QuickBooks OnlineIntuit
Mandatorythe Manual. You must also maintain a high speed internet connection (such as T-1, DSL or cable modem) for the POS System and the Computer System. We currently require that you use QuickBooks Online, w
From the filings
+25% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Gofer Ice Cream
Quick service restaurantGofer Ice Cream is a Connecticut-based quick-service ice cream franchise with 8 locations — 5 franchised, 3 company-owned — and a $378,675 average unit volume, up 25% year over year on a 5% royalty. Item 11 mandates QuickBooks Online, naming the one piece of software already locked into every location.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
8
5 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+25%
vs prior filing
AUV
$379K
Item 19, 2022
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$25K
per unit
Investment range
$234K–$434K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
5 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 (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.
FacebookMeta
If feasible, you may do cooperative advertising with other Gofer Ice Cream franchisees in your area, with out prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, Li
InstagramMeta
dvertising with other Gofer Ice Cream franchisees in your area, with out prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or
LinkedInLinkedIn
ay do cooperative advertising with other Gofer Ice Cream franchisees in your area, with out prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, I
TikTokTikTok
with other Gofer Ice Cream franchisees in your area, with out prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or any other
TwitterX
le, you may do cooperative advertising with other Gofer Ice Cream franchisees in your area, with out prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Y
YouTubeGoogle
erative advertising with other Gofer Ice Cream franchisees in your area, with out prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram,
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
27 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 4 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 currently require that you use QuickBooks Online, with the specific version to be designated in the Operations Manual.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We reserve the right to have independent access to your sales information and customer data generated by and stored in your system.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Within thirty (30) days after the close of each calendar month and within sixty (60) days after the close of each fiscal year, Franchisee will furnish Franchisor a full and complete written statement of income and expense and a profit and loss statement for the operation of the Gofer Ice Cream Shop during said…
How the franchisor buys
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right, at its option, to re-inspect from time to time the facilities and products of any such approved supplier and to revoke its approval upon the supplier’s failure to continue to meet any of Franchisor’s then-current criteria.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
7186Item 8
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, we had a total revenue of $211,188 of which $7,186 (3.4%) was 19 Gofer Ice Cream 2023 C from sales of products to our franchisees.
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 revenues, rebates, discounts or other material consideration from suppliers based on your required purchases of products, supplies or equipment.
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
approximately 75% to 85% of your costs for ongoing operation
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
If you request that we approve a proposed item or supplier, we may charge for actual costs incurred for product testing and evaluation.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you would like us to consider another item or supplier, you must make such request in writing to us and have the supplier give us samples of its product or service and such other information that we may require.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee, at the option of Franchisor, shall assign to Franchisor all rights to the telephone numbers of the Gofer Ice Cream Shop and any related public directory listing or other business listings and execute all forms and documents required by Franchisor and any telephone company at any time, to transfer such…
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
conduct inspections of your Gofer Ice Cream Shop, at the frequency and duration that we deem advisable.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 17
Sections 9.4, 14.6, No oral modifications generally, but we may agreement 19.1.4 and 22.4 change the Operations Manual and System standards at any time.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
No site may be used for the location of the Gofer Ice Cream Shop unless it is accepted in writing by Franchisor.
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 shall not establish any website or other listing on the Internet except as provided and specifically permitted herein.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 7
You must spend a minimum of between $1,000 and $2,000 on this advertising.
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
Thereafter, you are required to spend at least one percent (1%) of monthly Gross Revenue on local advertising to promote your Gofer Ice Cream Shop.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If there are multiple Gofer Ice Cream Shops within a market area and we choose to create an advertising cooperative for this market area, you must upon notice from us participate in a local advertising cooperative (“LAC”) we approve.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase all equipment, fixtures, inventory, suppliers and services from our designated suppliers and contractors or in accordance with our specifications.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase all equipment, fixtures, inventory, suppliers and services from our designated suppliers and contractors or in accordance with our specifications.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
At Franchisor’s request, Franchisee must execute documents that allow Franchisor to automatically take the 6 Gofer Ice Cream FA 2023 i Royalty Fee and Brand Fund Contribution due as well as other sums due Franchisor, from business bank accounts via electronic funds transfers.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 6
You must participate in our Gift Card program.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall designate and retain at all times a general manager (“General Manager”) to direct the operation of the Gofer Ice Cream Shop location.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 7
Uniforms – You must purchase and have your employees wear the uniforms we designate.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must obtain the point-of-sale system that we specify (“POS System”)
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We reserve the right to have independent access to your sales information and customer data generated by and stored in your system.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We reserve the right to impose a reasonable fee for tuition and/or attendance for all additional training programs, including the annual business meeting or conference.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 11
If we require it, you must attend mandatory additional training offered by us for up to five (5) days each year at a location we designate and attend an annual business meeting or franchisee conference for up to five (5) days each year at a location we designate.
The filing answers no to 3 questions
- Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- 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.
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The vendor opportunity at Gofer Ice Cream Gofer Ice Cream is a Connecticut-based quick-service ice cream franchise with 8 locations — 5 franchised, 3 company-owned — carrying a $378,675 average unit volume, up 25% year over year, on a 5% royalty and a 10-year term. The FDD makes a financial performance representation.
Who controls software purchasing Item 2 names Founder and Managing Partner John Jay Ragusa, Head Trainer Peter John Ragusa, and Co-Head of Training and Operations Justin Ragusa. This family-led leadership team is the practical buying center, having already mandated QuickBooks Online across the system.
Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required QuickBooks Online by Intuit is mandated under Item 11 — a contractual obligation, not a suggestion. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter/X, and YouTube are also named under Item 11, but the FDD requires none of them.
Procurement, renewals, and timing Item 8 runs an approved-supplier list: franchisees buy from designated suppliers or items meeting franchisor specifications, drawn from written lists the franchisor maintains, and may propose a new supplier for approval. Item 17 offers one additional 10-year term for franchisees in good standing, requiring six months' notice, no more than three prior defaults, a $1,000 Successor Agreement fee, a shop remodel, and the then-current franchise agreement — that remodel and renewal point is the natural pitch window.
How to read the Gofer Ice Cream FDD The filing was filed with state franchise regulators in 2023. The embedded PDF viewer below carries the full text of Items 2, 8, 11, 17, and 19.
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Questions vendors ask
Gofer Ice Cream, answered from the filing
Item 2 names Founder and Managing Partner John Jay Ragusa, Head Trainer Peter John Ragusa, and Co-Head of Training and Operations Justin Ragusa. This family-led leadership team sets the mandated software stack directly, including QuickBooks Online.
QuickBooks Online by Intuit is mandated under Item 11. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter/X, and YouTube are also named under Item 11, but the FDD requires none of them.
8 total locations as of the 2023 FDD — 5 franchised and 3 company-owned — up 25% year over year, with a $378,675 average unit volume.
An approved-supplier list under Item 8: franchisees buy from designated suppliers or items meeting franchisor specifications, drawn from written lists the franchisor maintains. Franchisees may propose a supplier for approval.
The initial term is 10 years, with one additional 10-year renewal available for good-standing franchisees. Renewal requires six months' notice, no more than three prior defaults, a $1,000 fee, a shop remodel, and the then-current franchise agreement — that remodel and renewal point is the natural pitch window.
It was filed with state franchise regulators in 2023. Use the embedded PDF viewer below to read Items 2, 8, 11, 17, and 19 directly.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Gofer Ice Cream files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Gofer Ice Cream’s FDD on file does not disclose a franchisee directory.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.