Bookkeeping Express aims to sell 400 franchises by 2013

Originally Published in
Washington Business Journal
By Tierney Plumb
 
Bookkeeping Express just got the OK from the Federal Trade Commission to start selling Franchises in almost every state, and its three local owners expect to have 400 franchises in five years.

That would make it a $50 million business.

The bookkeeping service was acquired last year by Greg Jones, a franchiser of five Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Florida, Merritt Green, founder of a local law firm, and Bob Stocker, a former top-level executive.

They bought the 20-year-old small business accounting company when it started to falter in California and moved it to McLean with an updated business plan in mind.

"We are looking for [franchisers] to buy area development and put a business structure around it," said Jones, who aligned the company with the Rockville-based American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers to certify its bookkeepers.

Bookkeeping Express plans to unveil a national marketing campaign that will include telemarketing and print ads, as well as fliers mailed to target franchised locations.

"We’ll let the bookkeepers run numbers and put charts together," Jones said. "Most aren’t comfortable making a cold call or a sales pitch to a group of 20. We will do that to drive clients to their door."

The three-year goal is five to eight corporate locations and 150 franchises sold in the U.S.

The company just added Leesburg to its two corporate locations and plans to open in Baltimore, Richmond, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Charlotte, N.C.