From the filings

HQ-led decisions

Story Time Chess

Youth services

Software purchasing at Story Time Chess is controlled by a tight executive team led by CEO Paul Levy and Co-Founder/President of Franchising Jon Sieber. The system currently mandates Tutor Cruncher for operations, and with only 5 company-owned units reported in the 2026 FDD, the addressable market is small but concentrated at the franchisor level.

For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.

Live signals

Total units
5
0 franchised
Unit growth YoY
—
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2026
Royalty
7%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$45K
per unit
Investment range
$56K–$76K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Franchisor controlled
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.

9%of gross sales (FY2026)

Ongoing fees: 9% of gross sales (FY2026)Royalty 7%, Ad fund 2%. Total 9% of gross sales. Drawn against a 15% reference scale.

15% reference

Royalty 7%Ad fund 2%

Mandated & recommended tech

The systems vendors compete with

2 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.

StripeStripe
Mandatory
PaymentsItem 8

s and use online, point of sale integrated, web based, and or app based, ordering, customer rewards, and/or gift card systems. Currently our designated vendor for these systems is Stripe. As you acces

TutorCruncherTutorCruncher
Mandatory
Industry softwareItem 8

forms, vendors and marketing channels. 3. Point of Sale System, Business Management System, and Computer Equipment – Currently you are required to purchase, license, and utilize a Tutor Cruncher point

FacebookMeta
MarketingItem 11

If feasible, you may do cooperative advertising with other Story Time Chess franchisees in your area, with our prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, X

InstagramMeta
MarketingItem 11

o cooperative advertising with other Story Time Chess franchisees in your area, with our prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, X, Instagram, LinkedIn,

LinkedInLinkedIn
MarketingItem 11

ve advertising with other Story Time Chess franchisees in your area, with our prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Yo

TikTokTikTok
MarketingItem 11

sing with other Story Time Chess franchisees in your area, with our prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube or a

TwitterX
MarketingItem 11

e, you may do cooperative advertising with other Story Time Chess franchisees in your area, with our prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, X, Instagra

YouTubeGoogle
MarketingItem 11

h other Story Time Chess franchisees in your area, with our prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube or any other

Franchisor behaviours

What the franchisor requires

29 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 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?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee agrees to keep and maintain complete and accurate books and records of its transactions and business operations using the accounting procedures and chart of accounts specified by Franchisor.

Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?

Yes

Item 11

We may retrieve, download, analyze and store such information and data at any time.

Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Within fifteen (15) days after the close of each calendar quarter and within ninety (90) days after the close of each fiscal year, Franchisee will furnish Franchisor a full and complete written statement of income and expense and a profit and loss statement for the operation of the Franchised Business during said…

How the franchisor buys

Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?

Yes

Item 8

Story Time Chess Franchising LLC is currently the only approved supplier of these items.

Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?

Yes

Item 8

We can, and expect to, modify our standards and specifications as we deem necessary.

How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?

0

Item 8

During the the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, we did not earn any revenue from franchisees required purchases of classroom materials.

Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

We have the right to collect and retain any and all allowances, rebates, credits, incentives, or benefits (collectively, “Allowances”) offered by manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors to you, to us, or to our affiliates, based upon your purchases of products and services from manufacturers, suppliers, and…

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?

60

Item 8

We estimate that your purchases from us or approved suppliers, or that must conform to our specifications, will represent approximately 75% of your total purchases in establishing your Franchised Business, and approximately 60% of your total purchases in the continuing operation of your Franchised Business.

Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisor reserves the right to charge Franchisee a product or supplier evaluation fee equal to the actual cost and expense for inspection and testing.

Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?

Yes

Item 8

If you would like us to consider another item or supplier, you must make such a request in writing to us and have the supplier give us samples of its product or service and such other information that we may require.

Communications

Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Upon the expiration or termination of this Agreement, Franchisor may exercise its authority, pursuant to such documents, to obtain any and all of Franchisee’s rights to the telephone numbers of the Franchised Business and all related telephone directory listings and other business listings, and all Internet listings…

Franchise management

Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?

Yes

Item 11

conduct inspections of your Franchised Business, at the frequency and duration that we deem advisable.

Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?

Yes

Item 17

franchisees. (s) Modification of the Sections 9.4, 14.6, No oral modifications generally, but we may agreement 19.1.4 and 21.12 change the Operations Manual and System standards at any time.

Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?

Yes

Item 11

You have no obligation to locate a site, negotiate a lease, or construct or remodel premises for the office of your Franchised Business, and we provide no assistance in this regard, but you must have our prior written approval (Franchise Agreement, Section 8.1.1).

Marketing

Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee shall not establish any website or other listing on the Internet except as provided and specifically permitted herein.

Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee shall spend a minimum of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) to Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) at Franchisor’s sole discretion on a grand opening campaign during the thirty (30) days prior to and ninety (90) days following the Opening Date to promote the opening of the Franchised Business.

Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?

Yes

Item 11

Thereafter, you must spend a minimum of between $500 and $2,000 each month on advertising for the Franchised Business in your territory.

Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?

Yes

Item 8

You must use our designated supplier and vendor for the ability to access and use online, point of sale integrated, web based, and or app based, ordering, customer rewards, and/or gift card systems.

Operations

Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?

Yes

Item 8

You must purchase certain equipment, supplies and services from our designated suppliers or in accordance with our specifications.

Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

You must purchase certain equipment, supplies and services from our designated suppliers or in accordance with our specifications.

