From the filings
Cookie Cutters Franchising Inc. operates 108 locations (106 franchised, 2 company-owned) and mandates Shortcuts as its proprietary salon management system. Software purchasing is controlled at the franchisor level, with CEO Neal Courtney and COO Alexis Courtney named in the FDD. Vendors targeting this brand must align with a centralized procurement model and a single approved technology vendor.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
5% component; full terms unconfirmed
Complete royalty terms are not confirmed for the selected filing.
These are recorded percentage components. Each has its own base and conditions; the chart does not state the total payment or confirm ad-fund completeness.
1recorded components (FY2022)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
1 technology requirement is recorded in this filing. A required choice lists alternatives for one obligation. Read each cited clause for its conditions.
ITEM 8 RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Required and Approved Suppliers You must purchase from our approved vendor the proprietary computer system developed and modified for us by Shortcuts Software Ltd. You must also purchase equipment and trade dress for the build out of your salon from our approved supplier.
Franchisor behaviours
23 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 8 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
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.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees that, on notice from CC, Franchisee will participate in a regional advertising cooperative approved by CC
Operations
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must also purchase equipment and trade dress for the build out of your Salon from our approved supplier.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
9.11. Payment. Franchisee shall make payments of the royalty fee, motion picture licensing fee, and System-wide Fund fee, and all other payments due Franchisor through automatic withdrawal on a bank account Franchisee is required to establish and maintain for the purpose of Cookie Cutters Franchise Disclosure…
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
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 6
Remedial or Our then-current fee, 10 days after We provide remedial or follow- Follow-up currently $50 per day per billing up training if we, in our sole and Training and trainee (5) absolute right, deem it necessary Certification(4) for you or your manager(s) (7) Non-Compliance $100 per day per violation of 5 days…
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.
Cookie Cutters Franchising Inc. operates 108 total locations — 106 franchised and 2 company-owned — with franchised outlets growing 0.952% year over year. The brand is a personal-services franchise focused on children's hair salons, headquartered in Utah. For software vendors, the addressable market is modest but concentrated: a single franchisor controls technology standards across all locations, and franchisees have no discretion to choose their core operational system.
The FDD makes no financial performance representation under Item 19, so no average unit volume figure is available. The operator footprint is small: 1 mapped operator (1 multi-unit) across approximately 2 located units, with top state Utah (2 units).
Software purchasing authority sits at the franchisor level. The FDD names Neal Courtney (Chief Executive Officer), Alexis Courtney (Chief Operating Officer), and Christy Fossett (Vice President of Operations and Training). Because the franchise agreement obligates franchisees to use the franchisor-approved Shortcuts system, any software pitch must clear HQ first — franchisees cannot independently adopt a different POS or salon management platform.
Shortcuts is the only technology system named in the FDD. Under Item 8, franchisees must purchase from the approved vendor the proprietary computer system developed and modified for Cookie Cutters by Shortcuts Software Ltd. This is a hard mandate: the filing obliges the franchisee to use it. No other software, POS, or operational technology is named in the filing.
Item 8 establishes an approved-supplier list. Franchisees must purchase certain items from approved suppliers or suppliers meeting specifications. Some items have a single approved supplier; for others, the franchisor is an approved supplier but not the only one. Franchisees may propose alternative suppliers for approval if they meet specifications. The franchisor received $160,620 in revenue from required purchases in fiscal 2021, representing 6.6% of total revenue, including rebates of $4,200 to $5,000 per location for equipment and trade dress packages.
Renewal terms under Item 17 run 5 years, with 180 days' notice required. These renewal cycles create natural windows for technology evaluation and vendor displacement.
The embedded PDF below is Cookie Cutters' 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document. For software vendors, the critical sections are Item 8 (supplier restrictions and the Shortcuts mandate), Item 11 (technology and training requirements), and Item 17 (renewal and transfer terms). Item 2 lists the officers above. Item 19 contains no financial performance representation. Use this filing to time outreach around renewal cycles and to understand that any software sale must be approved at HQ, not at the franchisee level.
For a ranked target list of franchise systems with similar centralized technology mandates, talk to FranCloud.
Complete royalty terms are not confirmed.
Questions vendors ask
Read the original document for the filing figures and their terms, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
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FDD alert
Request an email alert when a newer filing for COOKIE CUTTERS FRANCHISING INCCookie Cutters is available.
Operator footprint
1 operators run 2 mapped locations. 1 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| UT | 2 |
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Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Read the original filing for definitions, conditions, and qualifications.