CFA CODE OF ETHICS

CODE OF ETHICS

The Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) is dedicated to encouraging and promoting excellence in franchising in Canada. Each member of the Association agrees to abide by the CFA Code of Ethics and to further the Association’s goals of encouraging and promoting ethical franchising in Canada. Each member of the Association agrees to comply with the spirit of this Code of Ethics in its general course of conduct and in carrying out its general policies, standards and practices. The following are considered by the Association to be important elements of ethical franchising practices: 1. Franchise system and franchise support services members should fully comply with Federal and Provincial laws, and with the policies of the Canadian

Franchise Association. 2. A franchisor should provide prospective franchisees with full and accurate written disclosure of all material facts and information pertaining to the matters required to be disclosed in advance to prospective franchisees about the franchise system a reasonable time [at least fourteen (14) days] prior to the franchisee executing any binding agreement relating to the award of the franchise. 3. All matters material to the franchise relationship should be contained in one or more written agreements, which should clearly set forth the terms of the relationship and the respective rights and obligations of the parties. 4. A franchisor should select and accept only those franchisees who, upon reasonable investigation, appear to possess the basic skills, education, personal qualities and financial resources adequate to perform and fulfil the needs and requirements of the franchise. Franchise systems and franchise support services members of the Association should not discriminate based on race, colour, religion, national origin, disability, age, gender or any other factors prohibited by law. 5. A franchisor should provide reasonable guidance, training, support and supervision over the business activities of franchisees for the purposes of safeguarding the public interest and the ethical image of franchising, and of maintaining the integrity of the franchise system for the benefit of all parties having an interest in it. 6. Fairness should characterize all dealings between a franchisor and its franchisees. Where reasonably appropriate under the circumstances, a franchisor should give notice to its franchisees of any contractual

default and grant the franchisee reasonable opportunity to remedy the default. 7. A franchisor and its franchisees should make reasonable efforts to resolve complaints, grievances and disputes with each other through fair and reasonable direct communication, and where reasonably appropriate under the circumstances, mediation or other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. 8. A franchisor and a franchise support services member should encourage prospective franchisees to seek legal, financial and business advice prior to signing the franchise agreement. 9. A franchisor should encourage prospective franchisees to contact existing franchisees to gain a better understanding of the requirements and benefits of the franchise. 10. A franchisor should encourage open dialogue with franchisees through franchise advisory councils and other communication mechanisms. A franchisor should not prohibit a franchisee from forming, joining or participating in any franchisee association, or penalize a franchisee who does so. 11. A franchise support services member in providing products or services to a franchisor or franchisee should encourage the franchises to comply with the spirit of this Code of Ethics. A franchise support services member should not offer or provide products or services if legislative or professional qualification is required to do so unless the franchise support services member has such qualification.

LOOK FOR EXCELLENCE

As you investigate the many franchise opportunities available to you, you will see a special logo featured in franchise literature, on franchising websites and in franchise tradeshow booths. This logo identifies franchise systems and franchise support services/suppliers as members of the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA). You should be on the lookout for this symbol when researching franchise systems or assembling a team of franchise support professionals to assist in your search. CFA encourages and promotes excellence in franchising in Canada and members of the Association voluntarily agree to follow the CFA’s Code of Ethics in pursuit of these goals. Start your search for your franchise dream with a CFA member. Visit LookforaFranchise.ca today.

Flexible, Portable, and Powerful

Telpay’s new cloud-based payment management platform takes business to the next level

BY JOELLE KIDD

While many new businesses may position themselves as ‘disruptors,’ it’s not only start-ups that can innovate. In fact, some businesses make innovation their bread and butter—even longstanding companies.

Telpay is one such business. Started in 1985, it was the first telephone bill payment system in the country. When its Telpay for Business desktop payment platform was released in 2002, it was a revelation, allowing businesses to manage payroll, accounts payables and receivables all from a desktop computer. Today, Telpay is one of the country’s largest and most trusted payment providers, processing $20.2 billion in payments each year.

Now, that same payment ingenuity is moving online.

“This is a huge shift for Telpay,” notes Lyn Walker, Marketing Manager for Telpay. “We’re Canada’s largest independent payment provider. We were the first B2B payment software to come out into the marketplace. Now we’re releasing a new cloud-based payment platform —and this is just scratching the surface. This is just the beginning.”

A new way to pay

Shifting from a desktop to a cloudbased system was a big move, and Telpay took the time to do it right, consulting with its clients as well as industry experts to make sure to capture the most important features.

The new platform can be accessed from any browser and device. A single sign-on feature means users can log in once and have access to all their customers’ information on the platform’s customizable dashboard. It’s also fully integrated with QuickBooks Online accounting software.

“We’re able to have true API integrations”—a way of seamlessly connecting applications—“to other cloud platforms and software platforms, or partner with different organizations and groups,” says Guy Thomas, Director of Business Development. “So, we’ll have a lot more flexibility.”

