Franchise technology planning for 2027 is mostly a subtraction exercise. What to fund, what to retire, and the three questions every line item has to answer.
Christian Pillat · September 1, 2026 · 5 min read
Insights
AI in Franchising
Practical notes on AI in franchising: what to govern, what to measure, and what actually changes for the people running locations.
Franchise Tech
The Franchise Software Landscape 2026: Six Categories and the Seams Between Them
The franchise software landscape 2026 sorts into six working categories. The failures live in the seams between them, and nobody is paid to own a seam.
Christian Pillat · August 25, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
When Private Equity Owns Your Franchise Software Vendor
A private equity franchise software vendor comes with a clock. What a hold period does to pricing and roadmaps, and the ownership questions buyers should ask.
Christian Pillat · August 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Franchise Software Migration: What Actually Has to Move
Franchise software migration is smaller than the fear around it. What genuinely has to move, what can stay behind as an archive, and the questions to ask first.
Christian Pillat · July 14, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Score It Yourself: Evaluating Franchise AI Features After the Demo
Evaluating franchise AI features with a five-axis rubric: where the context comes from, who the answer changes for, what it remembers, what it does, how often.
Christian Pillat · July 12, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Buying Software for Emerging Franchise Brands: What Right-Sized Has to Mean
Software for emerging franchise brands is mostly enterprise software sold downhill. What right-sized means, and four questions that price a product honestly.
Christian Pillat · June 13, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
The Rise of Franchise Vertical Software — and What Horizontal Tools Still Do Better
Franchise vertical software knows what a location, a territory and a royalty period are. Where that wins, where horizontal tools still beat it, and the real risk.
Christian Pillat · June 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
The Integrations That Matter: Franchise POS and Accounting Integration, in Order
A franchise POS accounting integration is worth sequencing, not bundling: why the ledger goes first, what the POS adds, and what local demand data is good for.
Christian Pillat · May 15, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Per-Seat vs. Per-Location: What Franchise Software Pricing Models Do to Your Network
Franchise software pricing models decide who is allowed to use the product. Why seat-based pricing rations the frontline, and why brands bill per location.
Christian Pillat · May 14, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Demo Theater: The Franchise Software Demo Questions That Break the Script
Franchise software demo questions that get past a polished pitch: show it with my data, what does the third week look like, and which feature do customers ignore?
Christian Pillat · April 12, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
The Pilot Decides: Running a Franchise Software Pilot Program
A franchise software pilot program is an experiment, not an early rollout: three awkward franchisees, four fixed weeks, and the walk-away sentence written first.
Christian Pillat · April 10, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Franchise CRM vs Management Software vs Ops Platform: Which Gap Is Hurting You?
Franchise CRM vs management software vs ops platform: start from the symptom, not the category. A diagnostic for lean teams that have to sequence purchases.
Christian Pillat · March 12, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Franchise Software Implementation Time: Why Four Months Became Normal
Franchise software implementation time is quoted in months and never independently measured. Where the months go, and how much of it is the vendor's business model.
Christian Pillat · March 10, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Why Franchise Training Completion Rates Don't Predict Competence
Franchise training completion rates measure compliance with training, not operating skill. What the number hides, and the leading indicators of real competence.
Christian Pillat · February 13, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Franchise Software Tool Sprawl: The Hidden Tax of Seven Point Solutions
Franchise software tool sprawl bills you twice: per-tool fees, then the seams between them. What the fragmentation actually costs, and when consolidation wins.
Christian Pillat · February 12, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Franchise Technology Budget 2026: Where the Money Is Actually Going
A franchise technology budget 2026 review: where rising franchisor spend flows — AI trials, data plumbing, franchisee-facing tools — and how to rank the three.
Christian Pillat · January 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
How to Set Franchise Tech Fees Franchisees Won't Resent
How to set franchise tech fees your network accepts: the four pricing decisions, the visible-benefit rule, and the warning signs that resentment has started.
Christian Pillat · January 9, 2026 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Franchise Build vs Buy Software: The Team You Would Have to Hire
Franchise build vs buy software decisions turn on headcount, not licence cost. What a real platform team looks like, and when building genuinely makes sense.
Christian Pillat · December 11, 2025 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
The FDD Item 6 Technology Fee: What It Actually Funds
The FDD Item 6 technology fee funds a stack no single operator could assemble alone. What it covers, why it drifts from the real cost, and what to disclose.
Christian Pillat · November 12, 2025 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
The True Cost of Free: What a Franchise Running on Group Texts Actually Pays
A franchise running on group texts is not using a free tool. It is deferring a bill: lost decisions, unsearchable history and a memory that leaves with people.
Christian Pillat · October 10, 2025 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
Franchise Management Software Comparison: FMS, CRM, Ops Platforms and LMS, Untangled
A franchise management software comparison in plain English: what FMS, CRM, ops platforms and an LMS each actually do, and which gap to close first.
Christian Pillat · October 6, 2025 · 5 min read
Franchise Tech
The Franchise Technology Stack in 2025: What Brands Actually Run
The typical franchise technology stack at an emerging brand is a POS, accounting software, a group text and a shared drive. Here's what that costs, honestly.
Christian Pillat · September 5, 2025 · 5 min read
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