{"id":9249,"date":"2026-03-09T05:23:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T05:23:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/?p=9249"},"modified":"2026-03-15T05:24:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T05:24:55","slug":"case-study-franchise-integrated-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/case-study-franchise-integrated-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"900 Centers, One Model \u2014 How a Personal Care Franchise Built Top-Down\/Bottom-Up Revenue, OpEx, CapEx &amp; Employee-Level Workforce Planning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>How a national personal care franchise with 900+ centers built a fully integrated planning model \u2014 top-down\/bottom-up revenue, operating expenses, capital expenditures, and employee-level workforce \u2014 in a single IBM Planning Analytics environment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Client<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A national personal care franchise operating 900+ centers across 45 states, specializing in a single high-frequency personal care service. The company manages a mix of corporate-owned and franchise locations, with corporate finance responsible for enterprise-wide budgeting, forecasting, and capital allocation. The business model depends on membership-driven recurring revenue, guest frequency, and service provider productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Challenge: Five Planning Processes, Zero Integration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The company didn&#8217;t have one planning problem \u2014 it had five. Revenue, operating expenses, capital expenditures, workforce, and new center economics were each planned in separate spreadsheets by different teams using different assumptions. Nothing connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Revenue planned top-down only<\/strong> \u2014 corporate set annual revenue targets by region using blended growth rates. Center managers had no input and no ownership of the targets. There was no bottom-up build from guest traffic \u00d7 service mix \u00d7 pricing \u00d7 membership conversion that would validate whether top-down targets were achievable<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Operating expenses budgeted by line item, not by driver<\/strong> \u2014 center-level OpEx budgets were built by inflating last year&#8217;s actuals by 3-5%. Nobody modeled the relationship between guest volume and variable costs (supplies, utilities, laundry) or between headcount and semi-variable costs (training, scheduling overhead)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Capital expenditures tracked in a single spreadsheet<\/strong> \u2014 the VP of Real Estate maintained one master Excel file with 900+ rows for center refreshes, new builds, technology upgrades, and equipment replacements. Approval workflows happened via email. There was no integration between CapEx decisions and their impact on the operating P&amp;L (depreciation, occupancy, pre-opening costs)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Workforce planned at headcount level, not employee level<\/strong> \u2014 HR budgeted &#8220;45 FTEs for Southeast Region&#8221; without modeling which positions, at what pay rates, with what benefits loading, and in which centers. When a center needed to hire, the approved budget didn&#8217;t specify whether the role was a licensed service provider at $22\/hour or a front desk associate at $15\/hour<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>New center economics disconnected from everything<\/strong> \u2014 the development team built pro formas for new centers in standalone spreadsheets with assumptions that didn&#8217;t match the operating model. A new center&#8217;s &#8220;Year 1 revenue&#8221; used one methodology while the financial plan used another. Post-opening, nobody reconciled projected vs. actual performance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The CFO told the board: &#8220;I have five teams building five plans that don&#8217;t add up to the same number. I can&#8217;t tell you whether we can afford to open 50 new centers next year because our revenue plan, our cost plan, our CapEx plan, and our hiring plan all live in different spreadsheets.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Solution: ProfitCy\u00ae Integrated Planning on IBM Planning Analytics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>ForQuest deployed ProfitCy\u00ae with four integrated modules \u2014 Revenue Planning, Operating Expense Planning, Capital Expenditure Planning, and Workforce Planning \u2014 on IBM Planning Analytics. The design principle: every module shares the same center \u00d7 period \u00d7 scenario dimensions so that a change in any module immediately flows through to the consolidated P&amp;L and cash flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The implementation took 13 weeks from kickoff to production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What ForQuest built:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Revenue Planning \u2014 Top-Down\/Bottom-Up with Reconciliation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Top-down targets<\/strong> set by the CFO at region and territory level based on same-center growth, new center openings, and pricing strategy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bottom-up build<\/strong> by center from guest traffic drivers: active members \u00d7 visit frequency \u00d7 revenue per visit, plus walk-in traffic \u00d7 conversion rate \u00d7 average ticket. Service mix (core service, premium service, retail product) modeled separately<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Automated gap analysis<\/strong> comparing top-down targets to bottom-up builds with variance waterfall by center. Regional directors reconcile gaps before the plan is finalized \u2014 eliminating the disconnect between what corporate expects and what centers can deliver<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Membership