Gotcha Covered operates as a single mobile window-treatment business: the franchisee develops local demand, conducts consultations in homes or offices, specifies and orders approved products, coordinates installation, collects customer payment, and records the transaction in required systems. Gotcha Covered Franchising, LLC controls the brand, suppliers, technology, marketing rules, and reporting framework.
The unit is a consultative sales-and-project-coordination business rather than a stocked retail store. Residential and commercial clients buy custom blinds, shades, shutters, draperies, motorization, window film, and related treatments after an in-home or on-site presentation; approved manufacturers produce the order, and installation is performed or coordinated locally.
Legal franchisor: Gotcha Covered Franchising, LLC; parent: FS PEP Holdco, LLC. Applicable format: one mobile GC Business. Basis: U.S. FDD issued April 8, 2026; Items 1, 6, 8, 11, 12, 15, 16, 19 and 20; relevant Franchise Agreement sections; Software License Agreement; and Brand Standards Manual table of contents. Item 20 period: 2023–2025. Official pages checked August 1, 2026.
What does a Gotcha Covered franchise sell, and who buys it?
A GC Business sells custom window treatments and installation-related services to residential consumers and business clients, using a mobile presentation conducted at the customer’s home or office.
Authorized customer promise
The 2026 FDD identifies draperies, fabrics, drapery hardware, bedroom ensembles, blinds, shades, and related merchandise. The current Gotcha Covered consumer site also presents shutters, motorization, window film, and commercial window treatments. Item 16 requires the unit to offer only approved products and services, offer all categories designated by GCF, and pass through the manufacturer’s product warranty.
Customer and sales setting
The unit serves homeowners and business organizations. The official consultation process describes needs assessment, style selection, product guidance, on-site measuring, and installation; the commercial program confirms an on-site consultative path for business accounts.
The FDD establishes no separate residential or commercial format. Both customer groups use the same GC Business, Computer System, suppliers, Area of Primary Responsibility, and Brand Standards Manual. The unit may use a home office or another business-only location, while customer-facing work remains mobile.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Item 1, pp. 1–4; Item 16, p. 37; Franchise Agreement §§5.5–5.6; official consumer and commercial operating pages.
How does work move through a Gotcha Covered unit?
The operating cycle moves from approved demand generation to appointment, consultation, supplier order, installation, customer resolution, and financial reporting. The franchisee remains accountable for the complete project even when a call center, manufacturer, or installer performs a stage.
- Actor:
- Franchisee, GCF marketing programs, System Website, and designated call-center provider.
- Action:
- Run approved local marketing inside the Area of Primary Responsibility and respond to phone, digital, repeat, and referral inquiries.
- Required system/asset:
- Approved creative, local telephone service, call tracking, designated call-center service, and GCF-controlled internet presence.
- Output:
- Qualified inquiry ready for scheduling.
- Actor:
- Franchisee, Manager, employee, or designated call-center representative.
- Action:
- Capture customer details, location, project scope, and appointment timing, then route the opportunity to the local unit.
- Required system/asset:
- CRM, email, telephone, calendar or scheduling function, and daily access to GCF communications.
- Output:
- Confirmed home or office appointment.
- Actor:
- Franchisee, Designated Owner, Manager, or trained unit representative; at least one Certified person must be active in day-to-day operations.
- Action:
- Present samples, assess light, privacy, style, and functional requirements, take measurements, recommend approved products, quote the project, and complete the customer order.
- Required system/asset:
- Updated fabric and product samples, measuring devices, approved sales process, and Gotcha Linked.
- Output:
- Signed order and customer payment obligation.
- Actor:
- Franchisee or authorized unit staff; approved manufacturer or supplier fulfills production.
- Action:
- Send purchase orders to GCF or approved suppliers as directed, monitor changes, delivery, and invoicing, and keep the customer project current.
- Required system/asset:
- Computer System, approved vendor accounts, purchase-order functions, samples, internet, and business vehicle.
- Output:
- Custom product ready for installation.
- Actor:
- Franchisee, employee, or independent installation contractor; licensed contractor where local law requires one.
- Action:
- Coordinate delivery and installation, inspect fit and operation, obtain customer acceptance, and apply GCF customer-relations and refund policies.
- Required system/asset:
- Installation scheduling, approved products, required insurance, confidentiality agreements, and any applicable contractor license.
- Output:
- Completed project with manufacturer warranty passed to the customer.
- Actor:
- Franchisee and bookkeeping or administrative personnel; GCF receives system data and reports.
- Action:
- Accept approved payment methods, record Gross Sales, resolve warranty or complaint matters, retain records, and submit monthly sales data by the required deadline.
- Required system/asset:
- Gotcha Linked, designated accounting and payment tools, bank records, and six-year recordkeeping files.
- Output:
- Closed transaction, auditable reporting, and a repeat or referral opportunity.
The franchisee sells the customer promise but depends on approved manufacturers and, often, independent installers. Vendor invoices, customer communication, project coordination, and final customer resolution remain the franchisee’s responsibility.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Items 1, 8 and 11; Franchise Agreement §§3.1, 5.6, 5.8, 5.10–5.11 and 8.2; Brand Standards Manual table of contents, Chapters 2 and 4; official call-center description.
Who performs each operating function?
The franchisee owns the local customer relationship and operating result; GCF supplies the System and controls standards; manufacturers, technology vendors, payment providers, call-center personnel, and installers provide required inputs.
