From the filings

+5.556% units YoYMandated tech stackHQ-led decisions

Inter-State Studio

Personal services

Software purchasing at Inter-State Studio is controlled at the corporate level by ISS Publishing executives, including the President/CEO, COO, and VP of Sales and Marketing. The franchisor mandates a management software system, though the specific vendor is not named in the 2026 FDD. With 43 total units and a 5.556% year-over-year unit growth rate, the addressable market for vendors is modest but concentrated at headquarters.

For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.

Live signals

Total units
43
19 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+5.556%
vs prior filing
AUV
$1.42M
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
3%
of gross sales
Ad fund
3%
national + local
Initial fee
per unit
Investment range
$26K–$54K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
1 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)

Ongoing fees: 6% of gross sales (FY2026)Royalty 3%, Ad fund 3%. Total 6% of gross sales. Drawn against a 15% reference scale.

15% reference

Royalty 3%Ad fund 3%

Franchisor behaviours

What the franchisor requires

22 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 6 explicit no's; 6 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?

Yes

Franchise agreement

During the term of this Agreement, you will, at your expense, establish and maintain at a business location within the Territory and retain for a minimum of five (5) years from the date of their preparation, an accounting and record keeping system we designate that will generate complete and accurate books, records…

Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?

Yes

Item 11

We also may independently access financial information and customer data (“Customer Data”) produced by or otherwise located on your Computer System.

Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

You must preserve the Records and submit reports electronically, consistent with our requirements.

How the franchisor buys

Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?

Yes

Item 8

We, an affiliate of ours, or a third-party vendor or supplier periodically may be the only approved supplier or lessor for certain products or services.

Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?

Yes

Franchise agreement

We periodically may modify the lists of approved products, supplies, equipment, brands and suppliers.

How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?

0

Item 8

We received a total of $0 (or 0% of our total revenue of $1,066,895.94) as a result of franchisee purchases or leases during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.

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?

75

Item 8

approximately 75% to 95% of your ongoing costs (but 100% of your printed pictures, yearbooks, and other Products costs) to operate the Business.

Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?

Yes

Item 8

You must pay us $100 plus our reasonable costs and expenses that we incur in connection with the inspection, evaluation, and testing.

Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?

Yes

Item 8

If you propose to use any product, material, equipment, sign or other item that we have not approved, or purchase any items from any supplier that we have not approved, you must first notify us in writing and must provide us with sufficient information, specifications, samples photographs, drawings or other information

Communications

Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?

Yes

Item 17

Cease operation of the Business and use of Marks, pay all amounts due us, stop using and return Operations Manual and other materials, assign to us the Business telephone number and telephone listing or (at our option) disconnect the telephone i.

Data and IT

Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

You must participate in our designated Payment Card Industry (“PCI”) compliance program if we establish such a program and pay the then-current fee associated with such program.

Franchise management

Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?

Yes

Franchise agreement

and without prior notice to you, inspect the Business, observe the provision of the Services, and test, sample, inspect and evaluate your supplies, equipment and Products as well as the storage of those items.

Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?

Yes

Franchise agreement

We may add to, and otherwise modify, the Operations Manual to reflect changes in authorized Services and Products, and specifications, standards and operating procedures of an Inter-State Studio business.

Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?

Yes

Item 11

In the event you wish to lease or acquire real estate for your Business, then you must obtain our prior written consent with respect to a proposed site before purchasing or signing a lease.

Marketing

Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Except as we may authorize in writing, however, you will not: (1) link or frame our website; (2) conduct any business or offer to sell or advertise any Products or Services or similar products or services on the Internet (or any other existing or future form of electronic communication) including e-mail marketing or…

Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?

Yes

Item 11

You must, at your expense, participate in, and honor all provisions of any gift cards, loyalty programs, coupons, and discounts that we have established or may establish and as we may modify.

Operations

Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?

Yes

Item 8

The Approved Suppliers List may specify the specific manufacturer of a specific product or piece of equipment, in which case you can purchase those products only from a source identified on the Approved Suppliers List.

Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

In operating your Business, you may purchase only the types of equipment, products, supplies, and signs that we require and have approved as meeting our then-current specifications and standards for quality, design, appearance, function and performance as set forth in our confidential Operations Manual (the…

Payments

Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?

Yes

Item 11

You must, at your expense, participate in, and honor all provisions of any gift cards, loyalty programs, coupons, and discounts that we have established or may establish and as we may modify.

People

Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Each of your employees will wear only those uniforms which we have approved in writing;

Point of sale

Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?

Yes

Item 11

We also may independently access financial information and customer data (“Customer Data”) produced by or otherwise located on your Computer System.

Training

Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?

Yes

Franchise agreement

We may require that the Operating Principal attend all supplemental and refresher training programs that we designate. We may charge you a reasonable fee for these supplemental and refresher training programs.

The filing answers no to 6 questions
  • Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
  • Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?Item 8
  • Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?Item 11
  • Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?Item 11
  • Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
  • Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?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.