revenue model<\/strong> tracking active members, new enrollments, churn, downgrades, and upgrades by tier \u2014 flowing membership economics directly into the revenue forecast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Operating Expense Planning \u2014 Driver-Based by Center<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Variable costs<\/strong> modeled as a function of guest volume: supplies per visit, laundry cost per visit, utilities scaled to operating hours, credit card processing as % of revenue<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Semi-variable costs<\/strong> modeled by headcount and center characteristics: training cost per new hire, scheduling system cost per employee, insurance per location<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fixed costs<\/strong> planned at the center level: rent, CAM charges, property tax, base technology fees \u2014 with lease escalation schedules imported from the real estate management system<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Corporate overhead allocation<\/strong> using activity-based drivers mapped to center-level metrics (revenue, headcount, square footage) \u2014 with full transparency into what each center absorbs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Capital Expenditure Planning \u2014 Lifecycle-Based<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Center refresh model<\/strong> with equipment lifecycle tracking: waxing beds, HVAC, signage, flooring, technology \u2014 each with a useful life, replacement cost, and depreciation schedule. The model flags centers approaching refresh thresholds and projects CapEx requirements 5 years forward<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>New center build model<\/strong> with standardized build-out costs by center format (inline, endcap, freestanding) and market tier \u2014 automatically creating the pre-opening cost schedule, depreciation impact, and first-year P&amp;L drag for each approved location<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technology CapEx<\/strong> for POS upgrades, scheduling system migrations, and kiosk deployments \u2014 planned at the initiative level with project timelines and phased spending<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>CapEx-to-P&amp;L bridge<\/strong> that automatically flows depreciation, amortization, and pre-opening costs from the CapEx plan into the operating P&amp;L \u2014 so every capital decision&#8217;s P&amp;L impact is visible immediately<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Workforce Planning \u2014 Employee-Level<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Position-level planning<\/strong> for every center: each budgeted role has a position title, pay rate, hours per week, benefits loading percentage, payroll tax rate, and start date. Center managers don&#8217;t budget &#8220;5 FTEs&#8221; \u2014 they budget &#8220;2 licensed estheticians at $23\/hr, 2 front desk associates at $15\/hr, and 1 center manager at $52K salary&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Appointment-driven scheduling optimization<\/strong> using historical guest traffic by day-of-week and hour to generate optimal staffing templates. The model identifies centers that are overstaffed during troughs and understaffed during peaks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Benefits and burden calculation<\/strong> at the employee level \u2014 medical, dental, vision, 401(k) match, PTO accrual, workers&#8217; comp, and employer payroll taxes. Each component is modeled with plan-specific rates and eligibility rules (full-time vs. part-time thresholds)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Turnover and vacancy modeling<\/strong> with historical turnover rates by position and center vintage. The model budgets recruitment costs, training investment, and productivity ramp for expected replacements \u2014 not just steady-state headcount<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Compensation scenario modeling<\/strong> for minimum wage changes, merit increase pools, and benefits plan redesigns \u2014 showing the total cost impact across the entire 900-center network instantly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PAXcel\u2122 Reports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>CFO: Consolidated P&amp;L with drill from enterprise \u2192 region \u2192 territory \u2192 center, with full CapEx-to-P&amp;L bridge and workforce cost detail<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regional Directors: Center scorecards with revenue vs. plan, OpEx efficiency, staffing metrics, and CapEx status<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Center Managers: Their center&#8217;s P&amp;L with guest metrics, labor efficiency, and revenue per visit trends<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>VP Real Estate: CapEx pipeline, refresh schedule, and new center pro forma tracker<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>HR: Employee-level workforce budget by center with position detail, vacancy rates, and compensation benchmarks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why ProfitCy\u00ae Made the Difference<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The company had tried twice before to centralize planning \u2014 once with a major ERP vendor&#8217;s planning module (abandoned after 8 months because it couldn&#8217;t handle center-level granularity at 900 entities) and once with a mid-market CPM tool (abandoned because employee-level workforce planning exceeded the tool&#8217;s row limits).