How to Create a Franchise Record in Broker Bridge
- 5 hours ago
- 9 min read
A Franchise in Broker Bridge represents a brokerage that operates under one of the three DLCG networks: DLC, MA, or MCC. The franchise record is the structural container that holds Teams, Sub-Teams, and the people who work inside them. It carries the brokerage's licence information, contract details, and the network applications and communications the franchise participates in.
Franchise creation is restricted to Admin users. Unlike Person creation, which is available to broader Ops roles, only Admin can create a new franchise record. If you are not an Admin, this workflow is for context only.
Before starting the creation flow, please ensure that the franchise owner and/or principal broker exists as a Person record. This is the Golden Rule from the navigation document.
Quick Reference: Ops Checklist
Before clicking Create Franchise, verify:
Operating Name and Company Legal Name are both captured and distinct
Internal Alias is consistent and recognizable
Legacy ID entered when available
Owner(s) selected (must exist as Person records)
Effective Date matches the contract
Regional VP(s) assigned if applicable
Real Estate affiliation captured if applicable
All applicable provincial licences added with correct Provincial Registration Numbers and Velocity firm codes
Licence Supervisor named on each licence (must exist as a Person record)
Contract details accurate (Company Legal Name, Effective Date, Expiry Date, Broker Split)
Main Contact named (must exist as a Person record)
Franchise Email and matching Email Extension entered
Primary Address entered (and Mailing Address if different)
Documents uploaded if available at creation
Step 1: Open the Add Franchise Flow
Log in to Broker Bridge. From the left sidebar, click Franchise to open the Manage Franchise page, which lists every franchise in the network.
Click Add New in the top right corner to start the 8-step creation flow.
BB Step 1: Franchise Basics
This is where you capture the franchise's identity, ownership, and basic profile. It is the foundation of the franchise record and the longest of the 8 steps.
The progress bar at the top shows 13% as you enter this step. The right-side panel lists all 8 steps with Step 1 highlighted as current.
Enter the following fields:
Operating Name (Required). The name used in daily operations and for marketing purposes, which may differ from the legal name. The legal name is captured separately in Step 03.
Internal Alias (Required). A short DLCG internal name used in internal reporting. Use a consistent abbreviation that maps clearly to the operating name.
Legacy ID. The franchise's identifier in the legacy intranet system for their network. Not marked required but should be entered when available. The process for locating this ID differs by network and is covered separately.
Owner(s) (Required). Start typing a name. The dropdown searches across all Person records in Broker Bridge. Select one or more owners from the matches. The owner must already exist as a Person record before being selected here. This is enforced by the platform.
Effective Date (Required). The date the franchise contract becomes effective.
Assign a Regional VP(s) (Required). Yes or No. The decision sits with Ops. Setting this to Yes allows the assigned RVP to see all information about this franchise on their Broker Bridge and Leaderboard.
Regional VP(s) (Required if Yes selected above). Select one or more RVPs from the dropdown.
Affiliated with a Real Estate Company. Defaults to No. If the franchise is affiliated with a Real Estate Company, toggle to Yes. A Real Estate Franchise Name field will appear.
Real Estate Franchise Name (Required if toggle is Yes). The name of the affiliated Real Estate Company.
Previous Company. A dropdown with a long list of companies, including competing networks. Select the franchise's previous company if applicable.
Once all required fields are filled, click Next Step at the bottom right to proceed to Step 02. The Save Draft button to the left lets you save progress without advancing.
Notes for Ops:
Legacy ID matters more than it looks. Same pattern as Person records. Capture it now if you have it. If not, return to the profile later but make a note to come back.
The Owners field is many-to-many. A franchise can have multiple owners, and a single owner can hold owner positions across multiple franchises. The platform handles this natively.
BB Step 2: Franchise Licence(s)
This step captures the brokerage's provincial licences. The progress bar now shows 25%.
Step 02 is marked Optional, but it is operationally critical. The optional label exists because Ops may not have the licence number at the moment of creation. Capture the licence as soon as it is available.
The same structural rule that applies to Person licences applies here: one licence per province per franchise. A brokerage licensed in multiple provinces will hold multiple licences in this record, one for each province.
