Manage Your Franchise: Top 5 Franchise Software in 2025

Growing your business into a franchise is a big win. But unless you've mastered time travel, you can't be everywhere at once; managing schedules, training, and daily ops by hand will only stretch you thinner. Franchise software keeps everything connected in one place, so every location runs like you're right there, even when you aren't.

From employee scheduling to payroll across multiple locations, the right franchise management software eliminates the chaos of juggling spreadsheets, group texts, and disconnected systems. Here's what you need to know about choosing software that actually helps your franchise scale.

TL;DR: Franchise software

Running a franchise means your to-do list never ends, so let's not add another bullet to it. Here's a quick look at the best franchise software options and what to keep in mind when choosing the right fit.

Top 5 franchise software tools in 2025:

• Homebase: Best for hourly franchise teams—includes scheduling, time tracking, payroll, compliance, and team communication in one app.
• Erply: Best for inventory-heavy franchises and POS needs
• Delightree: Best for SOPs, compliance, and franchisee communication
• Pulse Technology: Best for data tracking, analytics, and insights
• Connecteam: Best for mobile teams and real-time communication

Key features to look for in franchise software:

• Employee scheduling software with built-in time tracking and payroll
• Centralized communication tools that work across all locations
• Automated compliance and reporting to stay audit-ready
• Scalable pricing and easy integrations with your existing tools
• Mobile access so your team can stay connected anywhere

Want the full breakdown? Keep scrolling.

What is franchise software?

Juggling schedules in one tab, payroll in another, while group chats blow up your phone? That's a recipe for burnout.

Franchise software centralizes everything you need to run multiple locations in one system:

• Build and share employee schedules across all franchise locations
• Track time and attendance with mobile clock-in
• Process payroll with automatic tax calculations
• Communicate with your team without personal text chaos
• Monitor compliance across different state labor laws
• Access real-time reports on labor costs and performance

The right franchise management software eliminates the manual work eating up your nights and weekends. No more rebuilding schedules from scratch, calculating time cards by hand, or playing phone tag to cover shifts.

Types of franchise software (and which one you need)

Not all franchise software solves the same problems. Before choosing a platform, understand which type matches your biggest challenge.

Franchise operations software

Handles day-to-day team management at each franchise location—the work that happens after you've sold the franchise.

Best for: Franchises with hourly teams (restaurants, gyms, retail, salons, cleaning services)

Core capabilities:

• Employee scheduling across multiple locations
• Time clock and attendance tracking
• Payroll processing and tax compliance
• Labor cost management and reporting
• Team communication and shift reminders

Homebase specializes in franchise operations software, helping franchisees manage hourly teams at each location. Instead of playing phone tag to cover shifts or manually calculating overtime, everything runs automatically.

Franchise development and CRM software

Focuses on selling franchises and managing the franchisee recruitment pipeline. This is the work that happens before someone becomes a franchisee.

Best for: Franchisors actively recruiting new franchise owners

Core capabilities:

• Lead management and CRM
• Territory mapping and visualization
• Candidate tracking through sales process
• Franchise disclosure document (FDD) delivery
• E-signatures for franchise agreements

Franchise training and onboarding software

Helps onboard new franchisees and train teams on brand standards, procedures, and compliance requirements.

Best for: Growing franchises needing standardized training

Core capabilities:

• Learning management systems (LMS)
• Digital onboarding workflows
• Training progress tracking
• Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Certification management

While some platforms focus solely on training, operations tools like Homebase include digital onboarding for new employees alongside scheduling and time tracking.

All-in-one franchise management platforms

Enterprise solutions combining operations, development, and training. These tools are ypically designed for large franchises with 50+ locations and bigger budgets.

Best for: Established brands with complex needs

Which type do you need?

If you're managing hourly employees across franchise locations, start with operations software like Homebase. If you're selling franchise territories, you need development software. Many successful franchises use both: operations tools for franchisees, development tools for growth.

Essential features in franchise management software

The right franchise software eliminates the chaos of managing multiple locations. Here are the features that matter most:

Employee scheduling for multi-location franchises

Building schedules from scratch every week while juggling availability across three (or five, or ten) locations? That's how your entire Sunday night disappears, and you still end up with scheduling conflicts on Monday morning.

What to look for:

• Template-based scheduling that copies across locations
• Drag-and-drop shift building from mobile devices
• Open shift posting for employees to claim
• Shift trading with manager approval
• Automatic conflict detection and warnings
• Schedule publishing with instant text and email alerts

Why it matters: Stop spending nights and weekends building schedules. The right franchise scheduling software cuts schedule creation from hours to minutes.

Time tracking and attendance management

Paper timesheets across multiple franchise locations mean time theft, forgotten punches, and Sunday nights spent playing detective with who-worked-when. Then you're crossing your fingers you got the overtime calculations right before running payroll.

