Best in Service: The 105 Top Suppliers for Franchises in 2018 Our first-ever ranking of the companies that help franchises thrive.
This story appears in the September 2018 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
It's a line used so often in franchise marketing that it's become a cliché: You're in business for yourself, not by yourself. But like most clichés, it exists because there's more than a little truth to it. In fact, it's true of not just franchisees but franchisors as well. Few if any franchise companies can become national brands (let alone global powerhouses) without some behind-the-scenes help.
Related: The Top 5 Franchises of the 21st Century
At Entrepreneur, we've spent 40-plus years covering franchising, but we've rarely shined the spotlight on the service providers -- "suppliers," as the franchise world usually refers to them -- who contribute to the success of so many franchisors and franchisees. Now it's time to change that. We're proud to present Entrepreneur's inaugural ranking of the top franchise suppliers.
To find out who the top suppliers are, we surveyed hundreds of franchisors -- from brand-new companies just jumping into franchising to top-ranked Franchise 500® brands with thousands of locations -- to find out which suppliers they do business with and how satisfied they are with them. Suppliers were then scored based on both how many franchisors reported using them and their satisfaction ratings. The final ranking consists of the 15 top-scoring suppliers in each of seven categories: accounting, banking/financing, legal services, marketing, merchant services, other technology services and public relations.
Related: The Top 10 Franchises You Can Buy for Less Than $100,000
Franchisors, whether you are starting out and not sure whom to use or are an established brand shopping around, we hope this ranking will be a valuable resource for you. But we offer the same word of caution we always give prospective franchisees when we rank franchises: This list is not intended as an endorsement of any particular company. Instead, take it as a first step in your research to find the suppliers that best fit your and your franchisees' needs.
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.
- Deloitte
Audit and assurance, tax, legal, risk and financial advisory, and consulting services
- BDO USA, LLP
Audit and tax compliance, tax strategy, mergers and acquisitions, international consulting, royalty audits
- EKS&H LLLP
Audit, tax, technology, and consulting services
- EY
Advisory, assurance, tax, and transaction services
- Grant Thornton LLP
Audit, tax, and advisory services
- KPMG LLP
Audit, tax, and advisory services
- RSM US LLP
Audit, tax, and business consulting
- PwC
Audit, assurance, consulting, and tax services
- Plante Moran
Audit, tax, wealth management, and business consulting services, including transaction advisory
- The Franchise CPA
Financial statement audits, royalty audits, and part-time CFO services
- A. Andrew Gianiodis, CPA
Audit, tax, and business consulting
- CohnReznick
Accounting, tax, and advisory services
- DHG (Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP)
Assurance, tax, and advisory services
- CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP)
Wealth advisory, outsourcing, audit, tax, and consulting
- Baker Tilly
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.
- Chase for Business
Deposit accounts, loans, credit cards, and cash management
- Wells Fargo
Banking, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance
- Bank of America
Small-business banking, credit, and cash management solutions
- Guidant Financial
401(k) business financing, SBA loans, unsecured business loans, growth capital, and other business services
- Benetrends Financial
401(k) rollover funding, SBA loans, and equipment leasing
- FranFund Inc.
Franchise funding solutions
- TD Bank
Term loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate mortgages, franchise acquisitions/buyouts/sales, SBA loans, merchant services, credit cards, checking, money market accounts
- U.S. Bank
Business banking, conventional and SBA financing, credit card and payment solutions, wealth management services
- Spirit of Texas Bank
Banking and financial services; SBA, real estate, and startup loans
- BBVA Compass
Banking solutions for franchisors, franchisees, and independent chains
- PNC Bank, N.A.
Cash-flow solutions
- First Financial Leasing & Finance
SBA financing for franchise startups, working capital, construction, and acquisitions; equipment leasing
- DCV Franchise Group
Franchise financing and franchise consulting services
- Fifth Third Bank
Banking services, including deposit products, loan products, credit cards, payment solutions, and wealth management
- BB&T
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.
- Gray Plant Mooty
Full-service law firm with a franchise and distribution practice team
- FisherZucker LLC
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
- DLA Piper LLP
Legal services including franchise law compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and dispute resolution
- Drumm Law
Full-service franchise law firm
- Faegre Baker Daniels
Full-service franchise law firm offering mergers and acquisitions, litigation and dispute resolution, international expansion, privacy/cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and other services
- Plave Koch PLC
Franchise legal services, including dispute resolution, transactions, and trademarks
- Cheng Cohen LLC
Full-service law firm representing franchisors
- Harold L. Kestenbaum, P.C.
