This roadmap outlines our strategic development goals for 2026. These priorities were established following our Late 2025 User Survey and collaborative strategy sessions with UFG brands and field staff in the Florida Keys (January 7, 2026).
Our focus this year is on consolidating fragmented external tools into a single, high-security ecosystem that empowers both franchisors and franchisees.
We are excited to jump into 2026 with a clear roadmap for our development team!
1. Immediate Priorities (Phase 1 Focus)
High-impact infrastructure and security updates are required for Q1.
- Support Ticket System: We are building a native platform to replace third-party tools like Zendesk. This allows brands to manage support internally, with the ability to assign tickets to head office staff, field-based Business Advisors, or even external vendors.
- Permissions & Advanced Security: To combat increasing social engineering threats, we are deploying granular role-based access. This ensures external contractors (like marketing agencies) see only what they need, while 2FA (SMS/Email) protects sensitive financial data.
- Internal Subscription & Internal Store: A new commerce module within Gorilla Dash for internal transactions. This will handle recurring IT and marketing subscriptions, one-off conference registrations, and "swag" stores for branded apparel.
- CRM Integrations (HubSpot/Zoho): We are in the final testing phase of deep-link integrations with major CRMs. This ensures that data captured in Gorilla Dash flows seamlessly into your existing sales pipelines without manual entry.
- Enhanced Website Design Tools: Recognizing that current tools are better suited for email than web pages, we are researching and testing advanced design packages to give users more flexibility in creating high-conversion landing pages.
2. Strategic Enhancements (Phase 2 Focus)
Automation and Intelligence to drive growth.
- Full Marketing Automation Suite: Moving beyond basic email blasts, this suite will support multi-channel journeys including SMS, Print, and Social. Automations will be "smart," meaning they can start or stop based on real-time triggers from linked POS systems.
- AI Knowledge Assistant: Launching in early 2026, this AI tool will act as a 24/7 expert. It will query your resource library, vendor manuals, and historical inquiries to provide instant, conversational answers to staff and franchisee questions.
- Social Media Overhaul: We are responding to user feedback by simplifying the social interface. The update will include a visual content calendar and more intuitive scheduling tools to reduce the friction of managing multiple brand pages.
- Lead Nurture CRM: Specifically requested by brands like Fully Promoted, this tool focuses on the "pre-sale" phase. It will track lead activity and integrate with automations to ensure prospects are warmed up before they ever hit the sales floor.
3. Operational Tools (Phase 3 Focus)
Empowering field staff and enhancing brand-to-franchisee relationships.
- Internal Engagement CRM: Designed for Business Advisors (BAs) to track every touchpoint with a franchisee. This acts as a centralized alternative to "Action Cards," allowing a BA to see all support tickets and previous meeting notes before they step foot on-site.
- Business Advisor Dashboards: BAs will receive customized, high-level summaries of their entire region. This includes daily or weekly email digests featuring key performance indicators (KPIs) like sales trends, lead volume, and online reputation.
4. Long-Term Development (Phase 4 Focus)
Advanced features for the latter half of 2026.
- Financial Benchmarking: We plan to integrate directly with QuickBooks and Xero. By accessing full Chart of Accounts data, Gorilla Dash will be able to provide deep P&L benchmarking, allowing franchisees to see how they perform against top-tier earners in the network (also working with Revscale on their FranFinance module).
- Two-Way Internal Communications: To move away from fragmented Facebook Groups or Teams, we are building internal message boards and Q&A forums (similar to Reddit/Quora) to foster peer-to-peer support and direct franchisor-to-franchisee dialogue.
- Learning Management System (LMS): While low priority due to the complexity of the market, we are exploring a native training module to host certification courses and educational videos directly within the platform.