Pet care franchise finance
Averan read the 2026 FDDs of fifteen pet care brands. Across 1,549 reporting units, sales per unit runs from $102,592 to $2,622,279. Franchise fees runs from 5.2% to 33.7% of revenue, and the cost to open from $40,175 to $1,818,900. Eight file a profit line, and it ranges from 8.2% to 21.0%.
Find a pet care brand
15 brands in this guide, each from its own 2026 FDD. Open one, or pick two and compare them.
Top performers
These are the things that separate top performers in pet care
At the typical pet care brand, the best group of locations sells $1,359,016 a year. The worst group sells $283,771. That is $1,075,245 more a year, 4.8 times over, for the same brand on the same agreement. Across these brands, a median of 44% of locations reach their own brand’s average. The average describes the top of a system, not the middle. 13 of the 15 brands here publish bands; the rest disclose no spread at all.
Decided before you open
- What it costs to open.Opening costs run $40,175 to $1,818,900 across the category, and the top of a single brand’s range is typically 2.2 times its bottom. The top group sells $1,359,016 a year against a build that tops out at $1,818,900, so at the heavy end of the range a location sells $0.75 for every dollar it cost to open. A build that heavy takes years of sales to recover, so the site has to be right the first time.
- What a location sells.Average sales run $650,138 at the middle brand and $1,359,016 at the top group. Format and site decide most of that before an owner does anything, which is why the same operator produces different results in different trade areas.
- Rent is one number, and it lands twice.Occupancy runs 10.6% of sales at the middle brand, which on median sales of $650,138 is $68,590 of rent a year. That same $68,590 is 5.0% of sales at the top group and 24.2% at the bottom. Nobody negotiated a worse lease. The top performers move this line by putting more sales through the same square footage: longer earning hours, a second daypart, and a site picked for traffic rather than for the rate.
Live operating levers
- 8 of the 15 brands here can widen what they sell without widening the building.Selling a product alongside the service, or moving customers onto a higher tier of it, raises what an hour of the same room earns. It is the only way to lift the ceiling without spending money on more space or more hours.
- 6 of the 15 brands here run a recurring plan.A plan turns a business that waits for the phone to ring into one that knows roughly what next month looks like, and that predictability is what lets an owner staff properly. It is built by asking the customer to book the next visit before they walk out, not by spending more on marketing afterwards.
- 6 of the 15 brands here sell a groom or a stay.The owner counts how many pets come through in a day and how many of those come back within the month. A groom that repeats every six weeks is worth far more than one that happens once, and the difference shows up in the year.
- 6 of the 15 brands here publish how a new location builds up.Where a brand shows its first year month by month, an owner can see when sales finally cover the costs and how much cash has to be put in before that point arrives. Where a brand does not show it, that curve has to be guessed at, and the guess is usually optimistic.
- 3 of the 15 brands here sell a visit at a time.The owner counts how many visits happen, what each one is worth, and how many customers book the next one before they leave. The last of those three is what separates a busy week from a full calendar next month. They are Aussie Pet Mobile, Hounds Town USA, Woof Gang Bakery.
- 3 of the 15 brands here sell a membership.The owner watches three things. How many people join in a month. How many cancel. What a member spends on top of the plan. The top performers work the cancellations as hard as the joins, because a member who leaves in month four has cost a year of revenue that was already counted. They are Dogtopia, Scenthound, Zoom Room.
- Wages. Same labor market, different result.Wages run 42.6% of sales at the middle brand and 14.4% to 49.3% across the 9 that disclose it. These brands hire from the same pool at the same rates, so a 35-point spread is not a pay-rate gap. It is scheduling and productivity: rostering against booked demand hour by hour, managing sales per paid hour as the number, and keeping enough of the pay variable that the line falls when the week is quiet. On the top group’s $1,359,016 of sales, a point of wages is $13,590 a year; on the bottom group’s $283,771 it is $2,838. The same discipline is worth more where the volume already is.
