How a 61‑Unit Popeye’s Franchisee Improved Their Financial Reporting On-Time Delivery Rate from 20% to 85% with Restaurant365 & RRFMG
Client: TICE (wearetice.com)
Industry: Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) Franchisee – Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen
Locations: 61 restaurants across the Southeastern United States
Primary Contact: Fernando Amaro, Executive Chairman, TICE & CEO – Florida Portfolio (46 locations)
Executive Summary
TICE, a rapidly growing Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen franchisee operating 61 locations across the Southeast, needed a more reliable, scalable, and restaurant-specialized accounting partner. Their prior outsourced accounting provider delivered limited reporting depth, inconsistent timeliness, and insufficient restaurant-industry expertise. These gaps created operational friction, delayed financial visibility, and even forced the postponement of board meetings.
After evaluating three firms – and acting on a strong referral from a trusted large Popeyes franchisee (Amirian Management Company) – TICE selected Restaurant & Retail Financial Management Group (RRFMG). Following a migration from Sage Intacct to Restaurant365 and a full redesign of accounting processes, RRFMG now manages TICE’s accounting and bookkeeping functions using a blended U.S. and Philippines-based team.
The results include dramatically improved reporting timeliness and accuracy, standardized processes, scalable staffing, and restaurant-specific financial insight – enabling TICE leadership to make faster, better-informed decisions across its growing portfolio.
The Situation: Franchise Growth Hampered By Accounting Constraints
Multi‑unit restaurant operators don’t fail because of lack of sales data – they struggle when financial reporting is late, shallow, or unreliable. For growing franchise groups, delayed or low‑visibility accounting can slow decisions, disrupt board governance, and create scaling bottlenecks.
That was the situation facing TICE, a fast‑growing Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen franchisee operating 61 locations across the Southeastern United States, before partnering with Restaurant & Retail Financial Management Group (RRFMG).
After migrating from Sage Intacct to Restaurant365 and outsourcing accounting operations to RRFMG’s restaurant‑specialized team, TICE dramatically improved reporting speed, process quality, and financial visibility – while gaining scalable accounting capacity to support continued expansion.
Here’s how they did it.
About TICE: A Growth‑Driven Popeyes Franchise Operator
TICE is led by seasoned executive Fernando Amaro, a 30+ year operational leader widely recognized as a “Growth Architect” for his ability to drive sales, marketing, and operational performance at scale. His leadership history includes building business units from early-stage to nine-figure revenue levels and serving on multiple private company boards.
At TICE, Fernando’s mandate is clear: build operational excellence and scalable infrastructure to support aggressive restaurant portfolio growth.
To do that, he needed accounting and financial operations that could keep pace.
The Challenge: Delayed Financials, Limited Drill‑Down, and Scaling Constraints
Before engaging RRFMG, TICE outsourced accounting to an India-based firm using Sage Intacct. While the system produced standard reports, it created serious operational limitations for a multi‑unit restaurant organization:
- Limited ability to drill into financial reports
- Insufficient operational visibility for management
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Inconsistent and delayed financial delivery
- Lack of restaurant and franchise-specific expertise
- Process fragmentation across portfolio entities
- Repeated delays in receiving board-ready financials
According to Fernando, reporting reliability was so inconsistent that board meetings sometimes had to be postponed due to missing or late financial information.
TICE needed more than outsourced bookkeeping. They needed a restaurant-specialized accounting partner with franchise expertise, strong Restaurant365 knowledge, and the ability to support growth.
Why TICE Selected RRFMG for Restaurant Accounting & Restaurant365
TICE evaluated three different accounting providers. RRFMG stood out for two primary reasons: referral trust and restaurant specialization.
- Trusted Referral from a Major Popeye’s Franchisee
RRFMG was recommended by Amirian Management Company, a large and highly respected Popeye’s franchise operator. That peer validation significantly influenced TICE’s evaluation. - Deep Restaurant & Popeye’s Franchise Expertise
RRFMG focuses specifically on restaurant accounting and Restaurant365 environments. Their direct experience supporting other Popeye’s franchisees gave TICE confidence that onboarding would be faster and more effective.
