Outlier flags live on a royalty period's detail page in HQ, in a card next to the list of that period's shop statements — the same screen a franchisor uses to review and send royalty statements before closing the period. For every shop's statement in that period, the tool compares the shop's reported revenue against that same shop's own recent statement history — never against any other shop in the org — and returns a short list of flagged statements, each with a plain-language note. Nothing here sends anything, changes a statement, or notifies a franchisee: it's a read-only review aid that HQ looks at and decides what, if anything, to do about, and it only runs when someone clicks the button, never automatically when the page loads.
Checking a period for outliers
Open a generated royalty period and find the "Outlier flags" card. It starts collapsed with a "Check for outliers" button — the check doesn't run just from landing on the page, so browsing periods never spends anything on its own. Click the button and the tool pulls every shop's statement for that period along with each shop's own recent statement history, runs the comparison, and shows whatever it finds. If nothing crosses the bar, the card just confirms every shop is within its normal trend.
A shop needs a modest amount of prior statement history before it's even eligible to be flagged — a franchisee's very first period, or one with only a period or two on the books, is never flagged, since there's no established trend yet to deviate from. For shops that do have enough history, the comparison looks at how far this period's reported revenue sits from that shop's own recent average, plus whether the number came in at exactly zero. Only statements that cross one of those checks show up in the results — most periods, most shops don't appear at all.
Reading a flag
Each flagged shop appears as its own card: the shop's name, a short category badge (Zero gross reported, Off trend, or Statistical outlier), and one short, neutral sentence describing what changed, phrased as a data-quality note rather than an accusation. Underneath, the card also shows the raw numbers behind that note — this period's reported gross, the trailing average it's being compared against, and the percent difference between them — so you can check the written note against the actual figures yourself.
These flags are explicitly not a fraud or skimming tool. A flag just means a shop's own numbers moved compared to its own trend — that's often down to an ordinary operational reason having nothing to do with wrongdoing, and the note itself is written to stay neutral rather than accusatory. Treat it as one more thing to glance at before closing a period, not a signal to act on by itself. Clicking a shop's name from a flag takes you to that shop's statement, where you'd do whatever normal follow-up makes sense — a call, a note, or holding the period open a little longer before sending it.
Things to know
- Where it lives: Outlier flags are part of HQ's royalty tools, which require an org's +HQ add-on. Without that add-on, the royalty and statement features this sits inside aren't available at all.
- Who can run it: Any HQ team member with access to the Royalty section can check for outliers — it's a read, not one of the money-changing actions (rule edits, sending statements) that are limited to owners/admins. An owner can still restrict a team member's access to royalty data entirely if they choose.
- Own history only: Every comparison is a shop against its own past statements, never against other shops in the org. A flag on one shop says nothing about how any other shop is doing.
- Stub mode: If the workspace doesn't have its AI key configured, the note on each flag comes from a fixed, deterministic template instead of a live model — it still states the correct percent difference and trailing average (the comparison math never depends on the AI), just with plainer, repeated phrasing rather than a note written specifically for that shop. A "Stub mode" label appears on the card when this is the case.
- Low-and-steady shops aren't flagged just for being low: if a shop has always reported little or no revenue, staying at that same level again doesn't trigger a flag — the check looks for a genuine change from a shop's own established pattern, not for being low in absolute terms.
- On-demand, not automatic: the check doesn't run when you open the period, when statements are regenerated, or on any schedule — you click "Check for outliers" (or "Re-check") each time you want current results.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Does this compare my shops against each other?
A: No. Every flag comes from comparing a shop's own statement to that same shop's own recent history — never to any other shop in the org.
Q: Does a flag mean a franchisee is underreporting or doing something wrong?
A: No. It's a data-quality check, not a fraud tool. A flag just means a shop's number moved compared to its own recent trend — that's at least as often an ordinary operational reason as anything else, and the note itself is written to stay neutral, not accusatory.
Q: Do I need to run this every time I open a period?
A: Yes. It doesn't run automatically — click "Check for outliers" on the period's page, and "Re-check" again if you want fresh results after regenerating or editing statements.
Q: Why doesn't a brand-new franchisee's first statement ever get flagged?
A: Because there's no history yet to compare it against. The check needs a shop to have built up some statement history first before it can tell whether a period looks off-trend.
Q: Does checking for outliers do anything besides show me the list?
A: No. It's read-only — nothing gets sent, saved to the statement, or shown to the franchisee. It's just a screen for HQ to review before deciding what, if anything, to do next.
Q: Is this available to every HQ account?
A: It's part of HQ's royalty tools, which require the org's +HQ add-on. Within HQ, any team member with Royalty access can run a check, though an owner can restrict that access per person if needed.