Best POS for Franchises (2027)

Seven systems for franchise groups where head office sets the standards and each franchisee runs its own store. The features that matter are central menu control, local price overrides, and whether royalties calculate at the POS or in a spreadsheet afterwards.

Reviewed by CanComCo, Partner Experience Manager. Last updated November 2026.

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  • Only published pricing: KORONA POS. $59 per terminal per month plus $30 per franchisee, with royalties calculated at the POS.
  • Best for restaurant menus: Toast. One menu published to chosen locations, with different prices per location.
  • Best for separate owner accounts: Erply. Each franchisee gets its own account synced from HQ every 5 to 10 minutes.
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Illustration: two near-identical storefronts of the same brand on different streets

Top POS Systems for Franchises at a Glance

  • Only published pricing

    KORONA POS

    Royalty rules can be a percentage, a fixed fee or both, deducted automatically at the POS. The only system here you can budget without a sales call. Store-specific prices need the Plus tier at $99 per terminal.

    $59 per terminal/mo + $30 per franchisee/mo.

    Get KORONA POS
  • Best for restaurant menus

    Toast

    Head office builds one menu, publishes it to chosen locations, and sets different prices per location, with access controlled by role and location. Multi-location management is priced by custom quote.

    Custom quote.

    Get Toast
  • Best for separate owner accounts

    Erply

    Each franchisee gets its own account, synced from the HQ master every 5 to 10 minutes, and sees only its own reports. Built for chains of 50 or more stores.

    From $3,500. Billing period not stated.

    Get Erply

Why Franchise Management Matters for Your POS

Franchise groups need every location on the same menu, prices and brand standards, while each franchisee runs its own store as an independent business. Without franchise tools, head office cannot push changes or see results across owners.

Two failures cost in different ways. Head office changes a menu price and half the franchisees never update it, so the brand runs two prices for the same item and nobody at HQ knows which locations are which. Or a franchisor cannot collect royalty reports because each owner exports sales differently, which turns a monthly process into a reconciliation exercise across inconsistent spreadsheets.

The structural problem underneath both is that a franchise is not a chain. In a chain, head office owns every location and can simply mandate. In a franchise, each franchisee is a separate business with its own books, its own staff and often its own merchant account. The POS has to serve two masters: enough central control that the brand holds together, and enough local autonomy that a franchisee can run a business. Every system on this page sits somewhere on that line, and where it sits is the decision.

What to Look for in a Franchise POS System

  • 1. A central menu or catalog pushed to all locations

    Head office should build once and publish, not email a spreadsheet. Toast publishes one menu to chosen locations. SpotOn customizes one global menu by location. Lightspeed Restaurant shares menus across the group. Erply syncs from an HQ master. This is the baseline for any franchise POS software, and all seven do some version of it.

  • 2. Local price or item overrides by location

    Central control without local flexibility fails the moment a downtown location needs different pricing from a suburban one. Toast sets different prices per location. Lightspeed keeps local prices on shared menus. KORONA supports store-specific prices, but only on the Plus tier at $99 per terminal, which is a $40 jump per terminal over its $59 base.

  • 3. Reports across franchisees with owner-level access

    A franchisor needs the group view. A franchisee needs its own store and nobody else's. Erply handles this explicitly: each franchisee sees only its own reports. Toast controls access by role and location. A franchise POS with centralized reporting that cannot separate those two views will leave you running reports manually to avoid showing one owner another owner's numbers.

  • 4. Royalty and fee reporting

    This is the feature that separates a franchise POS from a multi-location POS, and almost nobody states it. KORONA calculates royalties at the POS as a percentage, a fixed fee or both, deducted automatically. Square lists royalty calculation without describing it. Toast, Lightspeed, SpotOn and TouchBistro have not published a royalty position. If a franchise POS with royalty tracking is why you are shopping, that narrows the field fast.

  • 5. Separate payment accounts per franchisee

    Each franchisee is a separate legal business, so each usually needs its own merchant account and its own settlement. Square is built around franchises running separate Square accounts under one view. Toast, KORONA and TouchBistro have not stated a position on separate merchant accounts. Ask this before anything else, because it determines whether the system fits a franchise structure at all.

  • 6. Pricing per location and enterprise plans

    Six of seven price by quote. Only KORONA publishes per-unit numbers, and Erply publishes a $3,500 floor without stating the billing period. Work out your own per-location cost before the sales call, so you have a number to measure a quote against rather than evaluating it in a vacuum.

