Facebook
ranchises Available" and our website address and telephone number. We or our affiliates may, in our sole discretion, establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, L
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Ace Pickleball Club
FitnessSoftware purchasing at Ace Pickleball Club is controlled at the headquarters level in Georgia, where a lean executive team led by President Joseph Sexton oversees a small but growing network of 11 locations. The franchisor mandates pickleballsoftware.com as its core operational platform, creating a clear integration point for vendors. With 8 franchised and 3 company-owned units, the addressable market is compact but concentrated, making it a targeted opportunity for SaaS vendors who align with the mandated tech stack.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
11
8 franchised
Unit growth YoY
—
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
7%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$60K
per unit
Investment range
$818K–$2.40M
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 (FY2025)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
Systems named in Item 11 of this filing. None is recorded as mandated here, which is not the same as the filing mandating nothing. Read Item 11 before treating the category as open.
Instagram
e address and telephone number. We or our affiliates may, in our sole discretion, establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp, Instagram, Pinterest
LinkedIn
" and our website address and telephone number. We or our affiliates may, in our sole discretion, establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp, Inst
Pinterest
nd telephone number. We or our affiliates may, in our sole discretion, establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, e
TikTok
e number. We or our affiliates may, in our sole discretion, establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, etc.), appli
Twitter
Available" and our website address and telephone number. We or our affiliates may, in our sole discretion, establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Y
Yelp
website address and telephone number. We or our affiliates may, in our sole discretion, establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp, Instagram, Pin
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 1 explicit no; 8 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We will have the right to have independent access to all information or data in the POS System and the surveillance system, and there are no limitations on our rights to do so.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must also send monthly profit and loss statements by the fifteenth (15th) day of the following month, together with a report detailing any incidents at the Club during the previous month, and any other information or reports
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
Currently, we or our affiliate are approved suppliers of your pickleball court design and installation and setting up and intalling computer, POS, and AV/IT equipment at your Franchised Business.
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 11
We may form a Franchise Advisory Council (FAC) that works with us to improve the System, including the products and services offered, advertising campaigns, and other matters of interest to us and our franchisees.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We may modify our list of approved brands, products and suppliers in our discretion, and will notify you of any modification by updates, memoranda or by supplements to the Manual.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
2836126Item 8
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, we and our affiliates earned revenue from franchisees required purchases in the amount of $2,836,126 or 55% of our total revenue of $5,145,977.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We may receive discounts, rebates, commissions, promotional allowances, and other benefits if you buy items from certain suppliers we designate based on the quantities of products you and other franchisees buy.
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?
90Item 8
The purchase of products from approved sources will represent approximately 90% to 95% of your overall product purchases in opening the franchise and 90% to 95% of your overall product purchases in operating the franchise.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesFranchise agreement
A charge not to exceed the reasonable cost of the evaluation and testing shall be paid by Franchisee.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee may propose alternative manufacturers, suppliers or distributors of products used in the operation of the Club.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
If APCF requests, Franchisee will assign its telephone numbers, white and yellow page telephone references and advertising to APCF.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
At such times as we designate, conduct inspections of the Club premises and audit the Club business operation, including all books and records.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 14
We may modify the Manual from time to time to reflect changes in the law, marketplace, or our methods of operation.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You must sign a lease for a location we approve within six months of your signing the Franchise Agreement.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee is not permitted to have a presence on the internet other than through APCF's website or other methods APCF approves.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesFranchise agreement
APCF requires Franchisee to spend at a minimum of Thirty-Five Thousand Dollars ($35,000) ("Grand Opening Advertising Amount") for grand opening advertising and sales promotions.
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
After your fourth month, you must spend a minimum of 2% of your Club's monthly Gross Sales on local advertising on a quarterly basis.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
You must participate in any such cooperative and its programs and abide by its by-laws.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must operate the Club according to our System and the operational standards as we may establish from time to time, which includes purchasing all products, services, supplies, inventory, equipment, and materials required for the operation of the Club from manufacturers, suppliers or distributors we approve.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must operate the Club according to our System and the operational standards as we may establish from time to time, which includes purchasing all products, services, supplies, inventory, equipment, and materials required for the operation of the Club from manufacturers, suppliers or distributors we approve.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
APCF requires that all such Royalty Fees and Advertising Fees be made via electronic funds transfer ("EFT") which electronically debits from Franchisee's bank account the fees described herein or such other manner which APCF may designate from time to time.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must open the Club with a minimum of two (2) trained and certified managers therein.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must use the computer and technology systems we require ("POS System"), which is pickleballsoftware.com.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We will have the right to have independent access to all information or data in the POS System and the surveillance system, and there are no limitations on our rights to do so.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We reserve the right to charge you a fee for attendance at a refresher training program.
The filing answers no to 1 question
- Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?Franchise agreement
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.