Franchisee side
- Local marketing, networking, repeat business, and referrals.
- Consultation, measuring, pricing, quoting, and order approval.
- Hiring, supervision, compensation, licensing, insurance, and contractor management.
- Customer communication, collections, warranty handling, records, and reporting.
GCF side
- Brand Standards Manual, Gotcha Covered Sales Process, training, and ongoing guidance.
- Area of Primary Responsibility designation and System Website administration.
- Supplier approval, product specifications, marketing approvals, and System changes.
- Gotcha Linked licensing, data access, inspections, reports, and audit rights.
Third-party side
- Manufacture and ship approved custom window treatments.
- Answer or track calls through designated call-center services.
- Provide required SaaS, accounting, CRM, payment, email, and internet services.
- Install products when the unit subcontracts installation work.
The FDD discloses no required employee count or staffing ratio. A Manager may run day-to-day operation, but the franchisee or Designated Owner and the Manager must complete required training; one GCF-Certified person must remain active daily. Personnel with confidential access must sign a System Protection Agreement or Confidentiality Agreement.
Manager-run day-to-day operation is expressly permitted with GCF approval and training. The 2026 FDD does not define Gotcha Covered as an absentee model, and it does not remove the franchisee’s responsibility for supervision, records, supplier obligations, customer issues, or compliance.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Items 11 and 15, pp. 28–31 and 36–37; Franchise Agreement §5.10; Software License Agreement; Brand Standards Manual table of contents.
Which systems, suppliers, and operating decisions are mandatory?
GCF controls the operating architecture—approved products, purchasing sources, technology, data access, internet presence, marketing content, customer policies, and reporting—while the franchisee controls ordinary local pricing, hiring, work allocation, and day-to-day execution within those rules.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Items 6, 8, 11 and 16; Franchise Agreement §§3.3, 5.3, 5.5–5.12, 6.1 and 8.1–8.4; Software License Agreement §§3–6.
What does the Area of Primary Responsibility protect?
It protects active local promotion and lead development more than it protects customers or sales. The franchise is otherwise non-exclusive, and the internet remains a franchisor-controlled channel.
Each GC Business receives an Area of Primary Responsibility with at least 30,000 households, described through ZIP codes, boundaries, counties, or a map. While the unit is compliant, targeted active promotion by GCF and other franchisees is restricted there; the unit cannot actively promote outside it without approval.
Sales are not confined to the Area of Primary Responsibility. The unit may accept business elsewhere if it did not use prohibited out-of-area promotion, while GCF or another franchisee may sell inside the area. GCF reserves internet solicitation, alternative channels, multi-area programs, and different marks or technology.
“Exclusive active promotion area” is not the same as an exclusive customer territory. The operating question is how GCF currently assigns System Website, call-center, national-account, and multi-area leads; the FDD states the legal channel rights but does not disclose the complete lead-routing algorithm.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Item 12, pp. 31–33; Franchise Agreement §1.3.
What does Item 20 show about the U.S. operating base?
Gotcha Covered remained entirely franchised in the United States through year-end 2025. The U.S. franchised outlet count increased from 153 at the end of 2023 to 163 at the end of 2025, while company-owned outlets remained at zero.
The two-year net increase was 10 U.S. franchised outlets; with no company-owned outlets, franchisees perform the consumer-facing model.
Source: 2026 FDD, Item 20, Tables 3 and 4, pp. 48–53. Reconciliation: 2025 U.S. start 159 + 24 openings − 18 terminations − 2 nonrenewals = 163 end-of-year outlets.
Which operating details remain undisclosed or time-sensitive?
The FDD defines rights and control, but several day-to-day dependencies can change through the Brand Standards Manual, approved-vendor list, online policy, and technology specifications.
- Obtain the current approved manufacturer and supplier list, including product categories, order minimums, freight rules, lead times, returns, and rebates.
- Confirm every current Computer System component: Gotcha Linked, CRM, accounting, scheduling, call tracking, payment processing, email, and data integrations.
- Ask how System Website, call-center, national-account, referral, and cross-territory leads are assigned and whether response-time rules apply.
- Determine whether GCF has activated a certified-installer program and which markets require its installers rather than franchisee-selected contractors.
- Map the actual weekly division of work among the owner, Designated Owner, Manager, salesperson, administrator, bookkeeper, and installation contractors.
- Review current Brand Standards Manual provisions for customer deposits, purchase orders, warranties, refunds, complaint escalation, and temporary suspension of operations.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Items 8, 11, 12 and 15; Franchise Agreement §§1.3, 5.8, 5.10–5.11 and 6.1; Brand Standards Manual table of contents.
What is the practical bottom line?
Gotcha Covered earns customer revenue through custom window-treatment projects sold after residential or commercial consultations. The franchisee’s central responsibility is converting local demand into accurately specified, ordered, installed, collected, and documented projects. GCF’s strongest control is the combined supplier, technology, internet-marketing, and reporting framework. The decisive territory distinction is protected active promotion rather than exclusive customers. The largest operating question to verify is the current allocation of leads and work among the owner, Manager, call center, vendors, and installers.
Primary evidence: 2026 Gotcha Covered FDD and attached agreements. Supplemental official sources: Gotcha Covered franchise website, consumer operating approach, and the linked official operating pages above.