stem”) that consists of the following hardware and software: (a) POS, one laptop, digital menu boards, and one printer; (b) Toast point of sale software, loyalty program software, QuickBooks and Micro
From the filings
Sip Fresh
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Sip Fresh is controlled by its lean HQ team in California, led by CEO Sharon Arthofer and Controller Nicholas Wutrich. The brand currently mandates QuickBooks for financial management and operates just 4 locations (1 franchised, 3 company-owned), making it a small but focused target for vendors. With a $375,961 average unit volume and a 6% royalty, the franchise is in early growth, offering a narrow window to establish a vendor relationship before scaling.
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.
8%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
26 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 explicit no's; 4 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 (or our designee) have the right to independently access the electronic information and data relating to your Sip Fresh Business and to collect and use your electronic information and data in any manner, including to promote the System and the sale of Franchises.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You must also prepare annual Financial Statements within 30 days of the end of your fiscal year.
How the franchisor buys
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
We may change or add approved suppliers of this Technology at any time, in our sole discretion.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
During our last fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, neither we nor our affiliates derived any revenue or other material consideration as a result of franchisees’ required purchases or leases.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and our affiliates may receive rebates from some suppliers based on your purchase of products and services and we have no obligation to pass them on to our franchisees or use them in any particular manner.
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
We estimate that approximately 90% of purchases required to open your Sip Fresh Business and 75% of purchases required to operate your Sip Fresh Business will be from us or from other approved suppliers or under our specifications.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We reserve the right to charge a fee to evaluate the proposed product, service, or supplier.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you want to use or sell a product or service that we have not yet evaluated, or if you want to purchase or lease a product or service from a supplier or provider that we have not yet approved (for products and services that require supplier approval), you must notify us and submit to us the {00190989.DOCX. } 16…
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Immediately stop using all telephone numbers, advertisements, domain names and social media accounts associated with the Franchised Business.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to comply with the then-current Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards as those standards may be revised and modified by the PCI Security Standards Council, LLC, or any successor organization or standards that we may reasonably specify.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
We have the right, at any time, to have an independent audit made of the books and financial records of your Franchised Business.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
We can modify the Franchise Operations Manual at any time.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
We must approve the site before you sign the lease.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesFranchise agreement
You may not maintain a separate website, conduct e-commerce, or otherwise maintain a presence on the Internet in connection with your Franchised Business without our express written permission, which we may revoke at any time, in our sole discretion.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 7
You must spend approximately $3,000 to $5,000 on our required grand opening advertising campaign.
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
We require you to spend 1% of your Gross Sales and utilize these funds to advertise within your local marketing and advertising (“Local Advertising Requirement”).
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to participate in our gift card and loyalty programs, if any, and agree to make gift cards and loyalty programs available for purchase and redemption at your Franchised Business subject to the policies and procedures contained in the Franchise Operations Manual.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
You are required to participate in any advertising cooperative that we require for the purpose of creating and/or purchasing advertising programs for the benefit of all franchisees operating within a particular region.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
This includes purchasing or leasing all products, services, supplies, fixtures, equipment, inventory, computer hardware, and software, and real estate related to establishing and operating the Sip Fresh Franchise under our specifications, which may include purchasing these items from: (i) our designees; (ii) approved…
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must obtain the computer hardware, software licenses, maintenance, and support services, digital menu board subscriptions, POS System subscriptions, loyalty program subscriptions, and other related services that meet our specifications from the suppliers we specify.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to maintain, at all times, credit card relationships with the credit and debit card issuers or sponsors, check or credit verification services, financial center services, payment providers, merchant service providers, loyalty and gift cards, and electronic fund transfer systems (together, “Payment Vendors”)…
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 fees and other amounts due to us or our affiliates via electronic funds transfer (“EFT”) or other similar means.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to participate in our gift card and loyalty programs, if any, and agree to make gift cards and loyalty programs available for purchase and redemption at your Franchised Business subject to the policies and procedures contained in the Franchise Operations Manual.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You must utilize the technology, including software, computer hardware and components, point of sale system, digital menu board subscriptions, loyalty program subscriptions, online ordering, cash register(s), communication equipment, and other related accessories or peripheral equipment (collectively, “Technology”)…
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We (or our designee) have the right to independently access the electronic information and data relating to your Sip Fresh Business and to collect and use your electronic information and data in any manner, including to promote the System and the sale of Franchises.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 6
We may charge you for additional person for training additional persons, newly hired initial training and per personnel, refresher training courses, trainee for additional remedial training, advanced training or remedial training) courses, and additional or special assistance or training you need or request.
