QuickBooks Online
Mandatoryp to date. The annual cost to maintain and update the Shortcuts software is $2,700 payable to Shortcuts. You must also obtain and use our designated accounting software, currently Quickbooks Online, f
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Cookie Cutters
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Cookie Cutters is controlled at the franchisor level, with Chief Executive Officer Neal Courtney and Chief Operating Officer Alexis Courtney identified in the 2026 FDD. The system mandates QuickBooks, QuickBooks Online, and Shortcuts, creating both integration opportunities and competitive displacement angles for vendors. With 120 total units—117 franchised—this is a compact but concentrated target for SaaS sellers focused on quick-service salon operations.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
120
117 franchised
Unit growth YoY
—
vs prior filing
AUV
$314K
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$40K
per unit
Investment range
$138K–$390K
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.
6%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
2 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.
Shortcuts
Mandatoryd they are compatible with our software. You must purchase from our approved vendor the proprietary computer system developed and modified for us, currently our approved vendor is Shortcuts. Neither w
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
20 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 11 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?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must use our required bookkeeping and accounting systems, relating, without limitation, to the use and retention of sales checks, cash register tapes, purchase orders, invoices, payroll records, check stubs, sales tax records and returns, cash receipts, disbursement journals and general ledgers, as may be…
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We may independently access the data on your system at any time and reserve the right to use sales and reporting data for the benefit of the system.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee recognizes the importance of financial and statistical analysis and agrees to provide CC with monthly sales reports (by the 10th of each month for the preceding month) and monthly financial statements (by the 25th of each month for the preceding month) in the forms prescribed in the Confidential Operations…
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesFranchise agreement
CC or its related companies may offer to sell to Franchisee equipment and supplies used in operating a COOKIE CUTTERS business, which may be purchased by Franchisee at its option.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Accordingly, Franchisee agrees that CC may, on notice and acting reasonably, add to, modify and change the System, including the adoption and use of new and modified service marks, trademarks, trade names, trade dresses, equipment of COOKIE CUTTERS services and products, but any modifications or changes may not…
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
181363Item 8
the revenues received by us during the same period due to the required purchases or leases of products or services by franchisees was $181,363 or 7.1% of our total revenues.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You are required to purchase our standard Cookie Cutters equipment and trade dress package from our approved supplier, and we receive a rebate of $4,200 to $5,000 (depending on the package purchased by the franchisee) for the purchase of such equipment and trade dress for each franchised location.
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?
7Item 8
The cost of equipment, supplies, materials and other products purchased from us or our suppliers or in accordance with our specifications will represent 65-85% of your total purchases in establishing the business and 7-10% of your total purchases during operation of your business.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
Review of any request is subject to a fee equal to our out-of-pocket expenses related to our review, plus the then-current per diem charges for our personnel.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
We will consider any request for the modification of a specification or acceptance of alternative equipment or supplies, or approval of alternative suppliers on submission by you of a written request
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
assignment of telephone number(s) to us
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
A field representative or designee of CC may make an announced or unannounced inspection of the Franchised Business at any reasonable time to ensure compliance with all terms of this Agreement, which inspection may include interviews of Franchisee’s Managers, employees and independent contractors to ascertain their…
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee acknowledges that the System may be modified by CC, and that modifications to the System may require modifications to the Confidential Operations Manual and to any additional manuals or materials developed by CC, as long as those modifications do not unreasonably increase Franchisee’s obligations under…
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
The specific site must be selected by you using our then-current site selection criteria for new franchisees and by following the process an approval process similar to that used to select the site for the Salon developed under the Franchise Agreement.
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 7
Leading up to and including the grand opening day and within the first three months of operation, you must spend a minimum of $10,000 on advertising.
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
You must expend a certain percentage of your Gross Sales for local advertising and promotion of your franchised business.
Operations
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase from our approved vendor the proprietary computer system developed and modified for us by our designated provider, currently Shortcuts Software Ltd. (“Shortcuts”). You must also purchase equipment and trade dress for the build out of your Salon from our approved supplier.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase from our approved vendor the proprietary computer system developed and modified for us, currently our approved vendor is Shortcuts.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We may independently access the data on your system at any time and reserve the right to use sales and reporting data for the benefit of the system.
Training
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 11
Each year, you (or your managing shareholder or partner) are required to attend a regional or national seminar scheduled and conducted by us at a location determined by us.
The filing answers no to 3 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 20
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?Item 11
- Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?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.
HQ leadership: CEO/President + VP Ops/Franchise + a first dedicated IT/systems owner.
VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
- 41.9% of quick service brands mandate no POS system, leaving a massive blind spot in your target list.By instantly identifying the 452 brands with no POS mandate, you replace weeks of manual FDD research and focus your pipeline on high-fit displacement targets, cutting customer acquisition cost by over 60%.
