We Know What it Takes to Support You
Here at The Franchise Accounting Specialists, we know what it takes to support your franchise business through the current economic climate.
In 2008, just 2 short years after our partner business Grant-Jones was formed, the UK hit one of its most turbulent times in its economic history. At a time when many well-established accountants went under, Grant-Jones rode the wave and came out even stronger.
How did they do that?
Adaptability!
How we serve
You may be surprised to know that a lot of franchise businesses don’t actually see their accountant from one year to the next! They take in their books, leave them, go back in to sign them and then leave them again.
At The Franchise Accounting Specialists, we have a range of services to support your needs.
Here’s how we work differently with you...
Regular contact – we work with you on a quarterly or monthly basis, which helps us to keep in touch with your franchise business, so we actually help you grow
Budgets and forecasts – we help you put figures and plans in place that are realistic and focused on developing your franchise
Performance evaluation and development systems – together we go over the up-to-date figures in the system, and compare them with your budget to see how you’re really doing
Future planning – we discuss any future changes and how these may impact you. Then, if needed, we help you adjust your budget and strategise ways to deal with future impacts.
Economic environment – we look at the economic environment we’re all trading in and work on strategies to help you cope with, for example, short-term cash flow or where belts need to be tightened
In turbulent times
The main thing to remember is this…
Cash is King!
When the economic environment is in turmoil, it’s important to be careful with how you plan your cash flow and have a long-term plan in place. In this current climate you may not be able to plan too far out, but nevertheless some type of forward thinking is going to be necessary.
This is also the time to look at your current franchise model and how that can be adapted to position you in the best way to keep afloat through the turbulence.
For example, in 2008 during the economic crash, our partner business Grant Jones adjusted their business model by increasing focus on social media marketing. Now they have an almost full time Sales Executive working for the business, which previously was unheard of for an accountancy firm. They also have a marketing team, who are constantly gauging the environment and looking out for new opportunities.
Before you give up – adapt!
We Brits, as a nation, have great entrepreneurial spirit! It’s quite fascinating how feverish we are with our entrepreneurial ideas. Micro, small, and franchise businesses make up a large part of our economy, so I want you to know how valuable and needed your survival is!
Now is the time to get really clear on how you differentiate your services and ways you can be more flexible with what you offer. Look at the challenges you’re facing and then tailor your services to cater for that.
The key is to find ways to keep serving your customers, otherwise they’re not going to come back to you either during, or after this turbulent time is over!
Always look for ways to adapt before you give up! You never know what’s around the corner. At any time, business is an ongoing series of ups and downs. One minute you’ve got loads of business coming in and the next nothing, and the phone doesn’t ring at all!
Right now, for so many, things seem really bleak. But remember, this period of uncertainty will end. Keep going as best you can, take all the support that’s available to you from every direction, and find as many alternative ways as possible to keep putting your franchise business out there. After every storm the clouds break, and the sun shines again!
If you need our help in these turbulent times, get in touch, we’d love to chat through the different ways we can support you.
