tem, and Computer Equipment – Currently you are required to purchase, license and utilize a Square point of sale system with two configured hardware terminals and you must utilize QuickBooks Online. A
From the filings
Contender eSports
Youth servicesSoftware purchasing decisions at Contender eSports flow through HQ executives, notably CEO Brett Payne and Director Dan Wirtz, per the 2023 FDD. The system currently mandates QuickBooks Online and operates 14 franchised locations, with 55.6% year-over-year unit growth signaling a rapidly expanding, albeit still small, addressable market for software vendors.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
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.
8%of gross sales (FY2023)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
1 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.
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
26 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 2 explicit no's; 6 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?
YesFranchise agreement
At all times, Franchisee shall provide and permit Franchisor to maintain direct and independent access to the Business Management System and Franchisee shall electronically transfer and transmit to Franchisor all Business Management System Data;
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
within 60 days of the end of each calendar month Franchisee shall submit to Franchisor monthly financial statements and other reports related to the operations of the Franchised business including, but not limited to, income statement, statement of cash flows, balance sheet, and other operational reports designated…
How the franchisor buys
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor, in Franchisor’s Reasonable Business Judgment, may from time to time modify the list of approved brands, suppliers and distributors of System Supplies and approved equipment, supplies and services to be utilized by the Franchised Business
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, we did not earn any revenue from approved suppliers based on our franchisees’ purchases.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and/or our affiliates may receive rebates, payments and other material benefits from suppliers based on your purchases and we reserve the right to institute and expand rebate programs in the future.
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?
75Item 8
We estimate that your purchase of goods and services from suppliers according to our specifications, including your purchase of goods or services from our designated exclusive suppliers, to represent approximately 75% of your total purchases and leases in establishing the Franchised Business and approximately 75% of…
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We may charge you a fee equal to the costs and expenses that we incur in reviewing and evaluating an alternate supplier, product, and/or service requested by you.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you want to purchase or lease a source restricted item from a supplier that has not been previously approved or designated by us in writing, you must send us a written request for approval and submit additional information, samples, and testing data that we may request.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
In the event of the termination of this Agreement, for any reason, that the accounts related to all telephone numbers associated with the Franchised Business and all rights in and to the telephone numbers associated with the Franchised Business, shall, at Franchisor’s election, be transferred to Franchisor.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right at any and all times during business hours, throughout the terms of this Agreement and without prior notice to Franchisee, to inspect Franchisee’s Gaming Center.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 11
At all times, we reserve the right to supplement, modify and update the Manuals.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
Before you enter into a lease or other agreement for your Gaming Center Location you must obtain our approval.
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 use any websites, web-based media or digital media unless expressly approved by us in writing.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 7
You must spend a minimum of $5,000 prior to the opening your Gaming Center to promote your grand opening.
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
On an on-going calendar year quarterly basis, you must spend not less than 2% of your quarterly Gross Sales on the local marketing of your Gaming Center.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesFranchise agreement
customer service and satisfaction standards including, customer rewards programs, refund policies, gift card policies, special promotions and other customer incentive and goodwill programs
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
If Franchisee’s Gaming Center or Designated Territory is located within the geographic area of an Advertising Cooperative, franchisee must participate in and contribute to the Advertising Cooperative.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase the System Supplies, as designated by us, from us, our affiliates, and/or our designated suppliers.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You may only use those products, supplies, equipment, technology systems, and services that we authorize and designate in writing.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 6
You must install and use, at your expense, the pre-authorized payment, point of sale, credit card processing, automatic payment, automated banking, electronic debit and/or electronic funds transfer systems that we designate and require in the operation of your Gaming Center.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
At all times, your Gaming Center must be managed and supervised on-site by either a Managing Owner or Operating Manager.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
For the protection of the System, you must ensure that all employees wear and maintain the proper uniforms with our approved System branded apparel and uniforms including, but not limited to, the apparel and uniforms comprising System Supplies.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
Currently you are required to purchase, license and utilize a Square point of sale system with two configured hardware terminals and you must utilize QuickBooks Online.
