CloverFiserv
Mandatorych month on marketing your business. Point of Sale and Computer Systems We require you to buy (or lease) and use a point-of-sale system and computer system as follows: Clover POS: Clover Dashboard El
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
El Fresco Franchising Systems
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at El Fresco Franchising Systems is controlled by Owner Steve Ganji at the brand’s Virginia headquarters. The system currently mandates Clover POS, Clover Dashboard, Homebase, and QuickBooks Online, leaving little room for alternative core operational tools. With only 4 total units (2 franchised, 2 company-owned), the addressable market is extremely small, but vendors targeting early-stage franchisors may find a receptive single decision-maker.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
4
2 franchised
Unit growth YoY
—
vs prior filing
AUV
$798K
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$30K
per unit
Investment range
$354K–$606K
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%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
2 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.
QuickBooksIntuit
MandatoryWe are not obligated to provide any ongoing maintenance, repairs, upgrades, or updates. We do require you to enter into a subscription contract for the Clover POS System; possibly Quickbooks and addit
HomebaseHomebase
ner of Clover's Dashboard and the franchisee will have the role of an admin. Camera System: El Fresco Franchising Systems will have full remote access to the restaurant's Cameras. Homebase Employee Ti
QuickBooks OnlineIntuit
ve full remote access to the restaurant's Cameras. Homebase Employee Timekeeping El Fresco Franchising Systems will have full access to Homebase, an employee timekeeping software. QuickBooks Online Th
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
26 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 6 explicit no's; 2 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
shall use such customer data management, sales data management, administrative, bookkeeping, accounting, and inventory control procedures and systems as El Fresco Franchising Systems may specify in the Manual or otherwise in writing.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
You must give us independent access to the information that will be generated or stored in these systems.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall provide such periodic financial reports as El Fresco Franchising Systems may require in the Manual or otherwise in writing, including: (i) a monthly profit and loss statement and balance sheet for the Business within 30 days after the end of each calendar month; (ii) an annual financial statement…
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
Our affiliate is currently a supplier of the spice packets that you must purchase, and we reserve the right to be a supplier of other items (or the sole supplier) of a good or service in the future.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
El Fresco Franchising Systems may change any such requirement or change the status of any vendor.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
13360.20Item 8
Our revenue from all required purchases and leases of products and services by franchisees in the prior fiscal year was $13,360.20.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We currently receive rebates based on volume/purchases from Approved Vendors.
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?
50Item 8
We estimate that the required purchases and leases of goods and services to operate your business are 50% to 80% of your total purchases and leases of goods and services to operate your business.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you want to use a supplier that is not on our list of approved suppliers, you must request our approval in writing.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must at all times comply with payment card industry data security standards (PCI-DSS).
Franchise management
Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall participate at its own expense in programs required from time to time by El Fresco Franchising Systems for obtaining customer evaluations, reviewing Franchisee’s compliance with the System, and/or managing customer complaints, which may include (but are not limited to) a customer feedback system…
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
El Fresco Franchising Systems may enter the premises of the Business from time to time during normal business hours and conduct an inspection.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
El Fresco Franchising Systems may supplement, revise, or modify the Manual, and El Fresco Franchising Systems may change, add or delete System Standards at any time in its discretion.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
Your site is subject to our approval.
Marketing
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall sell or otherwise issue gift cards, certificates, or other pre-paid systems, and participate in any customer loyalty programs, membership/subscription programs, or customer incentive programs, designated by El Fresco Franchising Systems, in the manner specified by El Fresco Franchising Systems in the…
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
If a Market Cooperative for the geographic area encompassing the Location has been established at the time Franchisee commences operations hereunder, Franchisee shall immediately become a member of such Market Cooperative.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase (or lease) the point-of-sale software and hardware, and related software and hardware, that we specify.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase (or lease) the point-of-sale software and hardware, and related software and hardware, that we specify.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall accept payment from customers in any form or manner designated by El Fresco Franchising Systems (which may include, for example, cash, specific credit and/or debit cards, gift cards, electronic fund transfer systems, and mobile payment systems).
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
We currently require you to pay royalty fees and other amounts due to us by pre- authorized bank draft.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesFranchise agreement
At its own expense, Franchisee shall sell or otherwise issue gift cards, certificates, or other pre-paid systems, and participate in any customer loyalty programs, membership/subscription programs, or customer incentive programs, designated by El Fresco Franchising Systems, in the manner specified by El Fresco…
People
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall cause its personnel to comply with any dress attire, uniform, personal appearance and hygiene standards set forth in the Manual.
