Anyone dealt with franchise billing where the franchisor handles utilities? I've got a potential client with 12 Subway locations but the franchise company pays all the bills directly. Client only sees a monthly summary charge. Is this even auditable?
Franchise billing nightmare
Vera, I ran into this with a McDonald's franchisee. You need to get the franchisor to provide the actual utility bills, not just their summary. Some will cooperate if the franchisee makes the request formally. Others won't budge.
Had success with this by having the franchisee request billing transparency as part of their franchise agreement review. Most franchisors don't want to seem like they're hiding markup or errors. Got full billing access for a Burger King operator that way.
Interesting approach Pete. I'll suggest they bring it up during their next franchise review meeting. Worth a shot!