Aloha
Mandatorye deem necessary to protect our interests, and you agree to pay such license, training, and maintenance fee as we deem reasonably appropriate. Currently, we require you to use the Aloha POS system (ve
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Checkers Drive-In Restaurants
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Checkers Drive-In Restaurants is centrally controlled, with mandates flowing from the HQ in Florida. The chain already requires Aloha POS by NCR Voyix, Xenial, and Olo across its system. With 499 franchised locations and 220 company-owned units, vendors are looking at a 719-unit addressable market where compliance with the mandated tech stack is non-negotiable.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
719
499 franchised
Unit growth YoY
—
vs prior filing
AUV
$1.14M
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
4%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2.65%
national + local
Initial fee
$30K
per unit
Investment range
$214K–$2.10M
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.
6.65%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
4 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.
NCR Aloha
Mandatorying from $190 to $370 for ongoing costs, which includes costs related to the Aloha Command and Configuration Center ($123) and Menu Management services ($95). If you choose to use Aloha’s Connected Pa
Olo
Mandatoryer Ahead Program, you must only offer the Order Ahead Products we authorize and use the service providers that we appoint. Currently, we require that you use our preferred vendor, Olo, if you enter th
Xenial
Mandatorywe deem reasonably appropriate. Currently, we require you to use the Aloha POS system (version 19 or higher) and an integrated restaurant management system owned by Xenial, Inc. (“Xenial”). The Aloha
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 2 explicit no's; 7 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 record all sales on electronic cash registers designated or approved by us.
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 data generated by your computer-based cash registers and there are no contractual limits on our access to your data.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You must furnish us: (a) no later than the fifth (5th) day following the end of each Bi-weekly Period, a report of Net Sales for such Bi-weekly Period; (b) no later than the fifteenth (15th) day following the end of each calendar month, an income statement and statement of cash flow for the Franchised Restaurant for…
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
Currently, we are not an approved supplier for any items except that we may from time to time sell used modular restaurants and restaurant equipment to Checkers and Rally’s franchisees.
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 11
However, because we value input from the franchise network, we (and/or NPF, Inc.) may choose to seek such advice from operators of Restaurants, and so have established a Franchisee Advisory Council that includes a marketing subcommittee.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We may modify the list of approved brands and/or suppliers.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and our affiliates may receive revenues from required purchases and leases of products and services by franchisees.
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 the ongoing cost of these required purchases and leases to be in excess of 95% of your total ongoing operating expenses.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesFranchise agreement
We may impose reasonable inspection and supervision fees on you to cover our costs associated with evaluating any proposed supplier or item you request us to consider approving for use by the Franchised Restaurant or the System.
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
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to abide by (i) the Payment Card Industry (“PCI”) Data Security Standards enacted by the applicable Card Associations (as they may be modified at any time and from time to time or as successor standards are adopted); and (ii) all other security standards and guidelines that may be published at any time and…
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
We and our designated agents have the right at any reasonable time and without prior notice to: (a) inspect the Franchised Restaurant; (b) observe, photograph, audio-tape and/or video tape the operations of the Franchised Restaurant;
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
We may modify Operations Manual at any time and 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?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to obtain our written approval of the Franchised Restaurant’s proposed site before signing any lease, sublease, or other document for the site.
Marketing
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesFranchise agreement
We require you to spend a minimum of four and one-half percent (4.5%) of Net Sales during each of your fiscal quarters on advertising and promoting the Franchised Restaurant
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 8
You must issue and honor/redeem gift certificates, coupons, and gift, loyalty, and affinity cards for Restaurants and participate in, and comply with the requirements of, our gift card and other customer loyalty, affinity, and similar programs.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
You must participate in such advertising cooperative and its programs (other than price advertising, as to which you may choose not to participate) and abide by its by-laws.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase or lease approved types, brands, or models of fixtures, furniture, equipment, signs and supplies only from suppliers we approve.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase or lease only those types, brands and models of fixtures, furniture, equipment (including modular buildings), signs and supplies that we approve for Restaurants as meeting our specifications and standards.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree, at our request, to sign an electronic payment authorization agreement in a form we prescribe that authorizes us to automatically debit your bank account, on the dates payments are due, for any royalty fees, rents, the Initial Advertising Deposit and other amounts due and owing under this Agreement and any…
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 8
You must issue and honor/redeem gift certificates, coupons, and gift, loyalty, and affinity cards for Restaurants and participate in, and comply with the requirements of, our gift card and other customer loyalty, affinity, and similar programs.
People
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
You will use in the development and operation of the Franchised Restaurant and/or offer for sale at the Franchised Restaurant only food products, beverages, ingredients, uniforms, packaging materials, menus, forms, labels, equipment, smallwares and other supplies and other products and services that conform to our…
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 electronic cash registers designated or approved by us.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We will have independent access to the data generated by your computer-based cash registers and there are no contractual limits on our access to your data.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We may charge fees for additional attendees and for you and your personnel attending any additional training programs, whether optional or mandatory.
