Sit Means Sit franchise unit economics
Sit Means Sit franchisees run mobile dog-training businesses that sell training sessions inside an exclusive trade area.
Sit Means Sit franchise at a glance
Sit Means Sit’s 2026 FDD, issued 19 June 2026, makes no financial performance representation in Item 19, so it gives no sales or profit figure. A Sit Means Sit franchise costs $40,175 to $137,250 to open, including a $30,000 initial franchise fee. Sit Means Sit charges new owners a 6% royalty or $800 a month, whichever is greater.
- Sit Means Sit reported 148 franchised locations in its 2026 FDD.
- Work out Sit Means Sit's fees at your own sales with the minimum fee calculator.
These figures come from Sit Means Sit's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
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Talk to Averan → Move your books and accounting to Averan →- Software costs the same as the minimum royalty. $800 a month each, so a center billing under $160,000 pays the brand $9,600 and its software provider another $9,600 *.
- At $500,000 of sales the royalty ranges from $6,000 to $30,000. The Sit Means Sit royalty depends only on the year the owner bought *, a five-fold difference between neighbors doing identical work.
- Six percent starts at $160,000 of revenue. That is $13,333 a month *, below that the $800 minimum applies and the royalty behaves as a fixed bill.
- A trade area is 50,000 dogs, worked out from a stated formula. Population divided by 2.5, times 0.372, times 1.7, about 197,700 people *.
- The only advertising obligation is local spending. That is 1% of quarterly sales spent locally, with no brand fund and no cooperative requirement, $2,500 a year at $250,000 of sales *.
How much does a Sit Means Sit franchise make?
The 2026 FDD for Sit Means Sit does not publish unit revenue in a form that answers this directly. For a current-vintage owner the Sit Means Sit royalty is 6% or $800 a month, whichever is greater, and the required software costs $800 a month. The 6% rate takes over at $160,000 of revenue, and a trade area holds 50,000 estimated dogs.
Top performers
What separates the top Sit Means Sit performers
Sit Means Sit publishes no revenue figures, so neither the average nor the spread between locations is disclosed.
Decided before you open
- Capacity.Capacity is the number of vans, times the hours they run, times how full their schedules are. The build sets how much you can sell.
- Territory.This model sells from a territory quoted at 197,700 people, with no storefront. Population density sets how much driving sits between jobs.
- Opening cost range.Opening costs $40,175 to $137,250, a 3.4× range inside one brand.
- Fees and the minimum.A minimum fee applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
Live operating levers
- Jobs.Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
Context you underwrite around
- What the filing does not include.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations, no median, no performance bands, no attainment figure. Ask the franchisor or current owners for cost and profit figures.
- Sales spread in the category.Across 13 Pet Care brands in this library, the top group sells 4.1× the bottom at the typical brand, and a median 44% of locations reach their own average *. Ask the franchisor for this brand’s spread.
Two bills of $800
Fees and software costs
| Charge | Rate | $100,000 | $160,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 6% or $800 a month | $9,600 | $9,600 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| Customer system | $800 a month | $9,600 | $9,600 | $9,600 | $9,600 |
| Financial database | $14.95 a month | $179 | $179 | $179 | $179 |
| Local advertising | 1% of quarterly sales | $1,000 | $1,600 | $2,500 | $5,000 |
The rates and monthly fees are as the brand reported it and the dollar figures apply them at each revenue level, marked *.
Below $160,000 of sales the software costs as much as the royalty. $9,600 each *, so the first question in a young business is what that system earns you.
There is no brand fund contribution. There is no advertising council and no cooperative requirement, so every marketing dollar beyond the 1% is a choice.
The software costs are fixed in dollars. The $9,779 a year is the same at $100,000 of sales and at $500,000.
Fees listed as then-current may rise 10% a year, cumulatively. So the $800 software charge could reach $1,288 by the fifth year *.
The royalty itself adjusts with consumer price inflation. The Sit Means Sit adjustment happens once a year at most, so even the flat vintages move over a ten-year term.
