How long does it take to open a Craters & Freighters franchise?
The 2026 Franchise Agreement requires the Franchised Business to open within 90 days after execution. Item 11 also estimates a 90-day interval, but the approved Premises, Lease, buildout, permits, insurance, equipment, systems and Initial Training Program must be complete. The agreement discloses no general right to extend this opening deadline.
Public reference points: the official Franchise Ownership page, the official locations directory, 16 CFR § 436.2(a), and the FTC Franchise Rule Compliance Guide. Citations below refer to the 2026 FDD and Franchise Agreement.
What must an applicant qualify for before signing?
The applicant must be accepted by Craters & Freighters Franchise Company, select an available Territory, establish the fixed-location operation, and accept the management and guaranty obligations. Meeting a published financial range does not guarantee approval.
Item 7 and the official franchise page publish a total initial investment of $207,000 to $390,000, not a liquid-capital minimum. The FDD states no separate net worth, credit score, education, citizenship, background-check or industry-experience threshold. Request the screening criteria and required evidence before treating an inquiry as approval.
Officially disclosed gates
- Operating role
- Owners manage full time unless a Designated Manager receives written approval.
- Training
- The required owner and any pre-opening Designated Manager must complete training to the franchisor’s satisfaction.
- Ownership liability
- Every owner signs the Owner’s Guaranty and Assumption of Franchisee’s Obligations.
- Sales role
- At least one staff member must be designated as Lead Salesperson.
Items not disclosed as new-unit minimums
- Credit score
- No numerical minimum appears in the 2026 FDD.
- Experience
- No required years of logistics, crating, sales or ownership experience are stated for a new applicant.
- Residency
- No citizenship or residency standard is stated.
- Application fee
- No separate application fee is disclosed.
The 2026 FDD offers a single-unit Franchised Business under one Franchise Agreement. It does not include a Development Agreement, Area Development Agreement, mobile format or home-based format. The two population tiers change Territory size and the fee due at signing; they do not create separate operating formats.
What happens from inquiry to opening authorization?
The exact order of qualification review and Territory discussion is not fully disclosed, so those activities may overlap. The binding timetable begins when the Franchise Agreement is executed.
Submit the inquiry
Action: Provide contact, proposed-market and ownership information through the official inquiry, then request the screening checklist.
Actor: Applicant.
Timing: An inquiry does not start the federal review period or any contract clock.
Blocker: Territory availability and undisclosed screening criteria.
Receive and review the disclosure package
Action: Review the current FDD, Franchise Agreement, State Addendum, guaranty, restrictive covenant and lease attachment.
Timing: Complete the federal pre-sale review period before signing or paying.
Next dependency: Resolve material questions and state-specific changes.
Complete qualification and confirm the Territory
Action: Supply the financial, ownership and management information requested by the franchisor; confirm the county-based Territory and population tier.
Actor: Applicant and franchisor.
Timing: This review may overlap FDD review; no duration is disclosed.
Blocker: Approval is discretionary; minimum screening details are not disclosed.
Execute the franchise documents
Action: Sign the Franchise Agreement, owner guaranties and required confidentiality/non-competition documents; pay the Initial Franchise Fee and any approved supplemental Territory charge.
Actor: Franchisee, every owner and applicable restricted persons; the disclosed signing payments are non-refundable once paid.
Next dependency: Agreement execution starts the site, insurance and opening clocks.
Identify and obtain approval for the Premises
Action: Locate an industrial warehouse within the Territory, submit the site package and obtain written acceptance.
Actor: Franchisee selects; franchisor reviews and may use reasonable efforts to assist.
Blocker: An incomplete package or missed response is not site approval.
Obtain lease approval before signing
Action: Submit the Lease for franchisor approval and use best efforts to include the Collateral Assignment of Lease and Addendum.
Actor: Franchisee, franchisor and landlord.
Next dependency: Deliver the executed Lease copy within the contractual post-signing period.
Build and equip the operation
Action: Obtain written construction-plan approval before work; complete improvements, permits, approved signage, equipment, box truck, software, communications and opening materials.
Actor: Franchisee, landlord, contractors, suppliers and authorities.
Timing: After Lease execution and written approval of the Construction Plans.
Blocker: Local approvals and construction remain third-party dependencies.
Complete training and staff readiness
Action: Required attendees complete the Initial Training Program; the franchisee trains warehouse personnel and designates the Lead Salesperson.
Actor: Franchisor trains required attendees; franchisee hires and supervises employees.
Timing: After Lease execution and before the Franchised Business opens.
Blocker: Unsatisfactory completion can support termination.
Prove readiness and open
Action: Furnish insurance evidence and payment, complete all pre-opening obligations, and wait for franchisor notice that the conditions are satisfied.
Timing: Open within 15 days after that notice while still meeting the overall contract deadline.
Blocker: Training, site, lease, construction, insurance or permit deficiencies.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Items 5, 9, 11, 12 and 15; Franchise Agreement §§4.1–4.6, 5.1–5.6, 6.1–6.7, 6.20 and 13.
How are the Territory, Premises and Lease kept separate?
The Territory is a county-based operating area designated by Craters & Freighters Franchise Company. The Premises is the warehouse selected inside that Territory. Site acceptance does not approve the Lease, construction plans or the economics of the location, and it does not guarantee revenue or profitability.
