Take stock of your future with Synergy

Established in 2002 by brothers Aidan and Ollie McDonnell, Synergy Stocktaking was created when the duo saw a gap in the Irish market for a technological advanced stocktaking service in hospitality.

Their intuition paid off and it wasn’t long before the company was able to branch out and formulate a model which could be undertaken by entrepreneurial franchisees looking to set up their own business venture.

The franchise model was established in 2005 and offered a low cost, low overheads business which required nothing more than a car, a phone and the drive and commitment to make it a success.

Since then, the brand has taken off and as previous winners in 2019 for the Service Franchise of the Year award, Synergy Stocktaking now has a total of 15 franchises in Ireland, as well as Portugal, UK and the Czech Republic.

Along with its uncomplicated set-up system, the franchise has proved successful thanks to the involvement of the parent company who provides all the equipment and software necessary as well as detailed and comprehensive training and unlimited support.

There are many benefits associated with taking on a franchise of this nature as master stocktaker Filip Cvrcek can attest.

“Some of the benefits I have found since becoming a Synergy franchisee is that it enables you to start your own business with reasonably low costs,” he said. “And due to the nature of the job, you can be as busy as you want, which makes it easier to have a good work life balance. I also enjoy looking after my own clients and I have found that the support and development from my franchisor has always been very good — constantly moving forward and keeping up with new trends in hospitality and technology.”

One of the questions many would-be franchisees ask is what experience and, more importantly, what funds are needed to establish themselves in business. Cvrcek says he found no difficulty in getting his franchise off the ground.

“I started eight years ago and am now a franchisee for Kildare, Laois and Offaly. I am currently providing about 30 stocktaking services for different clients, which range in size from small local pubs to a five-star hotel resort. Before embarking on this, I had 25 per cent of the funds already and the rest I took as a five-year business loan — which I managed to pay off in just two years.

“There was no experience needed as all the necessary training was provided, but it is important to be willing to learn new things and procedures and computer literacy might be an advantage. Now I employ one person and am currently looking for a second employee (in Ireland) and five years ago, I purchased the license for the Czech Republic, where we now have four employees and provide over 70 stocktakes per month for a variety of different clients, including bars and restaurants, some of which are situated in the prime location of the centre of Prague.

“I would encourage anyone who is interested in taking on a Synergy Stocktaking franchise to get in touch with them, as for me, it has been a very positive experience so far and I’m looking forward to the future.”

See - https://www.synergystocktaking.ie/franchise-opportunities/