Compare Franchise POS Software Side by Side

Six of seven systems are priced by custom quote. The Starting price column is not a comparison column on this page. The columns that separate these systems are Royalty reporting and Separate merchant accounts.

POS system Starting price Central menu or catalog Local overrides Cross-location reports Royalty reporting Separate merchant accounts Enterprise plan
KORONA POSOnly published pricing $59 per terminal/mo + $30 per franchisee/mo Yes Yes, store-specific prices need Plus at $99 per terminal Yes Yes. Percentage, fixed fee or both, deducted automatically Not stated KORONA Franchise
Toast Multi-location management by custom quote Yes, one menu published to chosen locations Yes, different prices per location Yes, access by role and location Not stated Not stated Yes, multi-location management
Square By quote. Custom processing rates above $250,000 a year Not stated Not stated Yes, separate accounts under one view Listed but not described Yes, separate Square accounts per franchisee Square for Franchises
Erply From $3,500. Billing period not stated Yes, HQ master synced every 5 to 10 minutes Not stated. HQ syncs can overwrite store edits Yes, each franchisee sees only its own Not stated Yes, each franchisee keeps its own account Franchise and Chain, for 50+ stores
Lightspeed Restaurant (K-Series) Enterprise by custom quote. Locations Manager price not stated Yes, shared menus Yes, local prices kept Yes Not stated Not stated Enterprise. Locations Manager is select accounts only and cannot be turned off once activated
SpotOn Build Your Own custom pricing for multi-unit groups Yes, one global menu Yes, customized by location Not stated Not stated Not stated Build Your Own for multi-unit groups
TouchBistro By quote Not stated Not stated Yes, staff work across locations Not stated Not stated Multi Unit

Features and prices verified November 2026. Not stated means the vendor has not published the detail, not that the capability is absent.

KORONA POS: Best for franchises that want royalties calculated automatically

KORONA is the only system on this page you can budget without a sales call, and the only one that states how royalties actually work. Rules can be a percentage, a fixed fee, or both, and they deduct automatically at the POS rather than being reconciled afterwards from exports.

The pricing is per-unit and transparent: $59 per terminal per month plus $30 per franchisee per month. For a 12-franchisee group that is 12 times $30, which is $360 per month in franchise fees, on top of terminal costs. Work out your own number before comparing against a quote from anyone else here, because it is the only baseline this page can give you.

Two things to budget around. Store-specific prices need the Plus tier at $99 per terminal, a $40 jump over the $59 base, so a group needing local pricing at 20 terminals pays $800 more per month. And separate merchant accounts per franchisee are not stated, which matters because each franchisee is usually a separate legal business. Ask that question before you commit.

Pros

  • Royalties calculated at the POS as percentage, fixed fee or both
  • Only published per-unit pricing here
  • Deducted automatically, not reconciled afterwards

Cons

  • Store-specific prices need Plus at $99 per terminal
  • Separate merchant accounts per franchisee not stated
  • Per-franchisee fee adds up across a large group

Pricing: from $59 per terminal per month plus $30 per franchisee per month.

Get KORONA POS

Toast: Best for restaurant franchises pricing menus by market

Toast gives head office the cleanest menu workflow here. You build one menu, publish it to chosen locations, and set different prices per location, with access controlled by role and location. For a franchise running downtown and suburban sites with different cost structures, that last part is the whole requirement.

Published to chosen locations is doing useful work in that sentence. It means head office can roll a change to a subset rather than all-or-nothing, which suits regional menu tests or a phased rollout across a group.

Two gaps and one unknown. Royalty reporting is not stated, so if collecting royalties is your primary driver, Toast does not currently answer that from public information. Separate merchant accounts per franchisee are also not stated, which is the structural question for any franchise. And multi-location management is priced by custom quote, so you cannot compare the cost against KORONA's published numbers without a sales conversation.

Pros

  • One menu published to chosen locations
  • Different prices per location
  • Access controlled by role and location

Cons

  • Royalty reporting not stated
  • Separate merchant accounts not stated
  • Priced by custom quote

Pricing: multi-location management by custom quote.

Get Toast

Square: Best for franchises where each owner keeps a separate Square account

Square for Franchises is built around the structure franchises actually have: separate accounts per franchisee, visible to head office under one view. Each owner keeps their own merchant account and their own settlement, and HQ sees the group. For a franchisor, that removes the awkward workaround of running everyone through one account.

