Bite
Mandatorya in your POS System at all times. You must also purchase at least one ordering kiosk for your Restaurant. Currently, we have approved the Brink POS System from ParTech, Inc., and Bite Kiosk the cost
From the filings
+6.286% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Charley's Philly Steaks
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Charley's Philly Steaks is controlled at the corporate level, with CEO and founder Charley M. Shin listed as the sole HQ executive in the 2025 FDD. The chain mandates Bite Kiosk and Brink POS across its 813 locations, creating a locked-in tech environment. With 744 franchised units and a 6.3% year-over-year unit growth rate, vendors face a concentrated but expanding addressable market.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
813
744 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+6.286%
vs prior filing
AUV
$911K
Item 19, 2024
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$25K
per unit
Investment range
$202K–$985K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
Claims
from the filing
Ongoing fee load
What the operator pays every month
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
7%of gross sales (FY2025)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
2 of these are mandated in the franchise agreement. Each is named in Item 11 of the filing, the incumbents a challenger must displace or integrate with.
Brink POS
Mandatorytem for us to access and retrieve all data in your POS System at all times. You must also purchase at least one ordering kiosk for your Restaurant. Currently, we have approved the Brink POS System fro
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
22 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 explicit no's; 8 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
There are no contractual limits on our independent access to the information and data generated by your POS System.
How the franchisor buys
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 20
We have a Franchise Advisory Council or “FAC”.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 11
From time to time, we may modify the list of approved types, brands, models and/or suppliers.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
We did not earn any revenue in our last fiscal year from required purchases or leases of products or services by us to our franchisees.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
Several suppliers pay rebates or marketing allowances based on purchases by our franchised and company-owned Charleys Restaurants.
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?
95Item 8
We estimate that your purchases from approved suppliers or from suppliers that we designate, and otherwise under our standards, will be approximately 90% of the total purchases and leases of products and services needed to establish the Restaurant, and approximately 95% of the total purchases and leases of products…
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We have the right to charge reasonable fees to cover our costs, which we estimate will be between $1,500 and $2,000.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you want to use an alternate supplier, you must make a written request to us for approval.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
notify the telephone company and all telephone directory publishers of the termination or expiration of your right to use any telephone number and any regular, classified or other telephone directory listings associated with any Mark and to authorize transfer of the number to us or at our direction
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
We have the right at any time during business hours, and without prior notice to you, to inspect, copy and audit the books, records, tax returns and documents relating to the development, ownership, lease, occupancy or operation of the Restaurant.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
We may modify the Operations Manual from time to time to reflect changes in standards, specifications and operating procedures, provided no addition or modification may alter your fundamental status and rights under this Agreement.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
Before you acquire, by lease or purchase, any site for a Restaurant, you must submit to us for acceptance within 180 days after signing the Franchise Agreement (the “Site Selection Period”) a complete site application form for the Charleys Restaurant that you propose to operate and that you in good faith believe to…
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 promote, offer or sell any products or services relating to your Restaurant, nor use any of the Marks, through the Internet, any Web site or any other similar future technological avenues without our consent, which consent may be withheld for any reason or no reason.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 7
Prior to the opening of your Restaurant, you must purchase a grand opening marketing kit from our approved vendors with an estimated cost ranging from $7,000 to $10,000.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 11
If, in any fiscal year, you spend less than the required amount for the Restaurant for authorized LSM expenditures, you must contribute the difference between the required amount and the amount actually spent in that fiscal year to the Marketing Fund within 110 days after demand for payment is sent to you.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
Your Restaurant may use and/or offer for sale only food products, beverages, ingredients, uniforms, packaging materials, menus, forms, labels, equipment and other supplies and other products and services that conform to our specifications and quality standards and/or are purchased from suppliers we approve (which may…
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You may purchase or lease approved types, brands, or models of fixtures, furniture, equipment, signs, supplies and installation services only from suppliers approved by us.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
you shall establish a designated bank account from which we shall be authorized to withdraw in any manner which we prescribe (including electronic transfer of funds), any amounts due to us or our Affiliates from you under this Agreement, including royalty fees and Marketing Fund contributions.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 11
You must maintain a competent, conscientious, trained staff in numbers sufficient to promptly service customers, including specified positions and minimum staffing levels that we may establish from time to time in the Operations Manual.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must record all sales on POS Systems designated or approved by us.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
There are no contractual limits on our independent access to the information and data generated by your POS System.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We may require you (or your Operating Partner) and your employees to attend and successfully complete other training courses, quality assurance programs, conferences (including annual conferences) and seminars at such locations as we may designate (“Ongoing Training”).
The filing answers no to 4 questions
- Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
- Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?Item 11
Who buys here
The buyer at this brand
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.
HQ committee: CEO/President + VP Ops + IT/CIO + Franchise + procurement involved.
VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
- 41.9% of quick service brands mandate no POS system, leaving a massive blind spot in your target list.By instantly identifying the 452 brands with no POS mandate, you replace weeks of manual FDD research and focus your pipeline on high-fit displacement targets, cutting customer acquisition cost by over 60%.
- 82.3% of brands mandate no accounting system, signaling a wide-open market for tech vendors.FranCloud surfaces the 888 brands without an accounting mandate so your team can prioritize outreach before competitors even know they exist, turning a manual research cost center into a predictable revenue engine.
- Only 17 out of 1,079 quick service brands mandate a CRM, yet unit counts and AUVs prove these are high-value accounts.Instead of spending 40+ hours manually combing FDDs to find CRM-needy brands, FranCloud delivers the 17 mandate-holders and their financials in one query, letting your team close deals 10x faster.
The vendor opportunity at Charley's Philly Steaks
Charley's Philly Steaks operates 813 quick-service restaurants across the United States, with 744 franchised and 69 company-owned locations. The brand posted an average unit volume (AUV) of $911,062 and grew its unit count by 6.286% year-over-year, signaling a healthy, expanding system. For software vendors, the addressable market is the full 813-unit footprint, though the franchisor's centralized control over technology decisions means the sales cycle runs through a single HQ buyer rather than a fragmented operator base.
The operator footprint is overwhelmingly single-unit: of 730 mapped operators, 720 run just one location, and only 10 operate 2–9 units. No operator controls 10 or more locations. This structure reinforces HQ's role as the gatekeeper for technology adoption. Geographically, the brand clusters in Texas (140 units), Florida (90), Ohio (79), California (67), and Maryland (40), giving vendors clear regional density for implementation planning.
Who controls software purchasing
The 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document identifies Charley M. Shin as CEO and founder, and no other executives are listed in Item 1. This suggests a lean HQ where technology purchasing authority likely resides with the founder or a small leadership team reporting directly to him. Vendors should prepare for a direct, relationship-driven sales process rather than navigating a layered IT procurement department. No CIO, CTO, or VP of Technology is named in the FDD, so initial outreach should target the CEO's office or inquire about the operational leadership structure during discovery.
Mandated and current tech stack
Charley's Philly Steaks mandates two technology systems across its network: Bite Kiosk for self-service ordering and Brink POS System for point-of-sale operations. These mandates are disclosed in the FDD and represent the core operational tech stack. No other software vendors are named in the available data, meaning areas like inventory management, labor scheduling, loyalty, or delivery integration may be open for vendor evaluation—or may be handled by undisclosed systems. The presence of mandated kiosk and POS systems indicates a franchisor willing to enforce technology standards, which can accelerate adoption once a vendor secures HQ approval.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the brand's supplier model—whether designated, approved, or open—is not publicly disclosed. Vendors will need to clarify during initial conversations whether Charley's Philly Steaks requires franchisees to buy from specific suppliers or allows approved alternatives.
On contract timing, Item 17 provides a useful signal. Franchise agreements run for an initial term of 10 years, with renewals granted for shorter periods. To renew, franchisees must give 180 days' prior notice, sign a new franchise agreement, execute a general release, pay a renewal fee, and complete a restaurant remodel. Critically, the new agreement may contain terms materially different from the original. This renewal cycle—and the potential for renegotiated terms—creates natural windows when franchisees and the franchisor may reevaluate technology commitments. Vendors should map renewal cohorts and engage HQ well before these 180-day notice periods begin.
How to read the Charley's Philly Steaks FDD
The full 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below for your review. Focus on Item 1 for executive contacts, Item 11 for franchisor-mandated systems, Item 8 for procurement restrictions, and Item 17 for renewal and transfer triggers that can open technology evaluation windows. The FDD is filed with state franchise regulators and represents the most current public disclosure available. For a ranked target list of franchise brands matched to your software category, reach out to FranCloud.
Questions vendors ask
Charley's Philly Steaks, answered from the filing
The 2025 FDD lists only Charley M. Shin as CEO and founder. No CIO or VP of IT is named, suggesting purchasing authority sits with the founder's office.
The FDD mandates Bite Kiosk for self-service ordering and Brink POS System for point-of-sale. No other operational tech vendors are disclosed.
813 total units as of the 2025 FDD: 744 franchised and 69 company-owned. The brand operates in the quick-service restaurant segment.
The 2025 FDD does not disclose a designated or approved supplier list in Item 8. The procurement model is not specified in the available data.
Renewal requires 180 days' notice and a new franchise agreement with potentially different terms. The initial term is 10 years, with renewals for shorter periods.
The 2025 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can view the embedded PDF viewer below to review the full document.
Source
Read the filing itself
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
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Charley's Philly Steaks files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
785 operators run 803 mapped locations. 10 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit775
2–9 units10
Top states by locations
| TX | 141 |
|---|---|
| FL | 94 |
| OH | 93 |
| CA | 78 |
| MD | 41 |
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.