HarbortouchShift4
Mandatory, we require you to purchase the following hardware and software: Hardware 1 desktop or laptop computer with internet access, a printer/ scanner/ copier, and audio system Software Harbor Touch POS Sys
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Montauk Lobster House
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing control at Montauk Lobster House is concentrated at the headquarters level, given the brand operates only two company-owned units and has no disclosed franchisee operator footprint. The mandated tech stack includes Harbor Touch POS and QuickBooks Online, with no other named systems in the 2023 FDD. The total addressable market is extremely small, consisting of just 2 locations.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
2
0 franchised
Unit growth YoY
—
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2023
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$30K
per unit
Investment range
$148K–$294K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Franchisor controlled
from the filing
Non-compete
1 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.
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.
QuickBooks OnlineIntuit
ase the following hardware and software: Hardware 1 desktop or laptop computer with internet access, a printer/ scanner/ copier, and audio system Software Harbor Touch POS System, Quickbooks Online Di
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
23 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 explicit no's; 7 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
Franchisee shall utilize an accounting software such as Quickbooks.com (or other Franchisor approved accounting software) to manage its books.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor shall have full access to all of Franchisee’s computer, data and systems and all related information by means of direct access, either in person or by telephone, modem or Internet.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall, at its expense, submit to Franchisor within 30 days after the end of each calendar year, an income statement for the calendar year just ended and a balance sheet as of the last day of the calendar year.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We are currently an approved supplier of advertising material, but not the only approved supplier of such items.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
In our last fiscal year ending December 31, 2022, we did not earn revenue or other material consideration from required purchases or leases 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?
30Item 8
We estimate that approximately 30% of your expenditures on an ongoing basis will be for goods and services that must be purchased either from us, an Affiliate, an approved supplier or another party according to our standards and specifications.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We charge any costs incurred, up to $1,000, to test another supplier that you propose.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you wish to propose to us another supplier, you may submit the proposed supplier that you wish for us to consider in writing.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
assign your telephone and facsimile numbers to us
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor or its designee has the right, during normal business hours without notice, to examine, copy, and audit the books, records and tax returns of Franchisee.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right to add to or otherwise modify the Operations Manual from time to time to reflect changes in the specifications, standards, operating procedures, and rules prescribed by Franchisor; provided, however, that no such addition or modification shall materially alter Franchisee’s fundamental status…
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You must secure a location for the Business within 30 days of the signing of the Franchise Agreement; this includes the requirement of obtaining our approval for your selected location.
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 are restricted from establishing a presence on, or marketing on the Internet without our written consent.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 11
You agree to spend a minimum of $3,000 - $6,000 on Grand Opening Advertising to promote the opening of your business, pursuant to our guidelines.
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 spend a minimum of 1% of Gross Revenues on local advertising pursuant to our guidelines.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
We estimate that approximately 70% of your expenditures for leases and purchases in establishing your Franchised Business will be for goods and services that must be purchased from us, an Affiliate, an approved supplier, or from another party according to our standards and specifications.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
Computers and Software You must purchase computer hardware and software designated by us.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
Royalty and other fees shall be payable to us by direct deposit.
People
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall abide by all uniform and dress code requirements stated in the Operations Manual or otherwise.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
Computer Systems: You must purchase and use any hardware and software programs we designate.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor shall have full access to all of Franchisee’s computer, data and systems and all related information by means of direct access, either in person or by telephone, modem or Internet.
Sales and CRM
Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase and use any hardware and software programs we designate.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 6
FA 8.3 whichever is greater Currently, we charge $250 per day per person plus expenses for We may charge you for training newly-hired training at our personnel; for refresher training courses; for location, and the conventions, seminars, conferences, and $250 per day per When training webinars; and for additional or…
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 regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
- Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?Franchise agreement
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 Montauk Lobster House
Montauk Lobster House is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in New York. The brand operates a total of 2 units, both of which are company-owned. The number of franchised units is not disclosed in the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document, and no year-over-year unit growth rate is available. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is limited to these 2 corporate locations. The average unit volume is not reported, and the royalty rate stands at 5.0% of gross sales. The initial franchise term is 10 years.
Who controls software purchasing
Given the corporate-owned structure and the absence of any mapped franchisee operators in our corpus, software purchasing authority rests entirely with headquarters management. The FDD does not list specific executives in Item 1, so no named CIO, VP of IT, or Operations lead is available to target. Vendors should approach this as a direct-to-HQ sale, recognizing that the decision-making unit is likely small and centralized.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2023 FDD mandates two specific technology systems. The point-of-sale system is Harbor Touch POS, and the accounting platform is QuickBooks Online by Intuit Inc. No other operational, payroll, inventory, or HR systems are named as required or recommended in the available disclosures. This creates a narrow integration surface but also leaves room for vendors offering complementary solutions that can layer onto Harbor Touch or QuickBooks Online without conflicting with existing mandates.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD does not provide a clear procurement signal. The document does not specify whether the franchisor uses a designated supplier model, an approved supplier list, or an open procurement process. This lack of detail means vendors should be prepared for a direct negotiation with HQ, where the franchisor likely retains full discretion over vendor selection. On the renewal side, Item 17 indicates that franchisees have the right to renew for additional 10-year terms by entering into the then-current franchise agreement and paying a renewal fee. The franchisor may refuse renewal if conditions are not met. With only 2 units and no disclosed expansion activity, software contract windows are likely infrequent and tied to HQ-driven refresh cycles rather than franchisee-driven demand.
How to read the Montauk Lobster House FDD
The 2023 Montauk Lobster House FDD is embedded below for full review. This document is filed with state franchise regulators and contains the legal disclosures required under the FTC Franchise Rule. Key items for software vendors include Item 11 (franchisor’s assistance, advertising, computer systems, and training), which lists the mandated Harbor Touch POS and QuickBooks Online systems, and Item 17 (renewal, termination, transfer, and dispute resolution), which outlines the 10-year renewal structure. Item 8 (restrictions on sources of products and services) is silent in the available extract, so vendors should inquire directly about procurement requirements. For a ranked target list of franchise brands matched to your software category, reach out to FranCloud.
Questions vendors ask
Montauk Lobster House, answered from the filing
With only 2 company-owned units and no franchisees mapped, purchasing decisions are made by HQ management. Specific executive names are not listed in the 2023 FDD.
The 2023 FDD mandates Harbor Touch POS System and QuickBooks Online by Intuit Inc. No other operational or back-of-house systems are disclosed as required.
There are 2 total units, both company-owned. The number of franchised units is not disclosed, suggesting the system is currently corporate-operated.
The procurement model is not detailed in the available FDD extract. Item 8 does not specify whether suppliers are designated, approved, or open.
Franchise agreements have a 10-year initial term and can be renewed for additional 10-year terms. With only 2 units and no disclosed growth, contract windows are likely infrequent and HQ-driven.
The 2023 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can review the embedded PDF viewer below for the full legal text and disclosures.
Source
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FDD alert
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Operator footprint
No franchisee network yet. Montauk Lobster House’s latest FDD reports no franchised locations.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.