Adding a Licence
Click Add New to open the licence form.
Fill in each field:
Province (Required). Select the province where the brokerage is licensed to originate mortgages.
Provincial Registration Number (Required). Enter the brokerage license number.
Licence Operating Name (Required). The name the brokerage operates under for this provincial licence. This field will be removed in a future release.
Licence Supervisor (Required). The Principal Broker named on the provincial licence. The person must already exist as a Person record in Broker Bridge.
Velocity or Expert Firm Code (Required). Choose Velocity, Expert, or Both. In most cases the brokerage uses the same firm code on both systems, and you will select Both.
Velocity Licence (Required). Enter the 5-digit firm code.
Effective Date (Required). The date the licence is valid from.
End Date. Optional. The date the licence expires. This is optional and can be left blank.
Licence Address(es)
Below the licence fields, enter at least one address for the licence. If the brokerage operates from multiple addresses under the same licence, click Add Address to add additional ones.
The Extension field on each address is for a unit or suite number.
Click Add New at the bottom of the licence form to save it. The licence appears in the Current Licence(s) section below.
If the franchise holds licences in additional provinces, click Add New again and repeat the process for each.
Once all applicable licences are captured, click Next Step to proceed to Step 03. Use Skip only if licences are genuinely not available at this moment and you have a clear plan to return.
Notes for Ops:
Same one-licence-per-province rule as Person records. A brokerage can hold licences in multiple provinces but cannot hold two licences in the same province.
Capture the firm code carefully. A typo in the Velocity Licence field will break the connection between Broker Bridge and Velocity for this franchise in the future.
BB Step 3: Franchise Contract(s)
This step captures the contract details. The progress bar now shows 38%.
This page is expected to evolve as the platform matures. Several dropdowns currently offer only one value. Future releases will add more options.
Fill in each field:
Company Legal Name (Required). The official legal name of the company as it appears in the contract with the network. This is distinct from the Operating Name captured in Step 01.
Type (Required). Currently only Franchise is available. Future releases will surface additional values such as Agency or Corporate.
Sub-Type (Required). Currently only Franchise is available.
Effective Date (Required). The date the contract starts.
Expiry Date. The date the contract expires. Typically, 7 years from the Effective Date, though the contract itself is the source of truth.
Early Exit Date. Optional. The early termination date for the contract, if applicable.
Broker Split. The default commission percentage for brokers under this franchise. Entered as a number.
Version (Required). Currently only 1 is available. Future releases will surface additional versions tied to contract revisions.
Click Next Step to proceed to Step 04.
BB Step 4: Main Contact
This step captures the franchise's primary point of contact and supporting contact details. The progress bar now shows 50%.
Fill in each field:
Main Contact (Required). The person at the franchise who serves as the primary point of contact for Ops and the network. The person must already exist as a Person record.
Franchise Staff. Optional. Other staff at the franchise who serve as supporting contacts. Each person added must exist as a Person record.
Franchise Email (Required). The local part of the email address (everything before the @ symbol).
Email Extension (Required). Network-specific dropdown. Same logic as the Person workflow: MA, DLC, and MCC each have their own email extensions. Choose the one that matches the network this franchise belongs to.
Website. Optional. The franchise's public website. Can also be the Main Contact's website or any URL the franchise wants captured.
Phone Number (Required). The franchise's primary phone number.
Primary Address (Required). The franchise's main operating address. Includes Street Number, Street Name, Extension (suite or unit number), City, Province, and Postal Code.
Primary is same as mailing address toggle. Defaults to Yes. If the mailing address differs from the primary address, toggle to No. A separate Mailing Address section will appear below for you to fill in.
Click Next Step to proceed to Step 05.
BB Step 5: Communication Participation
This step is part of a future release. For now, click Next Step to advance. Detailed Ops guidance will be added to this document once the feature goes live.
BB Step 6: Application Participation
This step is also part of a future release. For now, click Next Step to advance. Detailed Ops guidance will be added to this document once the feature goes live.
BB Step 7: Document(s)
This step is for uploading documents tied to the franchise. The progress bar now shows 88%.
What to Upload
Common uploads include signed franchise agreements, provincial registration paperwork, supporting documents, and any other contract or regulatory paperwork tied to the franchise.
