QuickBooks
Mandatoryand other store information. There are no contractual limited imposed upon our access to your store data. We require you to have high-speed internet access. We require you to use Quickbooks accounting
From the filings
+71.429% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Crimson Coward UNIT-
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing decisions at Crimson Coward UNIT are driven by the franchisor, with President and Founder Ali Hijazi overseeing operations and training. The system currently mandates QuickBooks and uses Raydiant, serving an addressable market of 12 franchised locations. With 71.4% year-over-year unit growth, the brand is in an early but rapid expansion phase.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
13
12 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+71.429%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2026
Royalty
6.5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1.5%
national + local
Initial fee
$35K
per unit
Investment range
$319K–$638K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
No 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
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.
Raydiant
Toast; We may change this in our discretion for another POS System that may have more functionality, efficiency, or other business reasons. Th e cu rre n t software requirement is RAYDIANT, and we req
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 explicit no's; 5 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 11
We require you to use Quickbooks accounting software using our chart of accounts.
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 your sales information and other store information.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Within ninety (90) days following the end of each calendar year, Franchisee shall provide Franchisor with a copy of Franchisee's balance sheet and an income and expense statement for the prior year.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
There is no supplier which an officer owns an interest in, except us, the Franchisor.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 12
We reserve the right to change any part of the Crimson Coward System, menu items, required inventory, supplies or equipment, including changing the required POS system, and introducing new systems, and reserve the right to delete any parts of the System or add new technologies or new services, new trainings, new…
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
neither we nor our affiliate derived any revenue based on required purchases or leases by franchisees made in accordance with our specifications.
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?
80Item 8
approximately 80% to 85% of your total ongoing purchases in connection with operating your Crimson Coward restaurant.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor may charge a reasonable fee to cover its costs in evaluating a proposed supplier.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor will approve other suppliers of non-proprietary items if Franchisee or the supplier request the approval in writing and if the supplier demonstrates to the satisfaction of Franchisor that it is financially capable and can provide Item(s) or service(s) that meet Franchisor's standards and that it is willing…
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee/Assignor, in consideration of CRIMSON COWARD, INC. Franchisor/Assignee granting a Crimson Coward franchise contemporaneously herewith, and other valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, hereby Assigns to CRIMSON COWARD, INC. all telephone numbers and listings…
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor shall have the right, at any time, to enter the Premises (either physically or electronically) for purposes of auditing the accuracy of reports submitted and to otherwise verify compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 11
We reserve the right to modify, add, delete and revise the Manual at any time in our sole discretion, and if we do we will provide you with updates sections either electronically or hard copy or both.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
We must approve any site selected, but our approval in no way serves as a guarantee of success for the location, only that it meets our general criteria.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee may not create a separate webpage without Franchisor’s express consent.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 7
You must spend a minimum of between $6,000 to $7,500 depending on these factors.
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 are required to spend at least $500 per month on local area advertising and must provide us with proof of expenditures upon our request.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If at any time, there are two or more Crimson Coward restaurant franchisees within a marketing area we may form a local marketing cooperative and you must participate.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesFranchise agreement
As to all equipment, inventory, supplies, and branded items and inventory (“Items”) necessary to operate the Crimson Coward restaurant, Franchisee must purchase such items from Franchisor’s approved vendor.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase from approved vendors all the equipment, supplies, inventory, and branded items necessary to start or operate the Crimson Coward restaurant.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
You will pay by electronic funds transfer and must sign an authorization allowing direct transfers from your bank.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 11
You are required to participate in any gift card program we institute.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
We require you to obtain and use the following hardware and software: Our current POS system is Toast;
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 your sales information and other store information.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 6
We may require you or your employees to attend additional training at a location we determine at $300 per day.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesFranchise agreement
When Franchisor puts on these training events and venues Franchisee and/or it’s general manager, or other employees, as the case may be, must attend such events and training venues, at Franchisee’s cost.
The filing answers no to 4 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?Item 8
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
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 franchisee/operator personally, or a small franchisor still owner-run. Wears every hat.
OwnerCEOPresidentPrincipal
- 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%.
- 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.
