The real cost of third-party delivery: a worked example

Start with your own statement

Open the last month's statement from each delivery app. You need three numbers: the number of orders, the total sales, and the total fees taken. Divide fees by sales to get your effective rate. This is the number that counts, because promotions, delivery fees and marketing add-ons change it from the headline rate.

A published range of 15 to 30 percent for commissions is often quoted. Your contract may be different. Use yours.

A made-up example

Say a restaurant has 300 delivery orders a month with an average ticket of 28 dollars. Sales are 8,400. At a 20 percent effective rate, the apps take 1,680 a month. That is the commission you pay now. If the restaurant moved 20 percent of those orders to its own ordering page, the commission tied to those orders would be 336. In the same made-up example, if its own card processing costs 3 percent, the cost on those orders is about 50. The difference is the amount in play. Every figure is an illustration, not a result.

The calculator below runs this math on your numbers. It does not include any Zorveta fees. Contact us for pricing.

What the fee does not show

The fee is only half the story. On a delivery app, the guest belongs to the app. You usually do not get a phone number to send an offer to, and the app can show your guest a competitor on the next screen.

On your own ordering page, the order carries the guest's number into your loyalty and guest records. You can thank a good customer, remind a lapsed one and tell regulars about a new dish. Over a year, that repeat business is worth more than one order's fee.

Other costs to count

Count the cost of remakes when an order is wrong, tablets that need to be watched, and menu mismatches where a sold-out item stays live. Count the staff minutes spent managing three tablets.

What to do with the numbers

Do not make a rash decision. Pick the repeat guests you recognize and offer them a reason to order direct: a free side with a first direct order, a QR code in the bag, a loyalty point. Read how to move delivery customers to direct ordering for the steps.

See online ordering: your own store, QR ordering, and Uber Eats and DoorDash on one screen, where you choose who covers the delivery fee.