Three royalties
Royalty by signing date
| First franchise purchased | Royalty | A year at $500,000 * |
|---|---|---|
| On or after 1 July 2023 | 6% of gross sales or $800 a month | $30,000 |
| 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2023 | $900 a month, or $800 if paid on the 1st | $10,800, or $9,600 |
| Before 1 July 2020 | $600 a month, or $500 if paid on the 1st | $7,200, or $6,000 |
Every rate and early-payment discount is as the brand reported it and the annual column applies them to $500,000 of sales, marked *.
A pre-2020 owner pays a fifth of what a current one pays. That is $6,000 against $30,000 at the same revenue *, worth $24,000 a year of margin on identical work.
Paying on the first of the month is worth $1,200 a year. That applies to the two legacy Sit Means Sit vintages *, a rare case where the date of a bank transfer is itself a line item.
The legacy royalties do not vary with revenue. So for those owners every additional dollar of sales is theirs in full, which is the reverse of the current structure.
Additional trade areas are priced by vintage too. $10,000 to $15,500 on a tiered schedule for owners who first bought between July 2020 and May 2025, against $25,000 for everyone else.
Fees charged in 2025 ran $17,500 to $20,000. That range sits below every figure on the published schedule, so the list price is a starting point.
Fifty thousand dogs
How a territory is sized
| Step | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Households | Census population divided by 2.5 |
| Dog-owning households | Households multiplied by 0.372 |
| Dogs | Dog-owning households multiplied by 1.7 |
| Minimum trade area | 50,000 dogs |
| Implied people * | About 197,700 |
Every step and the 50,000-dog minimum are as the brand reported it and the implied population reverses the formula, marked *.
The trade area is exclusive and fixed for the term. No sales-volume or penetration condition is attached, and the area may be reduced only on renewal, transfer or an uncured breach.
A business at $250,000 earns $5 a dog a year *. That makes the penetration question concrete.
Reserving a trade area costs $5,000 for a year. The reservation is credited against the Sit Means Sit franchise fee, with a one-year extension costing half the then-current fee, so holding ground while you prepare has a price.
National accounts stay with the brand inside your area. Product sales through any channel and the right to advertise there also stay with the brand, the main exceptions to an otherwise exclusive territory.
Working outside the area needs written consent. That covers online, catalog, telemarketing and direct mail channels, inside or outside, so growth means buying another area.
Opening and the system
Cost to open and outlet movement
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses at start | 157 | 159 | 163 |
| Opened | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| Terminated | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Ceased, other | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Businesses at end | 159 | 163 | 148 |
| Total investment | $40,175 to $137,250 for a new franchisee | ||
Every figure is as the brand reported it, with zero company-owned or affiliate-owned businesses in any of the three years.
Discounts available
- Sit Means Sit charges $25,000 instead of $30,000 for each additional franchise bought on or after June 1, 2025, or by franchisees whose first franchise predates July 2020.
- Sit Means Sit charges franchisees who bought their first unit between July 1, 2020 and May 31, 2025 $15,500 for a second franchise, $13,500 for a third, $11,500 for a fourth and $10,000 for each one after that.
From Item 5 of the Sit Means Sit 2026 FDD. The costs on this page use the full initial franchise fee for one unit, before any discount.
Sixteen Sit Means Sit businesses left in 2025 against four arriving. Ten of them stopped operating, after two years of growth.
North Carolina lost seven of its eleven businesses in one year. All were recorded as closing for other reasons, the largest single share of the year’s decline.
The business opens for $40,175 at the low end. That assumes an existing suitable vehicle and no training facility, and it is among the lightest entry costs in this library.
A demonstration dog costs $50 to adopt or up to $7,500 to buy. The dog is required, so that is a 150-fold range on a mandatory item.
Working without a training facility is permitted. That is what keeps the low end at $40,175 against $39,000 of real property and improvements at the high end.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks
How much does a Sit Means Sit franchise make?
