Franchise accountants, Australia-wide
Better numbers.
Better business.
Specialist franchise accountants for franchise owners, multi-site operators and franchisors across Australia, based in Melbourne. We help you understand the numbers, stay on top of compliance and make confident decisions about what’s next.
- Franchise tax & compliance
- Bookkeeping, BAS & payroll
- Royalty reporting
- Multi-site reporting
- Due diligence & growth
Why franchise-specific
Running a franchise is different. Your accountant should know that.
A franchise isn’t a typical small business. You pay royalties and marketing levies on sales, report to a franchisor, work to network benchmarks and carry fit-out and refurbishment obligations that a general accountant might only see a few times a year.
We build your accounting around your operating model: royalties reconciled to real sales, payroll that keeps up with award changes and Payday Super, store profitability you can see every month, and cash flow planned around the big costs you know are coming. The result is a set of numbers you can actually run the business on, not just a tax return at the end of the year.
- Know what each location is actually earning
- Keep franchisor reporting accurate and on time
- Understand cash flow before the next big decision
What we do
Everything your franchise needs. Nothing it doesn’t.
Six services, designed around how franchise businesses really run, from the weekly books to the decision about site number three.
Accounting & tax
Annual financial statements, income tax returns, tax planning and structuring that accounts for franchise fees, fit-out and the way your agreement actually works.
Bookkeeping, BAS & payroll
Clean weekly books, GST and BAS lodgement, Single Touch Payroll and Payday Super, the routine compliance a busy store can’t afford to get wrong.
Royalties & franchise fees
Royalty and marketing levy calculations, reconciliations to sales, and the reporting your franchisor expects, checked against what your agreement says.
Multi-site reporting
Store-by-store profit and loss, consolidated group results and a monthly view of margins, labour and cash for every location you run.
Buying, selling & expanding
Independent financial due diligence before you buy, structuring for the purchase, and the numbers behind a second site or an exit.
Business advisory
Budgets, cash flow forecasts, margin analysis and a regular conversation about what the numbers mean for your next decision.
Who we help
One store or twenty. We’re in your corner.
Different stages of franchise ownership need different things from an accountant. Start with the path that sounds like you.
One store, big decisions
Tax, BAS, royalty reporting and knowing where the profit actually goes.
Every site, in focus
A financial view of each location and the group, with better decisions built in.
Built to scale
Royalty reporting processes, network-level information and support for sustainable expansion.
Before you sign
Independent financial due diligence, working capital planning and a structure that suits you.
MULTI-SITE DASHBOARD
Every location. One live dashboard.
- Live site-by-site P&L and KPIs, updated daily from Xero and your POS
- Labour, food cost and prime cost tracked against your targets
- Royalties, levies and same-store growth across the whole group
- Secure logins with MFA for owners, managers and your accountant
Business advisory
Good accounting tells you what happened. Great advice helps you decide what’s next.
Should you take on a second site? Renegotiate a lease? Push sales or fix labour first? We turn your numbers into forecasts, budgets and scenarios so decisions about growth, acquisitions and profitability are made with evidence, not gut feel.
How we work
Straightforward advice. No accounting dictionary required.
A simple, predictable relationship, so you always know what we’re doing, what it costs and what you’ll get.
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Understand
A first conversation about your franchise, your sites, your agreement and what you need from your numbers.
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Set up
We scope the work, agree a fixed fee and set up your accounting file, chart of accounts and reporting by location.
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Report
Compliance lodged on time and regular reporting you can read in ten minutes, with a summary of what matters.
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Advise
Regular check-ins on cash flow, profitability and plans, so decisions are made with the numbers in front of you.
About Franchise Co.
Specialists in franchise numbers, backed by an established practice.
Franchise Co. is a specialist accounting and advisory brand for franchise businesses, supported by the team at Gartly Advisory, an accounting and business advisory practice in Melbourne established in 2000.
We focus on franchising because the same questions keep coming up: Are the royalties right? Which store is really making money? Can we afford the next one? We’d rather be very good at answering those questions than average at everything.
Insights
Practical guides for franchise owners.
Plain-English explanations of the numbers that matter in franchising, reviewed by our accountants.
Franchise Council of Australia (FCA): what it does and what membership means
What the Franchise Council of Australia does, what FCA membership tells you about a franchisor, and how to use it in franchise due diligence.
Is Franchise Council of Australia membership worth it for franchisors?
What Franchise Council of Australia membership costs franchisors, the approval process, member standards, tax treatment and whether it is worth joining.
Who’s who in Australian franchising: ACCC, ASBFEO, FCA and the Franchise Disclosure Register
Who does what in Australian franchising: the ACCC, ASBFEO, Franchise Council of Australia, AAF and the Franchise Disclosure Register, and who to contact when.
Good questions
Questions franchise owners ask us.
Short, honest answers. If yours isn’t here, ask us directly.
Do I need a specialist franchise accountant?
You don’t legally need one, but a franchise has features a general accountant may not deal with every day: royalties and marketing levies calculated on sales, reporting obligations under your franchise agreement, a capital franchise fee, fit-out and refurbishment cycles, and benchmarks set by the network. An accountant who works with franchise businesses will usually spot problems (like royalties calculated on the wrong sales figure, or labour costs drifting above the network norm) sooner. How to choose a franchise accountant.
How much does a franchise accountant cost?
It depends on what you need. Annual tax compliance for a single store costs less than monthly bookkeeping, payroll and site-by-site reporting for a group. We scope the work first and agree a fixed fee for the engagement so you know the cost before we start. Ask us for a quote based on your number of locations, entities and the services you want.
Can you work with more than one store or entity?
Yes. Multi-site work is a core part of what we do: we set up your accounting file so each location is tracked separately, then produce site-level profit and loss statements alongside consolidated group results, whether your sites sit in one company or several entities.
Can you check the numbers before I buy a franchise?
Yes. Before you sign, we can review the disclosure document’s financial information, the franchisor’s fees and the seller’s historical results (for an existing store), build a realistic cash flow forecast and estimate the working capital you’ll need. Legal review of the franchise agreement and lease should be done by a franchise lawyer. Advice for buying a franchise.
Do you work with franchisees outside Melbourne?
Most of our work is done online, using cloud accounting software and video meetings, so location isn’t usually a barrier. Tell us where your business operates and we’ll confirm how we would work with you.
Franchise guides
110 franchise brands, reviewed for buyers.
Plain-English guides to what Australia’s best-known franchises cost to enter, how they make money and the numbers to test before you buy.
Next step
Let’s make your numbers work harder.
Tell us where you’re at (first store, next store or a whole network) and we’ll start with the right conversation.