Collect the disclosure document, contract, maps, amendments, and franchisor letters about previously granted rights. Also preserve promotional representations: their possible legal significance needs review, especially where they conflict with the contract. Market research explains projections; it does not decide a dispute over rights.
Separate what is granted from what is hoped
Mark disputed streets and reserved customers on one map, referring to the document supporting each boundary. Resolve contradictions before using that map as the plan's foundation. Include entity and premises records connecting the territory to your business.
Funding gaps likewise need assessment before filing, without presuming a later opportunity to supplement. Documents carry dates that decide which version governs. Ask for the agreement, every amendment and the territory schedule as executed, each with its signature date, and place the existing operator's grant on that same timeline; a boundary described in a brochure printed after that grant does not displace it.
Note the disclosure document's issue date as well, since a franchisor updates it on a periodic cycle and the version handed to a prospect months ago may no longer describe the system as it stands. Where the franchisor answers a boundary question by letter, that letter should name the date from which the confirmation applies and say whether it survives renewal. Keep escrow instructions with the financial records rather than the correspondence, because their release dates belong to the capital analysis.