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Accounting

Audited financial statements are a required—and vitally important—item in the franchise disclosure documents (FDDs) that are shared with prospective franchisees, so a good auditor is indispensable. And—as with any business—tax, advisory, and other accounting services are essential as well. In our ranking, you’ll find the “Big Four” accounting firms, naturally, but there are also smaller firms, including some that specialize in working with franchise companies.

1. Audit and assurance, tax, legal, risk and financial advisory, and consulting services

2. Audit and tax compliance, tax strategy, mergers and acquisitions, international consulting, royalty audits

3. Audit, tax, technology, and consulting services

4. Advisory, assurance, tax, and transaction services

5. Audit, tax, and advisory services

6. Audit, tax, and advisory services

7. Audit, tax, and business consulting

8. Audit, assurance, consulting, and tax services

9. Audit, tax, wealth management, and business consulting services, including transaction advisory

10. Financial statement audits, royalty audits, and part-time CFO services

11. Audit, tax, and business consulting

12. Accounting, tax, and advisory services

13. Assurance, tax, and advisory services

14. Wealth advisory, outsourcing, audit, tax, and consulting

15. Audit, tax, accounting, and business and transaction advisory services

Banking/Financing

Obtaining financing can be one of the biggest hurdles to starting a business. One advantage of starting a franchise business, though, is that many franchisors have relationships with banks and other financial institutions they can refer their franchisees to for help. These are the financial providers franchisors trust the most to help their franchisees get up and running and keep them funded for the life of their business.

1. Deposit accounts, loans, credit cards, and cash management

2. Banking, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance

3. Small-business banking, credit, and cash management solutions

4. 401(k) business financing, SBA loans, unsecured business loans, growth capital, and other business services

5. 401(k) rollover funding, SBA loans, and equipment leasing

6. Franchise funding solutions

7. Term loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate mortgages, franchise acquisitions/buyouts/sales, SBA loans, merchant services, credit cards, checking, money market accounts

8. Business banking, conventional and SBA financing, credit card and payment solutions, wealth management services

9. Banking and financial services; SBA, real estate, and startup loans

10. Banking solutions for franchisors, franchisees, and independent chains

11. Cash-flow solutions

12. SBA financing for franchise startups, working capital, construction, and acquisitions; equipment leasing

13. DCV Franchise Group

    Franchise financing and franchise consulting services

14. Banking services, including deposit products, loan products, credit cards, payment solutions, and wealth management

15. Retail, commercial, and corporate banking, investments, insurance, and wealth management

Legal Services

Franchising comes with its own unique set of legal challenges, starting with the need to draft a complicated legal document—the FDD—and update it every year. So it’s no surprise there are a large number of law firms that specialize in working with franchises, offering help with everything from dispute resolution and trademark protection to mergers and acquisitions and international expansion. In this highly competitive category, these are the firms that came out on top.

1. Full-service law firm with a franchise and distribution practice team

2. Full-service franchise law firm offering pre-litigation counseling, litigation, arbitration and mediation, non-compete, antitrust, collections, regulator compliance, trademark protection, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, and international and domestic transactions

3. Legal services including franchise law compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and dispute resolution

4. Full-service franchise law firm

5. Full-service franchise law firm offering mergers and acquisitions, litigation and dispute resolution, international expansion, privacy/cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and other services

6. Franchise legal services, including dispute resolution, transactions, and trademarks

7. Full-service law firm representing franchisors

8. Transactional legal representation for franchisors

9. Transactional and commercial litigation representation for franchisors and franchisees

10. Transactional legal services for franchisors, master franchisees, and Illinois-based franchisees and businesses

11. Domestic and international franchise and distribution counseling, development, expansion, and dispute resolution

12. Franchise and trademark legal services

13. Full-service law firm offering transactional, regulatory, and dispute resolution services

14. Full-service franchise law firm offering preparation of franchise disclosure documents, regulatory compliance, trademark legal services, and dispute resolution

15. Franchising, licensing, corporate, outside general counsel, and real estate legal services

Marketing

Franchisors have a wide variety of options when it comes to growing their brands through marketing, from traditional marketing agencies to those that provide marketing software and other tools. Many focus on digital marketing or social media, while others offer a broader range of services. And some are geared toward attracting customers, while others aim to recruit franchisees for their clients. Whatever the marketing need, there’s a supplier to fill it.

