QuickBooks OnlineIntuit
Mandatorypurchased from any computer equipment manufacturer, are Windows 10 or higher with Office Suite of products. We currently require the following software: Microsoft Office 365, and QuickBooks Online plu
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Kitchen Guard Services
Home servicesSoftware purchasing at Kitchen Guard Services is controlled at the headquarters level, with CEO Justin Ghadery and CFO Keri Thoma as likely decision-makers. The franchise mandates Kitchen Guard operating software and QuickBooks Online by Intuit Inc. across its 38-unit, all-franchised system. This creates a concentrated, single-buyer sales opportunity for vendors whose tools complement or replace these mandated platforms.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
38
38 franchised
Unit growth YoY
—
vs prior filing
AUV
$210K
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
8%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$49K
per unit
Investment range
$210K–$286K
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.
10%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.
FacebookMeta
approval is automatically granted (Franchise Agreement § 3.17). You may not advertise or promote the business on any website or social media platform, including but not limited to Facebook, X, LinkedI
LinkedInLinkedIn
utomatically granted (Franchise Agreement § 3.17). You may not advertise or promote the business on any website or social media platform, including but not limited to Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, bl
TikTokTikTok
ly granted (Franchise Agreement § 3.17). You may not advertise or promote the business on any website or social media platform, including but not limited to Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, blogs, or fo
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
23 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 5 explicit no's; 6 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We have independent access to all data that is stored on your computer system or within the required Software system(s), including sales information and customer data, with no contractual limitations.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
format as Franchisor directs for each calendar month (“Monthly Reports”) and calendar year (“Annual Reports”) within 15 calendar days of the end of each calendar month and calendar year, as appropriate.
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 to designate a single supplier for any equipment and supply items and to require Franchisee to use such a designated supplier exclusively, which exclusive designated supplier may be Franchisor or its affiliates.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
361505Item 8
As of our fiscal year, which ended on December 31, 2025, Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc., derived $361,505 or 19% of our total revenue of $1,938,635 resulting from required franchisee purchases or leases.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
The Company has the right to receive payments from suppliers on account of their dealings with you and other franchisees, and we may use the amounts received without restriction and for any purpose the Company and its affiliates deem appropriate.
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?
10Item 8
The required purchase of products and equipment from the Company, its affiliates or its designated suppliers, or according to our specifications is 50% to 60% of your overall purchases in establishing your business, and 10% to 20% of your overall purchases in operating your business.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
There is no fee charged to franchisees or proposed suppliers for the Company to test any proposed equipment or supply item or to evaluate any proposed supplier.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you wish to purchase any equipment or supplies that have not been approved by the Company or from a supplier who has not been approved by the Company, you must submit a written request to change products or suppliers to the Company.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must notify the telephone company and listing agencies of the termination or expiration of your right to use all telephone numbers of the Business and all classified and other directory listings of the Business and authorize the transfer of such numbers and directory listings to us or as we direct, all in…
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
This includes requiring that you take all steps, including but not limited to those related to visibility and management of your Business that are necessary to ensure that your business is compliant with all data privacy and security laws and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) requirements, as…
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
We or our authorized representatives have the right at all times during the business day to enter the premises where your books, records, accounts, and related materials for the Franchised Business are kept and to examine, evaluate, copy, and audit such books and records
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 11
We have the right, under the Franchise Agreement, to change the standards and specifications applicable to operation of the franchise, including standards and specifications for Approved Services and Products, equipment, signs, furnishings, supplies, fixtures, inventory, computer systems (hardware, software…
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
The Franchised Business may be operated at such location (the “Location”) within the Territory as may be approved in advance by Franchisor in writing.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 11
You may not establish or maintain a separate website, splash page, or social media profile related to the System or your Franchised Business without our prior written approval.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must engage in a Grand Opening Advertising campaign and spend, as we may direct, a minimum of $1,000 monthly on local marketing, advertising, public relations, and promotions.
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 must engage in a Grand Opening Advertising campaign, and spend, as we may direct, a minimum of $1,000 monthly on local marketing, advertising, public relations, and promotions.
Operations
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You may purchase equipment and supply items only from Company-approved suppliers or, if there is no approved supplier for a particular equipment or supply item, from suppliers who meet all of the Company’s specifications and standards as to quality, composition, and functionality and adequately demonstrate their…
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
Payments of Royalties are not refundable and must be made via bank wire or such other electronic funds transfer procedure as Franchisor may require.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesFranchise agreement
the Franchise always has a fully trained General Manager, and at least one dedicated, full time, fully trained salesperson.
Point of sale
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We have independent access to all data that is stored on your computer system or within the required Software system(s), including sales information and customer data, with no contractual limitations.
Sales and CRM
Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must subscribe to and use the Kitchen Guard operating software and all other required software to manage your business, submit financials, for customer relations management, marketing purposes, and for general operations management.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 6
We may require you to pay us an additional training fee and all travel and lodging expenses we incur if the training is provided at your franchised business location.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 6
Every Kitchen Guard franchisee (or the General Manager) for every Territory must attend the Kitchen Guard Annual Conference at least 6 times during the Initial Term and 3 times during each Renewal Term as a condition to renewal of your franchise.