Sit Means Sit’s 2026 FDD, issued 19 June 2026, makes no financial performance representation in Item 19, so it gives no sales or profit figure. A Sit Means Sit franchise costs $40,175 to $137,250 to open, including a $30,000 initial franchise fee. Sit Means Sit charges new owners a 6% royalty or $800 a month, whichever is greater.
What fees does Sit Means Sit charge?
It depends when you bought. Owners since 1 July 2023 pay the greater of 6% of gross sales or $800 a month. Those who first bought between July 2020 and June 2023 pay a flat $900 a month, or $800 if paid on the first. Those who bought before July 2020 pay $600, or $500 on the first.
How big is that difference at Sit Means Sit?
At $500,000 of sales, that is $30,000 against $6,000 on our reading, five times as much. The legacy regimes take no account of revenue, so every extra dollar earned stays with those owners in full.
What else is required at Sit Means Sit?
The customer system costs $800 a month and the financial database $14.95 a month, plus at least 1% of each quarter's gross sales spent on local advertising. There is no brand advertising fund and no cooperative requirement.
How does the Sit Means Sit software cost compare with the royalty?
At the minimum the Sit Means Sit software costs the same as the royalty. Both the royalty minimum and the customer system are $800 a month. So a business billing under $160,000 a year pays $9,600 to each on our reading.
How much does a Sit Means Sit franchise cost to open?
$40,175 to $137,250 for a new franchisee, of which $30,000 is the franchise fee. The low end assumes you already own a suitable vehicle and work without a training facility. The high end includes $39,000 of property and improvements and a $7,500 demonstration dog.
How is the Sit Means Sit territory defined?
A Sit Means Sit trade area is defined by dogs and holds at least 50,000 estimated dogs, worked out by dividing census population by 2.5 for households, multiplying by 0.372 for dog-owning households and by 1.7 for dogs. On our reading that implies roughly 197,700 people. The area is exclusive, fixed for the term and has no sales quota.
What is the Sit Means Sit system doing?
It grew to 163 businesses by the end of 2024 and fell to 148 during 2025, with four openings against six terminations and ten ceasing for other reasons. Seven of those losses were in North Carolina.
Which two numbers should run monthly at Sit Means Sit?
Track revenue against $160,000 a year, because that is where the royalty turns from a fixed bill into a rate. Then track revenue per thousand dogs in your trade area, because the area is fixed and penetration is the only lever inside it.
- The filing gives no revenue figures. The filing makes no financial performance representation, so there is no disclosed sales number for any location.
- The filing gives no profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- The filing breaks out no cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
- The filing gives no range. The filing does not show the highest and lowest locations, so the spread inside the system is unknown.
- The filing gives no attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
- The filing shows no ramp. The filing does not show how a new location builds up, so the first-year curve has to be assumed.
Questions worth putting to Sit Means Sit
These are questions the Sit Means Sit filing leaves open. An owner or a buyer can put them to Sit Means Sit directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- What did the highest and lowest locations sell last year, and what explains the gap?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many Sit Means Sit locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Numbers Check 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 is a dog worth in your trade area?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around a 50,000-dog territory, a royalty that turns from a bill into a rate at $160,000. Software that costs as much as the brand does.
Talk to Averanthe franchise library, all 447 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
Sit Means Sit reads against the rest of the dog training group: Bark Busters · Zoom Room. The dog training guide compares all of them on the same figures.
Questions 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?It works out the sales level where a minimum fee stops applying.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?It builds a 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?It shows how to tell whether payroll is rising or revenue is falling.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?It explains what changes at around ten units and why lenders care.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?It shows each location's contribution to profit and the reporting it takes to see it.
Where these figures come from.
Every figure here comes from Sit Means Sit Franchise, Inc.’s 2026 FDD and is unaudited by us, we are unaffiliated with the brand, 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. Sit Means Sit® is a registered trademark of its owner. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.
These figures come from the brand's disclosure. They are not a forecast, an offer to sell a franchise or advice. Source: Sit Means Sit Franchise, Inc., 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, issued 19 June 2026.