What is a Chatime franchisee required to ensure regarding connectivity at their store?
Chatime Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
liance and data protection is your sole responsibility.
You will ensure that connectivity include notation on type of connection speed at your Chatime Store is maintained and available at all times to allow all data generated by the point-of-sale system to be captured by our central polling server. We will have independent access to this information. You will be responsible for the payment of all initial and ongoing costs associated with the technology stack and with any associated payment procedures we specify from time to time in the Operations Manual or our Global Policies and Procedures. (Clause 4.14 of the Franchise Agreement).
Neither we nor our affiliates have any obligation to provide ongoing maintenance, repairs, upgrades, or updates to the point-of-sale systems or other computer systems you. You may negotiate terms with a third-party supplier that we approve. We may require you to upgrade or update any point-of-sale system or computer system to one we designate if we decide that such upgrade or update will be in the best interests of the brand and our franchise network. There are no contractual limitations on the frequency or cost of this obligation.
We may change the components of the technology stack from time to time in order to optimize in location operations and customer experience. We may require you to upgrade or update any point- of-sale system or computersystem to one we designate if we decide thatsuch upgrade or update will be in the best interests of the brand and our franchise network. There are no contractual limitations on the frequency or cost of this obligation.
Source: Item 11 — Franchisor's Assistance, Advertising, Computer Systems, and Training (FDD pages 27–35)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Chatime's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must ensure that their store maintains consistent connectivity to allow the point-of-sale system to transmit data to Chatime's central polling server. This connectivity must be available at all times. Chatime will have independent access to this information.
This requirement means that a franchisee is responsible for all initial and ongoing costs associated with the technology stack and any payment procedures specified by Chatime in the Operations Manual or Global Policies and Procedures. These costs are in addition to the initial investment required for the technology stack, which ranges from $10,500 to $14,000.
Chatime retains the right to modify the technology stack to improve operations and customer experience, potentially requiring franchisees to upgrade or update their systems. There are no contractual limitations on the frequency or cost of these required upgrades, meaning franchisees could face unexpected expenses to comply with Chatime's evolving technology requirements. The monthly license fees payable for the technology stack are estimated to range from $700 to $950, but this can vary if the franchisee chooses to utilize additional optional extras, features, or touchpoints.