- Cost of what you sell. The line that compounds.Products and materials take 8.6% of sales at the middle brand, 1.5% to 62.2% across the 9 that disclose it. Buying on the brand program rather than locally, holding the price list instead of discounting to close, and counting waste weekly are what separate the ends of that range, and each of them compounds with volume, which is why the gap widens as a location grows.
- What is left at the end. Where the gap comes from.Of the 8 brands that publish a profit line, the middle one keeps 16.2% of sales, from 8.2% to 21.0%. The cost lines above move by a few points between the best and worst locations while sales move by multiples, so the top performers are not running a cheaper business. They are running the same cost base over more revenue. Hold that 16.2% margin steady and the top group earns $220,161 against $45,971 at the bottom, a difference of $174,190 a year that comes from volume alone.
- What the brand charges. The line that works backwards.Fees run a median 10.9% of sales across 14 brands, from 5.2% to 33.7%. Where a minimum sits underneath the percentage, the weakest location pays the highest effective rate, so the fee line costs most exactly where it can least be afforded. The top performers clear the minimum early and stop thinking about it. At $1,359,016 the fees cost $148,133 a year; at $283,771 they cost $30,931. The percentage is the same and the burden is not.
Context you underwrite around
- How many brands show a ramp.6 of 15 filings in this category show how a new location builds up. For the rest the first year has to be assumed, and the assumption is usually wrong in the same direction.
- What is not banded.2 brands publish no bands at all, so their spread is unknown rather than narrow. Read a single average as the upper-middle of a distribution you cannot see.
Compare these brands side by side →
Also disclosed across this group: $183,339, $23,080, $31,207, $46,160, $6,501.
The model
The business model the top performers in pet care are running
What the top performers can do that others cannot
6 of the 15 brands here sell a grooming or a stay. 6 of them run a recurring plan, and turning a first visit into a standing arrangement is a skill in itself. Rostering against demand is the constraint: wages run 42.6% of sales at the middle brand, more than any other line.
What the customer is buying
The customer buys a visit that repeats if the pet is happy. At 3 of them the model is different: the customer buys a service booked when it is needed, which asks something else of the owner. A location at the middle brand sells $650,138 a year; the top group sells $1,359,016. The offer is the same at both ends of that range, so the difference is volume rather than product. At 8 of them the top performers widen the offer rather than the building: retail and higher service tiers raise what an hour earns without adding an hour.
Who the customer is, and how often they come back
This is a retention business. The money is made in the second year of a customer, not the first month, so the number that decides the year is how many stay. A median 44% of locations reach their own brand’s average, so most of the system is below the number the brand advertises, and the gap is usually a demand gap rather than an effort gap. The top group sells $1,359,016 against $283,771 at the bottom. Trade area and site set that range before an owner takes a booking.
How the money works
Opening costs $40,175 to $1,818,900 across the category, and inside one brand the top of the range is typically 2.2 times the bottom. At the middle brand the cost stack runs wages 42.6%, occupancy 10.6%, cost of sales 8.6%, franchise fees 10.9% of sales. What is left runs 16.2% at the middle brand, which is $220,161 a year at the top group and $45,971 at the bottom. The percentage barely moves between them; the dollars do. 6 of these brands publish how a new location builds up, so the first year can be read out of the document instead of guessed at.
Four brands charge a fee that does not change with sales. Aussie Pet Mobile takes $51,000 a year from every franchisee whatever the fleet bills. That is 9.5% of the system average, 16.2% of an one-to-three-van business, and 123.2% of everything the lowest-selling franchisees reported. A fleet has to bill about $420,000 * before that charge stops setting the outcome.
- A fixed $51,000 lands on every Aussie Pet Mobile franchisee whatever the fleet bills. That is 34.0% of what one van produces *, and it keeps binding until the fleet reaches $420,000 *.
- Pet Supplies Plus spends 21.4% of sales on wages and rent where nine other brands spend 40.8% to 59.2%. 62.2% goes into the goods instead. The same money in a different bucket, and inventory turns where a wages simply leaves.
