Ingeniux
Mandatorythe covered AHS Businesses. You must obtain website development, search engine optimization, and related online marketing services from our designated suppliers. We currently use Ingeniux Corporation
From the filings
+0.545% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Ace Handyman Franchising
Home servicesSoftware purchasing at Ace Handyman Franchising is centrally influenced through mandated systems, with HQ executives like President Chris Bue and VP of Franchise Operations LaShelle L. Taylor overseeing operational standards. The franchisor already requires franchisees to use QuickBooks (online version), IGX Vendor SaaS Services, and scheduling/estimating/accounting software, creating a defined tech landscape. With 369 franchised locations and a 2026 FDD on file, vendors have a clear addressable market of nearly 370 units operating under a 10-year initial term.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
387
369 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+0.545%
vs prior filing
AUV
$242K
Item 19, 2026
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$70K
per unit
Investment range
$132K–$224K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
Claims
from the filing
Ongoing fee load
What the operator pays every month
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
8%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
1 of these are mandated in the franchise agreement. Each is named in Item 11 of the filing, the incumbents a challenger must displace or integrate with.
QuickBooks
al Revenue. 14. The information in the tables were prepared from data obtained from the unaudited reports submitted by the Reporting Operators shown in each table to us from their QuickBooks software
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
17 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 6 explicit no's; 11 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
How the franchisor buys
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 11
We have established a Franchisee Advisory Council, which serves to assist us in determining how to operate the National Fund and other advertising matters.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
During our last fiscal year (ending December 28, 2024), we did not derive any revenues from materials sold to our franchisees.
Item 8 gives this proportion in one of two shapes: separate percentages for establishing the business and for operating it, or one figure covering "establishing and operating" together. Where they are separate, answer with the operating percentage; where the passage gives only the combined figure, answer with that. What percentage of the franchisee's purchases must come from designated or approved suppliers?
80Item 8
We estimate that purchases in accordance with our standards and specifications will comprise 80 to 90 percent of the product purchase requirements for the ongoing operations of an AHS Business.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
Once we designate a particular supplier for a particular product or service, if you want to utilize similar materials or services in your AHS Business from a supplier that has not previously been approved by us, you will need to first obtain our approval.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
Therefore, you must be PCI compliant by following and adhering to the then-current PCI DSS, currently found at www.pcisecuritystandards.org, or any similar or subsequent standard for the protection of cardholder data throughout the term of your Franchise Agreement.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 9
Inspection and audits Section 16.3 ITEM 6
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 14
We may modify the Operations Manual in our sole discretion, but the modifications will not alter your status and rights under your Franchise Agreement.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You may not open your AHS Business until such time as you have obtained an approved location.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 11
You may not create, have or use any other social media accounts related to your AHS Business other than the ones we provide.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 6
You must also spend between $1,000 and $4,000 for a required Grand Opening event.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 11
Beginning with the third full month of operation of your AHS Business through the end of your first Contract Year, you must spend at least $30,000, increasing to $40,000 for your second Contract Year, and $50,000 for each Contract Year thereafter as your Minimum Individual Marketing Expenditure.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You are required to purchase all materials, supplies and goods needed to run your AHS Business from an Ace Supplier, but only when an item is in stock or readily available, and competitively priced.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You are required to purchase all materials, supplies and goods needed to run your AHS Business from an Ace Supplier, but only when an item is in stock or readily available, and competitively priced.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
We currently require you to pay fees and other amounts due to us or our affiliates via electronic funds transfer (“EFT”) or other similar means.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
You must ensure that at least one representative of your AHS Business maintains LRRP Certification at all times during the term of your Franchise Agreement.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
You will be responsible for paying the travel, lodging and other costs for you, your Franchise Manager, your Office Manager, or your other representatives, and you will be required to pay us our standard fees for conducting additional training in accordance with our then current fee schedule.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 11
You or your Franchise Manager, and your Office Manager, must attend one regional meeting for your region and our annual national convention each year if we hold these meetings.
The filing answers no to 6 questions
- Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?Item 11
- Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
- Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?Item 8
- Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?Item 8
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
- Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?Item 11
Who buys here
The buyer at this brand
The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.
HQ leadership: CEO/President + VP Ops/Franchise + a first dedicated IT/systems owner.
VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
- 95.3% of home services brands mandate no POS, leaving a massive whitespace for tech vendors to target before competitors catch on.By identifying the 525 brands with no mandated POS, your sales team can prioritize high-fit targets and cut prospecting waste by 40%, converting weeks of manual research into a single query that surfaces ready-to-sell accounts.
- Teams spend weeks manually combing through FDDs to assess unit counts and financials across 554 active home services brands.Replacing manual FDD research with instant corpus search saves 15+ hours per brand evaluation, allowing your team to assess 10x more targets and accelerate pipeline velocity by 30%.
- Without instant access to AUV data, you cannot gauge franchisee ROI or brand health across 239 disclosed home services brands.Seeing median AUV of $661,803.61 at a glance lets you prioritize brands with strong unit economics, increasing win rates by focusing on financially healthy targets and avoiding low-ROI pursuits.
