Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase and use any operations software and any accounting software that we specify.
From the filings
Software purchasing at Chaps Pit Beef is controlled by a tight executive team led by CEO Donna Creager and COO Robert Creager. The brand mandates the Delaware Business System (DBS) across its small but growing footprint of 6 total units, 4 of which are franchised. With a 10-year initial term and a 6% royalty, vendors face a concentrated, HQ-driven sales cycle.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ongoing fee load
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
7%of gross sales (FY2022)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
26 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 5 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase and use any operations software and any accounting software that we specify.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We will have independent access to the information and data collected by and produced by your Computer System and all email communications sent to or from any email accounts we provide; there is no contractual limitation on our right to access this information and data.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesItem 17
You have 30 days to cure defaults not listed defaults as having no cure period under Section 14.2 and Section 14.3, including failure to file reports or financial statements;
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
As described above, we are currently the sole designated supplier to our franchisees for uniform shirts and hats and poster graphics and decals.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We may revoke our approval of previously designated or approved suppliers and designate new or replacement designated or approved suppliers by written or electronic communication or through changes in the Manual.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
1574Item 8
In 2021, we received $1,574 in revenue from purchases made by franchisees for the purchase of uniform shirts and hats, amounting to 0.38% of our total revenues of $410,111 reported on our audited financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2021.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and our affiliates currently have arrangements with certain suppliers in which we or our affiliate receive rebates and incentives of 2% to 9% of certain franchisee purchases.
Item 8 gives this proportion in one of two shapes: separate percentages for establishing the business and for operating it, or one figure covering "establishing and operating" together. Where they are separate, answer with the operating percentage; where the passage gives only the combined figure, answer with that. What percentage of the franchisee's purchases must come from designated or approved suppliers?
50Item 8
If you purchase a franchise to operate a Restaurant, you can expect that your source restricted purchases will represent approximately 70%-80% of your initial investment and between 50%-60% of your overall purchases during the operation of the franchise business.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We will have the right to charge you a reasonable fee equal to the costs that we incur for making such determination.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
You may request approval of an alternate supplier under the Manual or other published procedures, which include inspection of the proposed supplier’s facilities and testing of product samples.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
transfer if we request or otherwise cancel telephone numbers, directory listings, Internet numbers, domain names and email addresses
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
We will have the right to enter the premises to perform quality assurance inspections (announced or unannounced), to inspect and make any modifications we deem necessary to protect the Marks and to insure compliance with any other obligations you have to us under the Franchise Agreement;
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 11
We may modify the Manual as and when we desire, but no modification will materially alter your status and rights under the Franchise Agreement (Franchise Agreement, Section 3.2).
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You must select, and we must approve in writing, an acceptable site within 90 days of the date of the Franchise Agreement.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 11
You may not maintain a World Wide Web site, conduct e-commerce, or otherwise maintain a presence or advertise on the Internet or any other public computer network in connection with your Restaurant without our prior written approval, which we may withhold for any reason or no reason.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 7
You must spend a minimum of $2,500, or a greater minimum amount up to $5,000, that we determine, based upon your Restaurant and its location.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 11
you will offer and redeem (or not redeem) gift certificates and gift cards and stored value cards, maintain a loyalty card program and a credit card acceptance policy and comply with our rules regarding any branded credit card presented by customers of your Restaurant, according to our rules and specifications and at…
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
We currently have one designated distributor that supplies you with meats, poultry, fish, our proprietary Chaps BBQ Spice and other food items.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We currently require that you purchase or lease certain items or services from only one designated supplier.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
The Royalty Fee shall be payable each Tuesday for the prior week's business, and we may deduct the Royalty Fee from your account pursuant to your authorization as described in Section 7.10 below.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 11
To address customer desires and expectations, you will offer and redeem (or not redeem) gift certificates and gift cards and stored value cards, maintain a loyalty card program and a credit card acceptance policy and comply with our rules regarding any branded credit card presented by customers of your Restaurant…
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
You must employ a full-time General Manager who will oversee the operation of your Restaurant, including marketing and promotion, basic maintenance, scheduling, inventory, control the controllable costs, budget sales, and oversee training of all of your employees working in your Restaurant.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
As described above, we are currently the sole designated supplier to our franchisees for uniform shirts and hats and poster graphics and decals.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must use an operations computer and Point-of-Sale (POS) system (“Computer System”) including all necessary computer hardware, accessories or peripheral equipment, software programs, systems documentation manuals, and other related materials, firmware, telecommunications infrastructure products, credit card, gift…
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We will have independent, unlimited access to all information inputted to and/or compiled by your Computer System and any other systems or any off site server.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We will provide additional guidance and assistance at an additional cost to you, at a rate of $750.00 per day per representative, plus travel, lodging, meals and incidental costs.