- Six of the ten brands publishing both land between 55.3% and 59.2% on labor and premises together. Zoom Room splits it 32.1% people and 25.6% rent; Woof Gang splits it 49.3% and 9.5% *, the same total either way.
- Twelve of the thirteen brands filing both put the median below the average. Pet Butler stands alone above it at 105.9% *, and 26 of its 39 trucks reach the average where every other brand reports 41% to 48%.
- Brand averages differ 25.6 times over while one brand alone differs 345 times over. Bark Busters runs $1,900 to $655,448 across 132 businesses *, so the territory you buy matters far less than what you do inside it.
By type of business.
- Grooming and pet retail 7 brandsAussie Pet Mobile · EarthWise Pet · Pet Supplies Plus · Scenthound · Wag N Wash · Woof Gang Bakery · Zoomin Groomin
- Dog daycare and boarding 4 brandsCamp Bow Wow · Central Bark · Dogtopia · Hounds Town USA
- Dog training 3 brandsBark Busters · Sit Means Sit · Zoom Room
- Other 1 brandPet Butler
Wage, rent and billing-rule changes are in the franchise cost and rules update.
Every brand in this guide
What lands whatever you bill
A minimum charge costs a small business far more as a share of sales.
Four brands charge minimums: a smallest royalty, a smallest advertising spend and a monthly software charge. Each arrives in full at a business selling $50,000 and at a business selling $500,000. The rate you are quoted describes the large unit. The minimum describes the small one.
| Brand | The fixed piece * | At the lowest-selling reported | At the system average | At the highest-selling reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aussie Pet Mobile | $51,000 a year | 123.2% of $41,412 | 9.5% of $744,203 | n/a |
| Pet Butler | $20,250 a year | 52.2% of $52,988 | 33.7% of $102,592 | 19.6% of $384,043 |
| Sit Means Sit | $19,379 a year | 20.4% of $100,000 | n/a | 9.0% of $500,000 |
| Bark Busters | $1,630 a year | 14.3% of $127,718 | 14.1% of $144,479 | n/a |
Each brand reported its own rates, minimums and sales figures. We worked out the fixed-charge column and the shares.
Bark Busters is the control case. Its fixed charge is $1,630, so the total stays between 14.1% and 14.3% at every size of business.
Each minimum stops costing extra above a known level of sales. Aussie Pet Mobile at $420,000 of fleet sales *. Pet Butler at $360,000 a territory, Sit Means Sit at $160,000 *. Above those levels the percentage is the bill. Below them the minimum is, and every extra dollar of sales goes against it.
What the minimum costs, measured in working hours.
Read as a rate, $51,000 sounds like a line on a statement. Read as work, it is a third of a van, a quarter of a route year, or a month of a trainer’s calendar. That is the arithmetic that decides whether a second unit is worth opening.
| Brand | The fixed piece | What one operating unit produces | What it takes to cover it * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aussie Pet Mobile | $51,000 | $150,057 a van | 34.0% of one van’s whole year |
| Pet Butler | $20,250 | $70.02 a truck-hour | 289 route hours, or 1,041 stops |
| Bark Busters | $1,630 | $1.28 of revenue a dog | 1,273 dogs of territory |
Van, truck-hour and per-dog figures are as the brand reported it; every conversion is marked *.
A Pet Butler owner works 289 route hours a year before the fixed piece is paid. A truck works about 28 paid hours a week. Ten weeks of the year go to charges that arrive whatever the truck sells.
How much locations differ inside one brand
Picking the brand matters less than picking the unit.
