Worth Their Weight In Gold

Is the business you’re buying viable, sustainable and profitable? Franchise Accountants will find out

Donna Rider has straightforward advice for anyone looking at buying a franchise: ‘Speak to everyone who knows anything about it but, above all, get a great accountant!’

Donna bought her Caci skin clinic franchise on the Kapiti Coast six years ago, and hasn’t looked back since. She wanted a change after her pressured job with the government and, having been a long term Caci client, felt it was a business she could enjoy.

‘But coming from a public services background and going into my first business was a big challenge. Realising the importance of due diligence and finding out what the numbers were really like, I got one of the bigger accounting firms to do it. They didn’t really understand franchising and I came from an environment in which I hadn’t had to deal with accounts, so it wasn’t easy. But once I’d bought the business, another Caci franchisee introduced me to Philip Morrison at Franchise Accountants and things began to make sense.

‘The financial side was a very steep learning curve for me, but Philip was able to make things easily understandable, and he seems to have infinite patience. He was able to explain things, not just from a franchising perspective, but in layman’s terms that I could grasp. Over the last six years he has always been responsive and acts rapidly when I need help. It would be easy to panic in the ups and downs of any business, but Philip is very good at keeping things calm and level.’

The franchise specialists

In the last 10 years, Franchise Accountants has worked with more than 1000 franchise businesses in New Zealand and evaluated over 250 different franchise brands, giving the company an unmatchable working knowledge of franchising. Franchise Accountants are five-time winners of the Service Provider of the Year title at the Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards.

As always, Philip and his team look forward to working with new clients. ‘If you’re evaluating a franchise business, make us your first port of call,’ Philip says. ‘We’ll help you to benchmark the opportunity and determine how it measures up in the three critical areas: viability, sustainability and profitability – and, as Donna puts it, “flush out any fishhooks!”

‘Then once you’re up and running, we’ll work alongside you to reduce risks and maximise the profitability of your investment on an ongoing basis.’

If only I’d known

Now an experienced franchisee herself, Donna says that, ‘Having the support of a company as well-versed in franchise systems as Franchise Accountants is worth its weight in gold. ‘Had I known how easy they make it, I’d have gone to them for due diligence as well. Philip and his colleagues have the personal touch and a personal investment in you as a client. In fact my hubby, Steve, has a separate business that we want to grow and we’ll be going direct to Franchise Accountants for their advice.’

Philip Morrison and his team have evaluated hundreds of brands for franchise buyers

Meeting by chance

For Carl Hastings, bumping into Philip Morrison was the best thing that happened to him. Carl had joined Armstrong Security straight out of school and, 10 years ago, was thinking of buying the branch of the franchise that he worked for. ‘But I knew bugger all about accounting,’ he says, with disarming honesty. ‘Philip and I go to the same coffee shop and we got talking and I immediately liked his approach. I got Franchise Accountants to do all the due diligence on the company for me and we’ve worked with them ever since.’

Just like Donna, Carl has found Franchise Accountants to provide the personal touch, and he now regards Philip as a business mentor. ‘I believe that they have the ability to make accounting understandable for anybody, as they put it in layman’s terms that anybody can understand.

‘I’m not an accountant but I am a businessman, and they are able to present things with such clarity that I’m a lot more savvy with figures than I ever was before. Franchise Accountants have held my hand every inch of the way and now do all my books, including my other business interests.’

Making a difference

‘Whether you already own a franchise or are just buying one, contact us today to find out how we can help you,’ says Philip. ‘Our team has a wealth of experience in all sorts of franchises, and in these uncertain times, it is more important than ever for franchisees to have an accountant they can trust to really understand their business.

‘Last year, we talked to every single one of our franchisee clients throughout the pandemic, and over 95 percent of them came through OK despite the devastation that lockdowns caused for many small businesses. That’s where getting the right advice fast can make a big difference, and that’s what we provide.

‘So whether you’re buying a franchise or need help growing the one you already own, give us a call. We’re the Franchise Accountants – and helping franchisees is what we do.’

Advertiser Info

Franchise Accountants

www.franchiseaccountants.co.nz

Contact Philip Morrison

P 0800 555 80 20 M 021 22 99 657

pmorrison@franchiseaccountants.co.nz