The franchisee/operator personally, or a small franchisor still owner-run. Wears every hat.
OwnerCEOPresidentPrincipal
- 78.5% of fitness brands mandate no POS system, leaving you guessing which 45 brands are ready for your solution.Cut weeks of manual FDD research per brand; our fit_scoring instantly surfaces the 45 POS-mandating targets, turning a blind pipeline into a prioritized list that saves $15k+ in analyst time per quarter.
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- Average unit revenue hits $719k across 93 disclosed brands, but you cannot benchmark a prospect's financial health without FranCloud.Use our fit_scoring to compare any brand's AUV against the $719k segment average, identifying overperformers to target and underperformers to avoid, reducing wasted pipeline investment by 25%.
The vendor opportunity at Ace Pickleball Club
Ace Pickleball Club is a small, fitness-focused franchise system headquartered in Georgia with 11 total units—8 franchised and 3 company-owned—according to its 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document. The system is independently owned, with no parent company on file, and the executive team is compact: Joseph Sexton (President), Vincent Barrios (Chief Development Officer), Brianne Carter (Chief Operations Officer), Jeffrey Jabbour (Controller), and Conor Hawks (Vice President of Franchise Development). For software vendors, the opportunity is narrow but direct. The entire system runs on a single mandated platform, pickleballsoftware.com, meaning any ancillary tool must integrate with or complement that core stack. The royalty rate is 7.0%, and the initial franchise term is 10 years. Average unit volume is not disclosed in the most recent FDD, so vendors should size the opportunity based on the unit count and the centralized procurement dynamic.
Who controls software purchasing
Software purchasing decisions at Ace Pickleball Club are made at headquarters. The FDD lists no multi-unit operators or franchisee associations with independent buying power, and the operator footprint is not mapped in our corpus, reinforcing a top-down model. The most relevant buyer for a SaaS vendor is likely Brianne Carter, Chief Operations Officer, who oversees day-to-day operations, or Joseph Sexton, President, who holds ultimate authority. With only 11 units, the decision-making chain is short, and a direct pitch to the C-suite is feasible. There is no CIO or CTO on file, so operational leaders double as technology evaluators.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2025 FDD mandates one named system: pickleballsoftware.com. This platform appears to serve as the operational backbone for the franchise, likely covering scheduling, membership, and court management. No other mandated POS, CRM, or ERP vendors are disclosed. For software vendors, this creates a clear integration target—tools that plug into or enhance pickleballsoftware.com will face fewer adoption barriers. However, the absence of additional mandated systems also means the tech stack is thin, leaving room for vendors in areas like marketing automation, financial reporting, or staff management, provided they can demonstrate compatibility.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD does not extract a specific Item 8 procurement signal, so the formal supplier designation model—whether designated, approved, or open—is not publicly known. Renewal terms, outlined in Item 17, require franchisees to give notice, not be in default, sign the then-current franchise agreement (which may contain materially different terms), remodel the club, pay a renewal fee, and sign a release. The renewal term is 10 years. With no year-over-year unit growth data available and a small current footprint, contract windows are likely tied to individual franchise expiration cycles rather than rapid expansion. Vendors should monitor new franchise sales led by Vincent Barrios and Conor Hawks for signals of system growth.
How to read the Ace Pickleball Club FDD
The 2025 FDD is embedded below for full review. It was filed with state franchise regulators and contains the legal and operational disclosures required under the Franchise Rule. Key sections for software vendors include Item 11 (mandated systems), Item 8 (procurement restrictions), and Item 17 (renewal and transfer conditions). Because the system is small and privately held, the FDD is the most reliable source of data on technology mandates and decision-making structure. For a ranked target list of franchise systems aligned with your software category, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
Ace Pickleball Club, answered from the filing
President Joseph Sexton and Chief Operations Officer Brianne Carter are the likely buying center, given the small executive team and centralized control over the mandated tech platform.
The 2025 FDD mandates pickleballsoftware.com as the core operational system. No other mandated POS or tech vendors are disclosed in the filing.
There are 11 total units: 8 franchised and 3 company-owned, all operating under a single, independently owned system based in Georgia.
The FDD does not extract a specific Item 8 procurement signal, so the designated vs. approved supplier model is not publicly disclosed in the 2025 filing.
With a 10-year initial term and a renewal requiring a new agreement, windows may align with franchise expiration cycles. No recent unit growth data is available to signal near-term expansion.
The FDD is filed with state franchise regulators in 2025. You can view the embedded PDF viewer below to read the full disclosure document directly.
Source
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FDD alert
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We’ll email you the moment Ace Pickleball Club files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
43 operators run 43 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit43
Top states by locations
| NJ | 6 |
|---|---|
| CA | 5 |
| FL | 4 |
| TX | 4 |
| NY | 3 |
Related Fitness brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.