ParadoxParadox
Mandatoryrogram and sign the Participation Agreement. (Franchise Agreement – Section 7.25) h. Employee Recruiting Software. Although not required, you may elect to use our approved vendor, Paradox, to recruit
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Cost Cutters
Personal servicesCost Cutters controls software purchasing from headquarters: franchisees must license the Zenoti System for point-of-sale and back-office operations from Soham, Inc., and SVS is mandated as well. The system spans 405 salons, 329 of them franchised, part of Regis Corporation.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
405
329 franchised
Unit growth YoY
-28.942%
vs prior filing
AUV
$280K
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
4%
of gross sales
Ad fund
4%
national + local
Initial fee
$40K
per unit
Investment range
$181K–$342K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
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 (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
3 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.
SVSSVS
Mandatoryrograms. We will create and implement promotions and loyalty programs aimed at driving customers to Cost Cutters. We have implemented a gift card program with our approved vendor, SVS, and you must pa
ZenotiZenoti
Mandatorycomputerized point of sale cash register and backoffice system for your business. See Items 8 and 10. The designated point-of-sale and backoffice computer system is Soham, Inc. (“Zenoti”). (6) You mus
MindbodyMindbody
in July 2020 and also co-founded Apex Perspectives, LLC in July 2020. Mr. Mansbach was the Board Director of Product Plan from October 2020 through May 2022, was the President of MINDBODY, Inc. from J
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
28 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 2 explicit no's; 4 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We and our designee have continuous, unlimited, independent access to all operational information on the Computer System.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
The FRANCHISEE’S quarterly financial statements will be delivered to COST CUTTERS by the FRANCHISEE within thirty (30) days after the end of the quarter and the annual financial statements will be delivered within ninety (90) days of the FRANCHISEE’S fiscal year end.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesFranchise agreement
The FRANCHISEE will purchase exclusively from COST CUTTERS’ designated and/or approved suppliers (which may include COST CUTTERS and its affiliates) all hair care products, supplies, and merchandise, including, without limitation, all retail inventory, backbar and shop supplies to be used or sold by the FRANCHISEE in…
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 11
Cost Cutters has established an advisory council composed of five Cost Cutters franchisees who are elected by all the Cost Cutters franchisees (the “Cost Cutters Council”).
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We periodically may modify Brand Standards, which may accommodate regional or local variations, and those modifications may obligate you to invest additional capital in the Cost Cutters Salon and/or incur higher operating costs.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and/or our affiliates may derive revenue—in the form of promotional allowances, volume discounts, commissions, other discounts, performance payments, signing bonuses, rebates, marketing and advertising allowances, free products, and other economic benefits and payments—from suppliers that we designate, approve, or…
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?
5Item 8
Collectively, your purchases and leases from us or our affiliates, from designated or approved suppliers, or according to our standards and specifications represent about 5% of your overall purchases and leases to establish and then to operate the Cost Cutters Salon.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
You must pay upon request any actual expenses we incur to determine whether the items, services, suppliers, or distributors meet our requirements and specifications, which we will decide within 90 days of your request.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If we approve any supplier or distributor you recommend, we may authorize other Cost Cutters Salons to buy or lease any Operating Assets, products, or services from that supplier or distributor without compensating you.
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 COST CUTTERS has the absolute right and interest in and to all telephone numbers and directory listings associated with the Marks, and the FRANCHISEE shall F-20 2025 immediately direct the telephone company and/or any other applicable local carrier and all listing agencies to transfer…
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
independently determining what is required for you to comply (and then complying) at all times with the most-current version of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, and with all laws (including privacy laws) governing the use, disclosure, and protection of Consumer Data and the Computer System, and…
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 9
s. Inspections and audits Articles 7.19 and 19.4 of Franchise 6 and 11 Agreement
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
COST CUTTERS reserves the right to revise the Manual at any time during the term of this Agreement.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
The FRANCHISEE will not lease, purchase or otherwise acquire a site for the Franchised Location until: (1) the proposed site has been reviewed and approved in writing by COST CUTTERS for FRANCHISEE’S Franchised Location
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 develop, maintain, or authorize any Digital Marketing or Social Media mentioning or describing the Cost Cutters Salon or displaying any Marks without our prior written approval and, if applicable, without complying with our Brand Standards for such Digital Marketing and Social Media.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesFranchise agreement
The FRANCHISEE will be required to spend a minimum of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) to implement and conduct grand opening advertising, marketing, public relations and promotional programs for its Cost Cutters Business which have been approved by COST CUTTERS in writing.