Telpay plans to build up its partnerships and integrations as time goes on. The platform will also be able to update and evolve without customers having to repurchase or upgrade.

Just like its desktop product, Telpay for Business’ cloud-based platform helps accountants, bookkeepers, and business owners with just about every way they might need to move money electronically: payroll direct deposit, CRA payments, government remittance, supplier payments, and utility payments, just to name a few.

While the entire back-end system was built internally, Telpay collected feedback from clients and outside experts to ensure the new platform would meet customers’ needs. “We

hired a product manager whose sole function was to work with existing customers, potential customers, and internal groups to look at the best way to design this,” Thomas says. “We had a lot of input from accountants and bookkeepers and [others in the] industry when designing it.”

Following client feedback has led to a platform that is easily customizable for the user’s needs. All updates and transactions sync in real time, and linking with accounting platforms makes month-end reconciliation easy. It’s simple to schedule and automate payments so that clients can work ahead. And collaboration is no problem: the platform allows up to 21 approvers, and clients can customize each user’s level of access and maximum payment amounts. Teams can add comments and notes to invoices and pending payments to quickly resolve issues over the platform.

Because everything can be viewed in real time, all in one place, users can look at their dashboard to easily see the status of payments: what’s pending, what’s been completed—a simple way to track every step of the process. “It’s a really transparent process and I think it will make the user’s workflow experience a much smoother one,” says Marketing Coordinator, Rosemarie Gauthier.

Telpay is also a cut above in its biller file. “Where we really shine is that we have 150,000 billers on our list,” Thomas points out. Unlike banks, which charge significant fees to list vendors in their biller files, Telpay sets up vendors at no cost. “That way anyone will be able access them and get them paid,” Thomas says.

The biggest appeal of the new system is how user-friendly it is, Walker notes. “It’s such a clean, user-friendly interface, and it’s intuitive. There’s not much of a learning curve.”

Fit for franchising

Moving online has made the platform infinitely accessible—from wherever, whenever. “Before, you didn’t really have an option,” notes Gauthier. “If you had the software on one computer, that meant you had to do all of your business on that specific computer … if it was in the office and you were at home, wanting to do some catch-up, you couldn’t do it.”

In today’s world—when working from home has become the norm and others are looking even further afield, this is a huge advantage.

And in the franchising industry, it’s a game-changer.

“Franchisees are always on the move,” says Josh Logan, Manager of Business Development. “A lot of them are travelling, going from one location to another—not necessarily sitting down at a computer.” Even a multi-unit franchisee popping into different locations throughout the day can process payments along the way, on any laptop or even a tablet or mobile device.

“If they’re at a franchise show, they can still run their payroll at coffee break, or do approvals during a breakout session,” Logan adds. Working online “gives complete flexibility—you can pay anyone, anywhere, on any device.”

The new platform’s features make it ideal for franchisees, from the integration with QuickBooks Online to its easy-to-use, modern interface. Logan compares it to an amped-up version of an online banking platform, but with more features and far fewer fees. Franchise systems who use Telpay also benefit from special pricing.

The best part is, it’s flexible for any franchised business. “We have 12,000 clients across Canada, and they range from a sole proprietor to publicly traded companies,” Logan points out. Any business of any size can use the platform, and customize it to meet its needs.

For instance, some franchisees who manage their own payroll will use the Telpay platform to do so, Logan says. For others, the platform may be more useful in collecting payments. Telpay has franchise clients who use the system to collect payments with Pre-Authorized Debits from their customers, like tuition or monthly gym memberships.

Telpay’s franchise clients range from single location franchisees to multi-unit owners, to master franchisors. Telpay counts franchise systems such as McDonald’s, A&W, Tim Hortons, Mary Brown’s, and Bark Busters among its clients. Logan estimates they have about 500 franchise locations as clients. “It really works for everyone,” he says.

Creating Community Connections

NiceJob helps Canadian franchises build their reputation and drive sales through customer feedback

BY LAUREN HUNEAULT

As local business owners, franchisees know that the connection they have with their community is the ultimate asset. Positive interactions lead to repeat customers, who then spread the word about their great experiences.

Beyond in-person word of mouth, business owners can gain even more mileage from their tried-and-tested credibility by building up their online customer reviews. As people turn to web reviews to validate a product or service before buying, the more likely it is that positive online reviews become a determining factor in whether a business gets the sale or not.

That’s where NiceJob comes in. The online platform helps you solicit customer reviews to fuel your business. “The goal is to help you drive sales through your reputation,” explains Jesse Sadja, customer success manager with NiceJob.

Campaigns that turn customers into fans

NiceJob’s origin story highlights the impact and importance of customer feedback. The company’s founder, Lars Kristensen, previously built a hugely successful window cleaning business.

