Takeaway and Delivery Profit Per Order
Work out what a delivery, collection or dine in order really earns after food, packaging, labour and commission, with a worked comparison.
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Key takeaways
- Compare channels by money kept per order after every cost that channel causes, not by sales.
- Marketplace commission, packaging and driver time can turn a good looking order into a loss.
- Your own ordering page keeps the fee, the customer and the data, but you carry the delivery work.
- Set minimum orders, radius and prices from your own numbers, and say no to orders that lose money.
In short: a delivery order earns what is left after the food, the packaging, the extra labour, the driver or platform cost and any fees. Work that number out for each channel (dine in, collection, your own delivery, marketplace) and you can see which orders to promote and which to decline.
All numbers in the examples are made up for illustration. Use your own.
Sales figures flatter delivery. A busy marketplace tablet looks like growth, but a restaurant can sell a lot and keep very little. The way to know is to calculate contribution per order.
The cost of an order, line by line
For each channel, list what the order costs you:
- Food and drink cost. See recipe costing.
- Packaging: boxes, bags, cutlery, napkins, labels. See takeaway packaging.
- Extra labour: packing, checking, handing over, handling the tablet or the phone.
- Delivery: your own driver's pay, fuel, insurance and vehicle costs, or the marketplace's delivery fee.
- Commission and fees: marketplace commission, payment fees, ordering software fees.
- Discounts and promotions: funded by you.
- Refunds and remakes: late, cold or wrong orders.
- Share of fixed costs: rent and energy are usually already paid, so many restaurants look at contribution before overheads.
Contribution per order = order value (excluding tax) minus all of the costs above.
A worked comparison
A made up example for the same order of 30 (excluding tax) with food and drink cost of 9.
| Dine in | Collection (own page) | Own delivery | Marketplace | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order value | 30.00 | 30.00 | 30.00 + 2.50 fee | 30.00 |
| Food and drink | 9.00 | 9.00 | 9.00 | 9.00 |
| Packaging | 0.30 | 1.20 | 1.50 | 1.50 |
| Extra labour | 4.50 service | 0.80 | 1.50 | 1.00 |
| Delivery cost | 0 | 0 | 4.00 | included |
| Commission | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 (30%) |
| Payment fee | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0.50 | in commission |
| Refunds and promotions (average) | 0.50 | 0.50 | 1.00 | 2.50 |
| Contribution | 15.25 | 18.05 | 15.00 | 7.00 |
In this example the order kept on your own collection page is the most profitable, an own delivery order is close to dine in, and the marketplace order keeps less than half. The numbers are invented, but the shape is common: commission is the largest single cost on marketplace orders. See stop paying delivery app commission for how to read your statement.
Run this table with your own figures for your own five most common orders.
Why your own ordering page changes the numbers
When a guest orders on your own page, you pay a payment processing fee but no marketplace commission, and you keep the guest's contact details, with their agreement. You can build a repeat relationship through loyalty and your own messages. DineHarbor's online ordering is built on this model, with no commission on orders, and the pricing page shows the plans. See also online ordering without commission.
Your own page does not bring guests by itself. You have to tell people about it: a link on your Google profile, a QR code on every bag and receipt, and a line on your menu. Some restaurants keep a marketplace for discovery and move regular guests to their own page.
Delivering yourself
Own delivery removes commission but adds work. Count:
- Driver pay, or the cost of a courier service.
- Insurance, fuel, vehicle costs and parking fines.
- Time spent waiting for drivers and handling late orders.
- The radius: a long trip costs more and arrives colder.
- Support when something goes wrong.
DineHarbor includes a driver app with live tracking, drive time delivery zones and a dispatch board, which help you set a radius from real travel times and see where each order is. See run your own delivery for the set up.
Set minimums, radius and fees from your numbers
- Minimum order: at least the fixed cost per order (packaging, labour, delivery) plus the contribution you need.
- Delivery fee: cover part of the delivery cost, and keep it understandable. Free delivery above a basket value can raise average order size; check the arithmetic.
- Radius: set it by travel time as well as distance. Orders that take too long arrive cold and cause refunds.
- Hours: deliver when you can do it well, not at the peak minute when the kitchen is full.
- Prices: if you charge more on delivery, say so, and check marketplace terms.
Protect quality
Late or cold food leads to refunds and bad reviews, which are costs. Match delivery orders to kitchen capacity: pause online orders or lengthen quoted times when the kitchen is full. See ticket times and peak service. Design the menu for travel, since some dishes do not survive twenty minutes in a bag. See menu engineering.
Allergens and rules
Online and delivery orders need allergen information at the point of order, and the same accuracy as in the dining room. See allergen information for online orders. Food hygiene rules apply to packing and transport too. In the UK, council guidance says food for home delivery should arrive above 63°C if it is meant to be hot. See temperature logs. For the tax treatment of hot takeaway food in the UK, see VAT on takeaway food.
A monthly review
- Total orders and value by channel.
- Commission and fees paid by channel.
- Refunds and remakes by channel.
- Contribution per order by channel.
- One action: a minimum order, a menu change or a push to your own page.
When to say no
Not every order is worth taking. A small basket at the edge of the radius, in the busiest ten minutes, with a discount code, may lose money and slow every other table. You can protect yourself without being rude:
- Set a minimum basket for delivery, lower for collection.
- Limit the radius at peak times and widen it when it is quiet.
- Use order throttling or a longer quoted time when the kitchen is full.
- Offer collection as an alternative, with a small incentive that costs you less than a driver.
- Review promotions: a discount that a guest would have taken without a code is simply lost margin.
Choosing the mix
Most restaurants end up with a mix. Dine in carries the atmosphere and the drinks margin. Collection on your own page is usually the most profitable takeaway order. Own delivery makes sense where the density of orders is high enough to keep a driver busy. A marketplace can be a source of new guests, and a good strategy is to treat those first orders as acquisition: pack a flyer or a QR code that invites the guest to order direct next time, where the platform's rules allow it, and follow their terms. Revisit the mix every quarter with the table above.
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Questions and answers
Is delivery profitable for restaurants?
It can be, but only if the order leaves enough after food, packaging, labour, commission or driver cost and other fees. Many restaurants find that marketplace orders at high commission are barely profitable, while orders on their own page can be.
How much commission do delivery apps charge?
It varies by platform, country and plan, and changes often. Read your own contract and your statements, then put the real percentage and fees in your calculation.
Should I charge higher prices for delivery?
Many restaurants do, to cover packaging and delivery costs. Check the marketplace's rules, because some require equal prices, and be open with guests.
What minimum order should I set?
Work it out from your fixed cost per delivery. If a delivery costs you 4 in driver time and packaging, an order must leave more than 4 to be worth sending.
Does my own delivery cost less than a marketplace?
Sometimes. You avoid commission but pay drivers, insurance, fuel and the cost of failed or late deliveries. Compare both with real numbers.
See it in DineHarbor
About the author
Editorial team
The DineHarbor team writes this blog for restaurant owners and managers. Every article is checked against the product before it is published, so what we describe is what the software does.
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