Square also lists royalty calculation, which puts it in a short group with KORONA. The difference is that KORONA describes how it works and Square does not. Listed but not described is a feature you cannot evaluate, so make it the first question in your demo.

Pricing is by quote, with custom processing rates available above $250,000 a year in volume. That threshold is worth noting: below it you are on standard rates, above it the rate becomes negotiable. Central menu control and local overrides are not stated, which is a significant gap for a franchise standardizing a brand.

Pros

  • Separate Square accounts per franchisee under one view
  • Royalty calculation listed
  • Custom processing rates above $250,000 a year

Cons

  • Royalty calculation listed but not described
  • Central menu and local overrides not stated
  • Priced by quote

Pricing: by quote. Custom processing rates above $250,000 a year.

Get Square

Erply: Best for large franchise groups where each owner runs a separate account

Erply's Franchise and Chain plan is built for scale, and it is explicit about the structure: each franchisee gets its own account, synced from the HQ master every 5 to 10 minutes, and each sees only its own reports. That report isolation is stated more clearly here than anywhere else on this page.

The plan is for chains of 50 or more stores, which rules out most groups reading this. If you are under 50 locations, this is not your system regardless of fit.

One behavior deserves attention before deployment: HQ syncs can overwrite store edits. In a franchise, where each owner is an independent business that may have legitimate reasons to change something locally, a sync that silently reverts local changes is an operational and relationship problem. Establish exactly which fields HQ owns and which the franchisee can change. Pricing starts at $3,500, with the billing period unstated, so you cannot tell whether that is monthly, annual or one-time.

Pros

  • Each franchisee keeps its own account
  • HQ master syncs every 5 to 10 minutes
  • Each franchisee sees only its own reports

Cons

  • For chains of 50 or more stores only
  • HQ syncs can overwrite store edits
  • $3,500 floor with billing period not stated

Pricing: from $3,500. Billing period not stated.

Get Erply

Lightspeed Restaurant (K-Series): Best for restaurant groups sharing menus with local prices

Lightspeed Restaurant handles the central-versus-local tension directly: menus are shared across the group while local prices stay local. For a restaurant franchise that wants brand consistency on items and flexibility on pricing, that is the core requirement met.

Then there is a clause that belongs in your decision rather than a footnote. Locations Manager is available to select accounts only, and it cannot be turned off once activated. A feature you cannot reverse is a one-way door, and on a multi-year franchise deployment that deserves a pilot before a group-wide rollout. Ask what happens if the structure of your group changes after activation.

Royalty reporting and separate merchant accounts are not stated. Enterprise pricing is by custom quote, and the Locations Manager price is not stated either, so the cost of the feature that defines this system for franchise use is unknown from public information.

Pros

  • Shared menus with local prices kept
  • Built for restaurant groups
  • Enterprise tier available

Cons

  • Locations Manager is select accounts only and cannot be turned off once activated
  • Locations Manager price not stated
  • Royalty reporting and merchant accounts not stated

Pricing: enterprise by custom quote. Locations Manager price not stated.

Get Lightspeed Restaurant

SpotOn: Best for multi-unit restaurants customizing one global menu

SpotOn works from one global menu that each location customizes, which inverts the usual framing: rather than publishing separate menus, you maintain one and let locations adjust. For a group with broadly similar sites and local variations, that is less maintenance than managing several menus centrally.

Pricing comes through a Build Your Own structure for multi-unit groups, which means the package is assembled per customer. That flexibility cuts both ways: you get what you need and you cannot compare the price to anything on this page.

Three gaps. Cross-location reporting is not stated, which is unusual for a multi-unit product and worth confirming first. Royalty reporting is not stated. And franchisee data limits are not stated, meaning it is unclear what one owner can see of another's data. For a franchise, where owners are competitors as well as partners, that last question is not academic.

Pros

  • One global menu customized by location
  • Build Your Own packaging for multi-unit groups
  • Suits groups with similar sites

Cons

  • Cross-location reporting not stated
  • Royalty reporting not stated
  • Franchisee data limits not stated

Pricing: Build Your Own custom pricing for multi-unit groups.

Get SpotOn

TouchBistro: Best for franchise groups whose staff work across locations

TouchBistro Multi Unit targets a specific operational problem: staff working at several locations within the group. For a restaurant franchise where servers and managers move between sites, having one system recognize them across locations removes duplicate records and the scheduling friction that comes with them.

That is the clearest stated benefit, and it is narrower than what the other six describe. If shared staff is your actual pain point, this is the system that names it.

