📍 Knowing how to map a franchise territory isn’t just a technical skill—it’s a strategic advantage. Whether you're a franchisor, consultant, or development coordinator, building territories the right way from the start helps you grow faster, stay compliant, and reduce conflict across your network.
At Zors, we’ve made territory mapping simple, scalable, and accurate. Our platform lets you create franchise territories using real data—from ZIP Codes and Census Tracts to radius and drive-time boundaries.
Even better, Zors helps you visualize key demographic insights before locking anything in.
This guide will walk you through the exact steps to map a franchise territory using Zors. By the end, you’ll be ready to:
✅ Build custom territories with precision
✅ Preview and analyze demographic data
✅ Save, color-code, and manage territories in your CRM
✅ Avoid common mapping mistakes and delays
Before we dive into the how-to, let’s cover the why.
Mapping your franchise territories correctly is crucial because it helps:
✅ Prevent franchisee overlap and brand conflict
✅ Comply with Item 12 territory disclosures in your FDD
✅ Speed up franchise sales by showing clear, professional maps
✅ Track unit development and market coverage
✅ Make informed decisions using population, income, and drive-time data
With Zors, territory mapping becomes a dynamic tool—not a static drawing—so you can adjust and scale without starting from scratch.
Step 1: Turn on the Appropriate Map Layer
Use the layer toggle at the top-center of the map to choose between:
Only one of these works at the same time.
Step 2: Click to Select Areas
Simply click on individual tracts or ZIPs to include them in the territory (at least 2).
Each selected area will highlight.
To remove, click again.
✅ Best For: Small or highly specific territories that require surgical precision.
For larger or more strategic franchise territories, the Territory Builder gives you greater control and flexibility.
This tool lets you build territories using shapes, radius, drive-time, uploads, or ZIP search filters.
Here’s how to do it:
Located at the top-right corner of the map interface.
The Create Territory interface will open from the map.
🖊️ Draw – Click to place points and draw a custom shape on the map. Double-click the last point to close the shape.
🎯 Radius – Define a territory by drawing a circle around a central point, such as a proposed unit location. You can adjust the radius by miles
🚗 Time – Create a territory based on how far someone can drive in a specific time from a location (e.g., 15-minute drive time).
⬆️ Upload – Already have your territories? Upload them directly to Zors.
🔍 ZIP Code Search Tool – Create a territory by entering ZIP Codes directly.
Once you’ve drawn or selected your territory, click the “Preview” button.
Zors will instantly generate key demographic metrics for the selected area, including:
🧍 Population
🏠 Number of Households
💵 Median Household Income
🎂 Age Distribution
These insights help you verify whether the area meets your target market criteria—before awarding the territory or adding it to the FDD.
Once satisfied with your territory, click “Create Territory” at the bottom of the Territory Overview panel.
You’ll then be prompted to:
✏️ Name the territory
👥 Associate it with a contact or franchise lead
🔁 Set the status, such as:
Available
Pending
Prospect
Sold – Open
Sold – Not Open
Closed
These tags help you manage your sales pipeline and unit status at a glance.
🎨 You can also assign a custom color for visual organization in the CRM.
When using the Draw tool to create a territory, a popup appears once your shape is complete. This popup includes a dropdown menu that lets you choose whether the territory is built using Census Tracts or ZIP Codes.
📍 Select your preferred geography type before clicking "Save."
This selection directly impacts how the territory is defined and how demographic data is calculated.
Want to try both? Simply draw the same shape again and switch the dropdown option to see how the data compares.
This is the easiest way to test and toggle between ZIP- and tract-based territory creation without redrawing from scratch.
This feature is especially useful when comparing market potential using different boundaries.
Unlike general-purpose GIS software or consumer mapping tools, Zors was designed specifically for the franchise industry.
Here’s what makes it stand out:
👥 Area and Multi-unit territory support
🧾 Franchise Agreement-ready map exports
🔁 CRM integration with status tags
🚫 Overlap protection to avoid sales conflicts
🔒 Integrated E-Sign and cloud storage with version history for legal recordkeeping
Real-time map previews
Auto-calculated demographic and economic data
Contracts are linked with territories, people, companies and vendors
E-sign, milestone tracking and task tracking
📍 Ready to map your franchise territories the smart way? Visit our Territory Mapping page to learn more or check out these related guides:
➡️ Territory Mapping + Document Management = Force Multiplier
➡️ Integrated E-Sign + Territory-Centric CRM
➡️ Zors Improves Franchise Approval Tracking With Color Coded Maps
🌎 Map your next territory in minutes, not days—with Zors.
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