or lease) and use a point-of-sale system and computer system as follows: The system will include Square POS system, credit card processing system, and accounting platform, such as QuickBooks. These sy
From the filings
Half Baked Holdings
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Half Baked Holdings is controlled by individual franchisees, as the franchisor does not mandate a centralized procurement process. The brand currently uses QuickBooks for accounting, and with 5 franchised units across Texas, Wisconsin, and Illinois, the addressable market for vendors is small but growing rapidly (66.7% year-over-year unit growth).
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.
7%of gross sales (FY2025)
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
28 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 5 explicit no's; 1 question 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 buy (or lease) and use a point-of-sale system and computer system as follows: The system will include Square POS system, credit card processing system, and accounting platform, such as QuickBooks.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall give Half Baked Holdings unlimited access to Franchisee’s point of sale system and other software systems used in the Business, by any means designated by Half Baked Holdings.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall provide such periodic financial reports as Half Baked Holdings 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 (including…
How the franchisor buys
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Half Baked Holdings 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?
0Item 8
We currently do not derive revenue from the required purchases and leases by franchisees.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesFranchise agreement
Half Baked Holdings may receive rebates, payments or other consideration from vendors in connection with purchases by franchisees.
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?
85Item 8
We estimate that the required purchases and leases of goods and services to operate your business are 85% to 90% 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.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
(iii) notify the telephone, internet, email, electronic network, directory, and listing entities of the termination or expiration of Franchisee’s right to use any numbers, 24 Half Baked FDD 2024 Franchise Agreement addresses, domain names, locators, directories and listings associated with any of the Marks, and…
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 Half Baked Holdings 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, customer…
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Half Baked Holdings 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
Half Baked Holdings may supplement, revise, or modify the Manual, and Half Baked Holdings 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
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 conduct any marketing, advertising, or public relations activities (including in-store marketing materials, websites, online advertising, social media marketing or presence, and sponsorships) that have not been approved by Half Baked Holdings.
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
After you open, you must spend at least 3% of gross sales each month on marketing your business.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesFranchise agreement
At its own expense, Franchisee shall sell or otherwise issue gift cards, certificates, or other pre-paid systems, and participate in 12 Half Baked FDD 2024 Franchise Agreement any customer loyalty programs, membership/subscription programs, or customer incentive programs, designated by Half Baked Holdings, 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 is established during the term of this Agreement, Franchisee shall become a member of such Market Cooperative within 30 days.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase the food product, supplies, equipment, furniture and fixtures according to our standards and specifications and from our approved vendors.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase the food product, supplies, equipment, furniture and fixtures according to our standards and specifications and from our approved vendors.
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 Half Baked Holdings (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?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall pay the Royalty Fee, R and D Brand Fund Contribution, and any other amounts owed to Half Baked Holdings by pre-authorized bank draft or in such other manner as Half Baked Holdings may require.
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 12 Half Baked FDD 2024 Franchise Agreement any customer loyalty programs, membership/subscription programs, or customer incentive programs, designated by Half Baked Holdings, in the…
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 8
You must purchase (or lease) the point-of-sale software and hardware, and related software and hardware, that we specify.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall give Half Baked Holdings unlimited access to Franchisee’s point of sale system and other software systems used in the Business, by any means designated by Half Baked Holdings.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
If you need to send a new general manager to our training program, we will charge a fee, which is currently $300 per day.
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 Half Baked Holdings requires, including any national or regional brand conventions.
The filing answers no to 5 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
- Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?Item 8
- Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?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.
- 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 Half Baked Holdings Half Baked Holdings is a quick-service restaurant franchisor based in Texas, with 7 total units (5 franchised, 2 company-owned) as of its 2025 FDD. The brand is small but growing rapidly: year-over-year unit growth was 66.7%, suggesting an expanding footprint. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is the 5 franchised locations, as company-owned units may have separate purchasing processes. The brand’s royalty rate is 6%, and initial franchise terms run 10 years, with two optional 5-year renewals. Average unit volume (AUV) is not disclosed.
Who controls software purchasing The FDD does not list a chief information officer, technology director, or centralized purchasing department. The only named executive is Stephanie Ferreira, who serves as Agent for Service of Process—a legal role, not a technology buyer. With no franchisor-level IT mandates beyond QuickBooks, software purchasing authority appears to reside with individual franchisees. The operator footprint supports this: all 6 mapped operators are single-unit owners, with no multi-unit operators. This means sales cycles will be unit-by-unit, and vendors should target franchisees directly.
Mandated and current tech stack The only technology system explicitly mentioned in the FDD is QuickBooks, which the franchisor mandates for accounting. No point-of-sale (POS), payroll, inventory, or other operational software is required or recommended. This leaves franchisees free to choose their own solutions, creating an opportunity for vendors in POS, scheduling, loyalty, and other categories. However, the absence of a mandated stack also means no built-in replacement cycle; vendors must demonstrate clear ROI to each owner.
Procurement, renewals, and timing Item 8 of the FDD (procurement restrictions) contains no extract, indicating that Half Baked Holdings does not impose designated or approved supplier requirements. Franchisees are not obligated to buy from specific vendors, which lowers barriers to entry for new software providers. Renewal terms (Item 17) allow franchisees to extend for two additional 5-year periods, provided they meet conditions such as compliance, renovation to current standards, and signing a general release. These renewal events, along with new unit openings (the brand added units at a 66.7% clip), represent natural windows for software evaluation. Vendors should monitor franchisee turnover and expansion announcements.
How to read the Half Baked Holdings FDD The 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document is available in the embedded viewer below. It contains the legal and financial disclosures required by the FTC, including the franchise agreement, fee schedule, and operational requirements. For software vendors, the most relevant sections are Item 8 (procurement), Item 11 (franchisor assistance and required systems), and Item 17 (renewal and termination). The FDD confirms the brand’s small but growing footprint and the decentralized nature of technology decisions. Use this data to prioritize your outreach and tailor your pitch to individual franchisees.
For a ranked list of franchise systems that match your software, explore FranCloud’s targeting tools.
Questions vendors ask
Half Baked Holdings, answered from the filing
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Half Baked Holdings files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
6 operators run 6 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| TX | 3 |
|---|---|
| WI | 1 |
| IL | 1 |
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated August 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.