Access4Lofts are a nationwide franchise business. They’re the UK’s largest installer of loft storage solutions. The company specialise in helping people from across the country utilise wasted space by providing swift, simple and affordable loft access and storage solutions.
We started working with Access4Lofts back in January 2013. It’s a relationship that’s blossomed ever since. So much so that the company recently transferred their franchisee network to Danbro. We recently caught up with Lindsay Brown, Marketing Director at Access4Lofts, to find out more about how Danbro have helped the company become national leaders in their industry.
“DANBRO HAVE PROVED TO BE INVALUABLE”
“Setting up a franchise is challenging,” Lindsay began by saying. “So, we needed an accountant who would not only grow with us, but would ensure that we had a robust finance and accounting infrastructure.”
“Danbro have proved themselves to be invaluable to our business. For example, as we use our CRM system for invoicing, Danbro developed a process to crosscheck and reconcile our Quickbooks accounts to the CRM invoices. This ensures that all invoiced income is now captured in the Management Service Fee. It’s very attractive to potential franchisees to know that they’ll have a cloud-based accounting system that’s integrated into our admin system. Especially one that can handle VAT returns, annual accounts, tax returns and payroll.”
It’s all part of the reason why Access4Lofts have taken the decision to mandate the use of Danbro, as far as they can, across their network.
“We’ve recently moved our entire network of franchisees onto Danbro’s fully managed service,” Lindsay said. “This means our franchisees are now only required to take photos of receipts on their smartphones and swipe across for it to get posted onto their accounts. This has been well received by all our franchisees. It’s a big selling point for us as franchisors.”
“Additionally, we as franchisors have access to all our franchisees’ accounts. We get bespoke reports that show us how our franchisees are performing against an average of others. This is extremely useful when carrying out our review meetings. We also approached Danbro to ask for reports based on profitability across the franchisee product range. Once again, they amended the accounts structure to provide this information.”
‘WE’RE A BETTER FRANCHISE BECAUSE OF DANBRO’
It’s wonderful to hear Lindsay speaking so positively about the service her company receives. But which part of Danbro’s accountancy package does she feel Access4Lofts couldn’t do without?
“All of it!”
“We’d have a mutiny on our hands if we told our franchisees they’d have to handle their own VAT returns, annual accounts, tax returns and payroll!”
“Danbro understand what a franchise needs to grow. From day one, they’ve encouraged us to create the right finance and accounting infrastructure to avoid headaches in the future. Having all our franchisees using the same system has made critical information much more accessible. It’s also proved effective in helping us recruit new franchisees. We are a better franchise because of it.”
“A CONSTANT SOURCE OF HELP”
Furthermore, as part of our award-winning accountancy service, every business we work with gets assigned a personal accountant to take care of their financial affairs. With Access4Lofts, Accounting Partner, Lara Hodkinson, looks after their finance function.
“Lara and Neil Ormesher [Danbro Accountancy MD] have been a constant source of help and advice for us. During our training week, Lara delivers a half-day presentation on the accounts and practices in relation to the business.”
It’s down to that personal relationship, therefore, that Access4Lofts were able to trust us with the outsourcing of their finance department.
“Because of our relationship with the people at Danbro, the decision to outsource to them was much easier,” Lindsay explained. “The system we have in place means that all the hassle of preparing our payment run is vastly reduced. Danbro understood what we were trying to achieve very early on. They’ve built robust systems, reports and management controls to facilitate our plans.”
So, if Lindsay were to sum Danbro up in three words? They’d be: “specialist, structured, and supportive!”
To find out how Danbro can help you fast-track your franchise, click here. We’ll understand, we’ll deliver, and we’ll grow together.
