oprietary Marks or any derivative of the Proprietary Marks as part of the registration of any username on any gaming website, personal blogs or social networking website including Facebook, LinkedIn,
From the filings
Sylvan Learning
EducationSylvan Learning controls software purchasing centrally: every center must run the franchisor's proprietary "Sylvan Software" for front desk, POS, online enrollment and marketing, plus a designated point-of-sale system and a dozen Apple iPads. With 433 franchised centers and no company-owned locations, the buying decision for anything in that stack lives with Sylvan's headquarters, not the individual center.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
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.
16%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
Systems named in Item 11 of this filing. None is recorded as mandated here, which is not the same as the filing mandating nothing. Read Item 11 before treating the category as open.
the Proprietary Marks as part of the registration of any username on any gaming website, personal blogs or social networking website including Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, o
Marks or any derivative of the Proprietary Marks as part of the registration of any username on any gaming website, personal blogs or social networking website including Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, Pint
ivative of the Proprietary Marks as part of the registration of any username on any gaming website, personal blogs or social networking website including Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, Pinterest, Instagram
er, instructor name tags, incentive gifts for motivational programs, etc.) may differ depending on the number of students you enroll. NOTE 13: Sylvan requires that franchisees use QuickBooks or equiva
tary Marks as part of the registration of any username on any gaming website, personal blogs or social networking website including Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, or X (former
ration of any username on any gaming website, personal blogs or social networking website including Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, or X (formerly known as Twitter), or any vir
ny derivative of the Proprietary Marks as part of the registration of any username on any gaming website, personal blogs or social networking website including Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, Pinterest, Ins
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
30 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 2 explicit no's; 2 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 8
(5) point-of-sale system and related hardware (if required), (6) insurance policies (if required), and (7) certain support services related to the operation of your Franchised Business, including the accounting systems and third party accounting services that we prescribe.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We may independently access from a remote location, at any time, all information input to, and compiled by, your computer system or an off-site server, including information concerning sales, purchase orders, inventory, and expenditures.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
You will be required to purchase the following through us or our affiliate: (1) retail merchandise; (2) licenses to the point of sale, merchant processing, and other software programs that we designate; (3) certain digital marketing services; (4) technology solutions (e.g., franchise management system, computer…
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 11
We reserve the right to develop and implement various technologies, software, or systems for the benefit of the System, in which case we may require you to adopt and use such technologies, software, or systems, and require you to pay our then-current Technology Fee as published in the Manual periodically.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
925979Item 8
For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025, Sylvan’s total revenue from franchisees’ required purchases or leases of Sylvan System and SylvanSync System products and services was $925,979, or approximately 2.4%
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We have negotiated supply agreements with providers of merchandise, technology solutions, and credit card processing services under which the vendors will remit to us a percentage of revenue from purchases made by franchisees.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
You must reimburse us for all costs that we incur in connection with due diligence of your proposed supplier and our evaluation of such supplier as well as any costs we incur in monitoring a Designated Supplier’s compliance with our requirements.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If we require that a product or service be purchased from an Designated Supplier and you wish to purchase it from an alternate supplier, you must submit to us a written request for approval and must include pertinent information about the supplier as required in the Manual.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
transferring the Article 19 Franchised Business’ telephone number to us;
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
(2) comply with all Standards that relate to Privacy Laws and the privacy and security of Customer Data;
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 17
The Franchised Business fails two (2) consecutive quality assurance inspections during any rolling 12- month period or fails three (3) quality assurance inspections during any rolling 24-month period;
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 16
We may, at any time SYLVAN LEARNING, LLC Franchise Disclosure Document | 2026 Page 49 and in our sole and absolute discretion, add, eliminate, or modify authorized products, goods, and services; there are no contractual limitations on our rights to make such changes.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
No site may be used for the location of the Franchised Business unless we first approve it in writing.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 13
You may not independently establish or maintain a web site or other presence on the World Wide Web portion of the Internet, including gaming websites or social networking websites such as Facebook, SYLVAN LEARNING, LLC Franchise Disclosure Document | 2026 Page 44 LinkedIn, Yelp, Pinterest, Instagram, Tik Tok or X…
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 11
You must spend between $10,000 and $15,000 in connection with your grand opening, which will begin 60 days prior to the grand opening and continue for 60 days after your grand opening.
