Is a Carls Jr. franchisee required to use the PAR Brink/CrunchTime software?
Carls_Jr Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
| Type of Fee (1) | Amount | Due Date | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Support Fee (PAR Brink and CrunchTime) | Currently, $118 per Franchised Restaurant per fiscal period (4 week accounting period) (for L/1 and L/2 Help Desk Support for PAR Brink & CrunchTime); in addition, $825 per Franchised Restaurant bi annually (every 26 week accounting period) for back office support fee payable to CrunchTime. Additionally, there is an optional BizIQ cost, per user: Power User $3,800, Analyst $1,800, and Consumer $600. If you use Brink, you must also pay the Brink Hosting Fee of $6.50 per fiscal period (4 | As incurred | $118 of this amount is paid to our affiliate, CKR, and the amount or related fees are subject to change, although we do not anticipate any annual increase to exceed 30% unless new technology components are added. Applicable only if you choose to use the PAR Brink/CrunchTime service (described in Item 11). You are not required to use this software. If you use PAR Brink you are also required to use CrunchTime for back office support and pay to Crunchtime $825 per Franchised Restaurant bi annually (every 26 week accounting period) for back office support fee. PAR Brink and CrunchTime require the payment of additional license fees as explained in Item 11. The breakdown of this support fee is: RTSC Help Desk – Cognizant - $55 RTSC Help Desk – Network/Telco $25 RTSC Help Desk – Kaseya/Ninja - $14 Black Hills InfoSec (BHIS) - $13 RTSC Help Desk – Service Now - $8 Sentinel 1 - $3 The BizIQ cost is billed annually by BizIQ and paid directly to BizIQ. The CrunchTime and Brink Hosting Fees are billed by us and paid to our affiliate, CKR, to reimburse CKR for these hosting fees billed to CKR by CrunchTime and Brink. |
Source: Item 6 — Other Fees (FDD pages 28–35)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Carls Jr. Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are not required to use the PAR Brink/CrunchTime software. However, if a franchisee chooses to use this software, they will incur certain fees.
Specifically, the Software Support Fee for PAR Brink and CrunchTime is currently $118 per franchised restaurant per fiscal period (4-week accounting period) for L/1 and L/2 Help Desk Support. Additionally, there is a $825 bi-annual fee (every 26-week accounting period) for back-office support payable to CrunchTime. If the franchisee uses Brink, they must also pay a Brink Hosting Fee of $6.50 per fiscal period.
The FDD also mentions optional BizIQ costs, which are per user and billed annually by BizIQ: Power User ($3,800), Analyst ($1,800), and Consumer ($600). The $118 portion of the Software Support Fee is paid to CKR, a Carls Jr. affiliate, and the amounts or related fees are subject to change, although Carls Jr. does not anticipate any annual increase to exceed 30% unless new technology components are added. The CrunchTime and Brink Hosting Fees are billed by Carls Jr. and paid to their affiliate, CKR, to reimburse CKR for these hosting fees billed to CKR by CrunchTime and Brink.