From the filings
Software purchasing at The Gym Pod Franchising is controlled at the headquarters level in Illinois, where Director Chow Cheong Yean and CEO Peter Lam oversee a small but centrally managed operation. The franchisor mandates its proprietary Gym Pod Business Management System and Gym Pod Management System, leaving little room for third-party POS or operational platforms at the unit level. With only three company-owned locations and no disclosed franchised units, the immediate addressable market is extremely narrow, but vendors targeting early-stage franchise systems may find a window as the concept attempts to scale.
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 (FY2023)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
27 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 4 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
At all times, Franchisee shall exclusively use the Business Management Systems designated by Franchisor, in Franchisor’s Reasonable Business Judgment, and as may be modified, supplemented or replaced by Franchisor from time to time.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We will have independent access to all of the information and data that is electronically transmitted on your business management system and will have access to all data related to the financial performance of your Pod.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
within 30 days of the end of each calendar month Franchisee shall submit to Franchisor monthly financial statements and other reports related to the operations of the Franchised business
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesFranchise agreement
(5) Franchisor reserves the right to designate from time to time a single supplier and/or distributor for any services, products, equipment, supplies, or materials including, but not limited to, the System Supplies and to require Franchisee to use such a designated supplier exclusively, which exclusive designated…
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We may designate a supplier, including ourselves or our affiliates, as the exclusive supplier for the System.
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?
25Item 8
approximately 25% of the on-going operating expenses of the Franchised Business.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We may charge you a fee equal to the costs and expenses that we incur in reviewing and evaluating an alternate supplier, product, and/or service requested by you.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you want to purchase or lease a source restricted item from a supplier that has not been previously approved or designated by us in writing, you must send us a written request for approval and submit additional information, samples, and testing data that we may request.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
In the event of the termination of this Agreement, for any reason, that the accounts related to all telephone numbers associated with the Franchised Business and all rights in and to the telephone numbers associated with the Franchised Business, shall, at Franchisor’s election, be transferred to Franchisor.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right at any and all times during business hours, throughout the terms of this Agree and without prior notice to Franchisee, to inspect Franchisee’s Pod.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 11
At all times, we reserve the right to supplement, modify and update the Manuals.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
Within 180 days of signing your Franchise Agreement you must secure a Pod Location and lease that we approve (Franchise Agreement, Article 3.A.).
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 use any websites, web-based media or digital media unless expressly approved by us in writing.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 7
You must spend a minimum of $2,500 prior to the opening your Pod to promote 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
On an on-going calendar year monthly basis, you must spend not less than 2% of your monthly Gross Sales on the local marketing of your Pod.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If we establish a cooperative within a market that includes your Pod you must contribute to the cooperative in such amounts and frequency as determined by the cooperative.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase the System Supplies, as designated by us, from us, our affiliates, and/or our designated suppliers.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You may only use those products, supplies, equipment, technology systems, and services that we authorize and designate in writing.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
Credit Card Processing – You must use our designated supplier and vendor for credit card processing which may be integrated with the business management system that we designate.
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
You will be required to sign an ACH Authorization Form (Franchise Agreement, Exhibit 7) permitting us to electronically debit your designated bank account for payment of all fees payable to us and/or our affiliates.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 8
You must use our designated supplier and vendor for the ability to access and use online, business management integrated, web based, and/or app based, ordering, booking, customer rewards, and/or gift card systems.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
At all times, your Pod must be managed and supervised on-site by either a Managing Owner or Operating Manager.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
you must ensure that all employees wear and maintain the proper uniforms with our approved System branded apparel and uniforms including, but not limited to, the apparel and uniforms comprising System Supplies.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
(d) exclusively purchase and use equipment, supplies, promotional materials, and Business Management Systems designated by Franchisor and subject to Franchisor’s specifications;
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We will have independent access to all of the information and data that is electronically transmitted on your business management system and will have access to all data related to the financial performance of your Pod.
Sales and CRM
Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
“Business Management System” refers to and means the software, internet, web based and/or cloud based system or systems, point of sale system or systems and customer relationship management system or systems as same may be individually or collectively designated by us, in our Reasonable Business Judgment, as being…
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right to assess Franchisee reasonable charges for such training.
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 franchisee/operator personally, or a small franchisor still owner-run. Wears every hat.
The Gym Pod Franchising represents a pre-scale fitness concept with just three company-owned units and no franchised locations disclosed in the 2023 FDD. For software vendors, this is not a volume play. The total addressable unit count is three, all controlled from the Illinois headquarters. There is no disclosed year-over-year unit growth, and the FDD contains no operator footprint beyond the corporate entities. Vendors who specialize in seeding their product inside nascent franchisors—before a system opens to franchisees—may find a narrow but real opening here. The royalty rate is 7.0%, and the initial franchise term is five years, though no franchised agreements appear active as of the filing date.
The 2023 FDD Item 1 names two executives: Chow Cheong Yean, Director, and Peter Lam, Chief Executive Officer. With no franchisee network to decentralize decisions, software evaluation and purchasing authority sits entirely with these two individuals. There is no CIO, CTO, or VP of Technology on file, so any pitch should assume that the Director and CEO personally assess operational tools. The absence of a franchised base also means there is no franchisee advisory council or owner-operator committee that might influence technology mandates. This is a classic founder-led buying center.
The Gym Pod mandates two proprietary systems: The Gym Pod Business Management System and The Gym Pod Management System. These are named in the FDD as required technology, and no third-party POS, booking, CRM, or ERP vendors are mentioned. This suggests a closed, in-house stack that covers core operations. For a software vendor, displacing a mandated proprietary system is a high hurdle, but adjacent needs—such as payment processing, access control, member analytics, or marketing automation—may not be covered by the mandated tools. The FDD does not detail the functionality of these systems, so vendors should approach discovery calls prepared to map gaps.
Item 8 of the FDD contains no procurement extract, leaving the designated-supplier or approved-supplier framework undisclosed. Given the mandated tech stack, it is reasonable to infer that procurement is tightly controlled by HQ. Item 17 outlines renewal conditions: franchisees must provide 365 days' written notice, sign the then-current Franchise Agreement, pay a renewal fee, remodel the Pod to current standards, and secure the legal right to occupy the premises. The renewal term is five years. With no franchised units currently operating, these renewal windows are theoretical, but they signal a structured, HQ-driven timeline for any future technology changes.
The 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document is the definitive source for understanding The Gym Pod's technology mandates, executive structure, and contractual terms. Item 1 lists the corporate officers. Item 11 details the mandated Business Management System and Management System. Item 17 spells out the renewal process and its 365-day notice requirement. Because the system is so small, the FDD is unusually concise, but it contains everything a software vendor needs to qualify the opportunity. Review the embedded PDF below for the full text, and when you are ready to build a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your ideal customer profile, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
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FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment The Gym Pod Franchising files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
No franchisee network yet. The Gym Pod Franchising’s latest FDD reports no franchised locations.
Related Fitness brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.