Shortcuts
MandatoryONS 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 L
From the filings
+0.952% units YoYHQ-led decisions
COOKIE CUTTERS FRANCHISING INCCookie Cutters
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Cookie Cutters Franchising Inc. is controlled at the headquarters level, where Chief Executive Officer Neal Courtney and Chief Operating Officer Alexis Courtney oversee operations. The franchise mandates Shortcuts Software for its 108-unit system, creating a uniform tech environment. With 106 franchised locations and a 10-year initial term, vendors face a concentrated but renewal-driven sales opportunity.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
108
106 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+0.952%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2022
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$40K
per unit
Investment range
$142K–$357K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
No 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 (FY2022)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
1 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.
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
21 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 10 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.
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 Franchising Inc. operates 108 quick-service restaurant locations, with 106 franchised and just 2 company-owned. The system is small but concentrated, with all mapped operators located in Utah. Year-over-year unit growth sits at 0.952%, indicating a stable rather than rapidly expanding network. For software vendors, the addressable market is 108 units, but the real opportunity lies in the franchisor’s centralized control over technology decisions and the predictable renewal cycle baked into the franchise agreement.
No average unit volume (AUV) is disclosed in the most recent FDD. The royalty rate is 5.0%, and the initial franchise term runs 10 years. Renewal terms extend for 5 years, subject to conditions that include executing a new franchise agreement and making required updates to the salon appearance. This renewal trigger creates a recurring window for technology re-evaluation across the system.
Who controls software purchasing
Software purchasing authority sits at the headquarters level. The 2022 FDD lists Neal Courtney as Chief Executive Officer and Alexis Courtney as Chief Operating Officer. Christy Fossett serves as Vice President of Operations and Training. In a system this size, the CEO and COO are the likely final decision-makers for any system-wide technology mandate or recommended vendor list. Vendors should direct initial outreach to the C-suite, with operational validation coming through the VP of Operations.
The operator footprint is minimal: only 2 mapped operators are on file, and none are multi-unit operators. All mapped units fall into the 1-to-2-unit band. This means there is no significant multi-unit owner bloc that could influence purchasing independently of the franchisor. The franchisor’s technology preferences are effectively the entire market.
Mandated and current tech stack
Cookie Cutters mandates Shortcuts Software, as disclosed in the 2022 FDD. Shortcuts is the named system, and the FDD lists both “Shortcuts” and “Shortcuts Software” as mandated. No other technology vendors are named as required or recommended in the available data. This single-vendor mandate simplifies the sales landscape: any new software must either integrate with Shortcuts or replace it at the franchisor level.
For vendors selling complementary tools—such as scheduling, inventory management, or customer engagement platforms—the integration path runs through Shortcuts. For those selling competitive POS or salon management systems, the pitch must target HQ and demonstrate clear advantages over the incumbent mandate.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD does not extract an Item 8 procurement signal, meaning no designated supplier list, approved supplier program, or purchasing cooperative is disclosed. This absence suggests procurement is either open or handled informally at the franchisor level. Vendors should not assume a formal RFP process; direct relationship-building with HQ is likely the primary route to adoption.
Renewal timing is structured and predictable. The initial franchise term is 10 years. To renew, franchisees must notify the franchisor at least 180 days before the term ends, pay a renewal fee, comply with all material provisions, update the salon to current appearance standards, execute a general release, and sign a new franchise agreement. The renewal term is 5 years, and the royalty fee will not exceed the rate imposed on similarly situated renewing franchisees. This 180-day notice window, combined with the 5-year renewal cycle, creates a recurring opportunity for vendors to engage franchisees and the franchisor around technology upgrades.
How to read the Cookie Cutters FDD
The 2022 Cookie Cutters Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executive team and corporate structure), Item 11 (mandated technology and franchisor assistance), Item 8 (procurement restrictions, if any), and Item 17 (renewal conditions and timing). The document confirms the franchisor is independently owned, with no parent company on file. The system’s small operator base and centralized HQ control make the FDD a straightforward read for vendors assessing the sales opportunity.
For a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your software category, talk to FranCloud.
Questions vendors ask
COOKIE CUTTERS FRANCHISING INCCookie Cutters, answered from the filing
CEO Neal Courtney and COO Alexis Courtney are the named executives. Vice President of Operations and Training Christy Fossett likely influences operational tech decisions.
The 2022 FDD mandates Shortcuts Software. No other named systems or vendors are disclosed as required.
108 total units as of the 2022 FDD: 106 franchised and 2 company-owned. Year-over-year unit growth was 0.952%.
The FDD does not disclose a specific procurement model in Item 8. No designated supplier or approved supplier list is extracted.
Renewal terms run 5 years after the initial 10-year term. Franchisees must notify HQ 180 days before expiration, creating a predictable re-evaluation window.
The 2022 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can view it in the embedded PDF viewer below.
Source
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment COOKIE CUTTERS FRANCHISING INCCookie Cutters files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
2 operators run 2 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit2
Top states by locations
| UT | 2 |
|---|
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Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.