“IWS has transformed our once complicated rostering, timesheet and payroll systems into a streamlined weekly process. The online system comparing rosters to timesheets has assisted management in controlling payroll costs and has allowed for more detailed management reporting”
Jade Trotter
(All Sorts Fitness and Wellbeing)
Health & Fitness
How iWS powers data-driven
Decision-making for City Cave
Results at a glance:
$80-100k saved
annually on an
internal
resource for
data
consolidation
Franchise
performance
coaches save 2
hours every
week on
manual work
iWS
consolidates
the data and
management of
77 locations
with 1,000+
workers
Meet the Company
City Cave is on a mission to give life back to humanity with relaxation and wellness, specialising in flotation therapy, sauna, and massage services.
With a rapidly growing footprint of 77 franchises across Australia and now the United States, the company has undergone an impressive expansion since its founding in 2016 and it’s not done growing yet. City Cave has plans to reach 250 locations in
Australia and 3000 across the US.
With over 1000 workers in Australia alone, City Cave’s success is driven by its strategic focus on data-driven decision-making and providing specialised support to its franchises, by equipping them with the systems and performance coaching they need to succeed.
The problem: Fragmented data slows down decision-making
In the early days of the business, each of City Cave’s franchisees used different payroll systems. As more and more stores opened, it was harder for City Cave’s HQ team to monitor operations and provide the necessary support to nurture its growing network.
Before iWS, “We didn’t have our finger on the pulse of our data. We needed to consolidate our data management to make decisions quickly as we see trends emerging across franchises, ” says Ollie Visser, Chief Financial Officer at City Cave.
Not having a set chart of accounts across franchises also made financial oversight complex and inefficient. With every franchise using a different chart of accounts, it was a time-consuming process to unify the fragmented data.
City Cave’s franchise performance coaches, a team responsible for reviewing franchise performance, setting benchmarks and supporting franchises to exceed them, found their time being consumed by reconciling data across systems—time they could be spending advising franchisees
“If we didn’t have iWS, we would need that internal resource, which would cost us anywhere from 80 to $100,000 annually.”
Ollie Visser,
Chief Financial Officer, City Cave
The solution: Bringing franchises and their data together
In 2021, City Cave made the decision to manage all of its franchisee books on the same platform. It chose to bring everyone together with iWS, transforming its approach to data management.
For the first time, City Cave had unified data and a standardised chart of accounts, and its franchisees gained access to a systematised approach to payroll, rostering, compliance, and more.
“iWS consolidated all of our data and brought it together. Now we can see how the entire network is performing,” says Visser.
With monthly data consolidation handled by iWS, City Cave can now swiftly obtain essential insights and align its franchises under a cohesive operational strategy.
“Having everyone use the same platform creates a more efficient system that supports our efforts to scale,” says Visser.
Visser highlights iWS’ ability to manage data from City Cave’s manually intensive point-of-sales system as a standout feature. iWS seamlessly exports and restructures this data into a more manageable format, making it far easier to use insights to inform smarter business decisions.
Compliance and payroll are also made simpler for franchise owners. Award interpretation, superannuation contributions, business activity statements and educational updates on changes in compliance are all supported by iWS.
“iWS gives us peace of mind around payroll, bookkeeping and awards, ensuring our advisers interpret them correctly. They keep us up to date and make sure we’re doing all the right things,” says Visser.
The results: Smoother operations and smarter business decisions
Partnering with iWS has streamlined operations for City Cave and delivered real value for the business and its franchises. Visser explains that with a clear view of its data, City Cave has eliminated the need for an internal resource dedicated to data consolidation.
“If we didn’t have iWS, we would need that internal resource, which would cost us anywhere from 80 to $100,000 annually.”
Perhaps most importantly, City Cave’s franchise performance team members each save approximately two hours per week on tedious financial management. With iWS, this time is now put towards strategic initiatives that directly support franchise owners.
With access to clear and consistent data, these coaches are better equipped to identify opportunities for improvement, tailor their advice and help franchises thrive. This hands-on support ensures that each location can perform at its best, enhancing the overall success of the network.
As City Cave continues to expand, iWS ensures that it’s well-prepared to seamlessly integrate and manage new locations, maintaining high standards of operational excellence. According to Visser, City Cave’s data puts it a step ahead on its growth journey.
“We’re in a fortunate position to have access to valuable data to allow us to make business decisions as we scale. Every big brand wishes they had organised their data from the start, and City Cave has done this with iWS.”
All Sorts Case Study
All Sorts Fitness & Wellbeing Centre operates across a number of locations and is Sydney’s only 24 hour Gym and Pool with 24 hour supervision.
Employing more than 200 employees across its sites, All Sorts utilises IWS to roster their team in line with budgets, manage their team’s time and attendance, ensure their employees are paid the right rates for the right tasks and to remove the burden of managing the end to end payroll process from their head office team.
