From the filings
Software purchasing at ZIPS Cleaners is controlled at the corporate level, with Kathleen Razmus (Director of Operations and Technology) and Michael Waintraub (Director of Business Development) as key contacts. The franchise mandates ZIPSsoft as its core operational platform across all locations. With 69 total units and a 4.76% year-over-year growth rate, the addressable market is compact but concentrated, offering a clear single-threaded sales motion for vendors.
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.
8%of gross sales (FY2024)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
28 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 1 explicit no; 5 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?
YesFranchise agreement
data and information from Franchisee’s Computer System and point of sale system as ZIPS deems necessary or desirable and Franchise agrees to fully cooperate with such efforts, including allowing unimpeded, immediate access to Franchisee’s Computer System in the manner, form, and at the times that ZIPS requests.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
No later than the 15th calendar day of each month, Franchisee shall, at Franchisee’s expense, submit to ZIPS, in the form prescribed by ZIPS, a monthly balance sheet and a monthly and year-to-date profit and loss statement (both of which may be unaudited) for the prior calendar month.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
ZIPS, its parent, and its affiliates may be an approved supplier for any materials.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
ZIPS, in its sole discretion, shall be entitled from time to time to change or modify the System, including modifications to the Manuals, the required equipment, the signage, the computer systems, the building and premises of the Franchised Business
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
We did not derive any revenue as a result of franchises’ purchase of the ZIPSsoft Software.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We may receive fees, rebates, commissions, royalties, or other consideration from approved suppliers based on sales to franchisees, and we may charge non-approved suppliers reasonable testing and/or inspection fees.
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?
95Item 8
We estimate that the purchase of products that are subject to our standards and specifications represents up to 95% of your overall purchases in establishing the Franchised Business and up to 95% of your overall purchases in operating the Franchised Business.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesFranchise agreement
A charge not to exceed the reasonable cost of the inspection and the actual cost of the test shall be paid by Franchisee.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you propose to purchase any materials (that you are not required to purchase from ZIPS, an affiliate of ZIPS or an approved supplier) from a supplier that ZIPS has not previously approved, you must submit to ZIPS a written request for such approval or request the supplier to do so itself.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall at all times be compliant with: (a) the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (“PCI DSS”), (b) the NACHA ACH Security Framework, (c) Payment Rules (as defined below), (d) state and federal laws and regulations relating to data privacy, data security and security breaches and (e) our security…
Franchise management
Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees to participate in programs initiated to verify customer satisfaction and/or Franchisee’s compliance with all operational and other aspects of the System, including (but not limited to) an 800 number, secret shopper, loyalty and/or rewards programs or other customer satisfaction and retention…
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
Conduct inspections of the Franchised Business.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
ZIPS, in its sole discretion, shall be entitled from time to time to change or modify the System, including modifications to the Manuals, the required equipment, the signage, the computer systems, the building and premises of the Franchised Business (including the trade dress, décor and color
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall obtain written acceptance from ZIPS for a site for the Franchised Business no later than the date specified in Appendix A (“Site Acceptance Deadline”).
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee may not establish a presence on, or market using, the Internet in connection with the Franchised Business without ZIPS’ prior written consent;
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 11
During the period beginning 90 days before the scheduled opening of the Franchised Business and continuing for 120 days after the Franchised Business first opens for business, you must conduct new store opening advertising for the Franchised Business that has been pre-approved by us.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesFranchise agreement
Fund or a Regional Co-op, Franchisee’s Local Store Marketing obligation may be reduced so that in no event shall Franchisee’s Total Marketing Obligation be more than 5% of Royalty Net Sales (or such additional amount as required by the Regional Co-op as set forth in Section 9F(4).
