From the filings
Software purchasing authority at Project LeanNation appears decentralized; the 2026 FDD does not list HQ executives or a mandated technology stack. The franchise system comprises 33 franchised locations and 1 company-owned unit, with a 17.9% year-over-year unit growth rate. Vendors should prepare to sell directly to individual franchisees, as no multi-unit operators are recorded in the current operator footprint.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ongoing fee load
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
9%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 explicit no's; 5 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
The Franchisee agrees to utilize the computerized bookkeeping, reporting and accounting system designated from time to time by the Franchisor
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesFranchise agreement
The Franchisee agrees to provide such access on a free and uninterrupted basis, to maintain all of its computerized records in an C29 accurate, complete and absolutely current basis, and to comply with all directives of the Franchisor as to the confirmation of all such data, software and hardware.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
by the ninetieth (90th) day after the expiration of each fiscal year of the Franchised Business, in a form approved by the Franchisor: i) a statement of profit and loss (income statement), a balance sheet, and a statement of changes in financial position for that fiscal year prepared in accordance with Generally…
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We or an affiliated company may be the only recommended vendor for Supplies including our turnkey services and opening inventory and supplies.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
The Franchisor reserves and will have the right to make changes in the Manual, the System, and the Marks at any time and without prior notice to the Franchisee.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
8234888Item 8
Our affiliate Lean Life Manufacturing, Inc. derived $8,234,888 in revenue from franchisee required purchases in 2025.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We received $35,300.00 in revenue from Franchisee purchases from designated or approved suppliers, which is 1.67% of our total revenue in 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?
90Item 8
We estimate that over 90% of your total purchases and leases (in relation to all purchases and leases to be made by the franchisee) for both (a) establishing the business and (b) operating the business, shall be required to be made from an approved supplier.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
The proposed supplier or you must pay, in advance, a fee not to exceed the reasonable cost of evaluation, testing, and inspections we undertake.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesFranchise agreement
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Franchisee can request the approval of an item, service or supplier by notifying Franchisor in writing and submitting such information and/or materials Franchisor requests.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
The Franchisee acknowledges that as between the Franchisor and the Franchisee, the Franchisor has the right to and interest in all telephone numbers and directory listings associated with any Marks.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
We or our designee will periodically visit your Franchised Business to inspect your operations, observe and interview your employees and review your books and records (including data stored on your computer systems) in order to verify your compliance with the Franchise Agreement and Operations Manual.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 11
We may modify the Operations Manual at any time but the modification(s) will not alter your status and rights under the Franchise Agreement (Franchise Agreement, Article 16).
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
We do not choose the site, but may give you support and guidance and must approve the Location.
Marketing
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 6
As incurred You are required to make local and Advertising advertising expenditures as Fund Fee required by Article 13.3 of the Advertising Fund:
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
We can establish a cooperative in your marketing area and require you to participate.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 16
All products and services to be sold from or displayed at the Location will be purchased from us or our designated suppliers.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
you must purchase all products, supplies, services, equipment, furnishings, merchandise, employee uniforms, goods, fixtures, inventory, food and beverage products, packaging, and other items used, sold, displayed, or distributed in your stores or events or used in your Franchised Business in compliance with our…
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
All monthly payments required by this Agreement must be received by the Franchisor by computer transfer direct debit or such other manner as may be designated by the Franchisor on or before the 5th day of each month in respect of the preceding calendar month.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesFranchise agreement
the use and honoring of gift certificates, coupons and other such local and national promotional authorized by the Franchisor;
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesFranchise agreement
The Franchisee will at all times maintain a sufficient number of trained employees to service the Franchisee's customers and ensure that Franchisor’s operational and quality standards are met at all times during the Term of this Agreement.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
you must purchase all products, supplies, services, equipment, furnishings, merchandise, employee uniforms, goods, fixtures, inventory, food and beverage products, packaging, and other items used, sold, displayed, or distributed in your stores or events or used in your Franchised Business in compliance with our…
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
All sales must be collected by you on the Project LeanNation processing system, specifically Square POS and PLN Storefront.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
In other words, we will have independent access to your sales information and data produced by your system.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We may require that you and other personnel that we designate attend specific additional training programs.
Who buys here
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.
The franchisor's owner/CEO decides; an ops or franchise-development lead may evaluate.
Project LeanNation operates 34 total locations, 33 of which are franchised. The brand posted a 17.9% year-over-year unit growth rate, signaling an expanding footprint that could create incremental software seats. Average unit volume sits at $643,443, and the royalty rate is 7.0% on a 10-year initial term. For software vendors, the addressable market is those 33 franchised locations, heavily concentrated in Arizona (6 mapped units) with at least one unit in Wisconsin. The remaining units are not individually mapped in the operator database, but the unit-band split confirms all 7 mapped operators run a single location—there are zero multi-unit operators on file.
The 2026 FDD does not list any HQ executives. Without a named leadership team and with no multi-unit operators in the footprint, the buying center likely sits at the individual franchisee level. Vendors should not expect a top-down technology mandate from the franchisor. Instead, each of the 33 franchisees may evaluate and purchase software independently. This structure means a longer sales cycle across many small accounts, but also less gatekeeping from a corporate IT department.
No mandated or recommended technology systems are captured in the 2026 FDD. This absence is itself a signal: the franchisor has not publicly standardized a POS, scheduling, CRM, or operational platform. For a vendor, this represents a wide-open landscape. The lack of a mandated stack means franchisees may be using a patchwork of consumer-grade or legacy tools, creating an opportunity to pitch a unified solution. However, vendors must verify current tooling directly with operators, as the FDD provides no guidance.
Item 8 procurement signals were not extracted from the FDD, so the franchisor's stance on designated versus approved suppliers remains unknown. Renewal terms, drawn from Item 17, are more concrete. Franchisees must provide written notice at least 12 months before the end of their 10-year term, bring the location up to current image and standards, not be in default, and sign the then-current franchise agreement—which may contain materially different terms. This renewal trigger, occurring roughly every decade, is the most predictable window when franchisees may reassess their entire operational stack, including software.
The full 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. Focus on Item 11 (franchisor's assistance, advertising, computer systems, and training) for any technology obligations that may not have been captured in the structured extract. Item 8 (restrictions on sources of products and services) will clarify whether the franchisor exerts any procurement control, even if no specific vendors are named. Cross-reference Item 17 renewal conditions with the initial term length to model when each franchisee's contract comes up for renewal. For a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your software category, reach out to FranCloud.
Questions vendors ask
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FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment Project LeanNation files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
2 operators run 7 mapped locations. 1 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| AZ | 6 |
|---|---|
| WI | 1 |
Related Fitness brands
Primary franchise filings · updated August 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.