Aqua-Tots Swim Schools

The vendor opportunity at Aqua-Tots

Aqua-Tots Swim Schools operates 139 total units—138 franchised and 1 company-owned—with an average unit volume of $1,138,797. The system grew unit count by approximately 5.3% year-over-year, signaling a stable, expanding footprint for software vendors targeting youth services franchises. The franchisor is headquartered in Arizona and led by a small executive team, which centralizes purchasing influence. For a vendor, this means a single point of entry to a network of nearly 140 locations, each paying a 6% royalty on gross revenue.

Who controls software purchasing

The 2026 FDD identifies Paul Preston as President and Craig Wright as CEO. Co-Founder Ron Sciarro is also named. With no parent company on file and no multi-unit operators mapped in our corpus, decision-making authority appears concentrated at the corporate level. Vendors should direct outreach to the President or CEO at the Arizona headquarters. The absence of a disclosed CIO or VP of Technology in the FDD suggests that technology decisions may fall directly to these top executives or a small operations team.

Mandated and current tech stack

Aqua-Tots mandates a specific software environment. The FDD lists “Aqua-Tots preferred software program” and “Aqua-Tots proprietary digital tools” as required, alongside Pike13, a class management and scheduling platform. This trio forms the operational backbone for franchisees. Vendors offering adjacent solutions—such as payroll, HR, advanced CRM, or business intelligence—must integrate with or complement Pike13 and the proprietary tools. The mandate reduces fragmentation but also sets a high bar for displacement.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

The FDD does not include an Item 8 extract detailing procurement restrictions or designated suppliers. Without that signal, the procurement model remains undisclosed in the available data. Franchise agreements carry an initial term of 10 years. Upon renewal, franchisees must sign a new agreement, which may contain materially different terms, and pay a renewal fee. Royalty rates at renewal will not exceed those charged to new franchisees. This 10-year cycle, combined with the 2026 FDD filing, suggests that any system-wide technology evaluation or renegotiation could align with renewal waves or corporate strategic planning cycles.

How to read the Aqua-Tots FDD

The full 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executives and ownership), Item 11 (franchisor assistance and mandated technology), Item 8 (procurement restrictions, if disclosed), and Item 17 (renewal and termination). Pay close attention to the mandated software language in Item 11, which confirms Pike13 and the proprietary tools as non-negotiable components of the franchisee tech stack. Use the document to verify decision-maker names and to identify any additional operational requirements that could create integration or replacement opportunities.

For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, contact FranCloud.