Trusted by franchise systems across the industry
Smallest franchise client we support
Largest franchise system we support
Highest YoY unit growth across our clients
The finance work a generalist CPA does not do.
Six places a franchise system breaks at the books level. Each one is a fiduciary or disclosure obligation, not a line item a generalist tracks.
Royalty reconciliation
Multi-unit royalty reconciliation on a spreadsheet is how errors compound for six months before anyone finds them. We close royalty within five days of each reporting period.
Item 19 / FDD readiness
Your Item 19 (the financial performance representation in the Franchise Disclosure Document) has to satisfy the FTC and inform a prospective franchisee on the same page. We build it to do both.
Ad fund accounting
An ad fund is a fiduciary line, not a marketing budget. We account for it like the trust account it legally is, segregated and reconciled.
Unit-level P&L benchmarking
We benchmark every unit against the system median and surface the bottom quartile, so you know which operators need support and which need a hard conversation.
Multi-state expansion finance
Registration states each set their own financial-statement requirements. We keep you audit-ready in every state you sell in.
ASC 606 fee recognition
Franchise fees recognize under ASC 606 (the revenue-recognition standard for franchise fees), not when the check clears. We recognize them so your statements hold up to an audit.
Built for franchisors from 5 to 100 units.
Most of our work sits between 10 and 50 units, where “my bookkeeper handles it” starts to crack. Find your stage.
Finding your footing
- Royalty hygiene and clean reporting
- First Item 19 you can defend
- First-time multi-state registration
Scaling the system
- Unit-level benchmarking against the median
- Ad fund discipline and reporting
- ASC 606 recognition done right
Optimizing the network
- Multi-state expansion finance
- Audit-ready FDD financials
- Board-ready unit economics
What a missing CFO quietly costs a system.
A weak Item 19 slows FDD renewals and softens prospective-franchisee close rates.
Sloppy ad fund accounting invites franchisee disputes and FTC scrutiny.
Unit-level blindness hides which 20% of units drag down system profitability.
Generalist CPA, franchise CFO, or in-house controller.
| Generalist CPA | Franchise CFO Us | In-house controller | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engagement cost | Hourly, tax-season focused | Flat monthly, from $2,500 | Six-figure salary plus benefits |
| Franchise-mechanic fluency | Learns on your time | Already fluent | Depends on the hire |
| Item 19 / FDD work | Rarely | Core service | Possible, if experienced |
| Royalty reconciliation | Records the reports | Closes in five days, reconciled | Varies by background |
| Multi-state FDD readiness | Not typical | Audit-ready in every state | One state at a time |
| Board / investor reporting | No | Board-ready unit economics | Yes |
| Sat in the franchisor chair | No | Ran a franchise system | Rare |
I ran a franchise before I built the practice around it.
I co-founded and ran Monkey Bizness, a children’s entertainment franchise. I have sat in the franchisor chair: the Item 19 that undersells the model, the royalty reconciliation a quarter behind, the franchisee asking a financial question you cannot answer cleanly. No generalist CPA can say that.
Referrals from the systems we work with.
“He brings clarity to complex financials, always grounding our decisions in data and strategy. It’s amazing how much he feels like part of our team. We’re incredibly lucky to have him guiding the financial future of our company.”
“Matt has been our CPA for our franchise company since we started it about five years ago. He set up our books properly from the beginning and has been there each step of the way. He brings a passion to bookkeeping that makes numbers and forecasting actually enjoyable. Highly recommend.”
“Matt’s been amazing for us. We were new to franchising and he’s done a great job of educating us and making sure we’re doing everything properly. He communicates well and is very responsive.”
CFO partnership that scales with your system
Flat monthly engagements, far less than a full-time hire. Start with a fixed-scope review, then move into an ongoing partnership.
Your royalty and reporting, finally clean.
- Royalty reconciliation closed within five days
- Standardized unit P&Ls and a system dashboard
- Item 19 readiness review
Best for: systems with 5 to 15 units finding their footing.
Book a callA CFO at your leadership table.
- Everything in Emerging
- Unit-level benchmarking against the system median
- Ad fund accounting and franchisee reporting
- ASC 606 franchise-fee recognition
Best for: 15 to 50 unit systems growing fast.
Book a callNetwork-wide margin and capital strategy.
- Everything in Scaling
- Multi-state expansion finance
- Audit-ready FDD financials
- Board-ready unit economics
Best for: 50 to 100 unit systems optimizing to scale or sell.
Talk to usStraight answers, in your language.
We own the finance function a franchise system outgrows: royalty reconciliation, ad fund accounting, unit-level P&L benchmarking, Item 19 preparation, and multi-state FDD readiness. You get a CFO who has run a franchise, without the cost of a full-time hire.
A franchise system runs on royalties, ad funds, and franchise-fee recognition under ASC 606. Those are fiduciary and disclosure obligations, not line items a generalist tracks. Get them wrong and you face franchisee disputes or FTC scrutiny.
A bookkeeper records what happened. Multi-unit royalty reconciliation on a spreadsheet lets errors compound for months. A CFO closes royalty within five days of period end and tells you what the numbers mean for the next unit you open.
Engagements are flat monthly, starting at $2,500 and scaling with system size and complexity. No hourly billing and no surprise invoices. Most franchisors begin with a fixed-scope financial review, then move into an ongoing CFO partnership.
We account for ad funds as the trust money they legally are: segregated, reconciled, and reported to franchisees on a schedule they can audit. That keeps you clear of the disputes and regulator questions sloppy ad fund accounting invites.
A generalist learns franchising on your time. A specialist already knows royalty mechanics, Item 19 standards, ad fund rules, and FDD financial requirements. Matt ran a franchise system before building this practice, so the learning curve is already paid for.
Our work fits systems between 5 and 100 units, with the sweet spot at 10 to 50. Below 5 units the need is usually bookkeeping. Above 100 you likely want an in-house finance team, which we can help you build and hand off to.
When "my bookkeeper handles it" starts to crack: royalty running behind, an Item 19 you are not sure you can defend, or a multi-state registration ahead. Usually that is around 10 units, earlier if you are raising capital or selling aggressively.
Ready to scale your system without financial chaos?
Tell me what your system looks like. I will show you where royalty, ad fund, and Item 19 readiness stand, and what I would fix first.