QuickBooksIntuit
Mandatoryble amount to compensate us for the services that we or our affiliate provide. We currently require you to use typical office computers plus iPads for each classroom. You must use QuickBooks for accou
From the filings
+21.212% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Ivybrook Academy
EducationIvybrook Academy, an education franchise headquartered in North Carolina, runs 41 US locations — 40 franchised, one company-owned — and grew units 21.2% year over year in its 2025 FDD. Item 11 obligates every franchisee to run QuickBooks for its books, and with 38 single-unit operators nationwide, software decisions largely track back to headquarters standards and each owner-operator's Operations contact.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
41
40 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+21.212%
vs prior filing
AUV
$858K
Item 19, 2024
Royalty
7%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$50K
per unit
Investment range
$541K–$870K
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.
8%of gross sales (FY2025)
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
29 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 2 explicit no's; 3 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 QuickBooks for accounting and bookkeeping.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We have the right to independently access all information on your Technology at any time without first notifying you.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall supply to Franchisor on or before the 5th calendar day of each month, in a form approved by Franchisor, a profit and loss statement for the previous calendar month.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
The exclusive supplier of The Student Hub is owned by an affiliate, Catapult.
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 11
We have established a Franchisee Advisory Council, which provides advice to us on various matters, including advertising.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right, in its sole discretion, to change or modify the System from time to time including, without limitation, the adoption and use of new or modified Marks or copyrighted materials, curricula, teaching materials, computer hardware, software, equipment, inventory, supplies, or sales and marketing…
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor and Affiliates have the right to retain volume rebates, commissions, referral fees, and other payments and benefits from suppliers or real estate brokers or in connection with the furnishing of suppliers or real estate brokers or in connection with Franchisee’s purchases from such suppliers or work with…
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?
70Item 8
The cost of the items that you must purchase from us, our affiliates or from suppliers designated by us represents between 70% and 90% of your total purchases in operating your School.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We charge $500 to review or approve an alternate supplier.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you want to use a supplier that is not on our list of approved suppliers, you must request our approval in writing.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
within 15 days of the date of expiration, nonrenewal, or termination assign all telephone listings, numbers, and Online Presences, for the Franchised Business to Franchisor (including any personal cellphone numbers used in connection with the business)
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee warrants and represents and covenants that it shall comply with (i) applicable prevailing industry standards concerning privacy, data protection, confidentiality and information security, including, without limitation, the then-current Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard of the PCI Security…
Franchise management
Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall participate (at its own expense) in all programs required from time to time by Franchisor for obtaining customer evaluations and/or reviewing Franchisee’s compliance with the System, which may include (but are not limited to) a customer feedback system and parent survey programs.
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor and its designees have the right to enter and inspect the Accepted Location at all reasonable times and, additionally, have the right to observe the manner in which Franchisee renders services and conducts activities and operations, and to inspect facilities, equipment, products, supplies, reports, forms…
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right to add to or otherwise modify the Confidential Brand Standards Manual from time to time to reflect changes in the specifications, standards, operating procedures, and rules prescribed by Franchisor.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall not locate the Franchised Business on a site without the prior written acceptance of Franchisor.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 11
You may not establish or operate an Online Presence (including a website, webpage, domain name, Internet address, social media account, blog, forum, advertisement, e-commerce site, or email address) that in any way concerns, discusses or alludes to us, the System or your School without our written consent.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor shall determine and specify an appropriate minimum amount which Franchisee shall be required to expend on Grand Opening Advertising based upon Franchisor’s general assessment of the area surrounding the Franchised Business and taking into account other potentially relevant factors, such as prevailing costs…
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 spend at least 1% of Gross Revenues each year on advertising, promotions and public relations within the immediate locality surrounding your School.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right to require Franchisee to participate in future loyalty programs, and national, regional, and local giveaways and promotions at Franchisee’s expense.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
participate in such cooperative advertising programs when established within Franchisee’s region.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must use our designated supplier for marketing services and materials.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You are also required to purchase all furniture, signage, décor, and any items bearing our Marks from suppliers we approve, which may be us or our affiliates.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
Currently, you are required to subscribe to The Student Hub, a school management and payment processing software.
