What is the average credit card fees cost for the top 25% of Cream locations?
Cream Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
48 (58%) had equal or lower Supplies than the average annual Supplies and $55,506 was the median annual Supplies.
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- Credit Card Fees means the amounts paid to credit card processors for customer transactions. In the top 25% quartile, 13 Item 19 Shops (62%) had annual Credit Card Fees equal to or lower than the average annual Credit Card Fees, and $38,635 was the median annual Credit Card
Fees. In the upper mid 25% quartile, 13 Item 19 Shops (62%) had annual Credit Card Fees equal to or lower than the average annual Credit Card Fees and $27,046 was the median annual Credit Card Fees. In the lower mid 25% quartile, 13 Item 19 Shops (62%) had annual Credit Card Fees equal to or lower than the average annual Credit Card Fees and $20,943 was the median annual Credit Card Fees. In the bottom 25% quartile, 11 Item 19 Shops (55%) had annual Credit Card Fees equal to or lower than the average annual Credit Card Fees and $23,484 was the median annual Credit Card Fees. Out of all Item 19 Shops, 48 (58%) had equa
Source: Item 19 — FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPRESENTATIONS (FDD pages 51–57)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Cream's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, for the top 25% of locations, the median annual credit card fees were $38,635. Credit card fees are defined as the amounts paid to credit card processors for customer transactions. The FDD indicates that 62% of the top-performing 25% of Cream shops had annual credit card fees equal to or lower than the average annual credit card fees.
This financial performance representation provides insight into a significant operating expense for Cream franchisees. Credit card fees are a necessary cost of doing business in today's market, as most customers prefer the convenience of paying with credit or debit cards. The median value suggests that half of the stores in the top 25% quartile paid less than this amount, and half paid more.
A prospective franchisee should consider this figure when projecting their potential earnings. It is important to note that this is just one component of the total operating expenses. Factors that could influence these fees include the volume of credit card transactions, the average transaction size, and the rates negotiated with credit card processors. Franchisees may want to inquire about strategies for managing or reducing these fees.
It is also useful to compare this figure with the credit card fees for other quartiles to understand the range of expenses across different performance levels. The FDD provides data for the upper mid, lower mid, and bottom 25% quartiles, allowing for a comprehensive comparison of this expense across the Cream franchise system.