Unlike other franchises, there are no upfront franchising or royalty fees! We are also the first accounting franchise in South Africa created in 2000 with a reputable and long- established brand name that provides you with the marketing leverage that you need to grow your client base. Our tried and tested operating model and cloud-based technologies ensure that you benefit from reaching your earning potential faster.

There are 2 franchise models:

• the single operator franchisee, and
• the management franchisee

Single Operator Franchise (usually home based)

In this franchise module, the franchisee carries out the work him/herself. No employees can be hired and the business is usually home-based.

Management Franchise (area practice – commercial premises)

As a BAN single operator franchise with no employees, your business will grow, so you may want to develop into a management franchise (area practice) and employ staff. Established single operator franchisees may apply to the Franchisor for approval to adopt this business module.

Single operator requirements:

• Hold a relevant accounting degree or diploma and preferably trained in an accounting and audit firm
• Qualify to register as a Tax Practitioner with an accredited Controlling Body
• An excellent reputation for professionalism, integrity and service excellence
• Be able to fully fund your initial 10 days training and legal fees
• We provide intensive initial training for 10 days that is conducted in Cape Town, which will require the franchisee living outside of Cape Town to arrange their own accommodation and travel, at their cost, on acceptance of the franchise
• Be credit worthy with financial resources to cover at least the initial 6 months of joining the franchise while building up your client base (working capital)
• Be able to fund a fully equipped home office on acceptance of the franchise

Management Franchisee (area practice) requirements:

Shares the same profile as our ideal franchisee listed above, but with the additional requirements of:

• Previously a BAN single operator franchisee for at least 3 to 5 years with a proven ability for managing skilled personnel in the accounting environment and a “hands-on” approach, as well as management and business skills
• Has a reputation for complying with BAN’s operating standards
• Has the capital outlay to proceed into fully-equipped commercial premises

Franchise fee

There are no franchise fees!

Initial start-up training – 5 days or 10 days, legal fees and software set-up:

Should the full amount be paid upfront and no deferred payment arrangement applied for, the initial training fee is approximately R127 000 (VAT inclusive), irrespective of whether the initial training period is 5 days or 10 days (please refer to FAQ “Initial Start-up Training” below for more information).

It is important to note that this fee may be variable and includes:

• Initial training fees:
  5 or 10 days preliminary training on the franchise systems and proven business methods (held in Cape Town).
• Legal fees:
  Initial legal costs incurred on conclusion of the Franchise Agreement
• Cloud- based customized BAN software

Initial training: accommodation and travel

The initial, intensive and compulsory 5 or 10 days of training is held in Cape Town.  The initial training fee mentioned above excludes flights, travel, accommodation and other meals.  These costs are for the Franchisee’s own account.  We provide daily lunch and refreshments.

Deferred payment arrangement

If a deferred payment arrangement is requested, the upfront initial fee will be determined and agreed upon during the interview process. Our deferred payment plan provides a flexible option to pay the remaining balance over 12 or 24 months, making it more manageable as your business grows.

Management service fees and BAN Membership Fund

Management service fee: Each Single Operator Franchisee and Management Franchisee is required to pay a monthly management service fee equivalent to 10% (excluding VAT) of net turnover. This is standard practice for franchises and covers the Franchisor’s costs for administration, marketing, training, organising events and much more.

BAN Membership Fund: A small membership fund is payable monthly for services including cloud-based software license fees, e-mail (BAN domain) and work management program, ongoing CPD training and materials, and BAN stationery.

Franchisees are not limited to clients within a geographical area and are free to operate anywhere in South Africa.

We have 3 different charging methods:

• Fixed fees: For various services such as income tax returns, company secretarial services and payroll
• Special service rates: Our ‘value added services’ are charged hourly at a higher rate than ‘compliance services’ as it requires a higher level of experience, expertise and competence.
• Compliance services: Fees for bookkeeping and accounting services are billed at hourly charge-out rates for compliance services relative to current market related rates. As a result of various factors influencing your value to your client, BAN has categorised 5 different levels of knowledge, experience and skills. Hourly rates are determined by the category within which you fall.

Further details of the potential earnings of franchisees are covered in our Discovery Day and the interview process as well as in the initial training by the franchisor.

We provide you with initial and ongoing training and technical support, operational materials, marketing and much more. Visit our Support page to find out more.

Your application success is based on you following each of the below steps to ensure that becoming a BAN franchisee is right for you:

Step 1

Complete the ‘Application Form’ online under the Discovery Day page on this website, or request the application form via e-mail and submit it together with your CV to career@ban.co.za.

Step 2

If your application form and CV is approved by our Franchise Application Board, we will send you an invitation to our next “Discovery Day” which is held in Johannesburg or Cape Town. Please see the Discovery Day page to find out when our next Discovery Day is being held.

Step 3

Discovery Day:

Our Discovery Day is a full day event where you’ll meet the Franchisor and a Franchisee and experience a day in the life of a BAN franchisee to see for yourself how and why our franchisees are as successful as they are.

Step 4

After Discovery Day, if you would like BAN to consider your application as a single operator franchisee, we will send you some more due diligence that you can complete at home to help you determine if you are able to or want to proceed with your application.

Step 5

Following completion of your due diligence we will assess the results and if approved, will set up an interview with the franchisor or a duly appointed senior colleague.

Step 6

We will carry out reference checks covering all your previous employment, credit bureau reports as well as any civil lawsuits, criminal and/or civil convictions that may have been brought against you. If we are satisfied with your reference checks, we will send you the Franchise Agreement to examine.

