26 Sep Franchisee
Applicable accounts: ‘Regular’ Account ‘Enterprise’ Account
The Franchisee module is where it all comes together. This is where your history of the franchise is built and maintained. The franchisee module is tightly integrated with many of the other modules in the system. So everything that happens with this franchisee can be viewed from the franchise module; field visits, customer complaints/feedback, leases, contact notes etc, are all stored and viewable here. Plus this is where you will store your crucial franchise related information, such as fee structures, franchise agreements, renewals & option periods etc.
Building a centralised store of franchisee information and a history of franchisee interactions is crucial to the successful management of your franchise network. Anyone in your national support office that interacts with a franchisee should have access to FZM and this module. They should be able to enter contact notes and view histories.
You will have a record for every store / van / outlet / location in your franchise network. Here are the tabs on the franchisee form explained:
Details: This is the contact info of the franchise. Note the suggested naming convention in Enter Franchise Data section (click here). The ‘Assigned to’ field is usually the Area Manager/BDM that looks after that franchise.
The ‘Franchise Partners / Directors’ panel is where you record the individuals that own the franchise. So if a husband/wife own the franchise there will be two cards here, or if four business partners own the franchise then there will be four cards here. This is actually a separate module and entries here are also accessible from the ‘Directory’ menu on the top menu bar. Note you can click on these cards and the Franchise Partner record will open in a new tab.
The ‘Timeline’ panel shows the history of major events that have occurred regarding this franchise. You can read more about timeline here. Note that you can click on any timeline event and you will be taken through to the related record, eg the task, visit, note, etc.
Notes: This tab shows notes that relate specifically to this franchisee. You can add notes to the Franchise record by clicking the Add button on the top of the form. You can click on a note to open it in a new tab. And also search and sort using the controls on the top of the note panel.
Directory: This tab stores all the related Contacts and Staff for this Franchise. These entries are actually part of the Contacts/Staff modules and are also accessible from the ‘Directory’ menu on the top menu bar. Note you can click on these records and the Contact / Staff record will open in a new tab.
Contacts are usually general people that relate to this franchise, they might be used for the franchisee’s accountant, or solicitor, or even the shopfitter that built the store. Staff are actually people that work within the franchise.
Visits: This tab stores all the related Field Visits for this franchise. These entries are actually part of the Field Visits module and are also accessible from Franchisee > Field Visits on the top menu bar. Note you can click on these records and the Field Visit record will open in a new tab. You can add a Field Visit note to the Franchise record by clicking the Add button on the top of the form.
Agreements: This tab stores all the Agreement information for this franchise. You can set key dates, set reminders – that will generate an email for the selected person – and even upload of copy of your key documents such as Franchise Agreements, Software and Licence Agreements, Disclosure Documents etc. You can also enter key information regarding the franchise here, this information is usually sourced from the schedules of the agreements.
For Enterprise Accounts: you can use this additional data to have the system automatically generate template letters and notifications. This is useful for Franchise Agreement renewal reminders, breach letters and other legal required documents. This is a customisation that can decrease the admin burden of managing a large franchise network.
Tasks: This tab stores all the related Field Visits for this franchise. These entries are actually part of the Field Visits module and are also accessible from Tasks > Search General Tasks on the top menu bar. Note you can click on these records and the Task will open in a new tab. You can add a Task to the Franchise record by clicking the Add button on the top of the form.