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What is a franchise?
Franchises today provide a dizzying array of goods and services. Well-known franchises such as McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, and 7-Eleven are deeply embedded in our daily lives.
A McDonalds in South Africa, photo by Thabang on Unsplash
Surprisingly, the earliest franchise was established to sell sewing machines, not food and beverages. In the 1850s, Issac M. Singer created a sewing machine but did not have the capital for mass production [1]. In a stroke of genius, he sold licensing fees for his machine to others, accumulating the capital and order quantity required for mass production. The modern franchise was thus born.
Today, a franchise is defined as a business model where a business “owner licenses its operations—along with its products, branding, and knowledge—in exchange for a franchise fee.” [2]
As a joint venture, franchises are a win-win for both business owners and franchisees. Business owners can use this method to quickly and cost-effectively scale up their business, while franchisees profit from the recognition and resources of an established brand.
Using POS systems to grow your franchise
In an ideal world, both business owners and franchisees will merrily benefit from this arrangement. However, running a franchise, whether as an owner or franchisee, is much harder than it looks.
A key question is: how can a business owner assure consistent quality of franchise outlets yet keep them differentiated enough to not cannibalise sales?
The answer lies partly in the POS system for franchise chosen.
This article focuses on retail franchise POS systems. For the low down on POS system for restaurant franchises, jump to our article here (don’t worry, it opens in a new tab)!
Lightspeed
About Lightspeed
Lightspeed started out with an institutional investment from Accel Partners. Since then, it has been an innovation powerhouse, churning out features from Lightspeed Analytics to Lightspeed Payments.
To give an idea of its scale, Lightspeed is now operating in over 100 countries. It is keenly aware of business needs on an international level, offering businesses the ability to have multiple languages and currencies on their online store.
Getting started with Lightspeed
Lightspeed has two POS hardware options: an iPad bundle and a desktop bundle. It also offers individual hardware attachments. Lightspeed recommends using the hardware listed on their website to ensure compatibility.
Lightspeed promises a one to one onboarding process, so getting started with Lightspeed will be tailored to your franchise needs.
Which franchises should choose Lightspeed?
Lightspeed has an extensive set of reporting tools, which will enable franchise owners to make more informed business decisions. These tools include inventory, sales, and E-commerce reports.
By collecting adequate data and using Lightspeed’s analytics features, franchise owners can make smarter decisions when tapping on Lightspeed’s range of integrations. For example, sales data can help franchise owners to segment their customer base, thus sending targeted emails through Mailchimp, one of Lightspeed’s third-party integrations.
An example of Lightspeed’s sales analytics
A franchise owner will find Lightspeed’s inventory management features extremely useful. From using product matrices to organise related products, to one click transfers or products between franchise locations, Lightspeed has it all covered.
Franchise owners can also set different prices for the same SKU based on store. To complete business operations, Lightspeed can also be used to organised tracked shipments with the help of shipping integrations including EasyPost and ShipStation.
In addition, Lightspeed’s E-commerce capabilities, Lightspeed eCom, has built-in SEO tools to help franchises ramp up their sales.
All in all, Lightspeed is well-equipped with operational features for franchises and advanced reporting options. However, all these features may be extraneous to franchises which prefer an easy fix, and for franchise owners who prefer to take a hands-off approach to management.
Franpos
About Franpos
Franpos, previously iConnect, was established in 2011. The company went through a rebranding exercise in 2017, generating a name which reflects its core mission to “build the most comprehensive POS platform for franchises”.
Franpos believes in creating a POS system for franchise which is simple, powerful, and smart.
Getting started with Franpos
Firstly, Franpos runs on the full gamut of iOS, Android, and Windows. However, there are some specific device limitations, so franchise owners should check their website before purchasing hardware.
Having cleared that, franchise owners interested in Franpos can easily book a demo online. Franpos claims to be able to set everything up with 15 minutes, a testament to how user-friendly its POS system is.
Which franchises should choose Franpos?
For franchises in the retail industry, Franpos has partnered with Postmates to develop a delivery management solution. For just 2.99 USD per order, orders placed through Franpos’ E-commerce site will be sent to Postmates riders in real time, providing a one stop delivery solution for franchises.
For service-based franchises, Franpos provides automated appointment booking and review management features.
An example of Franpos’s interface for services
Franpos also has employee management functionalities. This is particularly important for franchises, which have to handle a large pool of employees on a rotational work basis. For example, Franpos can be used to calculate commissions and clock in and clock out times.
Differential commission rates can also be inputted for different employees. This is great for service-based businesses such as nail salons, where different technicians may command different rates.
Franpos has also built a comprehensive Q&A support page on its website, so franchise owners can rest assured that their queries will be answered.
In sum, Franpos is a well-rounded choice for franchises. However, some reviews do note that Franpos can be a little buggy, but this should not affect day to day operations significantly.
Qasir
About Qasir
In a classic software startup story, Qasir was founded in 2015 by three entrepreneurs working from their home. Qasir has since grown by leaps and bounds – as of 2021, Qasir is used by over 800,000 businesses.
Staying true to its humble origins, Qasir hopes to develop Indonesia’s economy by empowering small and medium businesses.
Getting started with Qasir
Qasir provides Android based POS solutions.
It offers a scaled down version of its application which will be free, forever. This version covers all basic features which a business may need, but franchises are advised to get Qasir Pro to better meet franchise needs.
For franchises which prefer a custom solution, Qasir has sweet deals lined up. These include a dedicated member only dashboard, free promotional support using Qasir’s marketing assets, and commissions for every franchisee.
Which franchises should choose Qasir?
Qasir has a wide range of features, from a real-time view of sales reports to monitoring employee attendance.
Qasir also stands out for its thoughtful features. For instance, Qasir enables businesses to save up to 35% paper by compacting receipts. Fulfilling its promise of helping small and medium businesses, Qasir also allows businesses to apply for financing using Qasir’s system logs instead of putting up collateral.
One of Qasir’s software + hardware POS solutions, with iMin’s M2-203
Qasir supports QR scanning for multiple payment platforms including Shopee Pay and Gopay. Advanced payments can also be recorded as proof, preventing disputes from arising.
Under the banner of EduQasir, Qasir also provides free training to businesses.
In conclusion, Qasir is a great choice for franchises, especially those which prefer a unique solution.
Conclusion
Running a franchise business can be wildly profitable, but also wildly difficult. Choosing a POS system made for franchises will go a long way in achieving the former while suppressing the latter.
Interested to know more about POS Solutions? Clink here to explore more.
*All information about Lightspeed, Franpos, and Qasir were obtained from their respective websites, accurate as of October 2021.
References
[1] https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/franchise-facts/#gref
