From the filings
Software purchasing at Southern Solar Franchise Systems is controlled from its Texas headquarters, where Chief Executive Officer Glenn Lynch, President Shane Lynch, and CFO Michael Whelan are the key executives on file. The franchisor does not mandate any specific technology systems in its 2023 FDD. The addressable market is extremely small, consisting of just 1 company-owned unit with no franchised locations reported.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ongoing fee load
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
6%of gross sales (FY2023)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
27 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 5 explicit no's; 2 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 may revise our specifications for the hardware and any software used in the Southern Solar Business as we deem necessary, including the designation of specific brands or models of accounting software or other software used for word processing, spreadsheets and other office functions, that you must use in the…
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
The software programs and hardware used at Southern Solar Businesses are designed to enable us to have independent access to the information generated and stored by the system, and there is no contractual limitation on our access to, or use of, the information we obtain.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
In addition to other reports required by this Agreement, you agree to submit to us, in the form we prescribe from time to time and at your expense: (1) At our request, a monthly income statement (which may be unaudited), signed by your treasurer, chief financial officer or comparable officer attesting that it is…
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesFranchise agreement
We may designate ourselves, our Affiliates or a third party as an approved or designated supplier, or as the sole approved or designated supplier of any item.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
You acknowledge that we may modify the specifications and the components of any such Computer System from time to time.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
In fiscal year 2021, neither we nor any of our affiliates received any revenues from the sale of products or services to 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?
80Item 8
We estimate your required purchases for the operation of the Southern Solar Business will range between 80% and 90% of your annual purchases or leases.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
You must reimburse us for the costs that we incur in the supplier approval process.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If we require that an item be purchased from an approved supplier and you wish to purchase it from a supplier we have not approved, you must submit to us a written request for approval.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
the undersigned (hereinafter called the “Franchisee”) hereby irrevocably assigns, effective upon the date of termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement, the telephone listings and numbers stated below to Southern Solar Franchise Systems, LLC
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 1
You must comply with all payment card infrastructure (“PCI”) industry and government security standards and requirements designed to protect cardholder data.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
Conduct periodic evaluations of your operations.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
We have the right to add to or modify the Manuals from time to time.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
We must accept the site as meeting our minimum standards before you may begin using such site for your Southern Solar Business.
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 advertise, promote, post or list information relating to the Southern Solar Business on the Internet (through the creation of a website, social media accounts or posts or otherwise) without our prior written consent
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 at least $5,000 per month on advertising and promotion of your Southern Solar Business in the Protected Area, and at least one-half (50%) of your local advertising money must be used to participate in telemarketing programs approved by us.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If a Cooperative is established for an area that includes your Protected Area, you must become a member of the Cooperative and participate in the Cooperative by contributing the amounts required by the Cooperative’s governing documents, which will require contributions of at least $500 per month.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesFranchise agreement
If we have approved or designated suppliers (which may include us or our Affiliates or third party manufacturers, distributors and other sources) for any such item, you agree to obtain these items from those suppliers.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
Before opening your Southern Solar Business (and from time to time as needed during operation of your Southern Solar Business), you must purchase from approved suppliers certain items required for the operation of a Southern Solar Business, including, among other things, uniforms, certain equipment/tools, and…
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to execute Exhibit E to this Agreement and all other documents necessary to permit us to withdraw funds from your designated bank account by electronic funds transfer (“EFT”) in the amount of the royalty fee, the Brand Development Fund contribution (described in Section IX.C.), and any other amounts due…
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 11
In addition, at least 2 of your sales people must attend the sales portion of our initial training program, and at least 2 of your administrative employees must attend administrative portion of our training.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
you must purchase from approved suppliers certain items required for the operation of a Southern Solar Business, including, among other things, uniforms, certain equipment/tools, and inventory/supplies.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase this software and the related hardware from a supplier approved by us.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
The software programs and hardware used at Southern Solar Businesses are designed to enable us to have independent access to the information generated and stored by the system, and there is no contractual limitation on our access to, or use of, the information we obtain.
Sales and CRM
Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase this software and the related hardware from a supplier approved by us.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We may, at our option, require your Principal Owner and General Manager to attend additional training programs and seminars from time to time (up to a maximum of 5 training days per year) at a location designated by us.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesFranchise agreement
If we schedule an annual franchise conference, you must attend.
Who buys here
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.
Southern Solar Franchise Systems presents a minimal addressable market for software vendors. According to its 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document, the system consists of exactly 1 unit, which is company-owned. No franchised locations are reported, and year-over-year unit growth data is not disclosed. For a vendor, this means the total sales opportunity is a single-location deal, with no near-term expansion signal visible in the FDD. The franchisor is based in Texas and operates in the home services sector, specifically solar. The royalty rate is 5.5% on gross revenue, though average unit volume (AUV) is not published, making it difficult to model the location's revenue potential.
All purchasing authority rests at the headquarters level. The 2023 FDD lists three executives in Item 1: Glenn Lynch, Chief Executive Officer; Shane Lynch, President; and Michael Whelan, Chief Financial Officer. In a system of this size, the CEO and CFO are the de facto technology buyers. There is no CIO, CTO, or dedicated IT role disclosed. A vendor pitching operational or financial software should direct outreach to Michael Whelan for budget authority or Glenn Lynch for strategic decisions. Because there are no franchisees, there is no multi-unit operator (MUO) layer to navigate.
The 2023 FDD does not identify any mandated or recommended technology systems. No POS, CRM, project management, or field-service software vendors are named. This absence of a tech mandate means the single company-owned location may be using ad-hoc or consumer-grade tools, creating a greenfield opportunity for a vendor that can demonstrate immediate operational value. However, without a franchisee base, the typical land-and-expand strategy through franchisee adoption is not applicable here.
Item 8 of the FDD, which typically outlines purchasing restrictions and approved suppliers, contains no extract in our corpus. The procurement model is therefore unknown. On the renewal side, Item 17 provides a 10-year renewal right, contingent on signing the then-current franchise agreement, which may contain materially different terms. This suggests that any software contract tied to the franchise agreement could be renegotiated at renewal. With only a single unit and no disclosed growth, the most realistic sales trigger is a direct, unsolicited pitch to HQ that aligns with an immediate operational pain point.
The full 2023 FDD is available below. Focus your review on Item 1 (executives), Item 8 (procurement restrictions), and Item 17 (renewal and transfer conditions) to validate the decision-maker and any hidden purchasing obligations. Because the system has no franchisees, Items 6 and 7, which detail initial fees and investment, are less relevant for software sales planning than they would be in a larger system. For a ranked target list of franchise systems with stronger technology mandates and larger addressable unit counts, FranCloud can help you prioritize your outbound efforts.
Questions vendors ask
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment Southern Solar Franchise Systems files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
1 operators run 1 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Related Home services brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.