Why Per-Store Pricing Punishes Multi-Unit Operators

The per-location pricing model for workforce software is straightforward to calculate and painful to live with. Here is the arithmetic at four portfolio sizes:

The location fees are not marginal. At 10 locations, a $30/store platform costs $300 × 12 = $3,600/year in location fees alone, and a $50/store platform $6,000/year. DohOps has no location fee: you pay $99/month for the account with 8 users included, then $8 per extra user, and every active employee counts as a user. A 40-person team pays $99 + 32 × $8 = $355/month whether it works at 5 stores or 20. Run both models on your own headcount: if your team is large relative to your store count, a per-store plan can cost less.

And that is before factoring in the growth trajectory. Every time you add a location, the per-store vendor's bill goes up. Your cost basis for operating that location goes up on the day you sign the lease. The flat-fee model breaks that linkage. Adding location 11 adds no location fee; on DohOps, only the people you add change the bill.

The per-store pricing model creates an alignment problem between the vendor and the operator. When you grow, the vendor wins. The vendor's incentive is for you to open more locations — not because they care about your growth, but because each new location is a new revenue line for them.

This misalignment can show up in subtle ways. A vendor paid per location is paid for the location whether it goes live quickly or slowly, so the pricing alone gives it no reason to make new-location launches faster or the product easier to scale.

The flat-fee model flips this. A vendor that charges no location fee needs you to succeed, grow, and stay — not because each new location adds revenue, but because a happy multi-location operator who grows from 10 to 25 stores and stays on the platform is a better customer than a 10-store operator who churns at month 13. The incentive is retention and success, not location count.

The labor cost equivalent: every dollar saved on per-store software fees at locations 11–25 is a dollar that can go to labor, equipment, or the next location's build-out. The platform should support growth, not tax it.

Before signing any workforce software contract, read for these five things:

1. Per-location fees. Is there a base fee plus a per-location add-on? Does the base fee cover one location or some other number? What is the marginal cost of location 6, 11, and 21?

2. Per-user fees. Is there a user cap on the base plan? What happens when you exceed it? Per-user overages are common on per-seat platforms — if your 10-store portfolio has 100 employees, make sure you are pricing the per-seat model at 100 users, not the advertised minimum. That applies to DohOps too: every active employee counts as a user, 8 are included, then $8 each.

3. Hardware and device fees. Kiosk tablets, card readers, or terminal fees are often line items separate from the software subscription. Ask specifically whether kiosk mode requires licensed hardware.

4. Setup and onboarding fees. Some vendors charge per-location setup fees. If that fee is $50–$500 per location, 10 locations cost $500–$5,000 before you run a single shift. Ask whether this is included or separate.

5. Annual vs. monthly contract terms. A 12-month commitment with an annual prepay looks cheap per-month but locks you in. Ask what the cancellation policy is and whether you can exit without penalty if the product does not work for your operation.

DohOps Standard is month-to-month, with no long-term contract, no setup fees and no special hardware required. The full pricing detail is at dohops.com/pricing.

DohOps is built on the principle that a multi-unit operator should not pay a fee for every store they run. Every business starts with a 30-day free trial; after that there are two simple plans, Free and Standard, plus Enterprise for 50+ locations:

Free Trial. $0 for 30 days, up to 8 users, unlimited locations. Full feature access. No credit card required. This is not a demo account or a limited preview — it is the full product.

DohOps Free. $0 for your first 6 months. When the trial ends, a business that hasn't subscribed moves to Free: one location, up to 8 users, with scheduling, kiosk and phone time clock, overtime, time off, team messaging, job posts, photo checklists you review yourself, and DohOps AI (30 requests a month). We remind you in months 4, 5 and 6, and 7 days before Free ends; after that, subscribe to Standard or your account becomes read-only: staff can no longer clock in, and you can still export your data.

Standard. $99/month. 8 included users, unlimited locations, then $8/month per additional user; every active employee counts as a user. This is the right tier for most multi-unit operators, with full feature access including GPS time clock, AI Job Assignments, Smart Scheduling, DohOps AI, and the full compliance toolkit. Subscribe during your trial or while you're on Free and your $99/month price is locked for 2 years (extra users are still $8 each).

Enterprise. Custom pricing for operators with 50+ locations. Includes unlimited users, a dedicated onboarding specialist, custom POS integration built on request, response times in your contract (SLA), and volume pricing. Contact sales at sales@dohassist.com or +1-602-750-0711.

There are no per-location fees. No per-device fees. No setup fees. No annual commitment required. The price you see on the pricing page is the price you pay — and opening location 12 adds no location fee; only the people you add change the bill.

Some per-location vendors have a free plan for a single store. As of November 2026, Homebase Basic is $0 for 1 location with up to 10 employees, and 7shifts Comp is $0 for 1 location with up to 15 employees; their paid plans are priced per location.

DohOps Free is for one store too: one location and up to 8 users, free for your first 6 months, after 30 days of the full Standard plan. Start free →

The difference shows when you open store two. On a per-location plan, each new store adds a location charge; on DohOps Standard ($99/month, 8 users included, then $8 per extra user), it adds none — only the people you add change the bill.