Brand averages differ 25.6 times over across this category. Inside a single brand, individual businesses span up to 345 times. Twelve of the thirteen brands publishing both a mean and a median put the median lower. Between 41% and 48% of units reach their own system average everywhere except one.
| Brand | Units reporting | Lowest-selling | Highest-selling | Multiple * | Median as a share of the average * | Reaching the average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bark Busters | 132 | $1,900 | $655,448 | 345.0× | 88.4% | 42% |
| Aussie Pet Mobile | 74 | $41,412 | $3,035,878 | 73.3× | n/a | n/a |
| Woof Gang Bakery | 199 | $136,498 | $2,125,455 | 15.6× | 93.8% | 41% |
| Hounds Town USA | 73 | $92,602 | $1,359,016 | 14.7× | 93.3% | n/a |
| Pet Supplies Plus | 385 | $877,561 | $6,892,719 | 7.9× | 94.9% | 43.6% |
| Pet Butler | 39 | $52,988 | $384,043 | 7.2× | 105.9% | 67% |
| Central Bark | 36 | $413,760 | $2,025,786 | 4.9× | 90.0% | 44% |
| EarthWise Pet | 130 | $266,016 | $1,093,847 | 4.1× | 91.2% | 44% |
| Wag N Wash | 11 | $744,965 | $2,357,183 | 3.2× | 87.6% | n/a |
| Scenthound | 114 | $262,256 | $710,494 | 2.7× | 92.7% | 48% |
| Dogtopia | 169 | $555,451 | $1,331,715 | 2.4× | 98.7% | 47.9% |
| Zoom Room | 48 | $283,771 | $609,066 | 2.1× | 95.3% | n/a |
| Camp Bow Wow | 207 | $780,768 | $1,480,842 | 1.9× | 96.6% | 45% |
Unit counts, lowest-selling and highest-selling figures and attainment are as the brand reported it, some brands publish individual businesses and others publish group averages. The multiple and median-share columns are marked *.
Pet Butler is the one brand here whose median sits above its average. $108,667 against $102,592 *, and 26 of its 39 trucks clear the average, two thirds, where every other brand reporting it lands between 41% and 48%.
The brands showing the tightest range are the ones publishing group averages. Camp Bow Wow at 1.9 times and Zoom Room at 2.1 compare quarters. Bark Busters at 345 times and Aussie Pet Mobile at 73.3 compare one business with another.
Four in ten units reach their own system average at eight of the nine brands reporting it. Across eight different business models that holds within seven points, which makes the average an upper-middle result.
What premises cost the best and worst units.
Six brands publish a premises figure for their highest-selling and lowest-selling groups, and the pattern is identical everywhere: the bill changes little while the percentage doubles. This is the single most consistent finding in the category.
| Brand | Best group | Worst group | Spread * | Worth at that brand’s average * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom Room | 17.8% | 40.1% | 22.3 points | $91,376 |
| Central Bark | 4.7% | 24.8% | 20.1 points | $181,464 |
| Camp Bow Wow | 12.7% | 22.1% | 9.4 points | $102,447 |
| Dogtopia | 11.0% | 18.3% | 7.3 points | $67,712 |
| Scenthound | 7.5% | 14.3% | 6.8 points | $34,365 |
| Pet Supplies Plus | 6.6% | 9.9% | 3.3 points | $86,535 |
The two percentage columns are as the brand reported it. We worked out the range and its dollar value, applying the difference in points to the average sales each percentage was measured on.
At three of the six, the weaker group pays more rent in dollars than the stronger one. Camp Bow Wow, Zoom Room and Hounds Town all show it, so the percentage gap is revenue.
Pet Supplies Plus shows the tightest premises gap in the category and it still runs to $86,535. 6.6% at a mature store against 9.9% in year one *, which is the difference between 3.3% of sales and a full month of a store manager.
Where the money goes
The same bill, arranged differently.
Ten of the fifteen brands publish what labor and premises cost as a share of revenue. Six brands land within four points of each other. The four outside it are carrying the money somewhere else. EarthWise Pet, Wag N Wash and Pet Supplies Plus hold a large retail cost of goods. Hounds Town runs the lightest staffing among the service formats.
| Brand | Labor | Premises | Together * | Cost of goods |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woof Gang Bakery | 49.3% | 9.5% | 58.8% | 47.7% |
| Scenthound | 48.8% | 10.3% | 59.1% | n/a |
| Dogtopia | 44.5% | 14.7% | 59.2% | 2.9% |
| Central Bark | 44.5% | 10.8% | 55.3% | 1.5% |
| Camp Bow Wow | 42.6% | 15.7% | 58.3% | 8.6% |
| Wag N Wash | 41.0% | 10.1% | 51.1% | 33.4% |
| Hounds Town USA | 37.2% | 13.5% | 50.7% | 4.2% |
| Zoom Room | 32.1% | 25.6% | 57.7% | 6.1% |
| EarthWise Pet | 30.7% | 10.1% | 40.8% | 37.1% |
| Pet Supplies Plus | 14.4% | 7.0% | 21.4% | 62.2% |
Labor, premises and cost of goods are as the brand reported it by each brand; the combined column is marked *.
