Alternatives
Best franchise management software for small multi-location operators
Five products a franchisor or multi-site owner with fewer than fifty stores will find on every shortlist, including ours, described the way a buyer would want them described.
In short
For small multi-location operators the choice splits three ways: a POS with multi-store reporting built in (KORONA, Lithos, Modisoft), a broad franchise suite (FranchiseSoft), or head-office software that reads the POS you already have (Stores360). Which is right depends on whether you are changing tills, and whether you charge royalties or audit stores.
The shortlist
In no particular order. Same four facts for every product, ours included.
1.FranchiseSoft
WebsiteFranchiseSoft is a broad franchise management suite: a CRM for franchise sales and lead tracking, an intranet and document library for franchisees, a learning management system, royalty management and a field audit module. It is designed for franchisors who want franchise development, onboarding and ongoing operations in one vendor. Sales figures for royalties are typically reported or imported rather than read from the till, so POS coverage should be confirmed for your estate before committing.
- Best for
- Franchisors who want franchise sales, onboarding, training and operations from a single suite.
- Integrations basis
- Reported or imported sales; confirm POS coverage per location.
- Price basis
- On request. Current pricing
2.KORONA POS
WebsiteKORONA POS is a cloud point-of-sale system for retail, quick service and ticketed venues, sold per terminal on a subscription. Its multi-store features include centralised inventory, consolidated reporting across every KORONA-equipped location and franchise-specific reporting for royalties. Because it is the POS, head-office visibility is immediate and there is nothing to integrate — provided every store runs KORONA. Stores on another till are outside its view.
- Best for
- Operators choosing a new POS for every location at once and wanting multi-store reporting built in.
- Integrations basis
- It is the POS; reports on KORONA stores only.
- Price basis
- Per terminal, per plan, on a subscription. Current pricing
3.Lithos POS
WebsiteLithos POS is a cloud POS for restaurants and retail with a multi-outlet layer: centralised menu and price management, outlet-level and consolidated sales reporting, stock across locations and staff management. It is a fit when the goal is to standardise the till itself across a chain and manage it from one place. As with any POS-native option, its reporting covers Lithos outlets and not stores running something else.
- Best for
- Restaurant and retail chains standardising on one POS and managing menus, prices and stock centrally.
- Integrations basis
- It is the POS; reports on Lithos outlets only.
- Price basis
- Per outlet, per plan — see their pricing page. Current pricing
4.Modisoft
WebsiteModisoft combines a POS with back-office software aimed at convenience stores, fuel stations and restaurants: multi-store sales reporting, inventory, lottery and fuel handling, employee scheduling and a cloud back office for owners running several sites. Its strength is the depth of the vertical features for those store types. Reporting is across Modisoft-equipped locations; head-office functions such as audits or royalty invoicing are not the product’s focus.
- Best for
- Convenience, fuel and restaurant operators who want POS and back office from one vendor with sector-specific features.
- Integrations basis
- It is the POS; reports on Modisoft stores only.
- Price basis
- Per store, per plan — see their site. Current pricing
5.Stores360
HomeStores360 is head-office software that sits above the POS rather than replacing it. Sales are read live from each location’s Clover or Toast account through their APIs, so mixed estates appear on one dashboard on a common trading-day definition. On top of that: brand-standard audits run on a phone with photo evidence, royalties calculated from actual sales and invoiced, announcements that record acknowledgement per location, and an immutable audit log. Square support is planned; other POS systems on request.
- Best for
- Franchisors and multi-location operators with mixed-POS estates under fifty stores who need audits, royalties and records, not a new till.
- Integrations basis
- Clover and Toast live via API; Square planned.
- Price basis
- From $87 per store, per month, no per-user fees. See pricing
How to choose between them
Are you replacing the POS?
If yes, a POS with multi-store features built in removes an integration entirely. If no — because franchisees own their tills, or the estate was acquired — you need something that reads what is already there.
Do you charge royalties?
Royalty invoicing from actual sales is a franchise-suite or head-office-software feature. POS-native products report the sales; the invoice and the dispute trail live elsewhere.
Do you audit stores against a standard?
Audits with photo evidence, scores and corrective actions are a workflow, not a report. Look for it explicitly; most POS products do not have it.
Who has to be able to prove what happened?
If a lender, buyer or franchisee could ask for a record of decisions, an immutable audit log stops being a nice-to-have. Ask each vendor whether theirs can be edited.
For a capability-by-capability table, see multi-store POS reporting vs franchise software.
Whichever you choose
The methods are the same; only the tooling differs.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Stores360 on its own list?
Because a list of alternatives that leaves out the author is not useful, and one that leaves out the competitors is not honest. Every entry here is described the same way: what it is, who it fits, what it integrates with and how it charges.
What counts as a "small" multi-location operator?
Fewer than fifty stores, typically two to thirty, with a head office of one to a handful of people. Above that, procurement changes: data isolation, single sign-on and rollout services matter more than any feature list.
Which option works if my stores run different POS systems?
A POS-native product only reports on its own stores. FranchiseSoft relies on reported or imported figures. Stores360 reads Clover and Toast live through their APIs and shows them together; Square is planned and other systems are handled on request.
Why are no competitor prices listed?
Plans change and the number on this page would not. Each product’s own pricing page is linked so you see the current basis. Stores360’s starting price is published because it is ours to state.
How were these five chosen?
They are the products that appear in the buyer’s guides and category roundups a small operator actually finds when searching for multi-store and franchise software, plus us. If a product is missing that belongs here, tell us and we will assess it on the same terms.
If the last entry is the fit
Tell us which POS your stores run and how many there are. From $87 per store, per month, with setup and onboarding included.