Sales LeaderEmerging 20 99

The franchisor's owner/CEO decides; an ops or franchise-development lead may evaluate.

VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
  1. With 298 active personal services brands, I can't see which ones are growing or have the tech gaps my product fills, so I waste weeks chasing the wrong targets.A rep burning 10 hours/week on manual research at $50/hr loses $26,000/year. FranCloud's fit_scoring and corpus_search surface high-fit brands in seconds, reclaiming that time for selling.
  2. 63.5% of personal services brands mandate no POS system, but I can't identify the 108 that do without digging through hundreds of FDDs.Manually reviewing one FDD takes 3+ hours. At 108 targets, that's 324 hours. FranCloud's tech_landscape reveals POS mandates instantly, turning a $16,200 research slog into a single query.
  3. 91.6% of brands don't mandate a CRM, but the 25 that do are hidden in static reports, delaying my outreach to high-intent prospects.Landing one CRM-displacing deal in this segment can yield $30k+ ARR. FranCloud's find_lookalikes pinpoints those 25 brands and their peers, accelerating pipeline by months.

The vendor opportunity at Inter-State Studio

Inter-State Studio is a personal services franchise headquartered in Missouri, with 43 total locations as of the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. Of those, 19 are franchised and 24 are company-owned, giving software vendors a concentrated target: the corporate parent, ISS Publishing, controls purchasing decisions for the entire system. The brand reported average unit volume of $1,420,898.61 and grew its unit count by 5.556% year-over-year. While the absolute number of units is small, the centralized buying structure means a single sales cycle can unlock the full network.

Who controls software purchasing

Software purchasing authority sits with ISS Publishing’s executive team. The 2026 FDD lists Aric Snyder Jr. as President and Chief Executive Officer, David Middleton as Chief Operating Officer, Dan Hassinger as General Counsel, Emily Broadfoot as Vice President of Finance, and Mary-Kate Anderson as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. For a vendor selling operational or sales-enablement software, the likely entry points are the COO and the VP of Sales and Marketing, who would evaluate tools affecting franchise operations or revenue. The VP of Finance may also be involved for budget-significant contracts. No franchisee-level decision-makers are mapped in our corpus, reinforcing the HQ-driven model.

Mandated and current tech stack

The 2026 FDD mandates that franchisees use a management software system. The specific vendor or product name is not disclosed in the filing, which is common when the franchisor reserves the right to designate or change systems without locking a brand name into the disclosure. This creates an opening for vendors offering management platforms, scheduling, CRM, or point-of-sale solutions that can integrate with or replace the incumbent. Because the mandate exists, any new vendor must demonstrate compliance capability and HQ-level configurability.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 of the FDD contains no extract regarding procurement rules, so whether the franchisor uses a designated supplier model, an approved supplier list, or an open procurement process is not publicly specified. Vendors should prepare for a direct HQ sales motion and be ready to address compliance requirements during due diligence. The franchise agreement runs an initial term of 5 years, with renewal possible for up to two additional 5-year terms if the franchisee is in good standing, provides advance notice, completes retraining, and signs a new agreement that may contain materially different terms. Renewal cycles, which require new agreements and a general release of claims, are natural moments when technology stacks get re-evaluated. With the most recent FDD filed in 2026, the next wave of renewals tied to agreements signed five years prior may be approaching.

How to read the Inter-State Studio FDD

The full 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. It contains the legal and operational disclosures that govern the franchise relationship, including Item 11 (franchisor’s assistance, which covers mandated technology) and Item 17 (renewal and termination). For software vendors, the FDD is the primary source of truth on what the franchisor requires, who controls purchasing, and when contracts open. Review it to align your pitch with the brand’s actual mandates and executive structure. When you’re ready to prioritize targets like Inter-State Studio alongside other franchise systems, FranCloud can help you build a ranked list based on real FDD data.

Questions vendors ask

Inter-State Studio, answered from the filing

ISS Publishing executives control purchasing. Key contacts include Aric Snyder Jr. (President/CEO), David Middleton (COO), and Mary-Kate Anderson (VP of Sales and Marketing), per the 2026 FDD.
The 2026 FDD mandates a management software system for franchisees. The specific vendor or product name is not disclosed in the filing.
There are 43 total units: 19 franchised and 24 company-owned. The brand operates in the personal services segment with 5.556% year-over-year unit growth.
The procurement model is not detailed in the 2026 FDD. Item 8 contains no extract regarding designated or approved suppliers, so the process is not publicly specified.
Franchise agreements run 5-year initial terms, renewable for up to two additional 5-year terms if in good standing. Renewals require new agreements, which may trigger technology re-evaluation periods.
The FDD was filed with state franchise regulators in 2026. You can read it directly in the embedded PDF viewer below on this page.
Source

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Inter-State Studio2026 FDDView only

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Operator footprint

Inter-State Studio’s FDD on file does not disclose a franchisee directory.

Related Personal services brands

Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.