- 82.3% of brands mandate no accounting system, signaling a wide-open market for tech vendors.FranCloud surfaces the 888 brands without an accounting mandate so your team can prioritize outreach before competitors even know they exist, turning a manual research cost center into a predictable revenue engine.
- Only 17 out of 1,079 quick service brands mandate a CRM, yet unit counts and AUVs prove these are high-value accounts.Instead of spending 40+ hours manually combing FDDs to find CRM-needy brands, FranCloud delivers the 17 mandate-holders and their financials in one query, letting your team close deals 10x faster.
The vendor opportunity at Cookie Cutters
Cookie Cutters operates 120 locations—117 franchised, 3 company-owned—with an average unit volume of $314,383. The system is headquartered in Utah, where its 4 mapped operators are concentrated. No multi-unit operators appear in the FDD; all 4 operators fall into the single-unit band. This is a small, tightly controlled network, which means a single HQ decision can unlock the entire system for a software vendor.
For SaaS companies selling into quick-service restaurants, the addressable market here is modest but efficient. The absence of a parent company suggests independent ownership, and the executive roster is lean: Neal Courtney (CEO), Alexis Courtney (COO), and Christy Fossett (VP of Operations and Training). Year-over-year unit growth is not disclosed in the most recent FDD.
Who controls software purchasing
Software purchasing authority at Cookie Cutters sits at the franchisor level. The 2026 FDD Item 1 identifies Neal Courtney as Chief Executive Officer and Alexis Courtney as Chief Operating Officer. These are the likely decision-makers for any system-wide technology adoption. Christy Fossett, as VP of Operations and Training, may influence operational software choices, particularly tools that affect salon workflow or staff training.
There is no indication of a multi-unit operator class that could drive independent purchasing. With all 4 mapped operators running single units, the franchisor’s mandates carry full weight. Vendors should prepare to engage the CEO and COO directly, framing value in terms of system-wide consistency, compliance, and franchisee ease of use.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2026 FDD mandates three specific systems: QuickBooks by Intuit Inc., QuickBooks Online by Intuit Inc., and Shortcuts. QuickBooks covers accounting and financial management, while Shortcuts is a salon-specific platform likely handling point-of-sale, appointment scheduling, and client management. This stack leaves gaps in areas like advanced analytics, marketing automation, and employee scheduling—potential entry points for complementary SaaS products.
Because both QuickBooks desktop and QuickBooks Online are mandated, franchisees may have flexibility in which version they use. This dual mandate could create integration complexity that a middleware or unified reporting vendor could solve. Shortcuts, as the operational core, represents either a partner or a displacement target, depending on your product category.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the formal supplier designation model—designated, approved, or open—is not disclosed. In practice, the mandated tech list suggests a designated-supplier approach for core systems. Vendors should assume franchisor approval is required for any system that touches financial or operational data.
Renewal terms offer a timing signal. The initial franchise term is 10 years, and renewals run 5 years, with a requirement to notify the franchisor at least 180 days before the term ends. The renewal agreement may contain materially different terms, but the royalty fee will not exceed the rate imposed on similarly situated renewing franchisees. This creates periodic windows where franchisees may be required to update salon appearance and systems to then-current standards—moments when new software can be introduced as part of a broader refresh.
How to read the Cookie Cutters FDD
The 2026 Cookie Cutters Franchise Disclosure Document is filed with state franchise regulators and available in the embedded PDF viewer below. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executives), Item 11 (mandated systems), Item 8 (procurement, if present), and Item 17 (renewal conditions). The document provides the factual foundation for any sales conversation with this brand. For a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your software category, FranCloud can help you prioritize your outreach.
Questions vendors ask
Cookie Cutters, answered from the filing
The 2026 FDD lists Neal Courtney (CEO), Alexis Courtney (COO), and Christy Fossett (VP of Operations and Training) as key executives. Purchasing authority likely sits with the CEO and COO.
Cookie Cutters mandates QuickBooks by Intuit Inc., QuickBooks Online by Intuit Inc., and Shortcuts salon management software, per the 2026 FDD.
The system has 120 total units: 117 franchised and 3 company-owned, with 4 mapped operators concentrated in Utah.
The 2026 FDD does not disclose a specific procurement or supplier designation model in the provided extract. Assume franchisor-driven purchasing until further signals emerge.
Renewal terms run 5 years, requiring 180 days' notice. With a 10-year initial term, watch for renewal clusters tied to the earliest franchise agreements.
The 2026 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can read the full document using the embedded PDF viewer below.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Cookie Cutters files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
94 operators run 94 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit94
Top states by locations
| UT | 15 |
|---|---|
| TX | 14 |
| FL | 9 |
| NJ | 6 |
| OH | 4 |
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.