Transactional legal representation for franchisors
- Mullin Law, PC
Transactional and commercial litigation representation for franchisors and franchisees
- Carter & Tani
Transactional legal services for franchisors, master franchisees, and Illinois-based franchisees and businesses
- Haynes and Boone LLP
Domestic and international franchise and distribution counseling, development, expansion, and dispute resolution
- Law Offices of Carl Khalil & Sada Sheldon
Franchise and trademark legal services
- Quarles & Brady, LLP
Full-service law firm offering transactional, regulatory, and dispute resolution services
- Stark & Stark, PC
Full-service franchise law firm offering preparation of franchise disclosure documents, regulatory compliance, trademark legal services, and dispute resolution
- Warshawsky Seltzer, PLLC
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.
- Scorpion
CMS, web design, and digital marketing solutions and services
- Hot Dish Advertising
Full-service advertising agency
- Integrated Digital Strategies
Digital marketing company specializing in franchise development and franchisee marketing
- Qiigo
Digital marketing for multi-location brands
- Adfinitely
Marketing campaign management
- Marketing 360
Digital marketing software and services
- SOCi Inc.
Social media and reputation management for multi-location brands
- SeoSamba
Franchise marketing platform
- Web.com for Enterprise
Custom digital solutions for franchise networks
- Wheat Creative
Franchise marketing strategy, development websites, and creative and digital collateral
- Brand Journalists
Franchise development and lead generation marketing
- Franchise Performance Group
CEO advisory services, franchisee recruitment services including digital marketing and lead generation, and strategic banking relationships
- Sociallybuzz
Social media reputation, management, and campaign company
- Rallio
Social media and reputation management technology
- ClickTecs
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.
- Worldpay Inc.
Payment processing, software solutions, reporting and data analytics, fraud monitoring and protection, gift and prepaid card solutions, consulting, and professional services
- Square
Payment processing, reporting and analytics, POS software, and business services
- First Data
Payment processing and technology solutions
- Bank of America Merchant Services
Multi-channel payment, e-commerce, and security solutions
- Franchise Payments Network
Payment processing and gift/loyalty programs for franchise chains
- Global Payments Inc. (Heartland)
Payment technology and software solutions
- Chase Merchant Services
Payment processing
- TSYS
Payment solutions
- Stripe
Payments infrastructure and business applications
- PayPal
Payment technology and software solutions
- Authorize.Net, A Visa Solution
Payment processing and management system for businesses
- PNC Merchant Services
Payment processing solutions
- Cake from Sysco
Point-of-sale restaurant technology platform and payment processing
- US Merchant Systems
Credit card processing, POS systems, gift and loyalty card programs, cash advances, and check services
- ABC Financial
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.
- FranConnect
Franchise management software
- Naranga
Franchise management solutions
- HubSpot
CRM, marketing, sales, and customer service platform
- Salesforce
CRM, cloud computing, sales, service, marketing, and analytics apps
- Intuit Franchise Program
Accounting, payroll, and payment solutions for franchisees
- Microsoft
Intelligent cloud, CRM, and software solutions
- Zoho
Cloud software suite and SaaS applications for business
- FRM Solutions
Software solutions for managing relationships between franchisors and existing/prospective franchisees
- FranchiseSoft
Franchise management software, including franchise development CRM, operations, and financial components
- Infusionsoft
CRM, sales, and marketing software
- MINDBODY
Technology platform for the fitness, wellness, and beauty services industries
- Vonigo
Business management software for mobile service franchises
- Revel Systems
Point-of-sale platform for managing restaurant, quick-service, and retail operations
- NCR
Self-service kiosks, POS terminals, ATMs, check processing systems, barcode scanners, and business consumables
- The Better Software Company
Customizable franchise operations management software
Public Relations
If there's one group of franchise suppliers we at Entrepreneur 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.
- Fishman Public Relations
PR and content marketing for franchise lead generation and brand awareness
- Fish Consulting
Full-service national communications firm specializing in franchise PR and marketing
- No Limit Agency
Full-service communications firm
- All Points Public Relations
Publicity, social media, content marketing, and lead generation strategy
- Franchise Elevator PR
PR services for emerging franchise brands
- 919 Marketing
PR, marketing strategy, social media, digital marketing, and direct marketing
- Sanderson & Associates
Local and national media placement, media coaching, social media, content and crisis communications, and growth and location consulting for franchisors and franchisees
- Konnect Agency
PR, franchise development marketing, and social media
- TopFire Media
Full-service PR and digital marketing agency specializing in franchise lead generation
- Edelman
Global communications marketing firm
- Ripley PR
Strategic communication services, including media relations, digital content, social media, and crisis management
- SPM Communications
PR, crisis communications, social media, and influencer relations for franchise, restaurant, food, retail, lifestyle, and apparel brands
- C Squared PR
PR, media and influencer relations, marketing communications, promotions, events, and crisis management
- BizCom Associates
Publicity and brand awareness campaigns, lead generation, franchisee marketing, crisis communications, social media, book publishing, video production, and creative services
- Decibel Blue
Public engagement, public relations, social media, and digital marketing for franchise systems
