Spa and salon franchise accounting Accounting for Supercuts franchisees. Fees on services, and a royalty that steps up after year one.
Supercuts’ 2025 franchise disclosure sets a royalty of 6% of service revenue — 4% in the first year — and a 5% advertising fund on service revenue. Product sales sit outside both, and the royalty rate changes on each salon’s own anniversary, so a group with salons of different ages pays different rates in the same month. Kite keeps those rules for Supercuts operators.
Operators of this brand run their back office on Kite
What the Supercuts agreement charges
| Fee | Amount | Charged on | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty, first year | 4%[1] | Service revenue | Per the franchise agreement |
| Royalty, thereafter | 6%[1] | Service revenue | Per the franchise agreement |
| Advertising fund | 5%[1] | Service revenue | Per the franchise agreement |
The rules that change the books
The rate steps on each salon’s anniversary
The royalty is 4% in the first year and 6% after[1], counted from each salon’s own opening. A group that opens salons over several years has some paying 4% and others 6% in the same week; the rate belongs to the salon, not the entity.
Service revenue only
Both the royalty and the advertising fund are on service revenue[1]. Product sales must be a separate category at the register for the basis to be right.
Where Supercuts books go wrong
The anniversary nobody noticed
A salon passes its first anniversary mid-month and the rate changes from 4% to 6%. Missed, the royalty is understated until the franchisor’s reconciliation catches it — with interest.
Commission with no revenue beside it
Provider commission comes back from payroll as one lump. Booked to its own line beside the service revenue it was earned on, the margin on a service is a real number; left in wages, it is not.
Product sold as a service
Retail keyed as a service inflates two charges at once, at 11% of the amount.
Questions
Questions Supercuts operators ask.
Does Kite connect to our spa or salon software?
By export today, not by API — a day of tickets by location dropped in and read. The banks, the cards and your ledger connect directly.
How does Kite handle the first-year royalty rate?
Each salon carries its own opening date and rate schedule from the agreement, so the royalty for each salon is computed at the rate that applies to it that week, with the clause quoted beside the charge.
Can we start with a few salons?
Yes. Two to five locations through one full month-end close, beside your current bookkeeper, at the same price.
Sources
- [1]Supercuts franchise: fees, cost and FDD review (reporting the 2025 FDD) — FranDB · a directory reporting the filing
Start with a few spas.
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