What does PAR warrant regarding the online availability of the SSS for a Dq Treat Participating Location?
Dq_Treat Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ing Location may not: (i) directly or indirectly access or use the Licensed Software or the SSS to process data or information for any person or entity other than Participating Location, and neither Participating Location nor its authorized users shall use or permit the SSS to be used as a service bureau, (ii) sell, resell, sublicense, loan, rent or lease the Licensed Software or the SSS, (iii) use the SSS to store or transmit infringing, unsolicited marketing emails, libelous, or otherwise unlawful or tortious material, or to store or transmit material in violation of third-party rights, (iv) interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the SSS, or (iv) attempt to gain unauthorized access to the SSS or their related systems or networks.
3. SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT, DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.
a. SSS Availability Warranty. PAR warrants to Participating Location, (i) PAR will maintain the online availability of the SSS for a minimum of availability in any given month as provided in the Transaction Availability Warranty and the General Availability Warranty charts below
("Availability Warranties"), and (ii) that the functionality or features of the SSS may change but will not materially decrease during the Term.
For purposes of Section 3 a. (i) above, the SSS shall be considered unavailable and covered by the Availability Warranty set forth in the charts below when Participating Location is unable to:
- (iii) process a point of sale transaction (e.g. open and close an order in-store), excluding any outages and downtime set forth in Section 4) b) below ("Transaction Availability Warranty"); or
- (v) use the administrative portal to make and publish menu changes; or (iv) communicate with the Service through an application programming interface ("API"), excluding any outages and downtime set forth in Section b) below ("General Availability Warranty").
- b. Outages and Downtime. The following outages and downtime shall be excluded from the Availability Warranty: (i) requested by Participating Location; (ii) caused by Participating Location or Participating Location's contractors and agents; (iii) scheduled maintenance and upgrade purposes; (iv) caused by Participating Location's computer system, web browser, hardware or software applications, including third party integrations, not provided by PAR; (v) power failures; (vi) service failures caused by a service provider other than PAR or PAR's agents; (vii) damage to telecommunication facilities outside of PAR's control, other than acts taken by or caused by PAR personnel; (viii) outages and downtime that arises as a result of Participating Location's failure to upgrade or refresh required hardware and Equipment where such noncompliance was communicated by PAR to Participating Location with adequate advance notice and where compliance is consistent with good business practices; and (ix) outages and downtime that arise from excessive load (more than 20 requests per second on the API) by Participating Location or agents acting on Participating Location's behalf or at Participating Location's direction. PAR will provide Participating Location with one (1) week notice of any scheduled maintenance or upgrades, which shall occur after business hours local time. PAR shall only use occurrences exceeding 60 seconds to calculate downtime.
- c. Service Level Credits. PAR shall issue a credit equal to the pro-rated portion of the monthly SSS Service Fees for the downtime period attributable to PAR below the applicable threshold per month in accordance with the Availability Warranties as set forth in the charts below ("Availability Warranty Credit"):
| Transaction Availability | Service Level Credit/Refund |
|---|---|
| Above 99.0% |
Source: Item 17 — The following paragraph is added to the end of Item 17 of the Disclosure Document: (FDD pages 70–378)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Dq Treat's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, PAR warrants to Dq Treat franchisees (referred to as Participating Locations) that it will maintain the online availability of the SSS (presumably a software system) to a minimum level each month, as detailed in the Transaction Availability Warranty and the General Availability Warranty charts. The SSS is considered unavailable when the Participating Location cannot process point-of-sale transactions, use the administrative portal to make menu changes, or communicate with the service through an application programming interface (API).
However, certain outages and downtime are excluded from this availability warranty. These exclusions include downtime requested by the Participating Location, caused by the Participating Location's own actions or those of their contractors, scheduled maintenance, issues with the Participating Location's computer systems or software, power failures, failures caused by other service providers, damage to telecommunication facilities outside of PAR's control, failure to upgrade hardware, and excessive load on the API. PAR will provide one week's notice for scheduled maintenance, which will occur after business hours. PAR only counts downtime exceeding 60 seconds when calculating overall downtime.
If PAR fails to meet the availability warranty thresholds, Dq Treat franchisees are eligible for service level credits. These credits are calculated as a pro-rated portion of the monthly SSS service fees for the downtime attributable to PAR. To claim these credits, the Participating Location must notify PAR's help desk of the outage. If PAR has no record of the Participating Location contacting the help desk within 60 days of the month's end in which the outage occurred, the franchisee waives any potential credits. However, if PAR is aware of a system-wide outage, Dq Treat may notify franchisees, and the franchisees will not need to contact PAR to obtain a credit.
It is important for prospective Dq Treat franchisees to understand these terms, as they define the level of service they can expect from the SSS and the recourse available if the system is not available as warranted. Franchisees should pay close attention to the exclusions from the availability warranty and the notification requirements for claiming service level credits. Understanding these details can help franchisees manage their operations and minimize potential disruptions caused by SSS downtime.