FRANCHISE.COM TO PROVIDE BENEFIT SOLUTIONS TO FRANCHISE EMPLOYEES

Encinitas, California (December 23, 2003): A growing concern among small business owners and franchise organizations is the ability to provide health care and other benefits for their employees. Providing affordable healthcare is a particularly acute problem with the hourly employee base. Within this same group of hourly employees there is a large percentage of non-banked employees that pay exorbitant fees to cash their pay checks or send money to their families in other countries.

Franchise.com, the premier online franchise service organization, and Alliance Quality Solutions (AQS), a rapidly growing full service consulting organization, are partnering to provide employee benefit solutions to franchise groups. The partnership offers franchisees two new employee benefits, the Paperless PayDayT payroll card and the For Your Good HealthT healthcare savings program.

The Paperless PayDayT payroll card is a convenient and safe way to pay employees. The card provides cost savings for both employers and for non-banked employees. The Paperless PayDayT payroll card is PIN based for security and has many features not available on similar products. One major benefit is the ability for international transfers, allowing expatriate employees to transfer funds at a cost that is significantly less than typical transfers.

The For Your Good HealthT healthcare savings plan targets employees who are uninsured or underinsured. It provides solutions for employers who cannot afford to provide healthcare benefits to their employees. The employer may fund the plan totally or partially, or allow employees to purchase the savings plan themselves. The Healthcare Savings plan is not insurance, but it does provide its members access to the same discounts offered by medical and dental networks utilized by most major medical plans.

Franchise.com and AQS have partnered to provide these services because the Paperless PayDayT payroll card and the For Your Good HealthT healthcare savings plan benefit both the franchise employee and the franchise employer. The employees receive a convenient and secure paycheck option and health care savings, while the employer gains better employee retention and morale as a result of offering these benefits.