- 97.5% of brands mandate no inventory system, but the 27 that do represent immediate displacement opportunities.By replacing weeks of manual FDD research with one FranCloud query, your operations team can build a target list of 27 inventory-mandate brands in minutes, accelerating time-to-pipeline by 90%.
The vendor opportunity at Crimson Coward UNIT
Crimson Coward UNIT is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in California. According to its 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, the system consists of 13 total units—12 franchised and 1 company-owned. This is a small but rapidly growing network, with year-over-year unit growth clocking at 71.4%. For a software vendor, the addressable market is those 12 franchised locations, plus any new units that come online during the current growth cycle. The royalty rate is 6.5% of gross sales, and the initial franchise term runs 10 years. Average unit volume is not disclosed in the most recent FDD.
Who controls software purchasing
Technology purchasing authority sits at the franchisor level. The FDD lists Ali Hijazi as President and Founder, and he also holds the role of Training Supervisor—a dual position that suggests direct involvement in operational standards and the tools franchisees use. Three Area Representatives are named: Nabil A. Asad, John A. Filipiak, and Hassan Bawab. In a system of this size, these individuals likely serve as the primary gatekeepers for any software pitch. There is no separate CIO or CTO on file, so the founder’s office is the de facto buying center. Vendors should prepare to demonstrate clear operational ROI to a leadership team that is hands-on with training and field support.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2026 FDD mandates QuickBooks for accounting. This is the only system explicitly required in the disclosure. Raydiant is also present in the tech stack, though it is not listed as a mandate—it may be a recommended or commonly adopted solution. No point-of-sale system is mandated or disclosed in the current filing. For a vendor selling POS, payroll, inventory, or scheduling software, this represents a greenfield opportunity: the franchisor has not locked the system into a specific operational platform beyond accounting. Any pitch should acknowledge the QuickBooks requirement and position complementary integrations.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD contains no extract, meaning the franchisor’s procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier list, or open market—is not publicly detailed. This lack of restriction can be an advantage for vendors, as there is no published list of required vendors to displace. Renewal terms, outlined in Item 17, require franchisees to be in good standing, sign a new agreement (which may contain materially different terms), update or replace equipment, remodel or refurbish, and provide six months’ notice. The renewal term is 10 years. Because the system is young and adding units quickly, the most accessible software sales window is during new franchisee onboarding, rather than waiting for renewal-driven tech refreshes.
How to read the Crimson Coward UNIT FDD
The full 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. For software vendors, the most actionable sections are Item 11 (Franchisor’s Obligations) to confirm mandated and recommended technology, Item 8 (Restrictions on Sources of Products and Services) to understand procurement rules, and Item 17 (Renewal, Termination, Transfer) to map contract cycles. The document was filed with state franchise regulators and represents the most current public disclosure. Reading the source text directly is the best way to verify the tech landscape before building a pitch. For a ranked target list of franchise brands that match your software, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
Crimson Coward UNIT-, answered from the filing
President and Founder Ali Hijazi is the key decision-maker, also serving as Training Supervisor. Area Representatives Nabil A. Asad, John A. Filipiak, and Hassan Bawab may influence or implement technology choices across their territories.
The 2026 FDD mandates QuickBooks for accounting. Raydiant is also in use, though not explicitly mandated. No mandated POS is disclosed in the most recent filing.
There are 13 total units: 12 franchised and 1 company-owned. This places the quick-service restaurant brand in a very early growth stage with a 71.4% year-over-year unit increase.
The procurement model is not disclosed in the most recent FDD. Item 8 contains no extract, so it is unclear whether the franchisor designates suppliers, maintains an approved list, or allows open purchasing.
Initial franchise terms are 10 years. Renewal requires a new agreement, which may have materially different terms, and 6 months' notice. Given the brand's youth and rapid growth, new-unit onboarding is the most likely software entry point.
The 2026 FDD was filed with state franchise regulators. You can read the full document in the embedded PDF viewer below to analyze Item 11 tech mandates, Item 8 procurement rules, and Item 17 renewal conditions directly.
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 Crimson Coward UNIT- files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Crimson Coward UNIT-’s FDD on file does not disclose a franchisee directory.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated August 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.