Four things are not stated: central menu control, local overrides, royalty reporting and payment accounts. Pricing is by quote. That leaves a product with one well-defined strength and little published detail on the four criteria that define franchise management on this page. Treat the demo as a fact-finding exercise rather than a product walkthrough.

Pros

  • Built for staff working across multiple locations
  • Multi Unit tier exists
  • Reduces duplicate staff records across the group

Cons

  • Central menu and local overrides not stated
  • Royalty reporting and payment accounts not stated
  • Priced by quote

Pricing: by quote.

Get TouchBistro

Which Franchise POS Fits Your Situation

You run a retail franchise with 12 franchisees and you collect royalties

Go with KORONA POS. Royalty rules can be a percentage, a fixed fee or both, deducted automatically rather than reconciled from exports. Do the math before the call: the add-on is $30 per franchisee per month, so 12 times $30 is $360 per month on top of terminal fees. If you need store-specific prices, add the Plus tier at $99 per terminal. For a franchise retail POS system where royalties are the point, nothing else here is close.

You run a restaurant franchise and price menus by market

Go with Toast. Head office builds one menu, publishes it to chosen locations and sets different prices per location, with access by role and location. Confirm royalty reporting and separate merchant accounts in the demo, because neither is published. As a franchise restaurant POS system it is the strongest on menu control.

You run a franchise group where each owner keeps a separate account

Go with Erply if you have 50 or more stores. Each franchisee gets its own account synced from the HQ master every 5 to 10 minutes, and each sees only its own reports. Ask which fields HQ can overwrite, because syncs can revert store edits. Below 50 stores, Square for Franchises is the separate-accounts answer instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a franchise POS different from a multi-location POS?

Two things: royalty reporting and separate merchant accounts per franchisee. A chain owns every location, so one merchant account and one set of books works. A franchise is a group of independent businesses, each with its own accounts, and the franchisor collects a royalty from each. A multi-location POS handles the first problem. Only a franchise POS handles the second and third.

Which of these calculate royalties?

KORONA POS calculates them at the POS as a percentage, a fixed fee or both, deducted automatically. Square lists royalty calculation but does not describe how it works. Toast, Erply, Lightspeed Restaurant, SpotOn and TouchBistro have not published a royalty position. If royalties are your reason for shopping, that is a field of two, and only one of them explains itself.

Can each franchisee keep its own merchant account?

Square is built around separate Square accounts under one head-office view, and Erply gives each franchisee its own account. Toast, KORONA, Lightspeed, SpotOn and TouchBistro have not stated a position. Ask this first, because a franchisee is usually a separate legal business and needs its own settlement.

Can head office set different prices at different locations?

Toast sets different prices per location. Lightspeed Restaurant keeps local prices on shared menus. SpotOn customizes a global menu by location. KORONA supports store-specific prices on the Plus tier at $99 per terminal, a $40 premium over its base. Square, Erply and TouchBistro have not stated a local override position.

What does a franchise POS cost?

Six of seven are priced by custom quote, so there is no comparable answer. KORONA publishes $59 per terminal per month plus $30 per franchisee per month. Erply starts at $3,500 without stating the billing period. Square offers custom processing rates above $250,000 a year in volume. Build your own per-location cost from KORONA's published figures before taking quotes, so you have a baseline.

Will head office changes overwrite what a franchisee does locally?

With Erply, yes: HQ syncs can overwrite store edits. That is stated plainly and it is the kind of behavior that causes friction between franchisor and franchisee. The other six have not published a position on sync conflicts. Establish which fields HQ owns and which belong to the franchisee before you deploy anything.

Can a franchisee see another franchisee's numbers?

Erply states that each franchisee sees only its own reports. Toast controls access by role and location. SpotOn's franchisee data limits are not stated. For the rest, this is not published. In a franchise, owners are partners and competitors at once, so report isolation is a commercial question rather than a technical one.

Our Verdict on Franchise Management in POS

KORONA POS is the pick if royalties are why you are shopping, because it is the only system here that explains how they work and the only one you can budget without a sales call. Toast is the restaurant answer for menu control, with one menu published to chosen locations and different prices per location. Square for Franchises is the structural fit if each owner must keep a separate merchant account, and Erply is the equivalent at 50 or more stores.

One caution for the whole category. Six of seven price by quote, and royalty reporting is published by only two. Build your per-location cost from KORONA's published figures first, then use it as the yardstick in every quote conversation.

Get KORONA POS Compare POS systems for multi-location chains

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