From the filings
Software purchasing at Auto-Lab Complete Car Care Centers flows through a lean HQ led by CEO Stephen R. Wilson. The system mandates its proprietary Auto-Lab Business Management System (ALBMS®) across all 20 franchised locations, creating a narrow but addressable market for complementary or replacement tools. With no company-owned units and a single-unit operator base, vendors face a centralized decision process but a small, concentrated footprint.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ongoing fee load
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
9%of gross sales (FY2025)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 explicit no's; 5 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must use ALBMS® or such other software platform or system we may require, which will perform invoicing, inventory control, accounting, customer data base management, and reporting functions for your Franchise Store.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right to have independent electronic access to this information.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesItem 6
The Franchise Agreement requires you submit detailed financial statements by the 15th day of every month and such other additional information as may be reasonably required by us.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
Auto-Lab is the sole vendor of the ALBMS®, which assists you in the operation of your business.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We may revise the Approved Vendors List and Approved Supplies Lists in our sole discretion.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right to retain volume rebates, markups, and other benefits from vendors or in connection with the furnishing of vendors.
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?
60Item 8
The purchase of required products from approved sources will represent approximately 60% of your overall purchases in operating the Franchise Store.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
You may be asked to pay to us a charge not to exceed the reasonable cost of the inspection and evaluation and the actual cost of the test.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesFranchise agreement
If Franchise Owner wants to (i) offer for sale at the Franchise Store any brand of product, not then approved by Franchisor, (ii) use any brand material or supply in the operation of the Franchise Store that is not then approved by Franchisor as meeting its minimum specifications and quality standards, (iii) purchase…
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchise Owner shall immediately, as of the date of termination, cease to use the telephone number assigned to Franchise Owner. Franchise Owner, at Franchisor’s option, shall assign to Franchisor all rights to the telephone numbers of the Franchise Store consistent with the Telephone Number Assignment.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchise Owner agrees to comply with the then-current Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards as those standards may be revised and modified by the PCI Security Standards Council, LLC (see www.pcisecuritystandards.org) or any successor organization or standards that Franchisor may reasonably specify.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right to conduct periodic inspections of the Franchise Store to evaluate compliance with the Franchise System and this Agreement.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor may modify the Manual 17 2025 Franchise Agreement unilaterally under any conditions and to any extent which Franchisor, in its sole discretion, deems necessary to meet competition, protect Franchisor’s Trademarks, or otherwise improve Franchisor’s Franchise System.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You cannot open for business until we have approved a location.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchise Owner may not maintain a Website or otherwise maintain a presence or advertise on the internet or any other public computer network (each a Website) in connection with the Franchise Store without Franchisor’s advance written approval, which may be withheld for any reason or for no reason.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchise Owner shall spend a minimum of six percent (6%) of its annual Gross Sales for the advertising and promotion of the Franchise Store within Franchise Owner's local market (“Local Advertising”).
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If an Advertising Cooperative exists in the Area of Dominant Influence (“ADI”) where your Franchise Store is located, you must participate in the local advertising cooperative.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesFranchise agreement
With regard to non-proprietary products, Franchise Owner may use, offer, or sell only such non-proprietary products that Franchisor has specifically authorized, and such products must be purchased from an Approved Vendor.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase or lease all equipment, uniforms, apparel, promotional items, fixtures, cash registers and furniture from a vendor approved by us (“Approved Vendor”).
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
At all times, Franchise Owner shall maintain credit card relationships with the credit and debit card issuers or sponsors, check or credit verification services, financial center services, and electronic funds transfer systems that Franchisor designates as mandatory, and Franchise Owner may not use any such services…
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
The Royalty must be paid by pre-authorized electronic funds transfer on Monday for the preceding week’s (Monday-Sunday) Gross Sales.
People
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase or lease all equipment, uniforms, apparel, promotional items, fixtures, cash registers and furniture from a vendor approved by us (“Approved Vendor”).
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchise Owner must purchase an approved electronic cash register or such other electronic/computerized cash register as may be designated by Franchisor that must allow for the implementation of system wide programs, as implemented by Franchisor from time to time in its Manual.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right to have independent electronic access to this information.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We may also honor your request for additional training after completion of the initial training program, or we may require that you obtain additional training.
Auto-Lab Complete Car Care Centers operates 20 franchised locations, all run by single-unit operators. The system reported average unit volume of $969,708 in its 2025 FDD, with year-over-year unit growth of 11.1%. That growth, while modest in absolute numbers, signals a franchisor actively adding locations—and each new location represents a potential software onboarding event.
The addressable market for a vendor is exactly 20 units today, concentrated in New York (3), Pennsylvania (1), Alabama (1), and Virginia (1), with the remaining units spread across other states. No multi-unit operators exist in the system, meaning every sale is a single-location deal. This structure simplifies outreach but limits scale. Vendors should weigh the small unit count against the possibility of influencing a growing, HQ-controlled system early.
CEO Stephen R. Wilson is the central figure in purchasing decisions. The FDD lists him as the chief executive, and in a system this small, he likely approves or directly selects any technology that touches franchise operations. Mark Sullivan, Director of Training and New Product Development, may also play a role in evaluating tools that affect shop workflow or technician training. Riley Nicole Wilson, Social Media Manager, is listed but unlikely to influence core operational software.
Because Auto-Lab mandates its proprietary ALBMS® platform, any vendor selling adjacent or replacement software must convince a tight leadership team. The absence of a CIO or VP of Technology in the FDD suggests technology decisions sit with the CEO and his operational deputies.
The only technology explicitly mandated in the 2025 FDD is the Auto-Lab Business Management System (ALBMS®). No third-party POS, payment processor, inventory system, or CRM is named as required or recommended. This proprietary system likely handles point-of-sale, scheduling, and shop management, but the FDD does not detail its full feature set.
For vendors, this means the stack is a black box with one known occupant. Opportunities may exist in areas ALBMS® does not cover—digital vehicle inspection, customer communication, marketing automation, or back-office accounting—but any integration would require HQ approval. The lack of disclosed procurement rules in Item 8 adds uncertainty: vendors should assume a closed, HQ-driven evaluation process until they engage directly.
The FDD does not include an Item 8 extract, so Auto-Lab’s formal procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not publicly known. Given the mandated ALBMS® and the small, centralized leadership, the practical model is likely a designated-supplier approach for core systems, with ad hoc decisions for everything else.
Renewal terms offer a potential window for software displacement. Franchise agreements run 15 years, and franchisees in good standing can renew for an additional 15-year period. At renewal, the franchisor may require signing a materially different agreement, which could include updated technology mandates. With 20 units and a 2025 FDD, vendors should monitor new unit openings and any renewal cycle clustering to time their outreach.
The 2025 Auto-Lab FDD is embedded below. It contains the legal and financial disclosures franchisors must provide, including the franchise agreement, fee schedule, and any technology mandates. For software vendors, the most relevant sections are Item 11 (franchisor’s assistance, including required tech) and Item 8 (restrictions on sources of products and services). In this FDD, Item 8 is absent from our extract, so direct inquiry with HQ may be necessary to clarify procurement rules. Review the document to validate unit counts, executive names, and any updates to the mandated ALBMS® system before building your pitch.
For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help you prioritize outreach across automotive services and beyond.
Questions vendors ask
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment Auto-Lab Complete Car Care Centers files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
18 operators run 18 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| NY | 3 |
|---|---|
| PA | 1 |
| AL | 1 |
| VA | 1 |
Ownership
unknown of wilson holdings l l c.
Related Automotive services brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.