Troubleshooting

Signing in#

There's no Connect your AI item in the FranchiseSEE menu#

AI connections aren't on for your brand yet, or (for a franchisee) HQ hasn't allowed franchisees to connect. Ask your HQ admin. HQ admins can ask FranchiseSEE support to turn AI connections on.

The sign-in finishes, but the app says access was refused#

Usually your browser was already signed in to FranchiseSEE as a different person, so the connection went to that account. Sign out of FranchiseSEE in your browser, then connect again and sign in as yourself.

If the message says "AI connections are not turned on for your FranchiseSEE account", AI connections are off for your brand, or HQ turned off Let franchisees connect AI apps. See Brand switches.

FranchiseSEE isn't in Claude's Discover list, or Add custom MCP server (ChatGPT) is missing#

On a Claude Team or Enterprise plan, or a ChatGPT workspace plan, your organization's admin controls which connectors members can add. Ask them to allow FranchiseSEE, or to allow custom connectors.

My signed-in app connected before, and now it can't#

1. Connected apps. Under the profile menu, User settings, then Connected apps: if the app was disconnected there, connect it again.
2. Brand switch. Turning off Let franchisees connect AI apps disconnects every franchisee's signed-in apps.

The admin server refuses my sign-in#

The admin server accepts API tokens only, never a sign-in. See Connect with an API token.

The admin server refuses my franchisee token#

The admin server is for HQ accounts and refuses every franchisee token. Connect the token to the reporting server instead. See The admin server.

API tokens#

There's no API tokens page in User settings#

HQ accounts need the Manage API tokens permission. Franchisee accounts get the page only while HQ has Let franchisees create personal tokens turned on.

My token worked before, and now it's refused#

1. Expiry. Franchisee tokens always expire, and HQ tokens can. Create a new token under User settings, then API tokens.
2. Deleted. Someone deleted the token on the same page.
3. Brand switch. Turning off Let franchisees create personal tokens deletes every franchisee token.

Claude Desktop with mcp-remote disconnects straight away#

Almost always env.PATH. Claude Desktop doesn't inherit your terminal's PATH, so the bridge can't find npx or the system tools it runs. The error npm error spawn sh ENOENT means sh is missing. Paste your terminal's full PATH, as described in Setting env.PATH, and restart Claude Desktop.

Claude Desktop reports a JSON error in its configuration#

On Windows, backslashes in the PATH value must be doubled (C:\\Program Files\\nodejs).

FranchiseSEE doesn't appear in GitHub Copilot#

On Copilot Business or Enterprise, your Copilot administrator must turn on the MCP servers in Copilot policy. For the Copilot coding agent, app.franchisesee.com must also be on the agent's firewall allowlist.

A change was refused as not authorized#

Changes need the matching permission on both the token and your account: Manage Locations or Manage Users. Franchisee tokens are always read-only, and a signed-in connection can never make changes. See The admin server.

Using the tools#

The app answers from general knowledge instead of my data#

Say "use FranchiseSEE" in the question, and check that FranchiseSEE is switched on for the chat. In ChatGPT, mention it with @.

A question about another store is refused#

Franchisee accounts can read only their own stores. For how you compare with other stores, ask for a comparison with the network or a peer group instead; see Data scope and permissions.

A peer-group comparison came back withheld#

A group figure needs at least five stores you don't run with data in it. Choose a larger group: your state instead of your district, or the whole brand.

"Item-level data is not available for this account yet"#

The item tools (get-top-items, get-item-performance, get-item-affinity, compare-item-mix, get-basket-metrics) read check-level POS history, which isn't loaded for every brand yet. Use get-product-mix for sales by category meanwhile.

Item data is rebuilt nightly, so it never includes today, and yesterday arrives the next morning. A data_from note means the range you asked for starts before the history does.

An item question is slow or asks me to retry#

Item tools read every line of every check and take seconds, not milliseconds. If one reports it is busy, retry, or narrow the date range or pick one store.

Percentages look wrong#

Percent metrics come back as ratios: 0.2 means 20%. Most AI apps convert them, but if one shows 0.2%, ask it to read the value as a ratio.

A metric isn't available#

Each brand turns on its own metrics. Ask "which metrics can you see?", and the app lists them with list-available-metrics. Ratings and audit scores need a source (Google, Yelp, SMG and so on); compliance is reported by get-audit-compliance-report, not on leaderboards.

Still stuck?#

When a tool can't do what you asked, your AI app can file a report-tool-issue note so FranchiseSEE's team sees the gap. For anything else, email support@franchisesee.com with the app you're using, the question you asked and the message you saw.