Pet Supplies Plus spends a quarter of what the others spend on wages and rent. 21.4% against a 40.8% to 59.2% range, because 62.2% of the money goes into inventory instead, and inventory turns, where a wages simply leaves.
Labor alone moves by 34.9 points across the group. 14.4% at Pet Supplies Plus to 49.3% at Woof Gang *, and the brands at the top of that range are the ones with the lightest rent.
Zoom Room pays the highest rent share in the category, by 9.9 points. 25.6% against 7.0% to 15.7% at every other brand *. A training gym needs more space than a kennel or a shop.
Eight profit lines, eight definitions.
Eight brands publish something that looks like profit, running from 8.2% to 21.0% of revenue. Read them carefully: only Camp Bow Wow’s figure adds the owner’s own salary back. So the other seven describe what is left before anyone pays the person running the business.
| Brand | Revenue behind the margin | Margin | Profit | Cost to open, low | Payback * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hounds Town USA | $722,816 | 21.0% | $152,070 | $667,610 | 4.39 years |
| Central Bark | $902,805 | 19.7% | $177,589 | $640,100 | 3.60 years |
| Camp Bow Wow | $1,089,860 | 18.5% | $201,269 | $954,606 | 4.74 years |
| Dogtopia | $927,566 | 18.5% | $171,600 | $664,355 | 3.87 years |
| Woof Gang Bakery | $738,802 | 13.9% | $102,830 | $191,350 | 1.86 years |
| Scenthound | $505,363 | 11.5% | $58,264 | $322,999 | 5.54 years |
| EarthWise Pet | $1,110,330 | 9.2% | $102,213 | $512,000 | 5.01 years |
| Zoom Room | $409,758 | 8.2% | $33,663 | $302,523 | 8.99 years |
Each brand reported its own sales, profit share, profit and opening cost. The payback column is marked *, dividing each low investment estimate by that brand’s own filed profit figure.
The two retail brands publish the cost lines. Wag N Wash keeps 15.6% of $1,208,177 before the brand's charges and 8.1% after them *. Pet Supplies Plus keeps 16.4% of $2,622,279 after stock, rent and wages, which is $430,054 *. The largest dollar figure in this category and the one that arrives on the widest cost base.
The three highest shares kept belong to three of the four most expensive builds. Hounds Town, Central Bark and Camp Bow Wow all keep 18.5% or more and all cost $640,100 or more to open *.
Zoom Room takes 8.99 years on its own figures. $302,523 against $33,663 *, and that $33,663 arrives before the owner is paid, which is the clearest illustration of why the definition matters.
Operating levers
What each brand’s top performers actually work on
The levers the filing supports, brand by brand. Three to five each, read from that brand’s own 2026 FDD. Filter by type of business, or open a brand for the figures underneath.
