Best Online Ordering Systems for Restaurants

Now more than ever, food delivery is top of mind for restaurant operators. During COVID-19, where most areas have mandated restaurant closures, delivery is one of the only ways for restaurants to make up their sales—and choosing the right delivery platform can help your restaurant succeed.

If you’ve pivoted your restaurant to offer takeout and delivery, then you should know the differences between the major third-party delivery apps. But frankly, most delivery apps offer more or less the same functionality.

All third-party delivery apps offer:

• A tablet interface for your back of house with varying degrees of integration with your POS 🔌
• A built-in customer base that eliminates your customer acquisition cost 👥
• Commission fees of up to 30% on deliveries made through their platform 💸

With many restaurants now focusing solely on takeout and delivery, and most third-party apps charging commission fees of up to 30%, it’s important for your restaurant to understand the best platforms available to stay profitable during COVID-19.

We’ve compiled a list below of our favourite delivery platforms to help you make the right decision for your restaurant.

Uber Eats is an American-owned food delivery platform launched by Uber in 2014. Boasting one of the largest networks across the world (check out their list of cities covered), and focusing on urban areas, UberEats is probably one of the first platforms that spring to mind when you think “delivery.”

😷 COVID-19 update: Uber Eats is pledging 10 million free food deliveries to frontline healthcare workers and seniors during COVID-19. Additionally, they’re waiving delivery fees for restaurants—but are not cutting their 30% commission fees.

💸 Commission fees: 30% - 35% (not waived during COVID-19)—the highest commission charge of the major delivery platforms

👥 Network: Uber Eats boasts the largest network and is available in 40+ countries across the world

SkipTheDishes is one of the most popular food delivery platforms in Canada, and was founded and launched in the same province as 7shifts—Saskatchewan.

😷 COVID-19 update: Skip The Dishes introduced a sealed delivery bag option, are pausing cash payments, and offering contactless delivery with their drivers. Alex Rechichi, CEO of Crave It Restaurant Group, also revealed on a recent webinar that Skip The Dishes is giving up to 15% of commission back to the operators.

💸 Commission fees: SkipTheDishes charges 20-25% commission on orders

👥 Network: SkipTheDishes serves 100+ major cities in Canada and the US

DoorDash is a popular, SanFran-based delivery platform that serves over 4,000 cities across Canada and the U.S.

😷 COVID-19 update: DoorDash announced they are reducing commissions for their local restaurant partners by 50% on DoorDash and Caviar. They are also offering financial assistance to delivery drivers.

💸 Commission fees: DoorDash charges 10-20% commission on orders

👥 Network: DoorDash is available in 4,000+ cities across the US and Canada

Foodora is a German-based online platform that delivers food worldwide.

😷 COVID-19 update: Foodora has introduced doorstep delivery and has implemented health and safety practices for their drivers. They have not announced any fee reductions at this time.

💸 Commission fees: ~30%

👥 Network: Available in 15 countries including Austria, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Philippines—their Canada operation has closed as of May 11, 2020.

GrubHub is one of the most popular food delivery platforms in the US with 20 million+ users.

😷 COVID-19 update: GrubHub has offered greater marketing exposure on their app for struggling restaurants, but this also comes with a 3% rate increase. During COVID-19, Grubhub is temporarily suspending commission fees for independent restaurants of up to $100 million.

💸 Commission fees: 10% - 20%

👥 Network: Available in more than 50 markets across the US, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Las Vegas.

Postmates is an online delivery platform that operates in over 4,200 American cities.

😷 COVID-19 update: Postmates has focused on the health and safety of their fleet of drivers during this time by offering additional health and medical benefits through a relief fund.

💸 Commission fees: 15-30%

👥 Network: 4,200+ cities across all 50 states the US

Bonus: direct delivery

Third-party delivery apps aren't the only option for implementing takeout and delivery at your restaurants—you can also offer delivery in-house. Your restaurant can employee FOH staff (who may not be working much) as delivery drivers and charge a delivery fee for orders. You can charge a delivery fee on each order to go to the restaurant, —plus your FOH staff could benefit directly from tips.

Direct delivery is the best way to get started with delivery immediately and avoid commission fees, and it allows you to keep your current employees on payroll.

Pro tip: 7shifts and SevenRooms have partnered together to offer restaurants Direct Delivery through an online ordering platform so you can drive commission-free orders from your website, email and social media channels. This lets you control the ordering, ensure maximum profitability, control your guests data, and use marketing automation to drive repeat orders.

If you want to see how Direct Delivery can work for your restaurant, book a demo with our team to discuss your options.

Conclusion

Which online ordering platform is right for you? Explore the options above, or think about using a direct delivery service like SevenRooms in your restaurant to avoid commission fees.

Follow our Instagram or checkout our COVID-19 resources page for more strategies and tips for your restaurant.

Dew Smith

Hey! I'm Dew, the former Brand Strategist. I cultivated 7shifts' social and content garden, and I looked for ways to grow our network of restaurateurs, local talent, and tech companies.