Top 15 Accounting Agencies for Franchises

Sound financial management is the cornerstone of success for any franchise venture. From navigating complex tax regulations to optimizing operational efficiency, franchise owners rely on experienced accounting professionals to guide them through whatever fiscal challenges might come up.

Here are 15 of the leading accounting firms renowned for their expertise in this niche and their commitment to helping franchises thrive.

BDO USA

With over 25 years of direct industry experience and involvement in the International Franchise Association (IFA), BDO has been ranked as the No. 1 Franchise Supplier in Accounting by Entrepreneur Magazine for two years running. In addition to tax and assurance services, BDO  provides transactional buy-side and sell-side due diligence, tax structuring, data analytics, integration and automation. Founded in 1963, BDO derives its acronymous name from the surnames of its original founders: Binder, Dijker and Otte.

BooXkeeping

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Founded in 2009 by Max and Elena Emma, BooXkeeping provides specialized, scalable bookkeeping and accounting services for franchises, including roll-up/drill-down custom reporting for franchisors. BooXkeeping currently providers services for hundreds of franchise brands (including FastSigns, Starpoint Brands and Sports Clips) and has been recognized as a top bookkeeping service provider by ClearlyRated and Financial Services Review 

Citrin Cooperman

Founded in 1979, Citrin Cooperman has a dedicated franchise practice extending back more than 40 years. The experienced CFE-accredited professionals on Citrin Cooperman’s team work with the owners, operators, controllers and CFOs of a wide range of franchisors, offering insight and guidance to minimize uncertainty while helping them to meet compliance and contractual obligations and build their businesses. 

CLA

CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) provides a multi-disciplined team approach to working with all franchise parties — including private equity groups and multi-unit owners — to handle the financial, technological and human resource issues that drive the business of their clients. CLA’s services, which are available to franchisors and franchisees, include accounting and bookkeeping, audit and assurance, employee benefit plans and payroll, as well as tax planning and compliance, 401(k) and profit sharing, and business succession planning.

Deloitte

Deloitte has been providing industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to businesses for nearly 180 years now. Founded in London by William Welch Deloitte, this venerable firm numbers among its clients more than 5,000 private and middle-market companies, as well as nearly 90% of the Fortune 500. One thing that sets Deloitte apart from the rest is its holistic approach that treats financial accounting, operational process management and managerial reporting as interrelated disciplines rather than separate processes.

Eide Bailly

“Accounting is about numbers, but our business is about relationships.”

Since its founding in 1917, Eide Bailly has grown along with its clients to become one of the top 25 accounting firms in the U.S. This company prides itself on embracing change and technology and putting its clients first when providing services in tax, audit, consulting, business outsourcing and more across multiple industries (including franchising).

FORVIS

FORVIS LLP is a professional services firm that provides outsourced accounting services — including tax, assurance and financial advisory services — to help franchisees and franchisors alike improve their accounting operations and grow their businesses. Created in 2022 by the merger of Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP and BKD LLP, FORVIS is currently ranked among the top 10 public accounting firms in the U.S. and has 6,000 dedicated professionals serving clients across the country and around the globe.

Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton LLP is one of the largest audit, tax and advisory firms in the U.S. With 51 offices nationwide, Grant Thornton employs more than 9,000 professional “problem solvers” who are ready to lend their expertise to public and private organizations of all sizes and industries (including franchises) to help them establish their brand and grow their businesses to the next level.

KPMG

As one of the world’s leading professional services firms, KPMG provides innovative business solutions (along with audit, tax and advisory services) to many of the largest and most prestigious organizations on the planet. KPMG International boasts numerous independent member firms in 153 countries and territories around the world, including KPMG LLP in the U.S.

Metwally CPA PLLC

Founded in 2020 and based in Dallas-Fort Worth, Metwally CPA PLLC provides attestation (audit, review and compilation) services for small businesses (with revenue less than $10 million). The firm claims to be CPAs for the modern world: “More than just number crunchers, we are advisors and year-round consultants.” Metwally CPA PLLC operates in a number of different industries, but its focus is primarily franchisors, the financial sector and non-profit organizations.

OnePoint Franchise Accounting

With 20+ years of experience of service to top franchise brands (from QSRs to fitness concepts to everything in between), OnePoint Franchise Accounting provides “seamless” accounting solutions for franchisors, franchisees, multi-unit owners and private equity firms. OnePoint’s proprietary cloud-based platform connects with existing systems to provide its clients with fully integrated, comprehensive accounting data.

Pante Moran

Pante Moran’s national practice is a bit smaller than some of the others on this list; the firm represents 180+ franchise clients in a wide range of industries (food and beverage, health and beauty, retail, business services, education and more), helping them improve financial performance and enhance operations so they can optimize profits. Pante Moran’s partners are CFE-certified, with the credentials and expertise needed to advise growing franchisees and established franchisors on the best financial practices for their businesses. 

PwC

Formed in 1998 by the merger of Price Waterhouse with Coopers & Lybrand, PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) is a mammoth network of firms spread throughout 158 countries and manned by 250,000 professionals who are committed to providing the highest tier of assurance, advisory and tax services. PwC’s grand ambition is nothing less than “building trust in society and solving important problems.”

RSM

RSM International (branded RSM since 2015) is a multinational network of accounting firms making up the sixth-largest accountancy professional services network in the world (by revenue). Headquartered in London, RSM has subsidiaries worldwide, including RSM US. The self-proclaimed purpose of the RSM team is “to deliver the power of being understood to [their] clients through world-class audit, tax and consulting services focused on middle market businesses.” 

The Franchise CPA

The Franchise CPA is dedicated to the accounting needs of franchisors of any size and industry, providing financial statement audits, royalty audits and fractional CFO services. Because the firm focuses on franchising, it is able to provide a very specialized service to its clients while keeping its fee structure below industry standard. The Franchise CPA boasts a unique combination of real-world franchise experience, with team members who have been on both sides of the franchisor/franchisee relationship. As a result, the firm has a deep understanding of the sensitive relationship between the two and works hard to preserve it.

Finding the Right Partner

Partnering with the right accounting firm is vital for franchisors and franchisees like who are seeking to optimize their financial performance and achieve long-term success. A reputable agency that specializes in franchise accounting can provide business owners with the services they need — tax planning, financial reporting, operational consulting and more — to drive growth and maximize profitability while mitigating the risks that come with franchising.

If you are a prospective entrepreneur looking into franchising, a franchisor hoping to expand or a franchise consultant growing your business, check out The 1851 Growth Club — a sales/growth consultancy hyper-focused on doing franchising the right way.