Facebook
and novelty items, signs, boxes, napkins, bags and wrapping papers, to Cousins or its designee for approval prior to use. A franchisee may utilize a social media website (such as Facebook®) approved b
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Cousins Subs Systems
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Cousins Subs Systems is controlled at the corporate headquarters in Wisconsin, where CEO Christine A. Specht-Palmert and President Jason Westhoff lead a lean executive team. The chain mandates specific point-of-sale system terminals across its 92 total units (58 company-owned, 34 franchised), creating a concentrated addressable market for vendors who can integrate with or replace that mandated stack. With an average unit volume of $865,432 and a 2026 FDD on file, this is a small but tightly controlled target for SaaS sales.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
92
34 franchised
Unit growth YoY
-5.556%
vs prior filing
AUV
$865K
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$25K
per unit
Investment range
$465K–$1.16M
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.
8%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
Systems named in Item 11 of this filing. None is recorded as mandated here, which is not the same as the filing mandating nothing. Read Item 11 before treating the category as open.
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
Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
FRANCHISEE shall establish and maintain a bookkeeping, accounting and record keeping system conforming to the requirements prescribed by FRANCHISOR
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
Cousins has independent access to this information and data.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
FRANCHISEE will supply to FRANCHISOR on or before the twenty-fifth (25th) day of each month, in the form approved by FRANCHISOR, an activity report and a profit and loss statement and balance sheet for the last preceding calendar month.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
Cousins and its affiliates have determined that in order to protect their trade secrets and to monitor the manufacture, packaging, processing and sale of Trade Secret Food Products they will (i) manufacture and supply Trade Secret Food Products to a limited number of suppliers who will be authorized to sell Trade…
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
During its fiscal year ending December 28, 2025, Cousins received certain rebates from various approved suppliers totaling $1,089,284, $55,283 of which was contributed to the advertising and development fund.
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?
100Item 8
Virtually all (i.e., 100%) of the products and services used in the establishment and operation of Cousins Subs Shop are subject to specifications or must be purchased from designated or approved suppliers.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesFranchise agreement
FRANCHISOR reserves the right from time to time to examine the facilities of any approved supplier or distributor, including the commissary and/or bakery, if any, operated by FRANCHISEE, and to conduct reasonable testing and inspection of the ingredients, materials or supplies to determine whether they meet…
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you propose to offer for sale or use any brand of product not previously approved by Cousins or to purchase any product from a supplier that is not an approved supplier, you will be required to first obtain Cousins’ consent.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
FRANCHISEE hereby acknowledges that all telephone numbers used in the operation of the SHOP constitute assets of the SHOP and will be used solely to identify the SHOP in accordance with this Agreement; and upon termination or expiration of this Agreement FRANCHISEE shall assign to FRANCHISOR or its designee, all…
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
FRANCHISOR or its agents shall have the right of entry and inspection of FRANCHISEE's premises at all reasonable times and, additionally, shall have the right to observe the manner in which FRANCHISEE is rendering its services and conducting its operations
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
Cousins must approve of the site selected (Franchise Agreement - Sections 4.A and 4.B).
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesFranchise agreement
FRANCHISEE shall pay FRANCHISOR, upon execution of the lease or purchase agreement for the SHOP, the sum of TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ($10,000) for payment of FRANCHISEE's “Store Marketing Fee.”
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
Each calendar quarter, a franchisee must spend on local advertising and promotion an amount not less than 3% of the gross receipts of his or her Shop for the preceding calendar quarter.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 8
You must participate in any gift card, gift certificate and/or loyalty card programs that Cousins requires for Cousins Subs Shops.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
FRANCHISEE agrees to participate in and contribute its share to such cooperative advertising and promotional programs in addition to such contributions and expenditures as required pursuant to Paragraphs C. and D. of this Section.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
Accordingly, you must purchase Trade Secret Food Products from Cousins, its affiliates, or a limited number of authorized suppliers.
Payments
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 8
You must participate in any gift card, gift certificate and/or loyalty card programs that Cousins requires for Cousins Subs Shops.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesFranchise agreement
The SHOP shall at all times be under the direct, on-premises supervision of FRANCHISEE or a trained and competent employee acting as full-time manager.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must use one or more point-of-sale system terminals, a back office personal computer and a printer approved by Cousins in the operation of your Shop.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
Cousins has independent access to this information and data.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesFranchise agreement
FRANCHISOR from time to time may provide and may require that previously trained and experienced Franchisees or their Designated Managers attend and successfully complete refresher training programs or seminars to be conducted at such location as may be designated by FRANCHISOR, or may be held virtually, as…
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesFranchise agreement
FRANCHISEE (or its Designated Managers) must attend an annual meeting for the Cousin Subs System at a location FRANCHISOR designates, or virtually, as FRANCHISOR determines, provided that such annual meeting will not exceed three (3) days in duration during any calendar year.
