Restaurant franchise accounting Accounting for Jersey Mike’s franchisees. Royalty on Gross Receipts, and two funds beside it.
Jersey Mike’s 2025 franchise disclosure sets a 6.5% royalty on Gross Receipts, a 1% Corporate Advertising and Development Fund and a 4% National Media Fund, so 11.5% of receipts goes to the franchisor’s three charges before rent. The royalty and both funds are charged on the same defined receipts figure, so one wrong register mapping is three wrong charges. Kite keeps those rules for Jersey Mike’s operators.
Operators of this brand run their back office on Kite
What the Jersey Mike’s agreement charges
| Fee | Amount | Charged on | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.5%[1] | Gross Receipts | Per the franchise agreement |
| Corporate Advertising and Development Fund | 1%[1] | Gross Receipts | Per the franchise agreement |
| National Media Fund | 4%[1] | Gross Receipts | Per the franchise agreement |
The rules that change the books
One basis, three charges
The royalty and both advertising funds are percentages of the same Gross Receipts figure[1]. Whatever the definition includes or excludes — delivery at menu price or at payout, gift cards at sale or at redemption — applies to 11.5% of receipts at once.
Cooperative advertising
A cooperative advertising contribution is provided for in the disclosure and reported as not currently required[1]. If a co-op is formed in your market, it is a fourth charge on the same basis.
Where Jersey Mike’s books go wrong
The delivery payout that never landed
A marketplace statement shows the orders; the deposit two days later is short, or never arrives. Booked from the bank, the missing money looks like a slow week. Booked from the statement, it is a clearing balance with a store and an amount.
Catering and third-party orders mapped inconsistently
Catering rung through the register, catering invoiced separately and delivery orders through marketplaces often land in three different places. Each must be mapped to “in” or “out” of Gross Receipts the same way at every store, or the royalty is inconsistent across the group.
The day restated after the royalty was paid
An offline register syncs late, a void is processed the next morning, and a day already reported to the franchisor changes. The difference belongs on the next royalty payment as its own line, not in an edit to the one already debited.
Questions
Questions Jersey Mike’s operators ask.
Which point-of-sale systems does Kite read?
Toast live; Square, Clover and NCR Aloha by daily export; any system that exports a day of sales by store can come in as a file.
How does Kite handle the two advertising funds?
As separate obligations from the same agreement, each computed on the defined receipts figure with its clause quoted beside it, so the royalty, the corporate fund and the national media fund each have their own line and their own check against the franchisor’s draft.
Can we start with a few stores?
Yes. Two to five stores through one full month-end close, beside your current bookkeeper, at the same price. It has proved itself when the close ties to your bookkeeper’s to the dollar.
Sources
- [1]Jersey Mike’s Subs franchise review 2025 (reporting the 2025 FDD) — Franchise Chatter · a directory reporting the filing
Start with a few stores.
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