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall pay the Royalty Fee, Brand Fund Contribution, and any other amounts owed to Franchisor or its Affiliates by pre-authorized bank draft or in such other manner as Franchisor or its Affiliates may require.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee, at its expense, shall purchase or lease and thereafter maintain such computer hardware and software, mobile application(s), cloud-based systems and/or software, smartphone(s), tablet, broadband high-speed internet service, active e-mail account, required dedicated telephone and power lines, modem(s)…
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We have the right to independently access all information on your Technology at any time without first notifying you.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
Periodically, your Chief Executive Officer or School Administrator or other of your employees must attend refresher-training programs to be conducted at our headquarters or another location we designate.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor shall have the right to require Franchisee, its owners, its Chief Executive Officer, and its School Administrator to attend conferences.
The filing answers no to 2 questions
- Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?Item 15
- Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?Franchise agreement
The vendor opportunity at Ivybrook Academy
Ivybrook Academy runs 41 locations in the US — 40 franchised and one company-owned — with unit count up 21.2% year over year, signaling active development in the education segment. Of the network's 38 mapped operators, none run more than a single location, so software decisions run through individual owner-operators layered under franchisor-level system standards set at Ivybrook's North Carolina headquarters.
Who controls software purchasing
Item 2 of the FDD names Drew McWilliams (CEO and Co-Founder) and Amy Cowan (Vice President of Operations) among the leadership team, alongside Jennifer McWilliams (Co-Founder), Daniela McElhaney (Vice President of Education and Curriculum) and Katherine Bell (Vice President of Training). Operations sits with Cowan, making her office the likely first stop for a system pitch — but the Item 11 requirement below shows headquarters already sets at least one hard technology standard for every location.
Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required
The FDD names one technology system in Item 11: QuickBooks by Intuit. The filing obligates every Ivybrook Academy franchisee to run it for accounting. No other software system appears in the filing.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 sets an approved-supplier model: franchisees buy the proprietary décor items package from the franchisor or an affiliate before opening, and may propose alternative suppliers for other goods, subject to franchisor approval. Item 17 sets an initial term of 15 years with two additional 10-year renewal terms; each renewal requires signing the then-current franchise agreement, which may carry materially different terms than the original.
How to read the Ivybrook Academy FDD
The 2025 FDD was filed with state franchise regulators; review the embedded filing below for the full text of Items 2, 8, 11, 17 and 19.
Talk to FranCloud for a ranked list of education-segment targets like Ivybrook Academy.
Questions vendors ask
Ivybrook Academy, answered from the filing
Item 2 lists Amy Cowan as Vice President of Operations alongside CEO and co-founder Drew McWilliams. Operations is the natural point of contact for a software pitch, and headquarters already sets at least one hard standard: Item 11 requires every location to run QuickBooks.
The FDD names one system: QuickBooks by Intuit under Item 11, which every franchisee must use for accounting. No other technology system appears in the filing.
41 total locations — 40 franchised and one company-owned — in the education segment, with unit count up 21.2% year over year.
Item 8 sets an approved-supplier list. Franchisees must buy the proprietary décor items package from the franchisor or an affiliate before opening, and may propose alternative suppliers for other goods for franchisor approval.
The initial term runs 15 years, with two additional 10-year renewal terms under Item 17. Each renewal requires signing a new franchise agreement, which can carry materially different terms — a natural point to revisit vendor contracts. Growth is currently up 21.2% year over year.
The 2025 FDD was filed with state franchise regulators. Use the embedded PDF viewer below to read the full disclosure, including Items 2, 8, 11, 17 and 19.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Ivybrook Academy files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
38 operators run 38 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit38
Related Education brands
Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.