What to look for:

• Mobile clock-in from phones, tablets, or POS systems
• GPS location verification for each franchise location
• Photo capture during clock-in (prevents buddy punching)
• Automatic break tracking with compliance alerts
• Digital timesheets that sync with payroll
• Early clock-in prevention to control labor costs

Why it matters: End the Sunday night dread of sorting messy time cards. Accurate time tracking means no more manual math, no more "dividing by 60," no more crossed fingers.

With Homebase's time clock, employees punch in from their phones, and you get GPS verification they're at the right location plus a photo to confirm who's actually working. Breaks are tracked automatically, timesheets are digital, and everything syncs straight to payroll.

In the words of one of our customers:

"Before Homebase I was manually tallying up my team's work hours and entering them into payroll, crossing my fingers I hadn't made any mistakes. Now our entire team logs in and out quickly and easily with the Homebase app."

Payroll integration for franchises

Running payroll for multiple franchise locations means juggling different state tax laws, varying minimum wages, and complex overtime rules. Without integration, you're manually entering hours and praying you didn't mess up anyone's paycheck.

What to look for:

• One-click timesheet to payroll export
• Multi-location tax compliance (federal, state, local)
• Automatic wage and overtime calculations
• Direct deposit processing
• Integration with QuickBooks, Gusto, Square Payroll
• Built-in payroll option for all-in-one processing

Why it matters: Process payroll from anywhere—even "sitting on a horse moving cattle" if that's your thing—without spreadsheet stress.

Homebase timesheets export to your payroll provider with one click, or you can run payroll directly in Homebase. Either way, hours are already calculated, overtime is flagged, and taxes are handled for each location.

Here’s what one of our customers had to say:

"The seamless way the data goes over to Quickbooks and I can run payroll with a couple button clicks is great."

HR compliance and labor law management

Managing labor law compliance across multiple franchise locations in different states means tracking dozens of break rules, overtime laws, and posting requirements. Get it wrong and face thousands in penalties, or worse, an employment lawsuit.

What to look for:

• State and local break and overtime rule configuration
• Compliance reminders and automatic alerts
• Overtime tracking before employees hit thresholds
• Digital record-keeping for FLSA compliance
• Employee handbook templates by state
• Audit trails for all timecard edits

Why it matters: The average employment lawsuit defense costs $75,000, and that’s before damages or settlements. Compliance software pays for itself by preventing just one violation.

Homebase automatically configures break and overtime rules based on where each franchise location operates. You get alerts before employees hit overtime, reminders for required breaks, and digital records stored for audits.

Team communication tools

Managing a franchise means constant communication: schedule changes, policy updates, emergency coverage. Without centralized tools, you're juggling group texts, personal messages, and emails—, and still missing half your team.

What to look for:

• Built-in messaging separate from personal texts
• Group and direct messaging by location
• Company-wide announcements
• Read receipts to confirm message delivery
• Shift reminders and automated alerts

Why it matters: Reach your entire team instantly without losing messages in personal text overload.

Homebase includes built-in team messaging so work conversations stay separate from personal texts. Send shift reminders, make announcements, or message specific locations, all in one app.

Performance tracking and reporting

Managing multiple franchise locations means you need visibility into what's working and what's not. Without centralized reporting, you're flying blind.

What to look for:

• Labor cost analysis by location, department, and role
• Labor vs. sales tracking to optimize staffing
• Attendance and punctuality reports
• Location comparison dashboards
• Real-time visibility across all franchise units

Why it matters: See exactly where your labor dollars go. Make targeted staffing adjustments instead of blanket cuts that damage customer experience.

Homebase tracks labor costs in real-time and integrates with POS systems to compare labor spending against actual sales.

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Top franchise software platforms in 2025

Here's how leading franchise software solutions compare:

1. Homebase

Best for: Restaurant, retail, gym, salon, and service franchises managing hourly teams

Pros:

• Employee scheduling across multiple locations with templates
• Mobile time clock with GPS and photo verification
• Reduces labor costs with real-time tracking and overtime alerts
• Team messaging, shift reminders, and self-serve shift swaps
• Syncs with payroll systems (Gusto, QuickBooks, Square) or run payroll in-app
• HR compliance by state and local laws
• Digital onboarding and hiring tools
• Free plan available for single-location franchises
• Intuitive app that hourly teams actually use
• Responsive customer support

Cons:

• Per-location pricing may add up for franchises with many small teams
• Advanced features like labor forecasting require paid plans
• Not designed for franchise development or territory sales

Pricing:

• Free plan: scheduling, time tracking, messaging for one location
• Paid plans: Start at $27/month per location (unlimited employees)

Ideal franchise size: 1-50 locations with hourly employees

"Our experience with Homebase has been great. Having our employees trade shifts with each other has changed our lives."

2. Erply

Best for: Franchises with complex inventory and retail operations needing integrated POS and stock management.

Strengths: Real-time inventory tracking, scalable multi-location POS, unified sales data, cloud-based platform, customizable permissions for different staff roles.

Weaknesses: Interface can feel clunky, weak scheduling and communication features, requires setup time.