The filing answers no to 5 questions
- Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?Franchise agreement
- 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?Franchise agreement
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?Franchise agreement
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?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 franchisor's owner/CEO decides; an ops or franchise-development lead may evaluate.
VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
- 95.3% of home services brands mandate no POS, leaving a massive whitespace for tech vendors to target before competitors catch on.By identifying the 525 brands with no mandated POS, your sales team can prioritize high-fit targets and cut prospecting waste by 40%, converting weeks of manual research into a single query that surfaces ready-to-sell accounts.
- Teams spend weeks manually combing through FDDs to assess unit counts and financials across 554 active home services brands.Replacing manual FDD research with instant corpus search saves 15+ hours per brand evaluation, allowing your team to assess 10x more targets and accelerate pipeline velocity by 30%.
- Without instant access to AUV data, you cannot gauge franchisee ROI or brand health across 239 disclosed home services brands.Seeing median AUV of $661,803.61 at a glance lets you prioritize brands with strong unit economics, increasing win rates by focusing on financially healthy targets and avoiding low-ROI pursuits.
The vendor opportunity at Kitchen Guard Services
Kitchen Guard Services operates a compact, all-franchised network of 38 units, with an average unit volume of $209,719. The system is entirely single-unit operators—no multi-unit franchisees are on file—spread across states including Texas (5 units), Florida (3), Alabama (2), Ohio (2), and South Carolina (2). For a software vendor, this is a headquarters-driven sale: one buying center, one decision, 38 endpoints. The absence of company-owned locations means every unit is a franchisee subject to the same tech mandates, simplifying deployment but also meaning you must convince a small, centralized leadership team.
Who controls software purchasing
The 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document names five individuals in Item 1: CEO Justin Ghadery, CFO Keri Thoma, SVP of Brand Development John Dobelbower, Brand Leader Tim Breen, and Chairman/Director Michael Eblin. In a system this size, the CEO and CFO are the most probable software buyers, with the SVP of Brand Development likely influencing operational tool decisions. There is no CIO or CTO listed, so the financial and operational leadership duo effectively serves as the technology evaluation committee. Vendors should prepare to speak to ROI, compliance, and ease of franchisee adoption in a single conversation.
Mandated and current tech stack
Kitchen Guard Services mandates two systems: its own Kitchen Guard operating software and QuickBooks Online by Intuit Inc. The proprietary ops platform likely handles scheduling, job management, and franchisee performance tracking, while QuickBooks Online covers accounting and financial reporting. No POS, CRM, payroll, or marketing automation vendors are disclosed in the FDD, which may indicate either an open field for those categories or that such tools are bundled into the operating software. A vendor selling adjacent functionality—field service CRM, route optimization, or franchisee onboarding—should map their value directly against gaps in this lean mandated stack.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD does not include an Item 8 extract, so the formal procurement model (designated supplier, approved supplier, or open) is not publicly known. However, the existence of mandated software implies a top-down procurement philosophy. Renewal terms offer a potential entry point: franchisees may renew for two successive 10-year periods, but must sign the then-current franchise agreement, which can include materially different terms, including higher royalty and promotional fees. These renewal windows, tied to the initial 10-year term, may prompt headquarters to re-evaluate vendor relationships. With 38 units and no disclosed year-over-year unit growth, the system appears stable rather than rapidly expanding, so vendor conversations should focus on replacing or integrating with existing tools rather than capturing new-unit rollout.
How to read the Kitchen Guard Services FDD
The 2026 FDD is the primary source for every data point on this page. It contains the legal and operational blueprint of the franchise, including the franchise agreement, fee schedule, territory rights, and Item 11’s list of mandated technology. Software vendors should pay particular attention to Item 11 for the full tech mandate language, Item 1 for the current leadership roster, and Item 17 for renewal and transfer conditions that can create switching moments. The embedded viewer below provides the complete document. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
Kitchen Guard Services, answered from the filing
The 2026 FDD lists CEO Justin Ghadery and CFO Keri Thoma as key executives. Given the small system size and mandated tech stack, purchasing authority likely sits with these two, with input from SVP John Dobelbower on brand-aligned tools.
The FDD mandates Kitchen Guard operating software and QuickBooks Online by Intuit Inc. No other named systems are disclosed. This suggests a lean, finance-and-ops-focused core stack.
38 total units, all franchised, with no company-owned locations disclosed. The operator footprint is entirely single-unit franchisees, concentrated in Texas (5), Florida (3), and a handful of other states.
The 2026 FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the designated-vs-approved-supplier model is not publicly disclosed. Vendors should assume HQ exercises tight control given the mandated tech stack.
Franchisees may renew for two successive 10-year periods under then-current terms, which can include higher fees. Renewal cycles tied to the initial 10-year term could create periodic re-evaluation windows for software vendors.
The 2026 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can view the embedded PDF viewer below to read the full document and verify the data points cited on this page.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Kitchen Guard Services files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
33 operators run 33 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit33
Top states by locations
| TX | 5 |
|---|---|
| FL | 3 |
| AL | 2 |
| OH | 2 |
| SC | 2 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Kitchen Guard Services
strategic_multibrand of EverSmith Brands.
Sibling brands
Related Home services brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.