QuickBooksIntuit
Mandatoryre and applications that we specify and pay any subscription fees associated with them. In addition to the software associated with the POS System, we currently require you to use QuickBooks for digit
From the filings
+500% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Topsail Steamer Franchise
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Topsail Steamer is controlled by its small HQ team in North Carolina, led by Owner Danielle Mahon and Director of Business Administration Stacy Connelly. The franchise currently mandates QuickBooks for accounting and relies on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube for marketing, with Sysco as a designated supplier. With just 10 total units (6 franchised, 4 company-owned) and a 500% year-over-year growth rate, the addressable market is tiny but expanding rapidly.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
10
6 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+500%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
7%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$45K
per unit
Investment range
$242K–$399K
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.
8%of gross sales (FY2025)
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
u must furnish us with a quarterly report and documentation of local advertising expenditures during the previous calendar quarter. You may not use social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram,
InstagramMeta
nish us with a quarterly report and documentation of local advertising expenditures during the previous calendar quarter. You may not use social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
LinkedInLinkedIn
erly report and documentation of local advertising expenditures during the previous calendar quarter. You may not use social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs or o
SyscoSysco
establish your Franchised Business and approximately 50% of your costs for ongoing operation. During our fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, we received $6,957.27 in rebates from Sysco. This number m
TwitterX
h a quarterly report and documentation of local advertising expenditures during the previous calendar quarter. You may not use social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, b
YouTubeGoogle
ertising with other Topsail Steamer franchisees in your area, with our prior written approval. You may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, or any othe
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 6 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
In addition to the software associated with the POS System, we currently require you to use QuickBooks for digital bookkeeping.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
The Clover POS System allows us to independently and remotely access all of your sales data, including your Gross Revenue, through the Internet.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Within thirty (30) 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
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 11
We may in the future modify or establish other sales reporting systems as we deem appropriate, for the accurate and expeditious reporting of Gross Revenue and delivery of
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
During our fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, we received $6,957.27 in rebates from Sysco.
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?
50Item 8
We estimate that your purchase or lease of products, supplies and services from approved suppliers (or those which meet our specifications) will represent approximately 85% of your costs to establish your Franchised Business and approximately 50% of your costs for ongoing operation.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
If you request that we approve a proposed supplier, you will be required to pay us any actual costs of product testing.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you would like us to consider another supplier, you must make such request in writing to use and have the supplier give us samples or 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?
YesFranchise 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?
YesItem 11
conduct evaluations of your Franchised Business, at the frequency and duration that we deem advisable.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor may from time to time revise the contents of the Manual and other materials created or approved for use in the operation of the Franchised Business.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
No site may be used for the location of the Franchised Business unless it is consented to in writing by Franchisor.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesFranchise 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?
YesFranchise agreement
during the thirty (30) days prior to and ninety (90) days following the opening of the Franchised Business, Franchisee shall conduct a grand opening marketing campaign in the Territory in which Franchisee must spend at least Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) on marketing, promotion, and awareness-generating activities.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall spend monthly, throughout the term of this Agreement, not less than one and one half percent (1.5%) of the Franchised Business’s Gross Revenue per month in the Territory set forth in Attachment 2 (“Local Advertising”).
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If a cooperative is established during the term of your Franchise Agreement, you must sign all documents we request and become a member of the cooperative according to the terms of the documents.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must also purchase your ingredients, prepped and/or packaged foods, paper/disposable goods, equipment, and furnishings from our designated suppliers and contractors.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase all items outlined in the Operations Manual, and any equipment or materials bearing the Marks in accordance with our specifications including computer systems and certain software, from our designated suppliers and contractors or in accordance with our specifications.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase and use the POS System we specify, and have the latest versions of hardware, software, and computer platforms to operate the POS System.
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
At Franchisor’s request, Franchisee must execute documents, including but not limited to, the Authorization attached as Attachment 4, that allow Franchisor to automatically take the Royalty Fee and Brand Fund Contribution due as well as other sums due Franchisor, from business bank accounts via electronic funds…
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
Your Topsail Steamer outlet must be directly supervised by a general manager.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase and use the POS System we specify, and have the latest versions of hardware, software, and computer platforms to operate the POS System.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
The Clover POS System allows us to independently and remotely access all of your sales data, including your Gross Revenue, through the Internet.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 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?