“He started the business to test out his new proof of concept of how to grow your business with really the oldest marketing out there—word of mouth, with a modern twist on it,” says Sadja. “He grew this massive window cleaning company using what was the skeleton of NiceJob at the time—focusing on getting more reviews from customers and using those reviews to get more sales.”

NiceJob was born from this experience, and the company now uses its reputation marketing platform to help brands, including franchises, turn their customers into fans, and amplify those fans’ voices. The subscription-based software creates campaigns to help local business owners collect reviews.

The campaigns typically work like this: using a customer list provided by the franchisee, NiceJob will create a two-week campaign to reach those customers, starting with an initial text message asking them to leave a review. Then, several other touchpoints encourage customers to provide feedback. When a customer leaves a review, they’re automatically removed from the campaign. NiceJob’s other features—like widgets that post reviews directly on a franchisee’s website, and Social Sharing, which automatically adds all positive reviews to the company’s preferred social media pages—help to not only gather reviews, but ensure that they’re front and centre in their marketing efforts.

Sadja adds that one benefit for franchisees is access to the “super widget,” which compiles reviews from the brand’s different franchisee websites so all reviews can be found in one place. This also helps newer franchisees draw on the franchise’s brand power when they haven’t yet had the opportunity to build those local connections.

Lars Kristensen In-app photo of the NiceJob software, specifically the Engage Widget, which showcases good reviews on the homepage of your website.

Building a strong franchise reputation

Oscar Wimshurst, manager of partnerships and alliances with NiceJob, says NiceJob is ideal for franchisees.

“Franchisees by nature are local businesses—in the way those organizations are structured, you operate in your area and NiceJob is just perfect when you’re trying to dominate a particular region in a particular industry.”

The NiceJob platform is costeffective and easy to use, notes Sadja, which means franchisees have time to focus on other aspects of their business, and spend more time with their families.

He also points to the relationship between NiceJob and its customers as an asset. “We’re a customer-first company and one of our biggest mottos is ‘how can we turn our customers into fans of NiceJob,’” he explains. “My goal is to build the best relationship with you … We work hard to create a great experience for franchisees and franchisors.”

Sadja says the biggest benefit to franchisees is the increase in sales that comes with building a stronger online reputation. “Over 90 per cent of people will read into a company’s reputation before deciding to hire them. The goal is to make you top rated, especially on Google, in your area.”

Sadja highlights the work they’ve done with one of their successful franchise brands in Canada: Little Kickers.

Little Kickers provides soccer coaching for children at locations throughout the country. When the brand’s Canadian CEO, Frank Stanschus, started working with NiceJob, Little Kickers had received 200 reviews over a 10-year period. Now, eight months later, it boasts 2,185 reviews, with a 4.8-star rating. That’s a 993 per cent increase in the number of reviews in a 10th of the time!

“NiceJob was a solution that was easily implemented and allowed us to continue doing our jobs while the software worked in the background,” says Stanschus. “The reviews themselves are the ROI ... When people look, they can see that we’re a very reputable coast-to-coast company that does a consistently good job for a large number of customers.”

Stanschus also notes the importance of working with a Canadian brand. “We are a Canadian company; we want to work with Canadian brands. And we want to be part of a big Canadian success story.”

A Little Kickers Canada session in action!

Creating a complete customer solution

Sadja says that NiceJob is looking to expand its work with the Canadian franchise community. He also notes that, beyond ongoing changes to the platform based on customer feedback, there are big changes on the horizon for NiceJob.

In 2021, NiceJob was acquired by Paystone, a payment processing company, along with Data Candy, a customer loyalty management software. The reason behind the acquisitions is that “Paystone is creating a one-stop customer ecosystem, which helps your customers to pay, allows them to buy gift cards and collect loyalty points, and encourages them to leave reviews and referrals,” explains Sadja.

Wimshurst says integrating a gift and loyalty solution will ultimately help further NiceJob’s goal of turning its clients’ customers into their raving fans. “You can identify your best customers because they leave the best reviews, and you can send them gifts or rewards that turn them from great customers into raving fans and your best new ‘salespeople.’”

Putting franchisees on the map

Sadja notes that as franchisees receive positive reviews, the more likely they are to make it into the “local pack” section of Google, which highlights businesses in a certain area based on different criteria, mainly the number and quality of reviews.

“The goal is to show off that reputation, drive attention to it, and get people to contact you,” adds Sadja. “We’re basically adding what I call ‘social currency’ to the websites of our customers.”

Wimshurst adds that NiceJob is the perfect tool to help new franchisees get their name out there in the early stages of business ownership.

“It’s when it has the most impact, when you’re starting out and you’re looking for cost efficient and effective ways to grow your business,” he explains. “Most businesses start out by word of mouth, and this is turbocharged word of mouth. We’re getting your reputation as strong as it can be, as fast as possible, and that’s going to get you off the ground as quickly as you can.”