15 brands
Aussie Pet Mobile
Grooming and pet retail
- Visits, the operating driver. This model bills on visits. The owner watches how many visits happen, what each one is worth, and how many customers book the next one before they leave. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Service and retail mix. Attachment rate on retail, and the share of customers on the higher service tiers, lift what each hour earns without adding an hour or a room. It is the only lever that raises the ceiling without spending capital.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 16.2% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Bark Busters
Dog training
- Accounts, the operating driver. This model bills on accounts. An account signed this year still bills next year, so keeping accounts matters more than winning them. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 13.0% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Camp Bow Wow
Dog daycare and boarding
- Wages, the dominant line. Wages take 42.6% of sales, against 18.5% kept at the end. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex. Rent and building costs take 15.7% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Pets served, the operating driver. This model bills on pets served. The owner counts how many pets come through in a day and how many come back within the month. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 11.0% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Central Bark
Dog daycare and boarding
- Wages, the dominant line. Wages take 44.5% of sales, against 19.7% kept at the end. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex. Rent and building costs take 10.8% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Pets served, the operating driver. This model bills on pets served. The owner counts how many pets come through in a day and how many come back within the month. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Service and retail mix. Attachment rate on retail, and the share of customers on the higher service tiers, lift what each hour earns without adding an hour or a room. It is the only lever that raises the ceiling without spending capital.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 8.7% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Dogtopia
Dog daycare and boarding
- Wages, the dominant line. Wages take 44.5% of sales, against 18.5% kept at the end. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex. Rent and building costs take 14.7% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Members, the operating driver. This model bills on members. The owner watches how many people join, how many cancel, and what a member spends beyond the plan. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 12.3% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
EarthWise Pet
Grooming and pet retail
- Cost of what you sell. Products and materials take 37.1% of sales, against 9.2% kept at the end. Buying terms, price discipline and waste are where this is won, and each of them compounds at volume. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex. Rent and building costs take 10.1% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Pets served, the operating driver. This model bills on pets served. The owner counts how many pets come through in a day and how many come back within the month. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Service and retail mix. Attachment rate on retail, and the share of customers on the higher service tiers, lift what each hour earns without adding an hour or a room. It is the only lever that raises the ceiling without spending capital.
Hounds Town USA
Dog daycare and boarding
- Wages, the dominant line. Wages take 37.2% of sales, against 21.0% kept at the end. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex. Rent and building costs take 13.5% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Visits, the operating driver. This model bills on visits. The owner watches how many visits happen, what each one is worth, and how many customers book the next one before they leave. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 8.5% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
- The first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up, so the ramp can be underwritten from the document rather than assumed. Read two things out of it: the month sales cross the point where costs are covered, and how much cash you fund before that month arrives. Everything before break-even is paid for by you.
Pet Butler
Other
- Routes, the operating driver. This model bills on routes. The van costs the same whatever it does that day, so the owner works on how many stops fit into it and how far apart they are. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 33.7% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Pet Supplies Plus
Grooming and pet retail
- Cost of what you sell. Products and materials take 62.2% of sales. Buying terms, price discipline and waste are where this is won, and each of them compounds at volume.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex. Rent and building costs take 7.0% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Pets served, the operating driver. This model bills on pets served. The owner counts how many pets come through in a day and how many come back within the month. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Service and retail mix. Attachment rate on retail, and the share of customers on the higher service tiers, lift what each hour earns without adding an hour or a room. It is the only lever that raises the ceiling without spending capital.
Scenthound
Grooming and pet retail
- Wages, the dominant line. Wages take 48.8% of sales, against 11.5% kept at the end. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex. Rent and building costs take 10.3% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Members, the operating driver. This model bills on members. The owner watches how many people join, how many cancel, and what a member spends beyond the plan. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Service and retail mix. Attachment rate on retail, and the share of customers on the higher service tiers, lift what each hour earns without adding an hour or a room. It is the only lever that raises the ceiling without spending capital.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 13.1% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Sit Means Sit
Dog training
- Jobs, the operating driver. This model bills on jobs. Every job is won again, so the owner works on how many quotes turn into work and what the average job is worth when it does. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 10.9% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Wag N Wash
Grooming and pet retail
- Cost of what you sell. Products and materials take 33.4% of sales. Buying terms, price discipline and waste are where this is won, and each of them compounds at volume.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex. Rent and building costs take 10.1% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Pets served, the operating driver. This model bills on pets served. The owner counts how many pets come through in a day and how many come back within the month. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Service and retail mix. Attachment rate on retail, and the share of customers on the higher service tiers, lift what each hour earns without adding an hour or a room. It is the only lever that raises the ceiling without spending capital.