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 all of the information and data that is electronically transmitted on your point of sale system and will have access to all data related to the financial performance of your Gaming Center.
Sales and CRM
Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
“Business Management System” refers to and means the software, internet, web based and/or cloud based system or systems, point of sale system or systems and customer relationship management system or systems as same may be individually, or collectively, designated by Franchisor, in Franchisor’s Reasonable Business…
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right to assess Franchisee reasonable charges for such training.
The filing answers no to 2 questions
- Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
- Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?Item 11
The vendor opportunity at Contender eSports
Contender eSports presents a niche but dynamic target for software vendors. The franchise system, operating in the youth-services segment, reported 14 total units in its 2023 FDD—all of them franchised. CEO Brett Payne and Director Dan Wirtz lead the organization from its Missouri headquarters. The brand’s 55.6% year-over-year unit growth from the prior period signals a system in active expansion mode, meaning new-location technology decisions are being made now. Unit-level average volume figures are not disclosed in the most recent FDD, but the 6.0% royalty rate on gross revenue and 10-year initial terms provide a stable, long-tail revenue profile for vendors who win the business.
Who controls software purchasing
With only 14 units and no operators mapped in our corpus, software purchasing authority likely sits entirely with the franchisor. The 2023 FDD Item 1 identifies Brett Payne as Chief Executive Officer and Dan Wirtz as Director. In a system of this size, these two executives are the default buying center for any technology that touches franchise operations, financial reporting, or member management. There is no CIO, CTO, or dedicated IT buyer listed, meaning your pitch must resonate with a general-management audience focused on scalability and ease of deployment across a growing network. No parent company is on file; Contender eSports appears independently owned, so no corporate parent will override these decision-makers.
Mandated and current tech stack
The technology landscape inside Contender eSports is largely open, with one notable exception: the franchisor mandates QuickBooks Online. This mandate, disclosed in the 2023 FDD, means any accounting-adjacent software—from budgeting tools to payroll or FP&A platforms—must integrate cleanly with QuickBooks Online. Beyond accounting, the FDD does not name any mandated point-of-sale, scheduling, customer relationship management, or esports-specific platform. For vendors selling POS, member management, or tournament-bracket software, this absence is a greenfield opportunity. However, because the procurement model is not extractable from the available Item 8 data, you must clarify during discovery whether Contender eSports maintains an approved-vendor list or allows franchisees to choose their own tools.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The 2023 FDD does not provide an extract for Item 8, so the formal procurement model remains unknown. What is known, from Item 17, is that renewal requires 180 days' prior written notice, compliance with the current Franchise Agreement, execution of a general release, a renewal fee, and a potential remodel of the Gaming Center to meet then-current standards. The renewal term is 10 years. Because the brand is young and expanding quickly, many franchisees are likely in the early years of their initial agreements. The most immediate software entry points will be the onboarding of new franchisees as units open, rather than large-scale renewal-driven tech swaps. When those renewal windows do begin to open a decade from signing, the requirement to remodel and upgrade provides a natural moment for technology overhauls.
How to read the Contender eSports FDD
The 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document is your primary source for verifying every claim and uncovering additional sales triggers. Pay close attention to Item 11 for any updated technology mandates beyond QuickBooks Online, and scrutinize Item 8 if a later amendment clarifies the procurement model. Item 17 gives you the precise timeline and conditions that govern renewal, which is when multi-unit technology decisions often get made. The embedded PDF below contains the full document. Use it to confirm the executive team, unit counts, and any franchisee territory maps that may influence your deployment strategy.
For a ranked target list of franchise systems by technology need and expansion velocity, reach out to FranCloud.
Questions vendors ask
Contender eSports, answered from the filing
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Contender eSports files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Contender eSports’s FDD on file does not disclose a franchisee directory.
Related Youth services brands
Primary franchise filings · updated August 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.