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ProfitCy\u00ae on IBM Planning Analytics handled this because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>TM1&#8217;s in-memory architecture processes 900 centers \u00d7 12 months \u00d7 4 scenarios \u00d7 thousands of employees without performance issues<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The pre-built module architecture (revenue, OpEx, CapEx, workforce) was designed to share dimensions \u2014 so integration was structural, not bolted on<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Employee-level data fit naturally into TM1&#8217;s sparse cube architecture \u2014 only populated positions consume memory<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The top-down\/bottom-up reconciliation workflow was pre-built with gap analysis and approval routing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Results: Measurable Impact in Two Quarters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>16 Weeks \u2192 5 Weeks: Annual Plan Cycle<\/strong><br>All four planning modules run concurrently in the same model. Revenue targets, OpEx budgets, CapEx requests, and workforce plans are built simultaneously with real-time visibility into the consolidated P&amp;L impact. The plan is board-approved by early October instead of mid-November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Top-Down\/Bottom-Up Gap: Visible and Resolved<\/strong><br>The first bottom-up build revealed a $34M revenue gap versus top-down targets. The gap analysis showed it was concentrated in 120 centers with membership churn above 8%. The growth plan was adjusted with targeted retention programs instead of unrealistic revenue targets \u2014 and the plan was achievable for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>$4.8M OpEx Reduction Through Driver-Based Budgeting<\/strong><br>Moving from &#8220;last year + 3%&#8221; to driver-based variable cost modeling exposed $4.8M in operating expense that wasn&#8217;t justified by guest volumes. 85 centers were spending 15-22% above the driver-based benchmark for supplies and laundry costs. Corrective action was taken within one quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CapEx Visibility: $28M Pipeline with P&amp;L Impact<\/strong><br>The CFO can now see the full $28M CapEx pipeline \u2014 38 center refreshes, 52 new builds, and 6 technology initiatives \u2014 with the depreciation and pre-opening cost impact automatically reflected in the operating P&amp;L forecast. The board approved the capital plan 4 weeks faster because the financial impact was already modeled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Employee-Level Workforce: $5.2M Labor Optimization<\/strong><br>Position-level planning revealed that 140 centers had labor budgets built at average rates rather than actual position rates. Correcting this exposed $3.1M in over-budgeted labor. Appointment-driven scheduling optimization identified another $2.1M in savings by shifting hours from trough periods to peak periods \u2014 improving both cost efficiency and guest experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>New Center Accuracy: Plan-to-Actual Within 8%<\/strong><br>The first 52 new centers opened using integrated pro formas from the ProfitCy\u00ae model hit within 8% of planned Year 1 revenue \u2014 compared to 25-35% variance using the old standalone spreadsheets. CapEx actuals were within 5% of plan because the standardized build-out templates eliminated estimating variance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Client&#8217;s Perspective<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;For the first time, I can see the full picture \u2014 revenue, costs, CapEx, and every employee \u2014 in one model that adds up. When the board asks &#8216;can we afford 50 new centers next year?&#8217; I don&#8217;t need 3 weeks and 4 teams to answer. I show them the model.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u2014 Chief Financial Officer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Technology Stack<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Platform:<\/strong> IBM Planning Analytics (TM1)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Planning Model:<\/strong> ProfitCy\u00ae Revenue Planning, Operating Expense Planning, Capital Expenditure Planning, Workforce Planning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Excel Connectivity:<\/strong> PAXcel\u2122 Web Add-In<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data Integration:<\/strong> TurboIntegrator (POS, HRIS\/payroll, lease management, scheduling system, franchise reporting)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dashboards:<\/strong> Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Implementation Timeline:<\/strong> 13 weeks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Running Revenue, OpEx, CapEx, and Workforce in Separate Spreadsheets?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If your franchise or multi-location business can&#8217;t see the full financial picture in one model, ForQuest can help. ProfitCy\u00ae integrates revenue, operating expense, capital expenditure, and employee-level workforce planning on IBM Planning Analytics \u2014 deployable in 90 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"\/get-a-demo\/\">Book a Demo \u2192<\/a><\/strong> | <strong><a href=\"\/workforce-planning\/\">View Workforce Planning Module \u2192<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 900-center national personal care franchise replaced fragmented Excel budgeting with ProfitCy\u00ae on IBM Planning Analytics \u2014 building integrated top-down\/bottom-up revenue planning, OpEx budgets, CapEx modeling, and employee-level workforce planning across corporate and franchise operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":9243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[109,108,22,86,110,64,107],"class_list":["post-9249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-case-studies","tag-capex","tag-franchising","tag-planning-analytics","tag-profitcy","tag-revenue-planning","tag-tm1-2","tag-workforce-planning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9249"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9250,"href":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9249\/revisions\/9250"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forquestsolutions.com\/staging\/7345\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}