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 buy (or lease) and use a point-of-sale system and computer system as follows: Clover POS: Clover Dashboard El Fresco Franchising Systems will be the owner of Clover's Dashboard and the franchisee will have the role of an admin.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall give El Fresco Franchising Systems unlimited access to Franchisee’s point of sale system and other software systems used in the Business, by any means designated by El Fresco Franchising Systems.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
Otherwise, we do not currently require additional training programs or refresher courses, but we have the right to do so.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesFranchise agreement
The Principal Executive shall use reasonable efforts to attend all in-person meetings and remote meetings (such as telephone conference calls) that El Fresco Franchising Systems requires, including any national or regional brand conventions.
The filing answers no to 6 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?Item 8
- 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?Item 11
- Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?Item 11
- Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?Item 11
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 El Fresco Franchising Systems
El Fresco Franchising Systems is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in Virginia with just 4 total units—2 company-owned and 2 franchised—as disclosed in its 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. The system’s average unit volume sits at $798,257.50, with a 5.0% royalty rate and a 10-year initial franchise term. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is limited to those 2 franchised locations, though the company-owned side may also present a direct sales opportunity. The brand shows no year-over-year unit growth data in the current FDD, suggesting either a recent launch or a pause in expansion. Vendors evaluating this account should weigh the small footprint against the potential to establish a long-term relationship with a single decision-maker as the system grows.
Who controls software purchasing
All purchasing authority rests with Owner Steve Ganji, the only executive named in Item 1 of the 2026 FDD. There is no parent company, no separate IT or operations leadership on file, and no mapped operator footprint in our corpus. This means a vendor pitch lands directly on the desk of the owner, who likely handles everything from POS selection to back-office tooling. The absence of a multi-unit operator layer simplifies the sales process but also concentrates risk: if Ganji is not in buy mode, there is no alternative champion within the organization.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2026 FDD mandates four specific systems. Point-of-sale and reporting run on Clover POS and Clover Dashboard, both provided by Clover Network, LLC. Employee scheduling is handled through Homebase, and accounting is standardized on QuickBooks Online by Intuit Inc. This is a tightly prescribed stack with no room for franchisee discretion in core operations. Vendors offering complementary tools—such as inventory management, loyalty, or delivery integration that can layer on top of Clover—may find an opening, but any solution that competes directly with these mandated platforms faces a high barrier to entry.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD provides no extract on procurement procedures, leaving the supplier approval process undefined in public filings. Vendors should expect to navigate a direct, owner-driven evaluation rather than a formal RFP process. On the renewal side, Item 17 outlines that franchisees may obtain up to two additional 5-year terms after the initial 10-year agreement. Renewal conditions include compliance with all obligations, renovation to then-current standards, and signing the then-current form of franchise agreement—which could include updated technology mandates. These renewal windows, while infrequent, represent natural moments when the tech stack may be reevaluated.
How to read the El Fresco Franchising Systems FDD
The full 2026 FDD is embedded below for your review. It contains the legal and operational disclosures that govern the franchise relationship, including the Item 11 technology mandates and Item 17 renewal terms referenced throughout this page. Reading the FDD directly is the most reliable way to verify the mandated systems, understand the franchisor’s control points, and identify gaps where your software might fit. The document is filed with state franchise regulators and reflects the brand’s current obligations to its franchisees.
For a ranked list of franchise systems that match your software’s ideal customer profile, including early-stage concepts like El Fresco where you can build vendor loyalty from the ground up, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
El Fresco Franchising Systems, answered from the filing
Owner Steve Ganji is the sole executive listed in the 2026 FDD. As the brand owner, he controls all purchasing decisions from the Virginia headquarters.
The 2026 FDD mandates Clover POS and Clover Dashboard by Clover Network, LLC, Homebase for scheduling, and QuickBooks Online by Intuit Inc. for accounting.
The system has 4 total units: 2 company-owned and 2 franchised. It is a very early-stage quick-service restaurant concept based in Virginia.
The FDD does not disclose a specific procurement model in Item 8. Vendors should inquire directly with Owner Steve Ganji about supplier approval processes.
Initial franchise terms are 10 years, with two optional 5-year renewals. Renewal requires signing the then-current agreement, which may trigger tech stack reviews.
The 2026 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can view the full document in the embedded PDF viewer below.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment El Fresco Franchising Systems files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
El Fresco Franchising Systems’s FDD on file does not disclose a franchisee directory.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.