1. CMS, web design, and digital marketing solutions and services

2. Full-service advertising agency

3. Digital marketing company specializing in franchise development and franchisee marketing

4. Digital marketing for multi-location brands

5. Marketing campaign management

6. Digital marketing software and services

7. Social media and reputation management for multi-location brands

8. Franchise marketing platform

9. Custom digital solutions for franchise networks

10. Franchise marketing strategy, development websites, and creative and digital collateral

11. Franchise development and lead generation marketing

12. CEO advisory services, franchisee recruitment services including digital marketing and lead generation, and strategic banking relationships

13. Social media reputation, management, and campaign company

14. Social media and reputation management technology

15. Franchise websites and digital marketing services

Merchant Services

The ability to securely process payments is crucial for every modern business, and here again, franchises have a large selection of suppliers to choose from. There are big companies and banks that serve a variety of business customers, as well as companies that serve only certain industries. When searching for the right merchant service provider, franchisors should also consider what other services they offer, such as loyalty programs.

1. Payment processing, software solutions, reporting and data analytics, fraud monitoring and protection, gift and prepaid card solutions, consulting, and professional services

2. Payment processing, reporting and analytics, POS software, and business services

3. Payment processing and technology solutions

4. Multi-channel payment, e-commerce, and security solutions

5. Payment processing and gift/loyalty programs for franchise chains

6. Payment technology and software solutions

7. Payment processing

8. Payment solutions

9. Payments infrastructure and business applications

10. Payment technology and software solutions

11. Payment processing and management system for businesses

12. Payment processing solutions

13. Point-of-sale restaurant technology platform and payment processing

14. Credit card processing, POS systems, gift and loyalty card programs, cash advances, and check services

15. Software and payment processing for health and fitness businesses

Online Technology Services

There’s no doubt that technology has played an important part in the ability of franchise systems to expand worldwide while maintaining consistent operations and keeping franchisors and franchisees connected. Numerous franchisors and franchisees depend on the companies in this category for software and solutions in areas like CRM, sales, operations, accounting, and more to help their businesses run smoothly.

1. Franchise management software

2. Franchise management solutions

3. CRM, marketing, sales, and customer service platform

4. CRM, cloud computing, sales, service, marketing, and analytics apps

5. Accounting, payroll, and payment solutions for franchisees

6. Intelligent cloud, CRM, and software solutions

7. Cloud software suite and SaaS applications for business

8. Software solutions for managing relationships between franchisors and existing/prospective franchisees

9. Franchise management software, including franchise development CRM, operations, and financial components

10. CRM, sales, and marketing software

11. Technology platform for the fitness, wellness, and beauty services industries

12. Business management software for mobile service franchises

13. Point-of-sale platform for managing restaurant, quick-service, and retail operations

14. Self-service kiosks, POS terminals, ATMs, check processing systems, barcode scanners, and business consumables

15. Customizable franchise operations management software

Public Relations

If there’s one group of franchise suppliers we at Â鶹Éç knew well before we put this ranking together, it’s this one: PR agencies. They’re the ones emailing us daily, working hard to tell their clients’ stories in hopes of publication. Some of them even help their clients fill out their annual Franchise 500 applications and regularly update their free online listings. And that’s just a sampling of the work they do to help franchise brands gain good exposure and mitigate the bad.

1. PR and content marketing for franchise lead generation and brand awareness

2. Full-service national communications firm specializing in franchise PR and marketing

3. Full-service communications firm

4. Publicity, social media, content marketing, and lead generation strategy

5. PR services for emerging franchise brands

6. PR, marketing strategy, social media, digital marketing, and direct marketing

7. Local and national media placement, media coaching, social media, content and crisis communications, and growth and location consulting for franchisors and franchisees

8. PR, franchise development marketing, and social media

9. Full-service PR and digital marketing agency specializing in franchise lead generation

10. Global communications marketing firm

11. Strategic communication services, including media relations, digital content, social media, and crisis management

12. PR, crisis communications, social media, and influencer relations for franchise, restaurant, food, retail, lifestyle, and apparel brands

13. PR, media and influencer relations, marketing communications, promotions, events, and crisis management

14. Publicity and brand awareness campaigns, lead generation, franchisee marketing, crisis communications, social media, book publishing, video production, and creative services

15. Public engagement, public relations, social media, and digital marketing for franchise systems