YesItem 11
If we require it, you must attend mandatory additional training offered by us for up to five (5) days each year at a location we designate and attend an annual business meeting or franchisee conference for up to five (5) days each year at a location we designate.
The filing answers no to 3 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 comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?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 Topsail Steamer
Topsail Steamer is a quick-service seafood franchise headquartered in North Carolina. The 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) reports 10 total units—6 franchised and 4 company-owned—representing a 500% year-over-year unit growth. While the average unit volume (AUV) is not disclosed, the rapid expansion signals a franchise in early scaling mode. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is small: just 10 locations, with one franchised unit mapped in Wisconsin. However, the growth trajectory suggests that the franchise may soon need operational, financial, and marketing tools to support additional units. The absence of a parent company indicates independent ownership, meaning decisions are made by a lean HQ team without corporate overlays.
Who controls software purchasing
Software purchasing authority rests with the small leadership team at the North Carolina headquarters. The FDD Item 1 lists Danielle Mahon as Owner, Stacy Connelly as Director of Business Administration, and James Mahon as Business Development & Growth Manager. In a franchise system of this size, the Owner and Director of Business Administration are the most likely decision-makers for back-office and operational software. James Mahon’s growth-focused role may also influence tools that support expansion, such as CRM or location intelligence platforms. With no multi-unit operators (the sole mapped operator runs a single unit), franchisees are unlikely to have independent purchasing power; mandates likely flow from HQ.
Mandated and current tech stack
The FDD’s Item 11 disclosures reveal a lean tech stack. Topsail Steamer mandates QuickBooks for accounting—a common choice for small franchises. Sysco is listed as a supplier, indicating a designated food-service procurement relationship, though no specific procurement software is named. For marketing, the franchise recommends a suite of social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. No point-of-sale (POS) system is disclosed in the FDD, leaving a potential gap for vendors offering POS or integrated restaurant management platforms. The absence of a mandated POS suggests that franchisees may currently use disparate systems, or that the franchisor has not yet standardized this layer.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD does not include an Item 8 extract, so the procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not publicly detailed. The mention of Sysco hints at a designated supplier for food, but for technology, the approach remains unclear. The franchise agreement has an initial term of 10 years, with renewal options for two additional 5-year terms, subject to conditions including a successor agreement fee (10% of the then-current initial franchise fee) and compliance requirements. This long initial term means that existing franchisees are locked in for a decade, but the recent 500% growth suggests that new units are being added rapidly. Each new franchise agreement represents a potential software evaluation window. Vendors should monitor FDD updates for changes in mandated tech or supplier lists.
How to read the Topsail Steamer FDD
The 2025 Topsail Steamer FDD is filed with state franchise regulators and available in the embedded viewer below. Key sections for software vendors include Item 11 (franchisor’s obligations), which lists mandated technology and suppliers; Item 1 (the franchisor and any parents), which identifies decision-makers; and Item 17 (renewal, termination, transfer), which outlines contract cycles. The FDD also includes an operator footprint summary, showing unit counts by state and ownership type. Because the franchise is small, the FDD is concise, but it provides the essential signals for qualifying the account. For a ranked target list of franchise systems aligned with your software category, talk to FranCloud.
Questions vendors ask
Topsail Steamer Franchise, answered from the filing
The buying center includes Owner Danielle Mahon and Director of Business Administration Stacy Connelly. With only 10 units, decisions are centralized; James Mahon (Business Development) may also influence tools that support growth.
The FDD does not disclose a mandated POS system. It mandates QuickBooks for accounting and lists Sysco as a supplier. Social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube) are recommended for marketing.
As of the 2025 FDD, Topsail Steamer has 10 total units: 6 franchised and 4 company-owned, all in the quick-service seafood segment. One franchised unit is in Wisconsin.
Item 8 of the FDD provides no extract, so the procurement model is not publicly disclosed. It likely involves designated or approved suppliers, given the mention of Sysco, but specifics are unknown.
With a 10-year initial term and renewal options for two additional 5-year terms, contract windows may align with franchise agreement cycles. The 500% growth suggests near-term expansion could trigger new technology needs.
The 2025 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can view it in the embedded PDF viewer below. It contains all legal disclosures, including Item 11 tech mandates and Item 17 renewal terms.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
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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
| WI | 1 |
|---|
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated August 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.