Find out how this accounting management system can empower the franchisee whilst give the franchisor transparency accross the network.

1. Accounting Management System
for franchise networks

2. Bringing franchisee
performance to the head office
via the cloud

3. What is CounterBooks?
• A leading online retail accounting management suite for franchisors and their franchisees.
• The cloud based suite consists of:
• Purposely designed to solve the challenges of networks, groups and franchise operations.
• CounterBooks is accessible anywhere via an internet enabled device through a fully secure, cloud
infrastructure on a flexible monthly subscription model.
• Used by 1000’s of retailers across Europe.
• Recommended by industry experts and deployed by several of the largest franchisors in the world.

4. History of CounterBooks
CounterBooks has a purely retail background, and unlike any other accounting system, it was initially designed by a
retailer to help resolve the unique challenges he faced on a daily basis which traditional accounting systems did not.
Today, it is the leading online retail accounting management suite used by 1000’s of retailers across the world.
1998 - Founded by Chantrey Vellacott DFK, a Top 20 UK accounting firm (~ 300 staff)
1999 - First implementation for ESSO
2003 - Cloud version of CounterBooks developed
2003 - Implemented in Switzerland and Finland
2005 - Implemented in Germany
2006 - 1st file import from POS/BOS
2007 - CounterBooks available in the UK & Ireland
2011 - Available in South Africa
2012 - Server-to-Server interface launched

5. CounterBooks Features and Benefits
Description:
An online full general ledger accounting system
specifically designed for franchisees of franchisors to
manage their business.
Features:
• Easy to use and full general ledger system.
• Integration with POS/BOS/supplier invoices.
• Standardised chart of accounts and wide array of
accounting reports.
• Multi lingual and customised for local markets.
• Drill down to transaction data.
• Customised franchisor reports.
• Accounting period locking to avoid back posting.
• Hosted online – rapid deployment and low capex
Benefits:
• Reduced costs
• Easy to use
• Financial controls
• Accessible online
Description:
An online retail management information system for
franchisors to gain transparency and control of their
franchisee network.
Features:
• Reports on locked periods and usage.
• Full access to all sites with drilldown capabilities.
• Purchase compliance and assessment.
• Network wide P&L and Net worth/Liquidity reports.
• Comprehensive data analysis across the full
spectrum of the accounting data.
• Export data into spreadsheets for further analysis.
• Hosted online – rapid deployment and low capex.
Benefits:
• Transparency
• Control
• Benchmarking
• Accessible online

6. • Proven track record in delivering projects, to brief and
in budget for some of the largest retail companies in
the world.
Client Portfolio
• Case Study 1 - 65 store franchise group.
From the daily sales by department data, entered at
store level, variable commission rates were applied,
and monthly franchise fees calculated automatically.
These were produced within 2 or 3 days of the month
end.
• Case Study 2 - 100+ petrol convenience network. In
2010, the group analysed drive offs in the previous
year, by forecourt and by territory. Time taken to
produce the analysis – 20 minutes.
• Case Study 3 - 250+ franchise group. The group
expects their franchisees to complete their data entry
within 15 days of the month end and for their
accountant to have reviewed the financial statements
within a further 15 days. Head office staff can access
a real time report showing progress against these
targets and exception reports showing those that
missed.

7. Stakeholder Benefits
CounterBooks
Credit
analysts
Franchisee
Accounting
partner
Territory
manager
Regional
manager
General
management
Finance
manager
Billing
manager
Suppliers
Stakeholder Benefits
General
management
Transparency, consistency
and control.
Franchisee
Easy to use, reduced costs,
improved controls and in-
depth reports.
Credit analysts
Real time data to assess
credit risk of retailers.
Accounting
service partner
Automated and standardised
online accounting platform.
Territory manager/
Franchisor
Online and immediate access
to standardised data.
Supplier
Reduced costs and improved
processes.
Reduce costs +
Improve
performance +
Manage risk +
Assess compliance +

8. General Architecture
Data Import 95%
Manual Input 5%
Delivery Notes
Data for analysis
Invoice data
Electronic
invoicing
including
Preferred
Suppliers,
Utilities etc.
Data Export File Advice
and
special
bookings
Reporting
POS
Preferred
Suppliers
Utilities etc.
Small local
suppliers
Franchisor
Accountant
Franchisee
Deliveries
reconciled
with invoices
by site manager
Paper
Invoices