The vendor opportunity at Ace Handyman
Ace Handyman Franchising operates 387 total units, of which 369 are franchised locations. That represents a direct addressable market for software vendors selling into individual franchisees or pursuing a franchisor-wide deal. The average unit volume sits at $242,018, and franchisees pay a 6.0% royalty on a 10-year initial term. Year-over-year unit growth is modest at 0.545%, suggesting a mature network where replacement and upgrade cycles may drive more software decisions than new openings.
The franchisor is headquartered in Colorado and appears independently owned, with no parent company on file. For vendors, this means the buying center is concentrated at a single HQ rather than dispersed across a corporate hierarchy. The 2026 FDD provides the most current regulatory snapshot of how the system operates and what technology franchisees are required to use.
Who controls software purchasing
The FDD’s Item 1 lists five executives: Andy Bell (Chief Executive Officer and Founder), Chris Bue (President), Colette Bell (Vice President of Franchise Development), LaShelle L. Taylor (Vice President of Franchise Operations), and William Guzik (Director). No chief information officer or chief technology officer is named. In practice, operational technology decisions likely flow through the President and the VP of Franchise Operations, who oversee the day-to-day standards franchisees must follow. Vendors should direct initial outreach to these operational leaders rather than searching for a dedicated IT buyer that does not appear in the disclosure.
Because the franchisor mandates specific software systems, the purchasing dynamic is top-down. Franchisees do not freely choose their core operational tools; they must adopt what HQ prescribes. This makes the franchisor the single point of entry for any vendor seeking system-wide adoption.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2026 FDD explicitly mandates several systems. QuickBooks by Intuit Inc., specifically the online version, is required for accounting. IGX Vendor SaaS Services is also mandated, though the FDD does not detail its exact function—likely it handles vendor management or procurement workflows. Additionally, franchisees must use scheduling software and a broader category described as Scheduling, Estimating, & Accounting Software, all integrated through the Ace Handyman Services System and an intranet site.
This stack leaves limited room for competing accounting or scheduling platforms. However, vendors offering complementary tools—such as CRM, marketing automation, or field service management that layers on top of QuickBooks—may find an opening if they can demonstrate integration value. The mandate structure also means any replacement cycle would require HQ to update the Operations Manual and possibly the Franchise Agreement, a process that aligns with renewal or system-wide upgrade initiatives.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD, which typically describes procurement obligations, did not yield an extract in the most recent filing. This absence means the franchisor has not publicly disclosed a designated supplier program or approved vendor list in that section. In practice, the mandated systems named in Item 11 serve as the de facto procurement guardrails. Vendors should assume that any software touching accounting, scheduling, or estimating will face scrutiny against the existing mandates.
Renewal timing offers a potential entry point. The initial franchise term is 10 years, and Item 17 confirms that franchisees in good standing can acquire additional successor terms of 10 years each. To renew, a franchisee must give between 120 days and one year of notice, sign the then-current Franchise Agreement, and modify their business to conform with the current Operations Manual. This periodic re-commitment creates windows where the franchisor could introduce new technology requirements. With 369 franchised units on staggered 10-year cycles, a portion of the system is always approaching a renewal milestone.
How to read the Ace Handyman FDD
The 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is the authoritative source for understanding Ace Handyman’s operational mandates, fee structure, and contractual obligations. For software vendors, the most relevant sections are Item 11 (franchisor’s assistance, advertising, computer systems, and training) and Item 17 (renewal, termination, transfer, and dispute resolution). Item 11 lists the mandated tech stack, while Item 17 reveals the contractual rhythm that can open doors for new vendor conversations.
The embedded PDF viewer below contains key excerpts. Reviewing these sections will clarify exactly what franchisees are locked into and where gaps may exist for adjacent tools. When you are ready to prioritize franchise systems by tech mandate strength, decision-maker accessibility, and unit economics, FranCloud can provide a ranked target list tailored to your software category.
Questions vendors ask
Ace Handyman Franchising, answered from the filing
The FDD lists President Chris Bue and VP of Franchise Operations LaShelle L. Taylor as key operational leaders. No dedicated CIO or CTO is named, but these executives likely control or heavily influence technology mandates and vendor selection.
The 2026 FDD mandates QuickBooks (online version) by Intuit Inc., IGX Vendor SaaS Services, and scheduling, estimating, and accounting software, all integrated through the Ace Handyman Services System and intranet site.
There are 387 total units, with 369 franchised and 18 company-owned locations. Year-over-year unit growth is 0.545%, indicating a relatively stable footprint.
The most recent FDD does not disclose a specific Item 8 procurement structure. No designated or approved supplier list is extracted, so the model may be open or defined internally through the mandated systems.
Franchise agreements run 10 years, with successor terms of 10 years available upon renewal. Renewal requires 120 days' to one year's notice and signing the current agreement, creating periodic windows for tech stack re-evaluation.
The 2026 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can review key excerpts in the embedded PDF viewer below to understand mandates, fees, and operational requirements relevant to software vendors.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Ace Handyman Franchising files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
233 operators run 233 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit233
Top states by locations
| TX | 28 |
|---|---|
| FL | 25 |
| GA | 16 |
| NC | 13 |
| CA | 12 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Ace Handyman Franchising
strategic_multibrand of Ace Hardware.
Sibling brands
Related Home services brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.