How Virtual Operations Reporting Can Benefit Your Franchise Business

Strategy gives things shape. Execution makes things happen. Both are necessary, but the balance is hard.

It’s easy to see why. For franchise restaurants, (and for any other business), there’s a constant tension between big picture thinking and the daily grind of procedural progress. It’s tough to focus on the micro and macro simultaneously. They require different mindsets, and it’s easier to get locked into one or the other than to hold the two perspectives in balance.

How can you do it? Your business has to build in both high-level goals and short-term feedback loops.

That’s where operations reporting comes in. And, for most franchises, the best way to handle operations reporting is to outsource it.

What is operations reporting?

First, let’s review quickly what we mean by operations reporting in a franchise context.

At a general level, operations reporting concerns the measurement of day-to-day business functions; essentially, it enables businesses to make note of where they stand in the most current timeframes possible. For franchises, operations reporting includes considerations like daily account audits, up-to-date inventory records, cash-on-hand records, and so on.

Operations reporting is important because it bridges daily execution with strategic goals. Operations reports mean taking a breath to survey the scene after a day of heads-down work. In the midst of high-volume transactions, operations reporting ensures accuracy.

So, it’s important. But why is outsourcing operations reporting to a virtual provider generally the best strategy?

1. Virtual operations reporting is more cost-effective.

The most obvious value to virtual operations reporting is its cost efficiency.

Outsourced teams take advantage of economies of scale and market demands to create lower-priced services. An internal accountant (or even a regional bookkeeper) is tasked with a variety of different accounting activities and processes that reduce efficiency. Outsourced providers, on the other hand, can streamline service to its most efficient form.

That’s part of why we’ve found that a single internal accountant can serve about three franchise units, while our lower-priced outsourced services can serve about twelve.

2. Virtual operations reporting offers access to greater expertise.

Yet, while outsourcing operations reporting is nearly always more cost effective, choosing a virtual service provider also grants access to greater levels of expertise.

Again, economies of scale are what allow for this reality. A single internal accountant can only have expertise across so many areas. If they’re adept at inventory management and reporting, for example, they probably don’t also have expertise in credit card verification.

When you opt for virtual operations reporting, you get a dedicated team – which means that you have access to a greater range of expertise. That’s helpful from an operations perspective, but it’s applicable at a full-service accounting level, too.

The bottom line is that a virtual solution gives you access to experts.

3. Virtual operations reporting allows you to scale your franchise business.

Virtual operations reporting also allows you to scale your franchise business more effectively.

This stems from the benefits we’ve already discussed:

• Cost-efficiency: when costs are streamlined, growth is easier.
• Expertise: when you have access to experts, growth is smarter.

Finally, virtual operations reporting increases the ease of addition; as you add locations, it’s easier to add to your outsourced team than it is to hire internally.

4. Outsourced operations reporting gives the right degree of separation.

There’s a certain appeal to immersing yourself in the logistics of your franchise business. There are certainly franchise owners who have undertaken the responsibility of operations reporting in order to maintain visibility on business performance.

But the reality is that virtual services most often provide the right degree of separation. An internal department can get bogged down; a virtual team allows for business owners to stay abreast of business realities without losing focus on the strategic directions that matter.

Ready to go virtual?

Operations reporting is important. Without accuracy in logistics, your day-to-day processes can grind to a screeching halt.

And the best way to do operations reporting is to outsource it to a provider you can trust. It’s time to balance detail and strategy with outsourced operations reporting from Global Shared Services and unlock your franchise business’s ability to scale.

At Global Shared Services, we offer comprehensive financial and franchise accounting services, including virtual operations reporting. We have deep expertise in the restaurant industry across a breadth of franchise brands, packaged with powerful capabilities that are designed to scale to your needs.

If you’re ready to outsource operations reporting or other financial functions of your growing restaurant business, get in touch with us today.