Lunch and Learn for Multi-Unit Franchise Owners | The Multi-Unit Efficiency Lunch | Oct 21, 2026
Lunch and LearnThe Multi-Unit Efficiency Lunch

Learn how to reduce costs and improve your profits.

A 90-minute lunch for multi-unit franchise owners.

Wed, Oct 21, 11:30 AM ET Lunch is on us
Save my seat
--Days
--Hrs
--Min
Keep scrolling
Run the numbers

Every dollar you save is worth $20 to $33 in new sales.

Where this comes from: franchisee margins typically run only 3% to 5% pre-tax, according to restructuring attorney Bradford Sandler of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones. At 5%, $1 of profit takes $20 in sales. At 3%, it takes $33. Source: Yahoo Finance, September 2026

$1,000
cut from costs
$25,000
in new sales

At a 4% margin, every $1 of profit takes $25 in sales. Illustration only, not a savings estimate.

Margins are thin.

Franchisee margins typically run 3% to 5% pre-tax, and restaurant costs are up 36% since 2019.

Sources: Yahoo Finance; National Restaurant Association

Selling more is hard.

New stores, marketing and traffic all matter. They're slow, costly and competitive.

Spending less is easier.

It pays off faster, stays in your control, and hits every store at once.

What's in it for you

What you’ll walk away with.

Customer tapping a card at a restaurant payment terminal

See where margin leaks

Where multi-unit groups quietly lose margin on the everyday costs every location runs on.

Reviewing a stack of bills and invoices

Take home a checklist

A one-page checklist to review your own bills in about 15 minutes.

Operators talking over lunch at a networking event

Meet other owners

Time with owners running multiple units and dealing with the same pressures.

Business lunch at a restaurant table

Lunch is on us

90 minutes, practical and educational, with a good lunch.

What you'll learn

8 costs. What you can do about each.

For each cost, we’ll show you how to read the bill, spot the waste and fix it yourself. You leave with a checklist to do it at every store.

Energy supply

Know what you’re really buying

You’ll learn how to
  • Split your bill into supply and delivery, and know which part you can shop
  • Find your contract end date and start pricing your renewal months ahead
  • Spot demand charges and the daily habits that drive them up

Restaurants use about 5 to 7 times more energy per square foot than other commercial buildings. Source: ENERGY STAR

Waste hauling

Stop paying for empty pickups

You’ll learn how to
  • Match container size and pickup days to what your stores actually fill
  • Find the add-on fees on your invoice: fuel, environmental, overage
  • Catch auto-renewal clauses before they lock you in again

Card processing and POS

What a card swipe really costs

You’ll learn how to
  • Work out your effective rate: total fees divided by total card sales
  • Tell interchange-plus pricing apart from tiered and flat-rate
  • Spot the extras: PCI, statement and monthly minimum fees

Processing typically costs 1.5% to 3.5% of each transaction. Source: Bankrate, NerdWallet

Financing and banking

Borrow smarter for growth

You’ll learn how to
  • Match the type of financing to the job: equipment, remodel or a new store
  • Compare offers on total cost, not just the monthly payment
  • Have the documents lenders ask for ready, so approvals move faster

Payroll

Find money in tips and filings

You’ll learn how to
  • Check that you’re claiming the full FICA tip credit
  • Cut double entry between your POS, time clock and payroll
  • Line up what you pay your provider per run, per employee and in add-ons

Many restaurants under-claim the FICA tip credit. Source: IRS, Pease Bell CPAs

Telecom and broadband

Stop paying for lines you don’t use

You’ll learn how to
  • List every line, circuit and device you pay for at each store
  • Find old lines still billing: closed stores, fax and alarm lines
  • Know when promo rates expire before the price jumps

Used cooking oil and grease

Your oil has value. Protect it.

You’ll learn how to
  • Find out whether your used oil should be earning you money
  • Secure your oil tank and match pickups to what you actually use
  • Set a grease trap schedule that heads off backups and fines

Oil theft costs an estimated $300 to $500 million a year in the U.S. Source: North American Renderers Association

Technology and IT

Fewer tech headaches, lower tech spend

You’ll learn how to
  • Map every tech vendor and who to call when each system breaks
  • Find software you’re paying for twice across stores
  • Pull every store’s numbers into one view instead of emailed spreadsheets

Tell us your top topics when you RSVP. We’ll spend more time on the costs you care about most.

Save my seat
Your hosts

Insight from the experts behind each cost.

Each host shares what they know from their own field, so you can find more margin in every store.

Energy Network
Energy supplyenergynetwork.net
Waste Network
Waste haulingwastenetwork.net
Welkin Payments
Payments, POS, financingwelkinpayments.com
The Bandwidth Team
Telecom and broadbandthebandwidthteam.com
Meridian Environmental
Oil and greasemeridianenvironment.com
AlphaCIS
Technology and ITalphacis.com
RSVP

Save your seat

Takes a minute. Lunch is planned by headcount, so please RSVP by Friday, October 16.

OwnersCFOs and controllersOps directorsIT leads
  • Wednesday, October 21, 202611:30 AM to 1:00 PM ET
  • Location to be announcedVenue details sent with your confirmation
  • Lunch is cateredTell us about dietary needs in the form

Required

Please enter your first name.

Please enter your last name.

Please enter a valid email, like [email protected].

Please enter your company or group.

Please choose a range.

Optional, but it helps us plan

Topics you care most about (optional)

Pick the costs you want us to spend the most time on.

Free to attend. Your details go to the four hosts to plan this event, and nothing else unless you opt in above.

You're on the list.

We'll confirm your seat by email, with venue details once they're set.

Quick answers

Good to know

Is it free?

Yes. Attendance and lunch are free.

Is this a sales event?

No. It’s education: how each cost works and what you can do about it yourself.

Can I bring my CFO?

Please do. Add them as your guest in the RSVP form.

Where is it?

Location to be announced. Venue details are sent with your confirmation.

The Multi-Unit Efficiency Lunch, a lunch and learn for multi-unit franchise owners. Hosted by Energy Network Group, The Bandwidth Team, Meridian Environmental and AlphaCIS.

Sources: Yahoo Finance, “Why multi-unit restaurant franchisee bankruptcies are surging in 2026” (September 2026), quoting Bradford Sandler of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones: franchisee margins typically run 3% to 5% pre-tax; National Restaurant Association, “Elevated costs continue to pressure restaurant profitability” (July 2026): 36% rise in total restaurant expenses from 2019 to 2026; ENERGY STAR, Restaurants; Bankrate and NerdWallet merchant fee guides; IRS and Pease Bell CPAs (FICA tip credit); North American Renderers Association (Oct 2025). The calculator is an illustration using numbers you set, not a savings estimate. Photos: Pexels. Logos are trademarks of their respective owners.