A Dog's Day Out

The vendor opportunity at A Dog's Day Out

A Dog's Day Out is a personal-services franchise headquartered in Virginia, with 3 total units reported in its 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document. The franchisor does not disclose a split between franchised and company-owned locations, nor does it report year-over-year unit growth or average unit volume. For a software vendor, the total addressable market is 3 locations — a micro-cap system where every seat matters. The royalty rate is 6.0%, and the initial franchise term runs 10 years. No parent company is on file; the brand appears independently owned.

Because the system is so small, a vendor's path to revenue depends on either displacing the mandated incumbents or layering on complementary tools that the franchisor has not yet standardized. The absence of disclosed growth suggests a slow or static expansion trajectory, meaning net-new unit deployments are unlikely to drive pipeline.

Who controls software purchasing

Software purchasing authority sits at headquarters. The 2025 FDD Item 1 lists four executives: Charles W. Richardson, Jr. (CEO), Charles W. Richardson, III (COO), Dana Richardson (Director of Marketing and Human Resources), and Katie Watt (Trainer). In a system of this size, the CEO and COO are the de facto technology buyers. Dana Richardson may hold influence over marketing or HR software, but any system-wide mandate will almost certainly require sign-off from the CEO or COO. There is no CIO, CTO, or dedicated IT role disclosed.

Vendors should expect a direct, relationship-driven sales process. With no mapped operator footprint in our corpus, there is no multi-unit owner class to influence from the franchisee side. The franchisor is the sole gatekeeper for technology decisions.

Mandated and current tech stack

The 2025 FDD mandates two named systems. PetExec Software serves as the operational platform — likely covering scheduling, client management, and point-of-sale functions for a pet-care business. QuickBooks by Intuit Inc. is mandated for accounting. No other technology vendors are named in the FDD, and no additional mandates or recommended systems are disclosed.

For a vendor selling adjacent software — payroll, HR, marketing automation, or business intelligence — the stack is thin and presents a greenfield. However, any pitch must account for the fact that the franchisor has already standardized on PetExec and QuickBooks, meaning integration with those two systems is table stakes. A vendor attempting to replace PetExec would need to convince a three-unit franchisor to absorb switching costs across its entire system, a high bar absent a compelling event.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the formal supplier-qualification process is not publicly known. Vendors should ask directly whether A Dog's Day Out operates a designated-supplier model, an approved-supplier list, or an open procurement environment. Given the system's size, procurement is likely informal and handled by the executives named above.

Renewal conditions, detailed in Item 17, offer a potential trigger for technology evaluation. To renew, a franchisee must provide timely written notice, complete all required maintenance and refurbishment to reflect the then-current image, comply with the franchise agreement, satisfy all monetary obligations to the franchisor and trade creditors, remain in possession of the premises, execute the then-current form of franchise agreement (which may have materially different terms), execute a general release, and meet then-current qualification and training requirements. The renewal term is 10 years. Because the system has only 3 units and no disclosed growth, renewal-driven software evaluations will be rare and unpredictable.

How to read the A Dog's Day Out FDD

The full 2025 FDD is embedded below. Vendors should focus on Item 1 for the executive roster and any updates to the buying center, Item 11 for the complete mandated-tech table (PetExec and QuickBooks are the named systems, but the full table may include hardware or other specifications), and Item 17 for the precise renewal conditions that could create a decision window. Item 8, if present in the full document, will clarify the procurement model. Because the FDD is filed with state franchise regulators, the information is updated annually; check the filing year to ensure you are working with the most current data. For a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your software category, talk to FranCloud.