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 your Gross Revenues for local advertising and promotion of your Cost Cutters Business.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 8
You must also participate in, and comply with, the requirements of any of our other customer loyalty programs as well as use our mobile or digital-ordering and franchise system applications and other digital channels.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
Despite these procedures, we may limit the number of approved suppliers and distributors, designate sources you must use, and refuse your requests for any reason, including because we already have designated an exclusive source (which might be us or our affiliate) for a particular item or service or believe that…
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
Integrated processing is required for its use.
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
I hereby authorize Regis Corporation to initiate Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions against my checking/savings account and I instruct the financial institution named below to honor said transactions.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 11
We have implemented a gift card program with our approved vendor, SVS, and you must participate in that gift card program and sign the Participation Agreement.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
The Salon must have at least 1 on-site manager, whether that individual is you or another Salon manager.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
The FRANCHISEE will require its employees to wear the standard attire or uniforms approved by COST CUTTERS.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
FRANCHISEE must use the then current computerized point of sale cash register system and franchise back office system designated by COST CUTTERS.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We and our designee have continuous, unlimited, independent access to all operational information on the Computer System.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesFranchise agreement
The FRANCHISEE will be required to pay COST CUTTERS the then-current training fee charged by COST CUTTERS for any additional training attended by the FRANCHISEE or its employees.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesFranchise agreement
The FRANCHISEE will attend the annual convention conducted by COST CUTTERS for Cost Cutters franchisees during each year of this Agreement.
The filing answers no to 2 questions
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
- Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?Item 8
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Cost Cutters
Cost Cutters operates 405 salons, 329 of them franchised, in the personal services segment. Item 19 of the FDD includes a financial performance representation built on a cohort of 323 franchised salons open the full period of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 that reported sales every month, averaging $279,898. Franchised outlets fell 28.9% year over year, and Cost Cutters is part of Regis Corporation, alongside sibling brands Supercuts and Smartstyle.
Who controls software purchasing
Franchisees must obtain and use the computer hardware and software, point-of-sale and back-office system, and related equipment Cost Cutters periodically specifies. The current approved Computer System is the Zenoti System, which must be licensed from Soham, Inc., and Cost Cutters can require franchisees to obtain new Computer System components within 60 days of notice.
Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required
The Zenoti System is mandated for point-of-sale and back-office operations, licensed from Soham, Inc., with Zenoti's integrated payment processing required. SVS is also mandated. Although not required, franchisees may elect to use approved vendor Paradox for employee recruiting.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 runs an approved-supplier list for Operating Assets under Brand Standards; beyond the Zenoti System and the other items already described, the filing states there are no other goods, services, or computer hardware and software franchisees currently must buy or lease from Cost Cutters, its affiliates, or approved suppliers. Item 17 covers the renewal, transfer, and termination terms of the franchise agreement.
How to read the Cost Cutters FDD
The embedded viewer below carries Cost Cutters' 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, including the Item 8 and Item 11 language summarized above.
Talk to FranCloud for a ranked list of franchise systems like Cost Cutters where the technology mandate and procurement structure line up with your product.
Questions vendors ask
Cost Cutters, answered from the filing
Cost Cutters headquarters designates the Computer System components, currently the Zenoti System licensed from Soham, Inc., and can update those designations at will. Chairman Susan Lintonsmith is named in the filing; vendors should approach corporate rather than the 385 mapped operators.
The current approved Computer System is the Zenoti System, which must be licensed from Soham, Inc. for point-of-sale and back-office operations. SVS is also mandated. Although not required, franchisees may elect to use approved vendor Paradox for employee recruiting.
405 total units, 329 franchised and 76 company-owned, in the personal services segment, with WI, TX, IA, AZ, and NE carrying the largest concentrations of mapped operators.
Item 8 runs an approved-supplier list; beyond the Zenoti System and other items already described, the filing states there are no other goods, services, or computer hardware and software franchisees currently must buy or lease from Cost Cutters, its affiliates, or approved suppliers.
Franchised outlets fell 28.9% year over year. Item 17 covers the renewal, transfer, and termination terms of the Cost Cutters franchise agreement; vendors should track it alongside that decline for contract-timing signals.
The embedded PDF viewer below carries Cost Cutters' 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, including the Item 8 and Item 11 language summarized above.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Cost Cutters files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
385 operators run 385 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit385
Top states by locations
| WI | 85 |
|---|---|
| TX | 39 |
| IA | 34 |
| AZ | 26 |
| NE | 24 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Cost Cutters
strategic_multibrand of Regis Corporation.
Sibling brands
Related Personal services brands
Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.