The filing answers no to 4 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 20
- Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?Franchise agreement
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Franchise agreement
- Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?Item 8
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.
The franchisor's owner/CEO decides; an ops or franchise-development lead may evaluate.
VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
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The vendor opportunity at Cousins Subs
Cousins Subs Systems operates 92 quick-service restaurants, with 58 company-owned and 34 franchised units. The chain is heavily concentrated in Wisconsin, where 86 of its locations sit. Average unit volume sits at $865,432, and the brand pays a 6.0% royalty on a standard 10-year initial term. Year-over-year unit growth is negative at -5.556%, meaning the addressable unit count is contracting slightly. For software vendors, the opportunity is not in new-store rollout volume but in displacing or integrating with existing mandated systems at a headquarters-controlled chain.
The operator footprint shows 30 mapped operators, eight of whom are multi-unit. The unit-band split is heavily tilted toward single-unit operators: 22 operators run a single location, eight run between two and nine, and none run 10 or more. This fragmentation among franchisees reinforces the HQ-driven purchasing dynamic—most franchisees lack the scale to negotiate independent software contracts.
Who controls software purchasing
Decision-making authority rests with the corporate office. The 2026 FDD Item 1 lists Christine A. Specht-Palmert as Chief Executive Officer, Director, and Chairman of the Board. Jason Westhoff serves as President, Secretary, and Director. Jeremiah Grube is Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Joseph Ferguson holds the title of Executive Vice President, and Hilary Krekling is Vice President of Operations. No chief information officer, chief technology officer, or VP of IT appears in the filing. Vendors should expect to engage the CEO, President, or CFO directly for software evaluations, with the VP of Operations likely influencing operational technology decisions.
Because 58 of 92 units are company-owned, Cousins Subs can mandate technology across the majority of its estate without franchisee negotiation. The remaining 34 franchised units are subject to the same system standards under the franchise agreement, making this a top-down purchasing environment.
Mandated and current tech stack
The only technology explicitly mandated in the 2026 FDD is point-of-sale system terminals. No specific vendor name is disclosed—the FDD simply states that franchisees must use the required POS terminals. No other operational software, back-office platforms, inventory management tools, or digital ordering systems are listed as mandated or recommended. This narrow mandate leaves room for vendors in adjacent categories—labor scheduling, catering, loyalty, delivery integration—to pitch solutions that do not conflict with the POS requirement.
Because the POS vendor is unnamed, software sellers should inquire directly about the current provider during discovery. The absence of a named system in the FDD may indicate that the brand has not locked in a single vendor or that the mandate is hardware-focused rather than software-specific.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD contains no procurement extract, meaning the brand does not publicly disclose a designated supplier list, approved vendor program, or purchasing cooperative requirements. For non-mandated software categories, this likely means an open procurement model where vendors can pitch directly to HQ without navigating a pre-approved supplier roster.
Renewal terms under Item 17 require franchisees to be in substantial compliance, maintain possession of the premises, bring the shop up to then-current standards, provide written notice, execute the current franchise agreement form, satisfy all monetary obligations, and pay a renewal fee. The renewal term is 10 years. With negative unit growth, the primary software sales windows will be corporate-driven tech stack refreshes and franchisee renewals that trigger system upgrades. Vendors should monitor leadership changes or operational initiatives that might signal a stack overhaul.
How to read the Cousins Subs FDD
The full 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. Software vendors should focus on Item 11 (the POS mandate and any additional system requirements), Item 1 (executive team and purchasing authority), Item 8 (procurement restrictions, if any), and Item 17 (renewal conditions that may force technology updates). The concentration of units in Wisconsin means any software deployment must account for a geographically dense footprint with minimal out-of-state complexity. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
Cousins Subs Systems, answered from the filing
The C-suite controls purchasing. Key executives include CEO Christine A. Specht-Palmert, President Jason Westhoff, and CFO Jeremiah Grube. No dedicated CIO or CTO is listed in the 2026 FDD.
The 2026 FDD mandates point-of-sale system terminals. No specific vendor brand is named, and no other operational technology systems are disclosed as mandated or recommended.
There are 92 total units: 58 company-owned and 34 franchised. The vast majority—86 locations—are in Wisconsin, with a small number mapped elsewhere.
The FDD does not disclose a designated or approved supplier model in Item 8. Procurement signals are absent, suggesting an open or unspecified purchasing structure for non-mandated items.
Franchise agreements run 10 years, with renewals requiring substantial compliance and a renewal fee. With -5.6% unit growth, new openings are unlikely to drive volume; renewal cycles and corporate refresh timelines are the primary windows.
The FDD is filed with state franchise regulators in 2026. You can view the full document in the embedded PDF viewer below to analyze Item 11 tech mandates, Item 8 procurement, and executive disclosures directly.
Source
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Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
30 operators run 86 mapped locations. 8 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit22
2–9 units8
Top states by locations
| WI | 86 |
|---|
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.