The NOW Massage franchise unit economics
The NOW Massage franchisees run a boutique massage studio on a membership model. Across 56 franchised boutiques the average was $1,367,376 of gross sales and $123,723 of net profit, a 9.0% margin. Boutiques in their first two years lost money; profit arrives in year three.
- Primary source
- The NOW Massage, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure
- Population
- the locations the filing reports on
- Our calculations
- Marked on the page with an asterisk. Method
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
Disclosure-based. Not a forecast, not an offer to sell a franchise, and not advice.
The first two years lose money. The median boutique open one to two years finished at −$15,660. Profit arrives in year three at around 10% of sales, climbs once more, and then stops. Wages take more than half of revenue at every stage of maturity.
- Years one and two run at a loss. The median boutique open 1–2 years finished at −$15,660, against −$4,022 on average across those sixteen.
- The profit curve flattens after year three. Net profit is $202,299 at 3–4 years and $202,894 past four, $595 apart, on $62,501 more revenue.
- Wages take over half of revenue at every stage. 54.3% in the first two years, still 50.2% past four, so scale changes littlethe biggest line.
- Product costs about a tenth of revenue. 10.2% to 11.6% across every group. This is a labor business, and the schedule is the only real lever.
- The four affiliate boutiques bill 1.75 times the mature franchised average. $2,950,456 against $1,687,731, so the ceiling sits well above where the franchised curve flattens.
How much does a The NOW Massage franchise make?
The average The NOW Massage unit reported $1,367,376 of revenue in the 2025 disclosure document, and the median reported $1,366,900. The brand’s disclosure document discloses revenue and not profit, so what an owner keeps depends on the cost structure set out below. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
How the business works
The whole P&L, by how long the doors have been open.
| Open for | Boutiques | Gross sales | Product | Wages | Other operating | Net profit | Net margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 years | 16 | $900,818 | 11.6% | 54.3% | 34.6% | −$4,022 | −0.4% |
| 2 to 3 years | 19 | $1,448,955 | 10.5% | 51.1% | 28.4% | $144,201 | 10.0% |
| 3 to 4 years | 13 | $1,625,230 | 10.2% | 50.6% | 26.7% | $202,299 | 12.4% |
| More than 4 years | 8 | $1,687,731 | 10.2% | 50.2% | 27.6% | $202,894 | 12.0% |
| All 56 | 56 | $1,367,376 | 10.6% | 51.4% | 29.0% | $123,723 | 9.0% |
Gross sales and net profit as the brand reported it.
Wages are the model. They take 54.3% of revenue in the first two years and 50.2% past four, four points of improvement while revenue nearly doubles. Growth alone leaves that line where it is, so matching therapist hours to booked hours is the discipline that decides the year.
Product barely registers. At 10.2% to 11.6% across every group, there is very little to recover on the buying side. That is unusual in wellness and it narrows your options: the schedule and the price of a session are what you have.
Top performers
What separates the top The NOW Massage performers
The NOW Massage splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $1,687,731 a year. The worst averaged $900,818. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $1,366,900. The average was $1,367,376. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 1.9× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $486,459 to $848,709, a 1.7× range inside one brand. The high end usually buys more capacity, so the cheapest build is not always the cheapest route to the top band.
Live operating levers
- 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.
- 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.
Context you underwrite around
- What the disclosure leaves out.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations, no attainment figure. The brand’s own locations are the only margin signal in the document, and they are run by the people who wrote the playbook.
How older locations do
The climb runs three years, then stops.
| Step | Revenue added | Net profit added |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 years to 2–3 years | +$548,137 | +$148,223 |
| 2–3 years to 3–4 years | +$176,275 | +$58,098 |
| 3–4 years to more than 4 | +$62,501 | +$595 |
Ours, taking the difference between the disclosed group averages.
Year three is where the business turns. The step from the first group to the second adds $548,137 of revenue and $148,223 of profit. The single largest move available, and it takes a boutique from a loss to about 10% of sales.
After year three, more revenue stops becoming more profit. The oldest group bills $62,501 more than the 3–4 year group and keeps $595 of it. Net margin actually slips from 12.4% to 12.0%. Whatever those boutiques are adding in sales, the cost of serving it is taking nearly all of it. That makes the late years about holding margin.
Fund the first two years properly.
The median boutique in its first two years lost $15,660, and the average lost $4,022. That is before any owner draw. With total investment running $486,459 to $848,709, the working capital that has you to year three is as much a part of the plan as the build-out.
The group counts tell a second pattern: 16 boutiques at 1–2 years against 8 past four. The system has been opening quickly, so most of the network sits in the part of the curve where profit is thin or absent.
Companies the brand owns
The affiliate boutiques, and the ceiling they suggest.
| Group | Boutiques | Average gross sales | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affiliate-owned | 4 | $2,950,456 | $2,612,051 |
| Franchised, open more than 4 years | 8 | $1,687,731 | $1,669,666 |
| All franchised | 56 | $1,367,376 | $1,366,900 |
All figures as the brand reported it.
The affiliate boutiques bill 1.75 times the mature franchised average. Since the franchised curve flattens at about $1.69 million, the affiliates show that considerably more volume is possible in the right market. With their cost lines withheld, whether more volume there becomes more profit stays open.
Read against the maturity table, that is the honest question for this model: revenue past year three arrives at close to zero incremental margin. Whether the affiliates break that pattern stays open.
Gross sales by opening year.
| Opened | Boutiques | Average gross sales | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8 | $1,687,731 | $1,669,666 |
| 2022 | 13 | $1,625,230 | $1,541,764 |
| 2023 | 19 | $1,448,955 | $1,375,234 |
| 2024 | 16 | $900,818 | $922,050 |
| All | 56 | $1,367,376 | $1,366,900 |
As the brand reported it.
Questions we get asked
Does The NOW disclose profitability?
Yes, and by maturity, which is the useful way to do it. Gross sales, gross profit, wages, other operating expenses and net profit are given for 56 franchised boutiques split into four group by years open, with averages and medians. It excludes boutiques the franchisor took over managing during the year, and the figures are unaudited.
Which number should I measure my boutique against?
Your own group, then the wages line. If you are past three years, the benchmark is $1.6 million of sales, wages near 50% and a net margin around 12%. If you are inside two years, the benchmark is a small loss, so a modest profit at that stage already puts you ahead of the median.
When does a boutique become profitable?
Year three. The 1–2 year group averages −$4,022 with a median of −$15,660. The 2–3 year group averages $144,201. That step adds $548,137 of revenue and $148,223 of profit, and it is the largest move in the whole curve. Budget working capital to have two years of losses before it arrives.
Why does profit stop growing after year four?
The oldest group bills $62,501 more than the 3–4 year group and keeps $595 of it, with net margin easing from 12.4% to 12.0%. Wages hold above 50% throughout, so the likeliest reading is that later revenue arrives through hours that cost close to what they earn.
Who does bookkeeping for The NOW Massage franchise?
Memberships and prepaid packages bill ahead of the massage, so part of your balance is service you still owe. On the cost side, wages at more than half of revenue need splitting between therapists and front desk. Because that single ratio decides your year and one wages line will hide whether a soft month came from bookings or from rostering. Track your group’s benchmarks monthly, at your stage of maturity they tell you what normal looks like. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- No cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
- No attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
Questions worth putting to The NOW Massage
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- What separates the highest-selling locations from the lowest: trade area, years open, size, or the owner?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- What do the fees add up to as a share of sales at the average location, once minimums and technology charges are counted?
- How many The NOW Massage locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
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.
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