The franchisor determines counties and records the Territory in Attachment A.
The franchisee submits the site description and requested market or property information.
The franchisor must approve the Lease before the franchisee executes it.
Written approval of Construction Plans is required before construction begins.
The required Premises includes at least 5,000 square feet of warehouse space in an industrial area, highway access and an overhead door capable of receiving and shipping large freight. A loading dock is recommended rather than mandatory. A ground-level dock door requires a forklift. Item 7 also identifies a 16- to 26-foot box truck with a hydraulic liftgate as the minimum vehicle configuration.
The Franchise Agreement says the franchisee should use best efforts to incorporate Attachment D into the Lease. That addendum gives the franchisor notice of an uncured landlord default and a right, not an obligation, to cure and take assignment. The executed Lease must be delivered to the franchisor within 15 days after execution.
Item 11 states that the site-selection period will be extended if the parties cannot agree within the initial window, but no later than six months after signing; the franchisor may then terminate and retain all monies. The attached Franchise Agreement separately requires opening by its earlier fixed deadline and treats failure as incurable. The documents do not expressly say that a site extension also extends the opening deadline. Obtain a written answer before signing.
What must be trained, installed and documented before opening?
The Initial Training Program occurs after Lease execution and before opening. Item 11 describes approximately nine days in Golden, Colorado and/or Colorado franchise locations, with some classroom content delivered virtually from the Franchised Business. A required owner must complete the program to the franchisor’s satisfaction. A Designated Manager engaged before opening must also complete it before assuming management duties.
The disclosed curriculum totals 40 classroom hours and 44 on-the-job hours; half of all disclosed hours are assigned to crating and packaging.
Source: 2026 FDD, Item 11, Training Program table, pp. 22–23. Bars scale to the 42-hour largest module.
People and documents
Required owner and any pre-opening Designated Manager complete the Initial Training Program to the franchisor’s satisfaction.
Every owner signs the Owner’s Guaranty; required owners, officers, directors, partners and spouses or significant others sign the prescribed confidentiality agreement.
Copies of signed confidentiality agreements are delivered within ten days after execution.
A Lead Salesperson is identified, and the franchisee has hired and trained sufficient warehouse and operating personnel.
Premises and systems
Approved Construction Plans, permits, inspections, lease compliance, approved signs and required opening materials are complete.
Required warehouse tools, packing materials, box truck, liftgate, forklift when applicable, office equipment and opening inventory are installed.
Proprietary Software, required third-party software, hardware, high-speed internet, dedicated lines, franchisor email accounts and Franchisee Geosite are ready.
Required insurance policies, additional-insured terms, endorsements, proof of payment, licenses and permits are furnished and accepted.
The franchisor provides access to the Operations Manuals, Proprietary Software, up to two system email accounts, a Franchisee Geosite and promotional support for opening. The franchisee remains solely responsible for financing, permits, buildout, staffing, employment decisions, local compliance and daily operations. An alternate supplier requires a written request; review may take 30 days.
Who controls each opening dependency?
The Franchise Agreement assigns the site search, Lease, buildout, workforce, permits and readiness evidence to the franchisee. Craters & Freighters Franchise Company controls its approvals and training standard; outside parties control external workstreams.
Source: 2026 FDD, Item 11; Franchise Agreement §§4–6 and 13. Franchisor assistance is stated as an obligation only where the agreement says it will act; site help is limited to reasonable efforts.
What should be verified before committing?
The buyer should reconcile the sales process with the contract rather than relying on a verbal opening estimate. Franchisees listed in Item 20 can provide evidence about site searches, warehouse conversion, training scheduling, supplier lead times and how the franchisor applies opening clearance in practice.
Ask the franchisor in writing
Request the current qualification checklist, required applicant documents, exact approval milestones, available Territory map, complete site-submission form, current Operations Manual specifications available for review, training calendar, opening-readiness checklist and the treatment of a site extension when the contractual opening deadline remains in effect.
Confirm with independent parties
Have qualified professionals verify entity and guaranty exposure, state addenda, zoning, permitted warehouse use, loading access, Lease contingencies, Attachment D, construction scope, insurance endorsements, vehicle requirements, local licenses, employment obligations and lender conditions. Franchisor approval does not replace those reviews.
Call existing franchisees
Ask how long site acceptance, Lease approval, construction-plan review, equipment delivery and insurer onboarding actually took; which activities overlapped; what evidence was requested for opening clearance; and whether post-opening support was provided after request. Item 20 reports no recent confidentiality clauses restricting these discussions.
Check the market boundary
Compare the proposed counties with the official network map, then obtain Attachment A showing the exact Territory and Premises. Confirm the limits on outside solicitation, adjacent-area permission, national accounts and alternative channels before valuing territorial protection.
What is the verified Craters & Freighters opening path?
The verified path is inquiry and qualification, federal disclosure review, Franchise Agreement execution, Territory and Premises approval, Lease approval, construction-plan approval, buildout and equipment installation, insurance and permits, Initial Training Program completion, readiness evidence and franchisor notice to open. The total timeline is officially framed as a 90-day interval and separately imposed as a contract deadline.
The principal applicant-controlled dependency is securing and developing a compliant warehouse; the main external dependency is the landlord, contractor, insurer and government approval chain. The unresolved issue to settle in writing is how any site-selection extension affects the earlier opening deadline.