Woof Gang Bakery
Grooming and pet retail
- Wages, the dominant line. Wages take 49.3% of sales, against 13.9% kept at the end. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex. Rent and building costs take 9.5% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Visits, the operating driver. This model bills on visits. The owner watches how many visits happen, what each one is worth, and how many customers book the next one before they leave. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Service and retail mix. Attachment rate on retail, and the share of customers on the higher service tiers, lift what each hour earns without adding an hour or a room. It is the only lever that raises the ceiling without spending capital.
Zoom Room
Dog training
- Wages, the dominant line. Wages take 32.1% of sales, against 8.2% kept at the end. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex. Rent and building costs take 25.6% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Members, the operating driver. This model bills on members. The owner watches how many people join, how many cancel, and what a member spends beyond the plan. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 10.9% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Zoomin Groomin
Grooming and pet retail
- Pets served, the operating driver. This model bills on pets served. The owner counts how many pets come through in a day and how many come back within the month. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Service and retail mix. Attachment rate on retail, and the share of customers on the higher service tiers, lift what each hour earns without adding an hour or a room. It is the only lever that raises the ceiling without spending capital.
All 15 brands
All 13 brands, side by side
| Brand | What it does | Units reporting | Average revenue | Median | Franchise fees * | Cost to open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pet Supplies Plus | Neighbourhood pet shop with grooming | 385 | $2,622,279 | $2,487,454 | 6.5% | $520,250–$1,818,900 |
| Wag N Wash | Pet shop with self-wash and grooming | 11 | $1,208,177 | $1,058,521 | 7.5% | $520,250–$1,357,300 |
| Camp Bow Wow | Dog day camp and boarding | 207 | $1,089,860 | $1,052,381 | 11.0% | $954,606–$1,229,536 |
| Dogtopia | Dog daycare, boarding and spa | 101 | $927,566 | $915,213 | 12.3% | $664,355–$1,478,820 |
| Central Bark | Dog daycare, boarding and grooming | 36 | $902,805 | $812,437 | 8.7% | $640,100–$1,394,250 |
| Aussie Pet Mobile | Mobile dog grooming vans | 74 | $744,203 | n/a | 16.2% | $167,325–$208,650 |
| EarthWise Pet | Pet nutrition retail and grooming | 130 | $650,138 | $592,765 | 5.2% | $78,300–$1,036,250 |
| Woof Gang Bakery | Grooming salon with a retail shop | 199 | $620,375 | $581,857 | 9.0% | $191,350–$560,300 |
| Hounds Town USA | Dog daycare, boarding and spa | 73 | $520,855 | $485,743 | 8.5% | $667,610–$1,122,153 |
| Scenthound | Dog wellness membership | 114 | $461,041 | $427,445 | 13.1% | $322,999–$553,269 |
| Zoom Room | Indoor dog training gym | 48 | $409,758 | $390,448 | 10.9% | $302,523–$464,712 |
| Bark Busters | In-home dog training | 132 | $144,479 | $127,718 | 13.0% | $77,900–$117,000 |
| Pet Butler | Pet waste removal routes | 39 | $102,592 | $108,667 | 33.7% | $96,325–$121,486 |
Revenue, medians, unit counts and investment ranges are as the brand reported it by each brand; Franchise fees column is marked *.
Average revenue differs 25.6 times over across the category. $102,592 at Pet Butler to $2,622,279 at Pet Supplies Plus *, while the cost to open differs 45 times over, from $40,175 to $1,818,900 *.
Franchise fees runs from 5.2% to 33.7%. The two highest figures belong to the two smallest businesses. Because the minimums at Aussie Pet Mobile and Pet Butler bind hard at the revenue most of their franchisees actually bill.
Two brands that file terms.
