Managing a few franchisees may be easy enough. But once your brand expands, the harder it becomes to oversee operations and keep in touch with your network. You may end up missing important insights, forgetting to respond to emails, or even struggling to find the bandwidth to onboard new franchisees.
It’s completely understandable. After all, you can’t have growth without growing pains.
But this doesn’t have to be your reality forever. With the right franchise software at the center of your network, you can simplify management, enable your franchisees, and accelerate growth - all without any pain.
What is franchise software?
Franchise software broadly refers to any platform that supports franchise operations and management. There are many different types of franchise software, including CRM platforms, territory mapping tools, and royalty management solutions. However, today we’ll be discussing franchise management software (FMS) solutions in particular.
Franchise management software unifies your franchise’s communications, documents, processes, learning, and data. You can think of it as the digital home of your franchise network. In just a few clicks, you can talk with your franchisee owners, access your latest brand assets and e-learning courses, and get a quick overview of unit performance. It’s everything you need to manage your franchise effectively in one place.
16 features of a great franchise management software solution
No two FMS solutions are the same. So when choosing your platform - or assessing whether to end your contract with your current vendor - you need to have a good idea of what features are essential.
Bearing that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of 16 features every great franchise management software should have:
1. Personalized franchise intranet
A franchise intranet is the cornerstone of any franchise management software. It’s more than just the visual interface of the platform - it brings together every feature, upholds brand consistency, and simplifies navigation for your users.
A great intranet should be completely customizable, allowing you to personalize:
- Themes, colors, and fonts
- Menus and navigation
- Page layouts and widget sizes
The Claromentis franchise intranet boasts a drag-and-drop interface and unique permission settings, allowing you to build every franchisee a bespoke portal if needed. This is especially useful if your franchise operates multiple brands.
2. AI-powered communication tools
Integrated communication tools, including blogs, news, forums, and in-system messaging are brilliant for encouraging two-way communication and strengthening franchisee relationships.
This is beneficial for everyone in your system:
- Franchisees can reach out to franchisors for support and connect with other unit owners in discussion rooms.
- Franchisors can share network-wide updates, including product releases, sales insights, and new unit launches.
- Managers can keep track of changes to products, services, and operational standards.
A select few FMS solutions also benefit from generative AI features. This speeds up article writing and image generation - perfect if you’re a franchisor who’s short on time.
3. Polls and surveys
Customizable polls and surveys allow you to collect feedback from your franchisees and/or franchise advisory council without the need for in-person meet ups. This is a great way to generate new product ideas, identify operational problems, and boost franchisee engagement.
4. Document and asset management
Tired of chasing misplaced documents? Document and asset management features allow you to upload and share essential marketing collateral, product information, leases, and more in an efficient, secure, and unified way.
With check-in/check-out editing and automatic version control, you can make sure that all of your documents are up to date. This reduces bottlenecks and ensures your franchisees have everything they need to operate seamlessly.
5. AI policy management
From franchise disclosure documents to health and safety policies, your franchise handles a swathe of different policies. So it only makes sense that your FMS should contain a dedicated policy management application.
These tools allow you to store, edit, and distribute your policies in a number of formats - whether that’s a document native to the FMS, a PDF, or an external web page.
Some franchise management software solutions also provide integrated AI functionality. For example, the Claromentis policy management application boasts an intelligent Q&A chatbot. It pops up on every individual policy and acts as a helpful assistant for your franchisees and their teams. Users can select one of the pre-generated questions or enter their own, and receive a concise summary or answer.
This can significantly improve accessibility, information retention, and compliance.
6. Automated e-forms and workflows
63% of franchise executives intend to increase their technology spend in a bid to cut costs and grow revenue.
Automation will play a significant role in this. By automating repetitive tasks - such as collecting audit evidence and ordering stock - you can streamline operations, reduce busywork, and buy back time for more valuable work.
It’s worth noting that many franchise management solutions will offer some form of automated processes. However, we suggest adopting a platform that boasts a completely flexible, no-code business process automation tool. This will empower you to automate any complex process without the need for technical support (or another disparate tool).
7. Knowledge base
Precision and consistency are of the utmost importance in franchising.
An accessible knowledge base full of standardized processes can help you achieve this. By storing all your processes, health and safety documentation, and more in one up-to-date repository, you’ll boost quality and compliance across your network.
8. Learning management system
Learning and development initiatives are essential for onboarding new franchisees, training employees, and staying compliant.
As such, we’d advise choosing a software with a built-in franchise learning management system (LMS). This gives you the ability to:
- Create engaging courses and learning pathways (either compulsory or optional)
- Test user knowledge with quizzes
- Track learner progress and completion rates
- Automatically award users with certificates
- Adjust user experiences and content access based on automated LMS triggers
9. Project management
A project management tool may come in handy for onboarding new franchisees, coordinating marketing campaigns, and managing annual audits. With the right tool, you’ll be able to assign tasks, collaborate with team members, and get an overview of project progress.
10. User permissions
As we’ve already mentioned, roles and permissions settings can dictate the content, branding, and themes your users can see. But they’re also fantastic for bolstering your data security efforts, too.
You can hide sensitive information, refine user content experiences, and securely progress new franchisees. All of which can mitigate the chance of a data breach.
11. Localization
Does your business operate across the globe? If so, you need to make sure your franchise management portal is understandable for everyone in your system.
Localization features allow you to translate menus, news articles, pages and more into a user’s native language. This means everyone receives the same experience.
12. Reward schemes
70% of franchisors say their franchisees find it difficult to fill job openings.
In times of talent scarcity and high turnover rates, bolstering employee engagement is essential.
A good franchise management software solution will include rewards and recognition features, such as custom badges, certificates, and employee shout outs. You can use these in conjunction with your internal communications and e-learning pathways to augment your engagement efforts and boost retention.
13. Reporting
Data is the key to unlocking insights, identifying problem areas, and adjusting your franchise management approach.
Your FMS should provide audit logs and application-specific data, including statistics concerning your automated processes and e-learning courses. It should also allow you to integrate third-party applications and unify your data in one centralized location.
With this valuable data to hand, you’ll be able to build convenient reports, track engagement, and monitor compliance with ease.
14. Mobile app
Mobile accessibility is non-negotiable - especially if your franchisees operate in a deskless environment.
A mobile app ensures everyone in your network can access the documents, processes, and learning materials they need to meet operational standards and deliver great customer experiences.
15. Security controls
You’ll most likely use your franchise management software to share a wealth of confidential data. This includes employee communications, personal customer details, and legal contracts.
To make sure this information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, choose a FMS with built-in security controls, including:
- Two-factor authentication
- Single sign-on
- Granular user permissions
- Content approval
- IP-based access restrictions
16. Bespoke apps
No two franchises are the same. You may have certain processes or niche third-party applications that you’d like to integrate with your FMS.
If this is the case for your franchise, you’ll want to select a solution that provides bespoke customizations.
At Claromentis, our in-house development team can build plugins, customized modules, and more. Simply tell us what you need and we’ll make it happen.
Finding the right software for franchise management
When all is said and done, a great franchise management software should blend powerful capabilities with an intuitive interface and extensive customization.
Yes, it needs to be feature-rich and technically capable. But it also needs to be human in its design. This is key to driving adoption and creating a truly collaborative, profitable franchise network.
If you’d like to compare the top FMS solutions on the market, we’d recommend reading our thorough comparison list.
Alternatively, if you’re eager to explore our feature-rich software, you can schedule a demo with one of our experts here.
We’ll walk you through our integrated franchise management solution, answer any pricing questions or concerns, and build you your own personalized portal to trial for 30 days.
