An online ordering system lets customers order food for collection or delivery from their phone or computer. For a restaurant, café or takeaway, the choice is usually between three types: a delivery app such as Just Eat, Uber Eats or Deliveroo, a dedicated online ordering platform, or an order page that comes with your till system. Each has a different cost, and the difference adds up quickly.
This guide compares the three types, what each one costs, what to look for, and how to move regular customers to an order page you own.
The three types of online ordering system
Delivery apps (marketplaces)
Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo list your restaurant alongside hundreds of others. Customers find you in the app, order and pay there, and the app usually supplies the rider.
- How you pay: a commission on each order, often somewhere between 25% and 35% when the app delivers, and lower when you use your own riders. Some apps also charge a joining or tablet fee.
- Good for: being found by people who have never heard of you.
- Watch out for: the commission on orders from regulars who would have ordered from you anyway, and the app owning the customer relationship. You usually see limited customer details.
Online ordering platforms
Platforms such as Flipdish and Slerp give you a branded order page or app for your own customers. You promote the link, and orders come to you directly.
- How you pay: usually a monthly fee, sometimes a small fee per order, plus card processing. Some charge a set-up fee or ask for a contract.
- Good for: takeaways that want their own branded ordering without the marketplace commission.
- Watch out for: a separate system from your till, which can mean another tablet in the kitchen and takings in two places. Check the contract length and what happens to your customer list if you leave.
An order page from your POS
Some till systems include an online order page. Orders go straight to the same kitchen screen and printers as your counter and table orders, and the takings land in the same cash-up.
- How you pay: included in the monthly till price or as an add-on, plus card processing.
- Good for: cafés and restaurants that want one system for counter, table, online and delivery orders.
- Watch out for: whether the order page is a real ordering system, with delivery zones, collection times and a live menu, or just a list of items.
What to look for
Whichever type you choose, check these:
- Commission or flat fee? A percentage grows with every order. A flat fee doesn't.
- Card processing. Who processes the payments, at what rate, and do the payouts come to your own account?
- Collection and delivery. Can you take both, for now and later in the day, with delivery zones and minimum orders?
- Your own riders. If you deliver yourself, how do riders get the address and the order?
- One kitchen queue. Do online orders arrive on the same kitchen screen or printer as your other orders?
- A live menu. When you change a price or mark something sold out, does the order page update at once?
- Your website. Can you put the menu or an order button on your own website?
- Your customers. Do you get the customer's details, with their consent, so you can invite them back?
- Contract and set-up. Is there a minimum term, a set-up fee or hardware to buy?
A worked example: commission against a flat fee
Here is an illustration for a takeaway that takes 400 online orders a month at an average of £22. That is £8,800 of online sales a month. Swap in your own numbers.
On a delivery app at 30% commission:
- Commission: £8,800 × 30% = £2,640 a month
- Commission is a service the app sells you, so VAT is added if you are VAT registered: £2,640 + 20% = £3,168 charged (you can reclaim the VAT if you are registered)
- Over a year: about £31,680 in commission before VAT
On your own order page with a flat fee and card processing:
- A monthly fee, say £15
- Card processing at, for example, 1.5% + 20p per order: (£8,800 × 1.5%) + (400 × 20p) = £132 + £80 = £212 a month
- Over a year: about £2,724
The order page doesn't bring you new customers in the way a marketplace does, and if you deliver yourself you pay your riders. But for orders from customers who already know you, the difference is large. Even moving a quarter of your app orders to your own page saves thousands a year.
Keep the apps, move your regulars
Most takeaways don't leave the delivery apps altogether. A common approach:
- Use the apps to be found. New customers discover you there.
- Bring regulars to your own page. Put a card in every bag with your own order link, add it to your Google Business Profile, your Instagram bio and your website.
- Make your own page worth using. A small discount, a stamp card or free delivery over a certain spend gives people a reason to order direct.
- Price fairly. Many restaurants charge a little more on the apps to cover the commission, and keep their normal prices on their own page. Check each app's terms on pricing before you do.
How it works in Café QR
Café QR includes your own order page for collection and delivery, linked to the same till and kitchen screen as everything else.
- Your order page. Guests order collection or delivery, for as soon as possible or a time later today, and pay by card through your own Stripe account. Share the link anywhere.
- On your website. Copy a piece of code from the dashboard to show your live menu on your own site, with an Order now button.
- Delivery zones by postcode. List the postcode areas, districts or sectors you deliver to, each with its own fee and minimum order.
- Your own riders. Assign a rider on the Deliveries board. Each rider opens their own link on their phone, with the address, a map link, the items and any cash to collect. No app and no login.
- One kitchen queue. Online orders reach the same kitchen screen and printers as counter and table orders, and delivery app orders can join them through a hub such as Deliverect or Otter.
- No commission. Café QR charges 0% on every order. Stripe's card processing charges apply.
Online ordering and delivery is £5 a month as an add-on, £14.99 a month as Order & Pay + Delivery, and included in the POS plan at £39 per venue a month. Orders are for today only, and guests don't see a live map of their rider. See how your own delivery and website ordering work.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best online ordering system for a restaurant?
It depends on what you need. Delivery apps help new customers find you but charge commission. For orders from customers who already know you, an order page with a flat fee, linked to your till, usually costs far less.
How much do online ordering systems cost?
Delivery apps commonly charge 25% to 35% commission per order. Ordering platforms and POS order pages usually charge a monthly fee plus card processing, with no commission.
Can I add online ordering to my own website?
Yes, with most ordering platforms and some POS systems. In Café QR you copy a piece of code into your website to show your live menu with an Order now button.
Do I need my own delivery drivers?
Not for collection orders. For delivery from your own page, you need your own riders or a delivery service. Delivery apps can supply riders, at a higher commission.
Can I keep using Just Eat and Uber Eats?
Yes. Many restaurants keep the apps for new customers and move regulars to their own page. With Café QR, delivery app orders can arrive on the same kitchen screen through a hub.