From the filings
Software purchasing at Chicken Salad Chick is not directed by a centralized IT mandate, based on the 2022 FDD. The franchisor has not disclosed any required or recommended technology systems, meaning buying authority likely rests with individual franchisees or a lean HQ team. With 205 total units and 16.8% year-over-year growth, the addressable market for vendors is expanding quickly.
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
19 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 1 explicit no; 14 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
We will have independent, unlimited access to all transaction details for sales, financial marketing, management, and other business information maintained on your computer system.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
The only products/services for which we or our affiliates currently are designated or approved suppliers are the grand opening marketing services provided by CSC Affiliate for which you pay a lump sum amount when you sign the Franchise Agreement.
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 11
We currently have a marketing advisory committee made up of 5 franchisees that advises us on advertising and marketing matters for our system.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
In 2022, CSC Affiliate received a total of $1,060,048 from our approved suppliers on account of purchases made by both franchised and affiliate-owned Restaurants.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
Except as noted above, you have the right to purchase required products and services from outside suppliers and distributors if such products and services conform in quality to our standards and specifications and we determine that the supplier’s or distributor’s business reputation, quality standards, delivery…
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
and assign telephone numbers.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
independently determining what is required for you to comply (and then complying) at all times with the most current version of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards
Franchise management
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 8
We have the right to modify our written standards and specifications and you must comply with any modifications.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You may not construct, develop, and operate the Restaurant at a site that we have not formally accepted.
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 8
CSC Affiliate has the sole right to determine how this grand opening money is spent for your Restaurant.
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
You must conduct local advertising in the form, content, and media we approve and spend a minimum of 1% of your monthly Gross Sales.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 8
You must participate in, and comply with the requirements of, our gift/loyalty/stored-value card and other customer loyalty programs.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
You must participate in such advertising cooperative and its programs (other than price advertising in which you may choose not to participate if we have not unilaterally chosen to regulate your prices to the extent permitted by law) and abide by its bylaws.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
You must authorize us to debit your bank account automatically for the amounts due under the Franchise Agreement or otherwise.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
The Restaurant must have a dedicated General Manager and/or Manager at the Restaurant every day (if the Operating Partner will not operate the Restaurant on-site each day).
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase from suppliers and distributors we approve in writing those foods, food items, beverages, recipe ingredients, goods, products, supplies, sundries, uniforms, machinery, signs, furniture, fixtures, equipment, and services that we determine must meet minimum standards of quality and uniformity in order…
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase or lease the computer/technology hardware and peripherals we require that will serve as your point-of-sale transaction and technology systems
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 transaction details for sales, financial marketing, management, and other business information maintained on your computer system.
Training
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 11
You, your Operating Partner, your manager or 1 of your key employees must also attend our conferences, whether conducted annually or otherwise, at no charge to you.
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.
HQ leadership: CEO/President + VP Ops/Franchise + a first dedicated IT/systems owner.
Chicken Salad Chick operates 205 total units as of its 2022 FDD, with 153 franchised and 52 company-owned locations. The brand reported average unit volume of $1,293,304 and year-over-year unit growth of 16.8%. Its footprint spans at least five states, with the largest concentrations in Louisiana (4 units), Georgia (3), and Tennessee (2), plus single units in Ohio and Indiana. For software vendors, this represents a small but fast-growing account base where new unit openings create recurring sales opportunities.
The operator landscape is highly fragmented. The FDD maps 13 franchise operators, all single-unit owners; no multi-unit operators appear in the 2–9, 10–24, or 25+ unit bands. This structure means vendors must sell to individual owner-operators rather than a centralized multi-unit buyer. The absence of a parent company or private equity sponsor further suggests that purchasing decisions are made locally or by a lean headquarters team.
The 2022 FDD does not name a chief information officer, chief technology officer, or VP of technology. Scott Deviney is listed as the registered agent in Item 1, but no other HQ executives with technology or procurement titles are disclosed. Without a visible IT leadership layer, software purchasing authority likely sits with the franchisees themselves or with an unlisted operations executive at the franchisor level. Vendors should prepare for a mixed or decentralized buying process and may need to engage both the franchisor for endorsement and individual operators for adoption.
Chicken Salad Chick’s 2022 FDD does not identify any mandated or recommended technology systems. No POS provider, back-office platform, inventory management tool, or delivery integration is named. This absence of a prescribed tech stack means the brand’s technology environment is either undefined at the franchisor level or left entirely to franchisee discretion. For vendors, this creates a greenfield opportunity: there is no incumbent to displace, but also no centralized procurement channel to leverage.
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the franchisor’s supplier model—whether designated, approved, or open—is not disclosed. This lack of clarity means vendors should clarify early in the sales process whether the franchisor imposes any supplier restrictions or preferred-vendor programs.
Renewal terms offer a long horizon. The franchise agreement provides for three 10-year renewal options, contingent on written notice, complete renovation of premises, no default, satisfaction of all monetary obligations, right to the premises, signing the then-current franchise agreement, a release (subject to state law), meeting current qualifications and training, and payment of a renewal fee. With 10-year initial terms and three potential renewals, the franchisee lifecycle spans up to 40 years. Contract windows for software may open during new unit onboarding, renovation cycles tied to renewals, or when operators seek efficiency gains independently.
The embedded PDF viewer below contains the full 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (the franchisor and any parents or affiliates), Item 8 (restrictions on sources of products and services), Item 11 (franchisor’s obligations, including any required technology), and Item 17 (renewal, termination, and transfer). Because no technology systems are mandated in this FDD, Item 11 is notably silent on software requirements—a fact that itself informs your pitch strategy. For a ranked target list of franchise brands with the highest software-sales potential, FranCloud can help.
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.
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FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment Chicken Salad Chick files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
168 operators run 168 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| GA | 47 |
|---|---|
| TX | 18 |
| AL | 17 |
| TN | 14 |
| VA | 13 |
Ownership
strategic_multibrand of Simply Southern Restaurant Group.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.