Step 7

To ensure that you fully understand the terms and conditions in our Franchise Agreement, we will arrange a 1 hour meeting with our Attorney’s and the Franchisor to answer any questions you may have, the cost of which is for your account.

Step 8

Sign the Franchise Agreement and make payment to book your seat for training.

On account of various legal reasons, single-operator franchisees are limited to trading in a sole proprietorship only.  Managed franchises or area practice franchisees are permitted to trade in a company.

Our single-operator franchisee model is home-based and requires a designated and appropriate room to be utilised exclusively for the purpose of conducting BAN’s business.  Nevertheless, a single-operator franchisee may hire a co-working space or a hot desk spot or small commercial office if their circumstances prevent home-based working.

Hardware:

• Laptop with a minimum of 8 GB of memory
• Lazer printer
• Colour printer and scanner
• USB flash drives
• External backup drive (in addition to a cloud-based backup system)

Software:

• Well-known antivirus and malware software
• Microsoft 365 that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Microsoft Teams, One-Drive (for cloud backups)

Office Equipment:

•  Shredder (for POPI compliance)
• Hanging filing cabinet
• Filing cabinet or shelving for filing
• Dedicated cell phone for business use
• Desk with drawers
• Comfortable office chair

Motor Vehicle:

• Reliable and roadworthy motor vehicle and valid drivers licence

Reference and law books:

• IFRS for SME’s 2015 (SAICA)
• Close Corporations Act
• SAICA Student Handbook (latest version) containing the following Acts:
  • Income Tax Act
  • Value-Added Tax Act
  • Estate Duty Act
  • Transfer Duty Act
  • Securities Transfer Tax Act
  • Tax Administration Act
• SAICA Student Handbook containing the following Acts:
  • Companies Act
  • Companies Regulations
  • Auditing Profession Act

You will be provided with a host of software to get you started, for example, our cloud-based timesheet and billing (invoicing) system, cloud-based practice management system, cloud-based tax system that is integrated with SARS e-filing, cloud-based company secretarial system that is integrated with CIPC, Pastel Payroll 10 employee licence and the full range of desktop Sage Pastel Accounting products.

You’ll receive our starter kit of specialized service manuals and digital templates including all working papers, fee estimate and costing software for new client proposals, terms of engagement letters, other legal agreements, financial reporting templates, a host of marketing material, BAN stationery, e.g. personalized business cards and letterheads, financial report covers, branded writing pads and so on, an e-mail address with the BAN domain and much more.

While the Franchisor is responsible for national marketing and strategies to promote the franchise together with brand reputation management, franchisees are responsible for marketing their business in their local area.  The Franchisor’s alliance partners who specialise in training and developing selling skills provide a full day of training together with training on local marketing strategies and planning in the initial 4 day start-up training.

Quality management is essential for the success of every business, and this holds especially true for franchises. A well-established quality management system has been the key to BAN’s success over the years as it has ensured high quality services consistent with the BAN brand’s standards.  The Franchisor has ensured consistent quality throughout the franchise since the ISQC 1 standard became effective, and more recently, by adopting the new ISQM 1 standard applicable to small and medium businesses and is the first accounting organisation to have published its ISQM 1 policies and procedure manual in August 2021, a full 15 months before the ISQM 1 standard becomes effective on the 15 December 2022.

Once you’ve narrowed your franchise brand choice, you’ll want to talk to some existing franchisees about what it’s really like out there in the trenches every day running the business. This is part of your due diligence and it’s imperatively important that you do so after attending BAN’s discovery day, where we will supply you with all the contact information of our franchisees.

The Franchisor provides 5 or 10 days intensive initial start-up training in Cape Town. We provide daily lunch and refreshments only. However, flights, travel, accommodation and other meals are to be borne by the Franchisee.  It is necessary to emphasize that the full 10 days of training is not negotiable and it is imperative that all applicants remain mindful of this critical element at all times throughout the Application Process and the impact of the possible training venue on their overall decision to proceed.

New franchisees require initial start-up training to ensure they understand and can replicate the franchisor’s business model, maintain brand consistency, operate efficiently and minimize risk, ultimately leading to a successful and profitable franchise business.

Initial start-up training – either 5 days or 10 days

Regardless of qualifications, the Franchisor will determine whether the initial start-up training for a new franchisee will be 5 or 10 days. This decision is based solely on the industries in which the franchisee has acquired the majority of their knowledge and experience. Further details will be provided at Discovery Day.

What is covered in the 5 days initial start-up training?

Business methods and practice management are covered in great detail to ensure you can manage your business effectively. This includes everything from the various types of client engagements and BAN’s legal agreements to the process of calculating and preparing fee estimates and proposals for potential clients. We will guide you through some specific digital templates that you will need to kick off your practice.  We also provide comprehensive training on our cloud-based timesheet and invoicing system. Additionally, we dedicate an entire day to teaching how to position your services to small and medium-sized business clients, as well as strategies for local marketing and converting leads into fees.

Over the 18 months following your initial start-up training, we will guide you through an additional 5 days of advanced training. This will cover our service manuals, prescribed methods and procedures, digital templates, the ISQM 1 quality management system, International Standards on Related Services and our cloud-based tax and company secretarial systems.

What is covered in the 10 days initial start-up training?

The 10-day start-up training is designed for new franchisees with advanced skills, primarily gained through experience in the audit and accounting profession, as well as those who have qualified as chartered accountants. It covers all topics included in the 5-day initial start-up training, with the content to be covered over 18 months being incorporated into the second half of the 10-day training.

Yes, most definitely.  You will be well prepared with all the necessary tools to get started right away after completing your initial training.