How to manage multiple franchise locations each week
A weekly rhythm for owners over several stores: numbers Monday, GM check-ins, visits by need, schedules before they post.
Somewhere past three stores, an owner can't see every shift. What replaces it is a rhythm: the same questions, at the same time, for every store. It makes the week predictable for GMs too.
Monday: numbers
Last week for every store against the prior week and the same week last year: net sales, orders, average ticket, hourly labor, food cost where you have it, rating. Sort by the size of the change, not by store name. The top of that list is your week.
Monday and Tuesday: GM check-ins
Fifteen minutes each, same time weekly. Three questions: what moved, what's the one thing this week, what do you need from me. Write the one thing down.
Tuesday to Thursday: visit by need
Go to the two or three stores that moved most, during the daypart that moved. A visit at 2 PM tells you little about a problem at close.
Thursday: schedules before they post
Review next week's schedules against the forecast before they're posted. It's the cheapest point to change labor, and it keeps you clear of short-notice change rules where they apply.
Friday: the money
Deposits reconciled against sales, cash variances by store, and a look at the week's inventory counts. Small differences found weekly stay small.
Where Franlever fits
Franlever's weekly brief does the Monday sort for you — every store, biggest change first — and the daily brief gives each GM their one thing. See Franlever for multi-unit operators.
Common questions
- How do you manage multiple restaurant locations?
- With a fixed weekly rhythm: review every store's numbers on Monday, hold short GM check-ins, visit the stores that changed most, and review schedules before they are posted.
General information for restaurant and franchise operators, not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. Figures in examples are illustrations, not predictions or promises of results. Laws and platform policies change and differ by location, so check the current rules and talk to a qualified advisor about your situation.