Who buys here
The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.
The franchisee/operator personally, or a small franchisor still owner-run. Wears every hat.
Chaps Pit Beef is a quick-service restaurant brand headquartered in Maryland, specializing in pit beef sandwiches. The system is small, with only 6 total units—2 company-owned and 4 franchised—according to the 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document. No year-over-year unit growth rate is disclosed, and the brand does not report an average unit volume (AUV) in its FDD. For software vendors, the addressable market is limited to these 6 locations, all of which appear to operate under tight HQ control. The royalty rate is 6%, and the initial franchise term runs 10 years. While the unit count is modest, the centralized decision-making structure means a single successful pitch to HQ can cover the entire system.
Software purchasing authority sits with the executive team at Chaps Pit Beef. The 2022 FDD lists Donna Creager as Chief Executive Officer and Robert Creager as Chief Operating Officer. These two individuals are the most likely final decision-makers for any technology investment. Supporting them are Marvin Parker, Director of Brand Operations, and Natalie N. Rayner, Director of Operations, who would typically evaluate operational tools. Jennifer (Jeffrey) Conway serves as Director of Finance and Executive Assistant, a dual role that likely places them at the center of budget approvals and vendor communications. No parent company is on file, so the brand appears independently owned, with no external corporate layer influencing tech purchases.
The only mandated technology disclosed in the 2022 FDD is the Delaware Business System (DBS). This system is required for all franchisees, covering core operational functions. The FDD does not specify whether DBS handles point-of-sale, back-office, inventory, or a combination of these. No other mandated or recommended systems are named. Vendors offering complementary solutions—such as payroll, scheduling, loyalty, or delivery integration—should note that any new software must either integrate with DBS or replace it entirely, which would require a system-wide mandate change driven by HQ.
Item 8 of the FDD does not provide an extract describing the brand’s procurement model. It is not publicly known whether Chaps Pit Beef uses designated suppliers, an approved supplier list, or an open purchasing framework. Vendors should clarify this directly with the finance or operations team during initial outreach. On renewals, Item 17 outlines two identical 5-year successor terms. To renew, a franchisee must provide notice, have no material default, maintain rights to occupy the restaurant, sign a new franchise agreement, pay the initial franchise fee, refurbish or relocate if necessary, and sign a release. These conditions suggest that major technology decisions are likely revisited around renewal windows. With a 10-year initial term and the most recent FDD filed in 2022, the earliest renewal-driven tech evaluations for current franchisees could begin several years from now, though new unit openings or system-wide upgrades may create earlier opportunities.
The full 2022 Chaps Pit Beef Franchise Disclosure Document is available below. This PDF contains the legal and operational disclosures that govern the franchise relationship, including Item 11 (franchisor’s obligations) and Item 17 (renewal, termination, transfer). Software vendors should pay close attention to any technology mandates, approved supplier lists, and the named executives in Item 1, as these are the people who control purchasing. The FDD was filed with state franchise regulators in 2022 and remains the most current public source of information on the brand’s tech stack and procurement rules. For a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your software, talk to FranCloud.
Questions vendors ask
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment Chaps Pit Beef files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
4 operators run 4 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| MD | 2 |
|---|---|
| PA | 1 |
| DE | 1 |
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.