Managing Franchises in Bolster

Bolster makes it easy for multi-location businesses to manage franchise networks. If you're a franchisor or managing franchisees, this guide walks you through setup, key features, and controls available in the platform.

Key Terms

• Franchisor
  A parent company that oversees and manages a network of franchisees.

• Franchisee
  A child company operating under the franchisor’s brand and guidelines.

Setting Up a Franchisor

Franchisors are special companies with access to franchise-specific features like performance dashboards and shared catalogs.

How to Create a Franchisor:

1. Go to the Super User Dashboard → Companies.

2. Create a new company and assign a primary contact (this will be the franchisor owner).

3. After the company is created, go to its Settings.

4. Scroll down to Franchise Settings and click Convert to make it a franchisor.

⚠️ This action is permanent. Only convert brand-new companies.

Once converted, users in that company will see a new “Franchises” section on their homepage showing connected companies.

Adding Franchisees

To add franchisees to a franchisor:

1. Open the franchisor company's Settings.

2. Scroll to Franchisees and use the dropdown to select companies to link.
   
   

⚠️ Changes apply instantly once you close the dropdown.

You can add or remove franchisees anytime, as long as:

• The company isn’t already a franchisee under another franchisor.

• The company isn’t itself a franchisor.

What Franchisors Can Do

Once a company is set up as a franchisor, you gain access to three major features:

1. Franchise Metrics Dashboard

Track franchisee performance across multiple metrics:

• Compare franchisees using visual charts.

• Filter data by week, month, or year.

• Show or hide specific charts using the Charts menu.

• Select one or more franchisees using the Building icon at the top right.
  
  

💡 If only one franchisee is selected, standard company metrics will appear instead of franchise metrics.
🔒 Financial metrics are only available to users with administrator permissions.

2. Franchisee List

View all companies under your franchisor at a glance:

• See company names, logos, addresses, owners, and user counts.

• Use the Login button (only available for companies you’re a member of) to switch into a franchisee’s account.

3. Shared Catalogs

Franchisors can create and manage product catalogs for franchisees.

• Items created in the base catalog are private to the franchisor.

• Root categories can be selectively shared with franchisees.

To share a category:

1. Click the three dots (…) next to the category name.

2. Select Share.
   
   

3. Choose which franchisees should have access.

↪ Arrows indicate how many franchisees a category is shared with.
⚠️ Subcategories are automatically shared if the root category is shared.

Franchisees will see shared items in their own catalog view, separate from their local items.

Questions?

If you need help managing your franchise network in Bolster, reach out to our support team or contact your Bolster success manager.