Sit Means Sit and Zoomin Groomin publish the price of the license and the shape of the territory while leaving revenue out. So they are read on obligations. Zoomin Groomin is sold as an area representative right. Is a different instrument from a single unit.
| Brand | What it does | Businesses open | Franchise fees | Cost to open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sit Means Sit | Dog training in the home and field | 148 | 6% of sales or $800 a month, plus $800 a month for the customer system | $40,175–$137,250 |
| Zoomin Groomin | Mobile grooming, sold as an area representative right | 57 representatives | 10 cents a resident to buy the region, and zero royalty payable upward | $96,150–$395,400 |
Every figure in this table is as the brand reported it by its brand.
Sit Means Sit costs less to open than any other brand here and still pays $19,379 a year in minimum charges. $40,175 at the low end *, so the entry price is the smallest in the category while the annual obligation arrives whatever the calendar looks like.
A Zoomin Groomin representative earns from the units it recruits. The representative keeps half of each owner's initial fee and half of each royalty, on a region bought at $12,500 a territory *. Where a broker sells the territory, the representative keeps a quarter of the fee instead of half.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
Which pet care model keeps the most?
On the published figures, the kennel formats: Hounds Town at 21.0%, Central Bark at 19.7%, and Camp Bow Wow and Dogtopia at 18.5% each. They also cost $640,100 or more to build. The shop formats produce the largest dollar figures on the largest sales. Pet Supplies Plus keeps $430,054 after stock, rent and wages *. The service formats keep less for each dollar of salesnue and return their opening cost sooner.
Does a minimum or a percentage cost me more?
It depends entirely on where you bill, and the crossover is arithmetic you can do in a minute: divide your annual minimums by the royalty rate. Aussie Pet Mobile’s $51,000 is 9.5% of the system average and 123.2% of the lowest-selling business reported, and its minimum royalty releases at $420,000 *. Pet Butler’s minimum advertising charge releases at $360,000 a territory, Sit Means Sit’s at $160,000 *. Below your own crossover, growth pays you twice.
Where does the money go in this category?
Labor and premises together, at 55.3% to 59.2% of revenue at six of the ten brands publishing both. The split varies sharply, from 32.1% labor and 25.6% rent at Zoom Room to 49.3% and 9.5% at Woof Gang, while the total holds. The retail formats move that money into inventory instead: 62.2% of sales at Pet Supplies Plus, which leaves wages and rent at 21.4% combined.
What does the brand cost?
From 5.2% of revenue at EarthWise Pet to 33.7% at Pet Butler, with most between 6.5% and 13.1%. Royalties run 3% to 12%, and the difference between brands usually sits in advertising minimums, technology charges and monthly minimums.
Should I benchmark against the average or the median?
The median, at twelve of the thirteen brands filing both, because every one of those twelve puts its median lower. Pet Butler is the single exception at 105.9% *. Between 41% and 48% of units reach the average at eight of the nine brands reporting it, so treat the average as an upper-middle result. Individual units inside one brand vary far more than the brands vary from each other.
Who does bookkeeping for a pet care franchise?
Averan does. We work with owners in this category on the monthly close, occupancy cost read as a percentage, labor measured against attendance or the appointment book. The cash forecast behind a second location or a fifth van. Get in touch.
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Finance Diagnostic runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →What revenue releases your brand’s minimum?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around the crossover point where a percentage overtakes your minimums, occupancy cost read as a percentage every month. A profit line that shows your own pay as a cost.
Request the reviewQuestions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?How royalty, ad fund and minimums actually work on a monthly statement.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?A 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?Usually it is a revenue problem wearing a payroll costume.
- Do I need a bookkeeper, a controller, or a CFO?What each one owns, and the point at which the next one pays for itself.
- Revenue was the highest it has been. Why did profit not move?Where the extra revenue went, line by line.
Where these figures come from.
Every figure here comes from each named brand’s own 2026 FDD and is unaudited by us, we are unaffiliated with every brand named, each brand reports a different population on different definitions so read every column as a sort order. Zoomin Groomin is offered as an area representative right, calculations of our own are marked with an asterisk where they appear, the figures describe past performance at other businesses and are not a projection of yours. This page is an educational summary. It is not an offer to sell a franchise, and it is not financial, legal or tax advice. Every brand name is a trademark of its owner. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.