Club Z! Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Club Z! franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Club Z! discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Student counts by hours worked (52-7 avg); tutor pay rates ($21-$28 avg); client pay rates ($52-$125 avg). Mature businesses only; no income projections.
What a Club Z! franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $27,250 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 8% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $40,975 – $57,425 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty 8%-6% tiered on gross sales; $550 minimum. Ad fund 2% or $50 min. Business package $250-$300/mo.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Club Z! system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 319 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 2 |
| Transferred to new owners | 7 |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets |
9 net outlet decline 2025; 49 net decline 2023-2025; 21 reacquired by franchisor.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Club Z! worth it? — how it compares to 60 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8% of sales | lower than most (median 9%) |
| Startup cost | from $40,975 | cheaper than most (median $191,992) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets | better than most (median 1.4%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every children's education & childcare franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Club Z!
The franchisor's framing: Student counts by hours worked (52-7 avg); tutor pay rates ($21-$28 avg); client pay rates… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Club Z! franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Club Z! franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $40,975–$57,425, including a $27,250 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Club Z! franchise owners make?
- Student counts by hours worked (52-7 avg); tutor pay rates ($21-$28 avg); client pay rates ($52-$125 avg). Mature businesses only; no income projections. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Club Z! franchise fees?
- Club Z!'s FDD discloses a $27,250 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty 8%-6% tiered on gross sales; $550 minimum. Ad fund 2% or $50 min. Business package $250-$300/mo.
- What is the Club Z! franchise profit margin?
- Club Z! does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Student counts by hours worked (52-7 avg); tutor pay rates ($21-$28 avg); client pay rates ($52-$125 avg). Mature businesses only; no income projections. Recurring fees alone take about 8% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Club Z! franchise failure rate?
- 9 net outlet decline 2025; 49 net decline 2023-2025; 21 reacquired by franchisor.
- How many Club Z! locations are there?
- Club Z!'s FDD reports 319 total outlets, with 0 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 7 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Club Z! have complaints or lawsuits?
- Club Z! discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Club Z! franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Club Z! scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 8% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Club Z! to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 36258-202604-08 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Club Z! or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.