Bookkeeping for Franchisees – Outsourced Bookkeeping & Accounting
From the outside, it can seem like a franchise is just like any other small business. But as any franchisee quickly comes to understand, running a franchise can be much more complicated than running any other type of business. That’s why bookkeeping for franchisees is usually best left to the experts.
Financial differences between a franchise and an independent business
Why does a franchise have more complicated bookkeeping requirements than other small businesses? Because a franchisee has financial obligations to the franchisor, in addition to the normal financial aspects of running a business.
These differences can include:
- Payment of ongoing franchise fees to the franchisor
- Payment of a percentage of gross revenue to the franchisor
- Payment of other levies, such as advertising or training fees, which are usually calculated as a percentage of gross revenue
- Leases can sometimes be paid by the franchisee, other times organised and paid for by the franchisor and reimbursed by the franchisee
- Stock ordering can be organised independently, through the franchisor, or a mixture of both.
The need for uniformity when bookkeeping for franchisees
In some franchise systems, franchisors require that individual franchisees keep their books in a certain way. Having uniformity in bookkeeping can be a major benefit to the franchisor, allowing easy comparisons to be drawn between different franchise businesses. But for the franchisee, strict requirements about how the bookkeeping should be completed creates yet another headache for the already-busy franchisee.
Solving the problem of bookkeeping for franchisees
Most people who start running a franchise business don’t also have a bookkeeping background (unless it’s a bookkeeping franchise, but that’s another story). And while bookkeeping can be difficult enough for ordinary businesses, the franchise business model adds another layer of complexity.
That’s where Free My Cloud comes in. At Free My Cloud, you’re getting the best of both worlds – access to highly trained, dedicated bookkeepers who know their craft inside and out, but without paying the high prices associated with an Australian bookkeeping firm. That’s because Free My Cloud works with bookkeepers in the Philippines – highly trained, college graduate bookkeeping experts who are perfectly familiar with Australian bookkeeping standards, but who charge outsource rates at a fraction of the price of a local bookkeeper.
Hidden benefits of outsourced bookkeeping for franchises
Apart from the cost savings and level of professionalism you’ll gain by outsourcing your franchise bookkeeping with Free My Cloud, consider these bonus benefits:
- Expert bookkeeping – as the name suggests – keeps your financial books up to date at all times, with every financial transaction perfectly recorded. This results in much less work for your accountant (most accountants spend much of their time performing basic booking services while charging accounting rates). When you present perfectly kept books to your accountant, you can also negotiate a cheaper price for their accounting services.
- Up-to-date books means that you have the ability to generate reports at any stage, giving you an accurate picture of the financial and cash flow health of your franchise business at any time. No longer will you have to wait until the end of the financial year to understand how your business is performing. Updated financial records put you in the perfect position to make strategic financial decisions about your franchise business with a full understanding of the business’s financial position.
Free My Cloud offers outsourced, cloud-based professional bookkeeping services to businesses in any area of Australia. If you have an internet connection, you can take full advantage of our cut-price bookkeeping services. To find out more, contact us today.