9. Reporting Architecture
Interim Reports
- P&L
- Balance sheet
Always up to date
Head Office reports
Franchisee
Accountant
Territory Manager/
Franchisor
and
Head Office
Statutory/Audit Reports
Data analysis
and data mining
Month End reports
- comply with franchisor requirements
Formatted pdf documents
Usage reports
Territory Manager reports

10. Deployment Options
There are three deployment options for the CounterBooks suite.
Retail Management
Information
System
Online Retail
Accounting
System
Franchisee Franchisor
Deployment option Applicable
Online Retail Accounting System (only) If there are no reporting requirements to Head Office by the franchisee.
Retail Management Information System (only)
If there is an existing accounting service provider but no or limited transparency and
control through analysis and reporting via consolidated database.
Full Retail Accounting Management Suite If the franchisee and franchisor wish to benefit from the entirety of the suite.

11. Global Deployment Capabilities
• The application is delivered through the cloud, which reduces the requirement for capex investment and
provides a rapid deployment platform.
• CounterBooks has the unique capabilities to deploy globally. The application can be tailored to meet the needs
of any local market :-
 Multi lingual – can be translated into any language – all character sets can be supported.
 Compliant with local accounting standards.
 Compliant with government requirements.
 Customised reporting to meet the franchisors’ requirements.
• CounterBooks can be supported by the incumbent accounting service providers, however CounterBooks can
source alternative providers through its affiliation of DFK, which is a Top 10 international advisory network with
over 380 offices and 10,000 staff. This relationship provides CounterBooks with the international accounting
expertise and accounting professionals to deliver a global project.

12. Business case for CounterBooks
Many of our clients use CounterBooks as an integral tool for managing their network from ‘day to day’ management
to making strategic decisions. The two drivers for a business case of CounterBooks include:-
• Transparency and control
• Assess the credit risk of franchisees and take
remedial action to mitigate risk thereby
reducing losses.
• Monitor and benchmark franchisees
performance in real time with quicker month
end routines.
• Analyse franchisees earnings and
remuneration with drill down functionality.
• Reduced time budgeting and analysing
variance against budget.
• Investigate purchase compliance across
franchisees.
• Assists in strategic decision making such as
disposals while streamlining financial due
diligence.
• Self funding through cost savings
• Through integration and automation of the
accounting process, CounterBooks can
reduce time and costs by up to 85% thereby
providing substantial cost savings to fund the
deployment across a network.
• Collating information from franchisees into a
central database – many franchisors receive
varying levels and quality of information which
is often re-entered into an separate database
which requires additional resources/costs and
liable to errors.

13. Summary Points
• CounterBooks is an online retail accounting management suite
• Franchisees use the online retail accounting system
• Franchisors use the retail management information system
• The full CounterBooks suite can be deployed, alternatively just the accounting system or MIS
• Deployed over the cloud – rapid deployment, reduced capex, and fully managed.
• Successfully deployed by several major franchisors.
• CounterBooks can be translated and customised for all countries.
• Local accounting support can be delivered through incumbent providers or the DFK network.
• CounterBooks will deliver the following benefits:-
• Lower costs (transmission costs, accounting costs)
• Improved reporting – standardised and customised reporting across the network with full data
analysis capabilities.
• Manage risk – assess credit, business and churn risk through monitoring net worth and liquidity.
• Monitor compliance – assess the purchasing compliance of franchisees and reporting deadlines.
• Easy to use – designed to be intuitive and easy to use.
• Fully supported – full training and helpdesk support is provided to all users resulting in high customer
satisfaction and user engagement.
• Cost savings and self funding project – the deployment of CounterBooks is often funded by the savings of
the franchisees professional service fees.

14. RFI or RFP:
We would be delighted to respond to any ‘Request For Information’ (RFI) and
‘Request For Proposal’ (RFP) – please forward all requests.
Book an online demonstration:
W: www.CounterBooks.com
T: (+44) 020 7099 1050
E: contact@CounterBooks.com
If you are interested in understanding how CounterBooks could empower you and
your stakeholders by reducing costs, improving accuracy while making more
informed business decisions – please contact us to book an online demonstration.
Next steps
Benchmarking of current provision:
We would happily produce a benchmarking report of your current provision against
CounterBooks capabilities – please forward all requests.