Payments

Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

You must use our designated supplier and vendor for credit card processing, Stripe, which may be integrated with the Tutor Cruncher system.

Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?

Yes

Franchise agreement

At Franchisor’s request, Franchisee must execute documents, including but not limited to, the Authorization set forth in Attachment 3, that allow Franchisor to automatically take the Royalty Fee and Brand Development Fund Contribution due as well as other sums due Franchisor, from business bank accounts via…

Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?

Yes

Item 8

You must use our designated supplier and vendor for the ability to access and use online, point of sale integrated, web based, and or app based, ordering, customer rewards, and/or gift card systems.

People

Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee shall designate and retain at all times a general manager (“General Manager”) to direct the operation and management of the Franchised Business.

Point of sale

Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

Currently you are required to purchase, license, and utilize a Tutor Cruncher point of sale and business management system with one configured hardware terminal

Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?

Yes

Item 11

The POS System allows us to access all of your sales data independently and remotely, including your Gross Revenue, through the Internet.

Sales and CRM

Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 7

4) Computer System. This is the estimate for the computer system and customer relationship management systems, including hardware and software that meets our minimum specifications as required by our Manual.

Training

Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?

Yes

Item 11

We reserve the right to impose a reasonable fee for tuition and/or attendance for all additional training programs, including the annual business meeting or conference.

Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee’s failure to attend Franchisor’s business meeting or annual conference is a material default of this Agreement.

The filing answers no to 4 questions
  • Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Franchise agreement
  • Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?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

The vendor opportunity at Story Time Chess

Story Time Chess is a youth-services franchise headquartered in Tennessee, with 5 company-owned units reported in its 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. The number of franchised locations is not disclosed, and year-over-year unit growth is not available in the filing. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is small—just 5 units—but the concentration of purchasing authority at the corporate level means a single conversation can cover the entire system.

The brand operates without a parent company, appearing independently owned. No operator footprint is mapped in our corpus, which reinforces the HQ-centric buying dynamic. Average unit volume is not disclosed, and the royalty rate sits at 7.0% on a 5-year initial term.

Who controls software purchasing

The 2026 FDD lists five executives in Item 1. Paul Levy serves as Chief Executive Officer. Jon Sieber is Co-Founder and President of Franchising, and Harlan J. Alford is Co-Founder and President of Owned and Operated Units. Edward Huang holds the title of President of Curriculum Licensing, and Jessica Finney is Vice President of Curriculum & Training. No CIO, CTO, or VP of Technology is named, so software evaluation likely falls to the CEO and the two presidents overseeing franchising and owned operations.

For a vendor, the path in is through Levy or Sieber. The absence of a dedicated technology buyer means pitches should connect software value directly to curriculum delivery, franchisee onboarding, or unit-level operations—areas these executives own.

Mandated and current tech stack

Tutor Cruncher is the only mandated technology system named in the FDD. It appears as a required operational tool, likely supporting scheduling, student management, or tutoring logistics. No POS, CRM, ERP, or marketing automation mandates are disclosed. This suggests the system is either early in its tech adoption curve or intentionally lean.

Vendors selling complementary tools—such as billing, parent communication, or learning management—should position against the existing Tutor Cruncher mandate and demonstrate integration readiness. The lack of other named systems also means there is no incumbent to displace in most categories.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 of the FDD contains no procurement extract, so the franchisor’s supplier model—whether designated, approved, or open—is not publicly documented. This ambiguity means vendors should expect to negotiate terms directly with HQ rather than relying on a published procurement framework.

Renewal conditions in Item 17 offer a 5-year successor term for franchisees in good standing, provided they give written notice at least six months before expiration, execute a general release, and meet updated training and trade-dress standards. The franchisor retains sole discretion to withdraw from a geographic area. For software vendors, these renewal windows represent natural points when franchisees may reassess their tech stack, though the small unit count limits the volume of such events.

How to read the Story Time Chess FDD

The 2026 FDD is embedded below. It was filed with state franchise regulators and contains the full legal and operational disclosures for Story Time Chess. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executives), Item 11 (franchisor’s obligations and mandated systems), Item 8 (procurement restrictions), and Item 17 (renewal and transfer conditions). Reviewing these sections will clarify what is required versus what is open for vendor pitches.

If you sell software into franchise systems, FranCloud can build a ranked target list based on tech mandates, decision-maker concentration, and unit economics. Reach out to see where Story Time Chess fits in your pipeline.

Questions vendors ask

Story Time Chess, answered from the filing

The buying center includes CEO Paul Levy, Co-Founder/President of Franchising Jon Sieber, and Co-Founder/President of Owned Units Harlan J. Alford. No dedicated CIO or CTO is listed in the 2026 FDD.
Tutor Cruncher is the only mandated operational system disclosed in the 2026 FDD. No POS or additional tech mandates are named.
The 2026 FDD reports 5 total units, all company-owned. The number of franchised units is not disclosed.
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the designated-supplier versus approved-supplier model is not publicly known.
Renewal terms run 5 years, with notice required 6 months before expiration. Given the small unit count and early-stage profile, contract timing is likely opportunistic rather than calendar-driven.
The 2026 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can review the embedded PDF viewer below for the full disclosure document.
Source

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Story Time Chess2026 FDDView only

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The brands you can actually sell into, from the filings.

Operator footprint

Who runs the locations

1 operators run 1 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.

Operators by units owned

Single-unit1

Top states by locations

WI1

Ownership

The portfolio behind Story Time Chess

unknown of thinking cup.

Related Youth services brands

Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.