The filing answers no to 4 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-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?Franchise agreement
- Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?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.
- 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 Sip Fresh Sip Fresh is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in California, with a total of 4 units (3 company-owned, 1 franchised) as disclosed in its 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document. The brand generated an average unit volume (AUV) of $375,961 and charges a 6% royalty on gross sales. For software vendors, this is a micro-cap franchise opportunity—small in unit count but potentially open to new technology partnerships given its early growth stage. The franchise is part of a refresh holding company (details not disclosed), and its operator base consists of 8 mapped operators, all single-unit, with no multi-unit franchisees. The geographic footprint spans four states: California (5 operators), Colorado (1), Wisconsin (1), and Florida (1). While the total unit count is just 4, the presence of 8 operators suggests some operators may manage multiple locations or there is a discrepancy in reporting; nevertheless, the addressable market for software is tightly concentrated.
Who controls software purchasing Decision-making authority at Sip Fresh rests with its small headquarters team. The FDD lists five executives: Sharon Arthofer (Chief Executive Officer), Michelle Chino (Marketing and Strategy Specialist), Nicholas Wutrich (Controller), Aaron Owens (Director of Field Operations and Training), and Michael Norcup (Director of Franchise Development). With no dedicated IT or procurement role, software purchasing decisions likely flow through the CEO and Controller, who oversee financial and operational systems. Given the brand’s size, vendors should expect a direct, relationship-driven sales process rather than a formal RFP. The absence of multi-unit franchisees means franchisee influence on tech choices is minimal; HQ likely sets standards unilaterally.
Mandated and current tech stack The 2025 FDD mandates only QuickBooks for accounting purposes. No point-of-sale (POS), inventory management, or other operational software is specified as required or recommended. This leaves a wide opening for vendors offering complementary solutions—such as POS, scheduling, or customer engagement platforms—provided they can demonstrate ROI to a small, cost-conscious franchisor. The lack of a mandated tech stack beyond QuickBooks suggests that Sip Fresh may be in the early stages of building its technology infrastructure, making it a greenfield opportunity for the right vendor.
Procurement, renewals, and timing Item 8 of the FDD (procurement restrictions) was not extracted, indicating that the franchisor does not impose designated or approved supplier requirements in the disclosed document. This implies an open procurement model, where franchisees may select vendors as long as they meet brand standards. However, with only one franchised unit, the immediate sales opportunity is primarily with the three company-owned locations, where HQ directly controls purchasing. The franchise agreement has an initial term of 10 years, and Item 17 allows for two successor terms of 5 years each, provided the franchisee is in good standing and signs the then-current agreement, which may include materially different terms (including higher royalties and advertising contributions). For software vendors, contract windows may align with these renewal cycles, but the brand’s nascent stage means that initial vendor selections are likely happening now, with long-term lock-in potential.
How to read the Sip Fresh FDD The full 2025 Sip Fresh FDD is embedded below for your review. Key sections for software vendors include Item 11 (the franchisor’s obligations), which lists mandated technology, and Item 17 (renewal, termination, and transfer), which reveals contract cycle timing. Item 8 (restrictions on sources of products and services) is not extracted, so assume an open market unless otherwise indicated. The FDD is filed with state franchise regulators and is publicly available; you can page through it directly in the viewer. For a ranked list of franchise brands that match your ideal customer profile, including unit growth trajectories and tech stack gaps, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
Sip Fresh, 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 Sip Fresh files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
7 operators run 8 mapped locations. 1 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| CA | 5 |
|---|---|
| CO | 1 |
| WI | 1 |
| FL | 1 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Sip Fresh
unknown of refresh holding.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated August 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.