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees to participate in programs initiated to verify customer satisfaction and/or Franchisee’s compliance with all operational and other aspects of the System, including (but not limited to) an 800 number, secret shopper, loyalty and/or rewards programs or other customer satisfaction and retention…
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
If a Regional Co-op is established in a DMA in which the Franchised Location is located, Franchisee must become a member of such Regional Co-op upon commencement of operation of the Franchised Business if the Regional Co-op is in existence at that time, or no later than 30 days after the date on which the Regional…
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees that the Franchised Business will: (a) offer for sale and sell only those services and products approved by ZIPS and not subsequently disapproved; and (b) purchase from manufacturers, distributors, vendors and suppliers (collectively “suppliers”) approved by ZIPS, which may include ZIPS and/or its…
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall purchase or lease approved brands, types or models of fixtures, furnishings, equipment and signs only from suppliers designated or approved by ZIPS, which may include ZIPS and its affiliates.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
“Payment Processors” means all credit card, debit card and/or ACH processors whose services ZIPS may require Franchisee to utilize, as well as payment gateway service providers;
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
For all fees that are payable to us (unless we advise you otherwise), you must participate in our electronic funds transfer program authorizing us to utilize a pre-authorized bank draft system.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall participate in any program established by ZIPS relating to the sale or acceptance of stored value gift cards.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
We require that you identify at least one Store Manager for the Franchised Business, who may be the Operating Principal.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees to obtain and install such data processing equipment, computer hardware and software, point of sale systems, required dedicated telephone, DSL and power lines, high speed Internet connections, routers, printers, firmware, and other computer-related accessory or peripheral equipment as ZIPS specifies…
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We have the right to access and retrieve any data and information from your computer system that we deem appropriate, including electronically polling the daily sales and other data of the Franchised Business.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We reserve the right to require you to pay a training fee as established by us from time to time for such 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.
ZIPS Cleaners operates a compact franchise network of 69 total units, 66 of which are franchised and 3 company-owned, according to its 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document. The brand sits within the personal services segment and is part of Value Drycleaners of America, LLC. For software vendors, the addressable market is small but tightly controlled from the top, which simplifies the sales process: you are selling into a single decision-making center rather than navigating a fragmented operator base.
The system posted an average unit volume (AUV) of $1,117,710 in the latest FDD, with a 6.0% royalty rate and a 10-year initial franchise term. Year-over-year unit growth was 4.76%, indicating measured expansion. This is not a high-velocity roll-up story; it is a stable, mature network where technology changes are deliberate and centrally managed.
Technology purchasing authority at ZIPS Cleaners rests at the corporate level. The 2024 FDD lists Kathleen Razmus as Director of Operations and Technology, making her the most direct buyer for any operational or back-of-house software. Michael Waintraub, Director of Business Development, is also named in Item 1 and likely influences vendor selection, particularly for systems that touch franchisee onboarding or compliance. CEO Robert J. Barry, Jr. and Operations and Development Manager Jaici Kelly round out the executive roster, but Razmus and Waintraub are the names vendors should know.
Because the franchise agreement mandates compliance with then-current system standards at renewal, the corporate team holds significant leverage over technology adoption across the network. There is no disclosed multi-unit operator class with independent purchasing power; our corpus maps no operators with autonomous buying authority.
The only technology system explicitly mandated in the 2024 FDD is ZIPSsoft, the brand’s proprietary operational platform. No third-party POS, ERP, CRM, or payroll systems are named in the disclosure. This does not mean other tools are absent—it means the franchisor has chosen not to list them as required or recommended in the FDD. For a vendor selling complementary software (e.g., employee scheduling, loyalty, or advanced analytics), the absence of a named incumbent in those categories is a signal worth investigating.
Item 8 of the 2024 FDD does not extract any designated or approved supplier language, which suggests that procurement outside of the mandated ZIPSsoft system is either open or governed by operational manuals not reproduced in the disclosure. Vendors should be prepared to navigate a relationship-based evaluation rather than a formal RFP process.
Renewal timing provides a natural window for technology displacement or addition. The initial franchise term is 10 years, and renewals are for 5 years. To renew, a franchisee must remodel and comply with the then-current requirements for new franchisees, including any updated technology standards. This means that as franchise agreements come up for renewal, the corporate team can enforce adoption of new systems across the network. Tracking the cohort of franchisees approaching their 10-year mark is a practical way to time outreach.
The full 2024 ZIPS Cleaners FDD is embedded below. For software vendors, the most relevant sections are Item 1 (executive team and purchasing authority), Item 8 (procurement restrictions), Item 11 (mandated systems and technology obligations), and Item 17 (renewal conditions that can trigger tech changes). The document is filed with state franchise regulators and reflects the brand’s disclosures as of the 2024 filing year. Use it to validate the decision-maker names, unit counts, and contractual hooks before building your pitch.
If you need a ranked list of franchise brands whose tech stacks and renewal cycles align with your product, FranCloud can help you prioritize your outbound motion.
Questions vendors ask
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment ZIPS Cleaners files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
69 operators run 73 mapped locations. 2 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| MD | 29 |
|---|---|
| VA | 17 |
| PA | 9 |
| TX | 5 |
| DC | 2 |
Ownership
single_brand_holdco of ZIPS Cleaners.
Related Personal services brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.