Automating Royalties: Simplifying Franchise Billing for Maximum Efficiency

This project transformed a manual, error-prone royalty billing system into an automated, user-friendly platform for franchisees. The new solution streamlined workflows, reduced data errors, and delivered real-time royalty calculations across diverse POS systems.

60%

Reduction in manual errors

50%

Faster data uploads

40%

Increase in user satisfaction

Automating Royalties: Simplifying Franchise Billing for Maximum Efficiency

This project transformed a manual, error-prone royalty billing system into an automated, user-friendly platform for franchisees. The new solution streamlined workflows, reduced data errors, and delivered real-time royalty calculations across diverse POS systems.

60%

Reduction in manual errors

50%

Faster data uploads

40%

Increase in user satisfaction

Automating Royalties: Simplifying Franchise Billing for Maximum Efficiency

This project transformed a manual, error-prone royalty billing system into an automated, user-friendly platform for franchisees. The new solution streamlined workflows, reduced data errors, and delivered real-time royalty calculations across diverse POS systems.

60%

Reduction in manual errors

50%

Faster data uploads

40%

Increase in user satisfaction

Category

B2B enterprise application

What I worked on

UX/UI

Team

UX Researchers, Project Manager, Sales, Marketing, Developers, Testers

Tools

Adobe XD, UXPin, Usertesting.com

Challenge

Untangling Complexity: Addressing Franchise Billing Pain Points

The old royalty billing system, dependent on manual input and outdated software, caused inefficiencies and frequent errors. Franchisees struggled to manage sales data across varied POS systems and lacked a centralized, intuitive platform for royalty calculations.

Manual Data Entry:

Increased errors and delays in royalty calculations.

Complex Royalty Workflows:

Difficult for franchisees to quickly calculate accurate royalties.

Lack of Centralization:

Users had no unified platform for sales data management.

Inconsistent POS Integrations:

Diverse formats required tedious manual adjustments.

Technical Barriers:

Non-technical users found the old system overwhelming.

Limited Reporting Features:

Franchisees struggled to access actionable insights for decision-making.

Research and Discovery

Understanding Franchisee Needs: Laying the Foundation for Success

We conducted user surveys, interviews, and competitor analysis to understand franchisee workflows and challenges. Insights from this research shaped the design of a centralized, automated billing platform.

Real-Time Access:

Users needed instant updates on royalty data.

Real-Time Access:

Users needed instant updates on royalty data.

Real-Time Access:

Users needed instant updates on royalty data.

Centralized Dashboard:

Franchisees required a unified view of sales and royalties.

Centralized Dashboard:

Franchisees required a unified view of sales and royalties.

Centralized Dashboard:

Franchisees required a unified view of sales and royalties.

Ease of Use:

Most users lacked technical expertise, demanding an intuitive interface.

Ease of Use:

Most users lacked technical expertise, demanding an intuitive interface.

Ease of Use:

Most users lacked technical expertise, demanding an intuitive interface.

Automation:

Manual workflows caused delays and errors in royalty calculations.

Automation:

Manual workflows caused delays and errors in royalty calculations.

Automation:

Manual workflows caused delays and errors in royalty calculations.

POS Variability:

Franchisees needed seamless integration across diverse POS systems.

POS Variability:

Franchisees needed seamless integration across diverse POS systems.

POS Variability:

Franchisees needed seamless integration across diverse POS systems.

Simplified Reporting:

Franchisees struggled to access actionable insights for decision-making.

Simplified Reporting:

Franchisees struggled to access actionable insights for decision-making.

Simplified Reporting:

Franchisees struggled to access actionable insights for decision-making.

How Personas Guided Decisions

We developed personas such as Sarah (Franchise Manager), who managed multiple stores and prioritized accurate, centralized reporting, and James (Franchise Owner), who needed quick access to royalties across locations. These personas helped shape the platform to meet diverse needs.

How Might We
How might we automate royalty calculations to minimize errors?
How might we automate royalty calculations to minimize errors?
How might we automate royalty calculations to minimize errors?
How might we simplify data uploads for diverse POS systems?
How might we simplify data uploads for diverse POS systems?
How might we simplify data uploads for diverse POS systems?
How might we provide franchisees with real-time financial insights?
How might we provide franchisees with real-time financial insights?
How might we provide franchisees with real-time financial insights?
Ideation & Strategy

From Ideas to Action: Building Franchise-Centric Solutions

We used brainstorming and user journey mapping to identify core features for an efficient royalty billing platform. Key features were designed to streamline workflows, integrate seamlessly with POS systems, and enhance reporting capabilities.

Proposed Features
Automated Royalty Calculations:

Reduced manual effort with real-time rules-based calculations.

Automated Royalty Calculations:

Reduced manual effort with real-time rules-based calculations.

Automated Royalty Calculations:

Reduced manual effort with real-time rules-based calculations.

POS Data Integration:

Supported multiple formats for seamless data uploads.

POS Data Integration:

Supported multiple formats for seamless data uploads.

POS Data Integration:

Supported multiple formats for seamless data uploads.

Centralized Dashboard:

Provided franchisees with an overview of performance metrics.

Centralized Dashboard:

Provided franchisees with an overview of performance metrics.

Centralized Dashboard:

Provided franchisees with an overview of performance metrics.

Error Validation Checks:

Minimized data entry issues during uploads.

Error Validation Checks:

Minimized data entry issues during uploads.

Error Validation Checks:

Minimized data entry issues during uploads.

Customizable Reports:

Enabled users to generate franchise-specific financial insights.

Customizable Reports:

Enabled users to generate franchise-specific financial insights.

Customizable Reports:

Enabled users to generate franchise-specific financial insights.

User-Friendly Interface:

Simplified navigation for non-technical users.

User-Friendly Interface:

Simplified navigation for non-technical users.

User-Friendly Interface:

Simplified navigation for non-technical users.

Design

Crafting Simplicity: Intuitive Design for Complex Workflows

I created wireframes, prototypes, and a responsive UI design system to streamline user journeys. Usability testing ensured that the platform addressed franchisee pain points and simplified sales data management.

Wireframing and Prototyping

Using Adobe XD and UXPin, I iteratively developed:

Low-Fidelity Wireframes:

Focused on intuitive layouts for sales data uploads and royalty calculations.

Interactive Prototypes:

Allowed users to simulate key tasks, gathering feedback for iterative improvements.

Key Features

Key Features

Key Features

Evaluation

Delivering Value: Measurable Results and Impact

The new platform streamlined royalty billing processes, reduced errors, and improved user satisfaction. Franchisees now had real-time access to data, enabling quicker decision-making and more accurate royalty management.

  • 60%

Reduction in manual errors

  • 60%

Reduction in manual errors

  • 60%

Reduction in manual errors

  • 50%

Faster data uploads

  • 50%

Faster data uploads

  • 50%

Faster data uploads

  • 40%

Increase in user satisfaction

  • 40%

Increase in user satisfaction

  • 40%

Increase in user satisfaction

The Takeaway

This project reinforced the importance of designing intuitive interfaces for non-technical users. I gained deeper insights into balancing automation with simplicity and learned to create scalable solutions for diverse user groups. Future iterations could include AI-powered insights for predictive financial analytics.

Disclaimer

©2025 imkunal | Made with ♥ from Ontario, Canada.

©2025 imkunal | Made with ♥ from Ontario, Canada.

©2025 imkunal | Made with ♥ from Ontario, Canada.