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 make the Local Marketing Expenditure which is (i) 6% of monthly Gross Sales (revenue derived from Sylvan Edge and ACE IT! are excluded) or $1,500 per month, whichever is greater, and (ii) 3% of monthly Gross Sales generated under the Sylvan Edge program.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 16
You must participate in and offer to your customers all customer loyalty and reward programs and all contests, sweepstakes, and other prize promotions that we designate.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If we form an Advertising Cooperative for the region in which your Franchised Business is located, your membership to the Advertising Cooperative is automatic, and you must participate in the Advertising Cooperative.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase from from suppliers or distributors we designate (each a “Designated Supplier”) all of your requirements for developing, constructing, and operating the Franchised Business
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase from from suppliers or distributors we designate (each a “Designated Supplier”) all of your requirements for developing, constructing, and operating the Franchised Business including: (1) fixtures, furniture and other furnishings, equipment, supplies, point-of-sale systems, merchant processing…
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase from from suppliers or distributors we designate (each a “Designated Supplier”) all of your requirements for developing, constructing, and operating the Franchised Business including: (1) fixtures, furniture and other furnishings, equipment, supplies, point-of-sale systems, merchant processing…
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
Attachment H ACH Authorization Agreement
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 8
You must accept for payment gift card(s) presented as payment for purchases made in your Center for products and services.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
The minimum staffing requirements and the hours of operation described in the Franchise Agreement and Manuals have been established exclusively for the purpose of preserving Sylvan’s brand standards.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
We are the sole approved supplier for certain items which includes, among other things, lobby marketing materials; customer marketing materials; staff uniforms; initial inventory; front desk management software and hardware described in Item 11; and Internet site design and Internet marketing described in Item 11.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
we require all franchisees to acquire and use the point-of-sale (“POS”) system that we designate, including payment of the monthly licensing requirements related to the use of such POS.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We may independently access from a remote location, at any time, all information input to, and compiled by, your computer system or an off-site server, including information concerning sales, purchase orders, inventory, and expenditures.
Sales and CRM
Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must license our proprietary office management software that includes proprietary front desk management and point of sale system, online enrollment system, automated e-mail marketing tool, customer management system, and any other technology or software and respective updates that we may implement from time to…
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We may charge you an Initial Training Fee or an Additional Training fee (as described in Item 6) if you have to offer you the Initial Training Program off our regular schedule, if you wish more than two people to participate in the Initial Training Program, or if you are required to send individuals to re-train to…
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 6
Conference Fee Currently $950 to $1,350 per Upon We require that you attend our attendee, up to $1,500 per invoice annual conference.
The filing answers no to 2 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?Item 11
The vendor opportunity at Sylvan Learning
Sylvan Learning runs 433 franchised centers with no company-owned locations, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Unleashed Brands, whose affiliates franchise Urban Air Adventure Park, The Little Gym, Snapology, Premier Martial Arts, Class 101 and Water Wings Swim School. Franchised outlets fell 9.0% year over year. Royalty runs at 11% of Gross Sales (12% on the Sylvan Edge and ACE IT! programs), subject to a quarterly minimum, over a 10-year initial term, and the 2026 FDD includes an Item 19 financial performance representation.
Who controls software purchasing
Item 2 names President Susan Valverde and CMO Kyle Martin, along with Unleashed Services executives CEO Michael Browning Jr., Chief Legal Officer Stephen Polozola and COO Joshua Wall, CFE. The operator base carries real scale: of 253 mapped operators, 74 run more than one center, across roughly 401 located units, with Texas (60), California (59), Florida (33), North Carolina (28) and Ohio (18) leading. Even with that multi-unit base, the franchise agreement requires every center to acquire and use only the computer systems Sylvan prescribes, which keeps the core technology decision at headquarters.
Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required
Each center must purchase or lease at least twelve Apple iPad (7th generation or later) devices, unless Sylvan grants prior approval for a lower count. Centers must acquire and use only the computer systems Sylvan prescribes and may not run unapproved systems or components. A designated point-of-sale system carries a monthly licensing fee, and every center must license Sylvan's proprietary office management software — the "Sylvan Software" — which bundles front desk management, the point-of-sale system, online enrollment, automated e-mail marketing, and customer management.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Sylvan's Item 8 model is designated suppliers only: franchisees must buy fixtures, furnishings, equipment, point-of-sale systems, merchant-processing systems and signage from suppliers Sylvan designates, and Sylvan or its affiliate is the sole approved supplier for certain items, including retail merchandise and lobby marketing materials. Franchisees may propose an alternate supplier for written approval. The initial term is 10 years; a franchisee in good standing may renew for two additional, consecutive five-year terms, paying a $6,000 renewal fee plus reimbursement of Sylvan's legal and professional expenses.
How to read the Sylvan Learning FDD
The embedded PDF viewer below holds Sylvan Learning's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 11 sets out the Sylvan Software, POS and iPad requirements in full; Item 8 covers the designated-supplier rules. Talk to FranCloud for a ranked target list of education-segment franchises with a centrally mandated tech stack.
Questions vendors ask
Sylvan Learning, answered from the filing
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Sylvan Learning files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
253 operators run 401 mapped locations. 74 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| TX | 60 |
|---|---|
| CA | 59 |
| FL | 33 |
| NC | 28 |
| OH | 18 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Sylvan Learning
strategic_multibrand of Unleashed Brands.
Sibling brands
Related Education brands
Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.