The filing answers no to 2 questions
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Franchise agreement
- Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?Franchise agreement
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 Checkers
Checkers Drive-In Restaurants operates 719 quick-service locations across the United States, with 499 franchised units and 220 company-owned stores. The brand’s average unit volume sits at $1,136,589, and franchisees pay a 4.0% royalty under a 20-year initial term. For software vendors, the addressable market is the full system—but the path in runs through a headquarters that already mandates a specific, integrated tech stack.
The operator base is heavily multi-unit. Of roughly 500 mapped operators, 320 run multiple locations, and 28 control 25 or more units. The geographic footprint concentrates in Kentucky (481 units), Michigan (461), Georgia (391), Indiana (327), and Florida (137). This density means a vendor who wins approval can see rapid deployment across clusters of stores controlled by a relatively small number of franchisees.
Who controls software purchasing
Technology decisions at Checkers are made at the corporate level. The 2026 FDD lists Chris Tebben as Chief Executive Officer and President, Michael Blair as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and Dave Pelletier as Chief Operating Officer. No separate Chief Information Officer or Chief Technology Officer is disclosed. In practice, the CEO, COO, and CSO/CFO are the likely buying center for enterprise software, with operations and finance jointly evaluating any tool that touches store-level systems, payments, or supply chain.
Chief Marketing Officer Scott Johnson and Chief Supply Chain Officer Gina Rendar round out the C-suite. Vendors selling marketing technology, loyalty platforms, or supply-chain software should note those names. The absence of a named CIO in the FDD does not mean the function is absent—it simply means the role is not disclosed in Item 1. Expect a structured, top-down evaluation process where the franchisor tests and mandates systems before franchisees adopt them.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2026 FDD is explicit about technology requirements. Franchisees must use Aloha POS by NCR Voyix, running version 19 or higher, along with Aloha’s Connected Payment service. The Xenial integrated restaurant management system is also mandated, as is Olo for digital ordering. This is a locked-down, multi-vendor stack that covers point-of-sale, payments, back-of-house management, and off-premise ordering.
For a software vendor, this means any new tool must either integrate with Aloha, Xenial, and Olo or replace one of them outright—the latter being a far heavier lift. The mandate structure signals that Checkers HQ values system-wide consistency and is willing to enforce it through the franchise agreement. Vendors who can demonstrate seamless interoperability with the existing stack will have a shorter path to adoption than those proposing a rip-and-replace.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The 2026 FDD does not include an Item 8 extract detailing procurement rules. Without that disclosure, it is not possible to confirm whether Checkers uses a designated-supplier model, an approved-supplier list, or an open procurement framework. The technology mandates strongly imply a designated-supplier approach for POS, payments, and digital ordering, but the formal procurement language is not available in the current filing.
Franchise agreements run for 20 years initially. At renewal, franchisees may be granted either one 10-year term or one 20-year term under the then-current franchise agreement, which can include terms materially different from the original contract. This renewal structure creates natural inflection points where the franchisor can introduce new technology requirements. Vendors should monitor the renewal cycle and any updates to the franchise agreement that signal new mandates or approved-vendor expansions.
How to read the Checkers FDD
The Franchise Disclosure Document is the single best source of truth on a franchise brand’s technology requirements, procurement rules, and decision-making structure. Item 11 lists the mandated systems—here, Aloha POS, Aloha Connected Payment, Xenial, and Olo. Item 1 names the executives who control purchasing. Item 17 spells out renewal terms that can force technology change across the system.
Use the embedded PDF viewer below to review the full 2026 filing. Pay particular attention to any amendments or state-specific addenda that may modify the standard technology requirements. For vendors building a target account list, FranCloud can rank franchise systems by technology mandate strength, unit count, and decision-maker accessibility—turning FDD data into a prioritized sales pipeline.
Questions vendors ask
Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, answered from the filing
The C-suite controls technology decisions. Key executives include CEO Chris Tebben, COO Dave Pelletier, and Chief Strategy Officer/CFO Michael Blair. No separate CIO is listed in the 2026 FDD.
Franchisees must run Aloha POS version 19 or higher by NCR Voyix, use Aloha’s Connected Payment service, the Xenial integrated restaurant management system, and Olo for digital ordering.
The 2026 FDD reports 719 total units: 499 franchised and 220 company-owned. The brand is concentrated in Kentucky (481), Michigan (461), Georgia (391), Indiana (327), and Florida (137).
The 2026 FDD does not disclose a specific Item 8 procurement structure. The franchisor’s technology mandates suggest a designated-supplier approach for core systems, but exact purchasing rules are not extracted.
Franchise agreements run 20 years initially. Renewals may be granted for one 10-year or one 20-year term under the then-current agreement, which can include materially different terms—creating potential renegotiation windows.
The 2026 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can review it using the embedded PDF viewer below for full details on Item 11 tech mandates, Item 17 renewals, and executive disclosures.
Source
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Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
600 operators run 3,454 mapped locations. 320 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit280
2–9 units214
10–24 units78
25+ units28
Top states by locations
| KY | 481 |
|---|---|
| MI | 461 |
| GA | 412 |
| IN | 344 |
| CA | 139 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Checkers Drive-In Restaurants
strategic_multibrand of Checkers Drive-In Restaurants.
Sibling brands
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.