs. This Article does not limit (a) a party's indemnification obligations under this Policy; (b) liability for fraud or willful misconduct; (c) amounts the Franchisee owes for fees, royalties, or other amounts under the Franchise Agreement; or (d) liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.
10.4 Essential purpose. The parties agree that this Article allocates risk between them, that it is an essential part of the basis of their bargain, and that it applies even if a limited remedy fails of its essential purpose.
Article 11: Indemnification
11.1 Duty. The Franchisee shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Company and its members, managers, employees, and agents from and against every claim, demand, action, loss, liability, judgment, settlement, cost, and expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) the Franchisee's breach of this Policy; (b) the operation of the Franchised Business, including the acts and omissions of staff whom the Franchisee was required to train under this Policy; (c) the Franchisee's violation of any law or of the rights of any person; and (d) taxes for which the Franchisee is responsible under the Franchise Agreement.
11.2 Procedure. The Company shall give prompt written notice of a claim under this Article. The Franchisee shall control the defense with counsel reasonably acceptable to the Company. The Company may participate in the defense at its own expense. The Franchisee shall not settle a claim in a manner that imposes any obligation or restriction on the Company, or that does not release the Company fully, without the Company's prior written consent.
11.3 Survival. This Article survives the termination of this Policy.
Article 12: Enforcement and Appeals
12.1 Investigation. The Company may investigate any suspected violation of this Policy. The Franchisee shall cooperate with an investigation and shall produce the records this Policy requires the Franchisee to keep.
12.2 Notice. If the Company determines that the Franchisee has violated this Policy, the Company shall give written notice stating the provision violated and the facts relied on, except where notice would compromise an investigation of fraud, a safety risk, or a legal obligation.
12.3 Opportunity to cure. Where a violation is capable of cure, the Franchisee has ten (10) business days from notice to cure it and to confirm the cure in writing, except that a training deficiency affecting the handling of an animal, the processing of a payment, or access to customer information shall be cured by removal of the untrained individual from that function immediately on notice, with completion of the required training to follow within the period stated in the notice. No cure period applies to fraud, a risk to the safety of a person or an animal, unlawful conduct, or a violation that by its nature cannot be cured.
12.4 Measures. If a violation is established and is not cured within the period allowed, the Company may, proportionate to the violation: (a) issue a written warning; (b) require completion or repetition of a training module or program; (c) suspend system access for an untrained individual or role; (d) delay or suspend an opening that Article 3 does not permit; (e) proceed under the Franchise Termination Policy where the violation is a default under the Franchise Agreement; and (f) exercise any other right or remedy available under the Franchise Agreement or at law.
12.5 Appeal. The Franchisee may appeal a measure under this Article by written notice to legal@aapawz.com within thirty (30) days of the measure, stating the grounds and attaching the records relied on. The appeal is decided by a person who did not make the original decision. The Company's decision on appeal is final. A measure remains in effect during an appeal unless the Company directs otherwise in writing.
12.6 No waiver by delay. The Company's delay in acting on a violation is not a waiver of the violation or of any later violation of the same kind.
Article 13: Term and Termination
13.1 This Policy takes effect when the Franchisee enters into the Franchise Agreement and continues for the term of the Franchise Agreement, unless the Franchise Agreement ends earlier under the Franchise Termination Policy.
13.2 Termination of the franchise relationship, the grounds for termination, the cure periods by ground, and the post-termination duties of the Franchisee are governed exclusively by the Franchise Agreement and the Franchise Termination Policy, which are incorporated into this Policy by reference for that subject. This Policy creates no separate right to terminate the Franchise Agreement.
13.3 On termination, training materials shall be returned or destroyed as stated in Article 5.3, and training records held by the Company are retained for the final accounting and for any dispute concerning completion.
13.4 The Definitions, Liability, Indemnification, Enforcement and Appeals (for measures taken before termination), Dispute Resolution, and General Provisions Articles of this Policy survive termination.
Article 14: Dispute Resolution
14.1 Any dispute arising out of or relating to this Policy, or to the relationship it governs, is governed by the Dispute Resolution Policy, which is incorporated into this Policy by reference. The franchise dispute procedure stated in the Franchise Dispute Resolution Policy applies before and in addition to that incorporation, as that policy provides.
Article 15: General Provisions
15.1 Amendments. The Company may amend this Policy by posting the amended Policy in the Document Center and giving notice to the Franchisee at the email address in the Franchisee's account. An amendment that materially increases the Franchisee's fees or obligations takes effect thirty (30) days after notice; other amendments take effect on posting. Continued operation of the Franchised Business after the effective date of an amendment is acceptance of it. If the Franchisee does not accept an amendment, the Franchisee's remedy is to terminate under the Franchise Termination Policy as that policy and the Franchise Agreement provide, before the amendment takes effect.
15.2 Notices. Legal notices under this Policy shall be sent to legal@aapawz.com. Operational notices and all other communications shall be sent to support@aapawz.com. A notice to the Company is effective when the Company acknowledges receipt or, for email, one business day after sending, whichever is earlier. Notices to the Franchisee are effective when sent to the email address in the Franchisee's account or posted to the account's notice facility in the portal, whichever occurs first. The Franchisee shall keep the email address in the account current.
15.3 Governing law. This Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the Dispute Resolution Policy, any proceeding arising out of this Policy shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Shelby County, Tennessee, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction there. Where the franchise law of the state in which the Franchised Business is located gives the Franchisee rights greater than this Policy, that law prevails to the extent of the conflict.
15.4 Severability. If any provision of this Policy is held unenforceable, the provision shall be enforced to the fullest extent permitted, and the remaining provisions continue in full effect.
15.5 Entire agreement. This Policy, together with the documents it incorporates by reference, is the entire agreement between the Company and the Franchisee for the subject it governs and supersedes every prior or contemporaneous statement, communication, or agreement on that subject, whether written or oral. No statement concerning earnings, sales, revenue, or profitability forms part of the agreement between the Company and the Franchisee unless the statement is contained in the Franchise Disclosure Document as the Franchise Rule permits.
15.6 Assignment. The Franchisee shall not assign this Policy or any right or obligation under it without the Company's prior written consent, and an assignment without consent is void. A transfer of the franchise is governed by the Franchise Transfer Policy. The Company may assign this Policy to an affiliate or in connection with a sale of all or part of its business, on notice to the Franchisee.
15.7 Waiver. A waiver of any provision of this Policy is effective only in writing and only for the instance stated. No waiver is a waiver of any other provision or instance.
15.8 Interpretation. Headings are for convenience only. "Including" means "including without limitation." This Policy shall not be construed against a party on the ground that the party prepared it. The English-language text controls over any translation.
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