The size of each file you can upload is capped at 20 MB.
Adding a Document
Click Add New to open the upload form. Fill in:
Document Name (Required). A clear, descriptive name.
Category (Required). Choose from Franchise Agreement, Other, Provincial Registration, or Supporting Document.
Upload Document (Required). Drag and drop a file or click Choose File to browse.
Click the Add New button at the bottom of the upload form to save the document. The document appears in the Current Document(s) section below.
If no documents are available at the time of creation, skip this step and return to the franchise profile later to upload them.
Click Next Step to proceed to the final review.
Notes for Ops:
Owners can see uploaded documents. Anything uploaded here is visible to the owners of the franchise once the record is active. Internal Ops notes and contract negotiation drafts belong elsewhere.
Categorization matters. Choose the right Category so documents can be located later.
BB Step 8: Profile Review
This is the final step. The progress bar shows 100%, and all 7 prior steps are marked complete in the side panel.
Every section completed across the previous 7 steps appears here as a collapsible read-only summary. Each section has a yellow Edit button that jumps back to that step if anything needs to be changed.
Review every section carefully. Pay particular attention to:
Operating Name and Company Legal Name (these are distinct fields and easy to confuse)
Effective Dates (across Franchise Basics, Licence, and Contract)
Provincial Registration Number and Velocity Licence
Owner(s) and Main Contact
Franchise Email and the network-matched Email Extension
These are the fields most likely to cause downstream problems if entered incorrectly.
Creating the Franchise Record
Once everything is verified, click Create Franchise to commit the record.
Until you click Create Franchise, the record is not saved. You can close the browser mid-way and return to these steps later through the Save Draft option, but the record only exists as a committed franchise once Create Franchise is clicked.
After Clicking Create Franchise
The Confirmation Page
You will see a confirmation page with the message "Franchise Added! Congratulations! Your franchise has been successfully added as Pending."
Two buttons appear:
Franchise Manager. Returns to the Manage Franchise list. Use this when creating multiple franchise records in sequence.
View Franchise. Opens the new franchise record directly. Use this when you want to verify the record or move straight into activation.
What "Pending" Means
The new franchise record exists in Broker Bridge but is not yet Active. Creation and activation are two separate actions. A Pending franchise is not fully functional until Ops explicitly activates it.
Activating the Franchise
To activate the record:
Open the Franchise Profile. From the Manage Franchise list, click the franchise's name to open its profile. Alternatively, click View Franchise on the confirmation page.
Change the Status to Active. In the top right corner of the profile, click the dropdown arrow next to the PENDING status indicator.
Two status options appear:
Active. The normal activation path for a franchise that is operational under the network.
Suspended. For franchises whose access needs to be paused without full termination.
Select Active. The franchise is now activated.
Notes for Ops:
Activation is a manual decision, not automatic. Even after all 8 creation steps are complete and verified, the system waits for Ops to explicitly click Active. This gives Ops one final point of control before the franchise becomes fully functional.
Inactive vs Pending. During the 8-step creation flow, the platform refers to incomplete franchises as Inactive. After Create Franchise is clicked, the franchise is created in Pending status. These are two different states. Inactive means the creation flow has not been completed. Pending means the franchise has been created but not yet activated.
Quick Reference: Ops Checklist
Before clicking Create Franchise, verify:
Operating Name and Company Legal Name are both captured and distinct
Internal Alias is consistent and recognizable
Legacy ID entered when available
Owner(s) selected (must exist as Person records)
Effective Date matches the contract
Regional VP(s) assigned if applicable
Real Estate affiliation captured if applicable
All applicable provincial licences added with correct Provincial Registration Numbers and Velocity firm codes
Licence Supervisor named on each licence (must exist as a Person record)
Contract details accurate (Company Legal Name, Effective Date, Expiry Date, Broker Split)
Main Contact named (must exist as a Person record)
Franchise Email and matching Email Extension entered
Primary Address entered (and Mailing Address if different)
Documents uploaded if available at creation
After clicking Create Franchise:
Confirmation page appears with "Franchise Added!"
New record visible in Manage Franchise list with Pending status
Open the profile and change status from Pending to Active when ready