Pricing: Basic plans start at $59/month; franchise pricing available upon request.

3. Delightree

Best for: Fast-scaling franchises focusing on operations standardization and compliance.

Strengths: Customizable SOPs and workflows, task management tools, mobile onboarding modules, real-time task visibility, centralized compliance documentation.

Weaknesses: Limited scheduling and payroll capabilities, too process-heavy for small teams, weak analytics.

Pricing: Custom pricing based on franchise size.

4. Pulse Technology

Best for: Franchise development and sales-focused organizations.

Strengths: CRM tools for franchise sales, real-time reporting across locations, marketing automation features, mobile dashboard, custom workflows.

Weaknesses: Learning curve for implementation, overwhelming for small teams, no native scheduling or time tracking.

Pricing: Custom pricing based on users and modules.

5. Connecteam

Best for: Mobile-first teams and field-based franchise operations.

Strengths: Built-in chat and team communication, mobile scheduling with shift claiming, training modules for onboarding, task checklists for daily operations, employee feedback tools.

Weaknesses: Limited reporting and analytics, app syncing issues reported by some users, fewer integrations than competitors.

Pricing: Free for up to 10 users; paid plans start at $29/month for 30 users, plus $0.50 per additional user.

Best franchise software by industry

Different franchise types have unique operational needs. Here's what to prioritize:

Restaurant and food service franchises

Restaurant franchises manage complex shifts, high turnover, strict health compliance, and tight labor margins.

Must-have features:

• Shift scheduling with rotating schedules
• Break compliance for food service regulations
• POS integration (Toast, Square, Clover)
• Labor cost tracking against sales targets
• Tip management and pooling

Homebase integrates with restaurant POS systems, automates break compliance for food service, tracks labor costs in real-time, and manages tip pooling, so you can focus on the food, not the back office.

Gym and fitness franchises

Fitness franchises juggle instructor schedules, class coordination, and flexible part-time employees.

Must-haves:

• Instructor scheduling with class coordination
• Multiple pay rates for trainers vs. front desk staff
• Mobile accessibility for traveling instructors
• Attendance tracking for payroll accuracy

Homebase handles varied instructor availability, multiple wage rates for different roles, and mobile time tracking for on-the-go trainers.

Retail, salon, and service franchises

These franchises need shift coverage, employee transfers, commission tracking, and mobile team management.

Must-haves:

• Shift trading across locations
• Commission and tip tracking for salon staff
• GPS verification for mobile service teams
• Employee availability across multiple stores

Homebase supports multi-location shift trading, tip and commission management, and GPS-enabled clock-in for field service teams.

Multi-industry franchises

If you operate different franchise types (restaurants and gyms), prioritize flexible operations software that adapts to different workforce types rather than industry-specific tools.

FAQs Franchise software 

What tools and software are exclusive to franchise systems?

Franchise-specific tools include territory mapping software, franchise disclosure document (FDD) management, royalty calculation systems, and multi-location reporting dashboards. However, most "franchise software" adapts general business tools—like scheduling, payroll, and team communication—for multi-location visibility and franchisee-specific permissions.

Which franchise scheduling software is ideal for coordinating staff across locations?

Look for scheduling software with template replication across locations, shift trading between employees, automatic conflict detection, and mobile accessibility. The best franchise scheduling software sends automatic shift reminders to reduce no-shows and lets managers build schedules from their phones. Homebase offers all these features plus labor cost tracking and POS integration to align staffing with sales forecasts.

What software is best for managing daily operations at franchise locations?

For franchises with hourly employees (restaurants, retail, gyms), prioritize employee scheduling, time tracking, and payroll integration. Homebase specializes in daily operations for hourly franchise teams across multiple locations. For franchise development and selling territories, consider CRM-focused tools like ClientTether or FranConnect.

Which HR software is ideal for franchise businesses?

Franchise HR software should handle multi-state compliance, automated break tracking, overtime alerts, and digital record-keeping. Look for software that adapts to state and local labor laws automatically—especially important if your franchises operate in different states. Homebase includes HR compliance tools that automatically configure rules based on where each franchise location operates.

How much does franchise management software cost?

Pricing varies by type:

• Operations software: $0-$50/location/month (Homebase offers a free plan)
• Development and CRM software: $50-$200/user/month
• Enterprise platforms: $500-$5,000+/month

Look for transparent per-location pricing without hidden setup fees or long-term contracts.

Simplify franchise operations with Homebase

Running a franchise shouldn't mean juggling a dozen tools or spending your days chasing down schedules and missed punches. Homebase brings everything together in one place, so you can manage your team, track hours, run payroll, and keep things compliant without the chaos. It's designed to help franchise owners and operators stay focused on the big picture, not the daily scramble.

Whether you're opening your second location or managing ten, consistency is everything. Homebase helps you keep schedules, hours, and team updates aligned—without making each location feel like its own separate project. It's easy to roll out, simple for teams to use, and built for how franchises actually operate.

Ready to take your franchise to the next level? Get started for free today.

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