After several conversations with RRFMG CEO Wayne Lipschitz, Fernando concluded the firm had both the operational and brandspecific knowledge required: “I realized that Wayne knew what he was talking about and could get the job done. He knows the restaurant business quite a bit, and he also had a successful track record working with Popeye’s itself. It helps when you’ve worked with other franchisees that have the same brand.”
The Solution: Restaurant365 Migration + Specialized Outsourced Restaurant Accounting
RRFMG implemented both a technology upgrade and a process redesign for TICE.
Migration from Sage Intacct to Restaurant365
RRFMG migrated TICE’s accounting environment to Restaurant365 (R365) – a platform built specifically for restaurant operators. During this implementation phase, RRFMG also greatly helped in cleaning up prior year books inherited from the previous accounting services provider.
This enabled:
- Location-level drilldown reporting
- Operationally aligned financial visibility
- Better multi-unit performance tracking
- Stronger integration between accounting and restaurant operations
Full Outsourced Accounting & Controller Support
RRFMG now manages TICE’s accounting and bookkeeping functions inside Restaurant365, including:
- Virtual Controller services
- Accounts Payable processing
- P&L management
- Cash reconciliations
- Third-party reconciliations
- Weekly flash reporting
Higher-Quality Global Accounting Talent Delivery Model
RRFMG deployed a blended U.S. and Philippines-based accounting team. Compared to the prior outsourcing provider, TICE observed a significant quality improvement in staff capability and education level. Fernando points out: “The education level of people in the Philippines from RRFMG is quite higher than what we were getting before.”
Accounting Process & Controls Modernization
RRFMG also standardized and strengthened TICE’s accounting operations by:
- Establishing restaurant accounting SOPs and best practices
- Consolidating multiple entities into a unified chart of accounts
- Improving month-end close workflows
- Creating a structured SharePoint working-papers system
Assistance With TICE’s First Ever Audit
Financing obligations also necessitated that TICE have an audit performed by a CPA firm. RRFMG assisted once again by providing auditing resources that helped TICE ensure they were in full compliance with their bank’s requirements.
The Results: Faster Close, Reliable Reporting, and Scalable Support
The operational and reporting improvements were immediate and measurable.
Financial Reporting & Performance
- On-time delivery of accurate financials improved from 20% to 85%
- Month-end close process described as “100 times better” than prior state
- Board reporting delays eliminated
Operational Scalability
- Accounting capacity now scales quickly as new restaurants are added
- No hiring bottlenecks when growth accelerates
- Access to RRFMG’s broader bench of restaurant-specialized experts
Process Maturity
- Consistent SOP-driven accounting workflows
- Cleaner entity structure and reporting alignment
- Reliable audit trail and working paper organization
Partnership Experience: High Engagement, Low Turnover, Service Mindset
Beyond technical outcomes, TICE emphasizes RRFMG’s culture and responsiveness as a major differentiator.
When discussing RRFMG’s approach, Fernando notes: “Wayne’s team is very engaged. They’re good people to work with – friendly and very service oriented.” He also points to RRFMG’s staff stability as a trust signal: “You know you’re dealing with a good company when a lot of their team has been with them a long time and there’s very little turnover.”
As for RRFMG’s leadership, Fernando adds: “Wayne Lipschitz is the kind of person that doesn’t want to stop until you’re happy with the result.”
Key Benefits to TICE
According to Fernando Amaro, the value delivered by RRFMG is multi-dimensional:
- Scalable accounting capacity aligned with restaurant growth
- Restaurant and franchise-specific expertise – not generalist accounting
- Brand-specific experience with Popeyes franchise operations
- Higher-quality talent and delivery standards
- Improved financial visibility and drill-down reporting
- Reliable, board-ready financials
- Engaged, service-oriented partnership
In closing, Fernando summarizes the engagement clearly: “I wish I would have known about RRFMG earlier and started with them – but I’m glad they’re with us now.”
