Current Issues for franchise accountants

What do franchise accountants talk about when they get together? Top of the list at a recent gathering of FAN members were franchise payroll issues and pre-purchase advice. Here's a recap of the issues we covered at our meeting on 19th August 2016.

The Payroll Problem

Garth Belic and Richard McLean from Keypay spoke about the state of play regarding wages compliance in franchising, and payroll solutions that accountants can offer franchise clients. Garth pointed out the reality that it is difficult for franchise owners to get payroll right if they rely on spreadsheets, manual entry of wage rates and allowances, and data entry from time and attendance records.

The franchise accountants agreed that this is a great challenge for many small business clients. After a robust discussion the feeling was that, while MYOB and Xero meet the needs of some, for many in the franchise sector an 'end to end' payroll solution (such as Keypay) is the way to reduce risk of non-compliance and improve audit trails.

Franchise Resales

Matthew Page from Link Brokers spoke about the franchise resale market. One of the key take aways was that expert advice is vital to avoid making costly mistakes when you buy a franchise. Matthew also pointed out the risks to franchise business values when a brand over-expands or when there are financial concerns within the business.

Franchisor Insight

The Franchisor Insight session  is one of the most popular items on the agenda when FAN members meet. This one was no exception, with a thorough and informative talk by Mark Zilm about the Refresh Renovations franchise.

The purpose of this segment is to introduce accountants to the various franchises in the market, and help them understand the model and financial issues. This helps the accountants provide relevant advice and insights to prospective and established franchisees.

Pre-purchase Reviews

Several speakers highlighted the importance of prospective franchisees obtaining an independent pre-purchase review of the financial side of their chosen franchise.

Following work done by Peter Knight and Rob McAdam, members of the group learned about a tool to help them provide streamlined advice to prospective franchisees.

Financial Stress

Not all franchise businesses go well. With this in mind, Peter McLaughlin (Redchip) spoke about recent cases where franchisees have found themselves in financial stress. Shabnam Amirbeaggi (Crouch Amirbeaggi) highlighted some of the franchise insolvency cases she has dealt with, and pointed out that early intervention can often help.

The day closed with information about the upcoming Franchise Accountants Conference.

Thanks also to Bentley's Accountants NSW for hosting our meeting.

Payroll solutions for franchisees

Payroll and employment conditions are two of the more complicated aspects of running a business. And, as recent examples have highlighted, mistakes can be very costly. This article highlights four areas of payroll management for franchisees to be aware of and suggests ways to minimise the risk of making a mistake.

Find the right award

You will need to ensure that your business is compliant with the relevant modern awards and national employment standards. These govern terms and conditions of employment and are legally enforceable.

A good starting point is to learn about the award system and find out which awards apply to work done in your business. You can get this information from your franchisor, an industry association, the Fair Work Ombudsman, or an employment relations expert.

Learn more about the Award system from - Fair Work Ombudsman

Budget for appropriate wages

Cost control will be important for the success of your franchise, but you'll still need to budget for the necessary wages, overtime and allowances. It's worth considering whether you will be able to attract and retain good staff if you pay only minimum wages.

A good way to work out a wages budget is to the franchisor about recommended staff levels and average wage rates. Based on this information your franchise accountant can help you estimate the wages bill in your franchise.

If you’re buying an existing business it’s a good idea to have a lawyer who is experienced in employment matters look over the employment terms and conditions of the staff you will continue to employ. They can also advise you of how to handle matters such as accrued leave and change of employer.

Keep payroll paperwork

Good payroll documentation will help avoid misunderstanding between you and your employees. That’s why it’s important to put employment agreements and other employment matters in writing, and get employees to sign off on company policies.

But the paperwork aspect of employing people can become a burden if you try to do it all by yourself. The good news is that there are now several web based payroll solutions.

These services are usually provided by employment lawyers and provide templates for employment contacts and letters, and expert advice by phone. Your franchisor or industry association may provide such a service, or search online for HR advisers.

Correctly apply the awards

Because many awards are complicated it can be genuinely tricky to comply with them. For instance, to calculate payroll correctly for hourly paid staff you need to keep track of hours worked and apply the correct wage rate, allowances and Superannuation rate. You must also keep accurate records and issue correct payslips.

As a result, one of the challenges franchise owners face is that there’s significant scope for human error in the payroll process. This is especially so if you track information with a combination of manual records, spreadsheets, a wages book or your accounting software. As the employer, however, you still need to comply with the law and get payroll right.

Fortunately, technology has come to the rescue in the area of payroll management!

Even if you are a small employer, you can make use of simple and cost effective payroll management software. Some of the most attractive payroll solutions handle the whole process including staff rostering, recording hours worked, calculating pay and issuing payslips. These are a genuine time and money saver for franchisees. For more information click here

Please be aware that Payroll and Award compliance are complicated areas and you should always get advice for your own circumstances from a suitable professional. Your franchise accountant can help you get the help you need.