Commission-free ordering means guests order on your own page and you pay card processing instead of a percentage to an app: on Square's free plan, 3.3% + 30¢ online (Square), against 15–30% for delivery on DoorDash or 20–30% on Uber Eats (DoorDash, Uber Eats). To set it up, turn on the ordering your POS already offers, link it from your website and Google, and start with pickup.
"Commission-free" doesn't mean free, and delivery is where the claim most often falls apart. This guide sets out your options, what each order really costs, how to set it up step by step, and how to move regulars across without losing them. We build restaurant websites that connect to ordering, and we don't sell ordering software or take a share of orders, so we gain nothing from which system you pick.
What an order really costs
Here is one $32 order, four ways. Commission rates and Square's fees are published; the order size is our example.
Two things stand out. Pickup is the clear win: $1.36 instead of $8.00 on a 25% plan. Delivery is only cheaper if the guest pays some of it. Absorb the whole delivery fee and you pay about $8.35, which is more than the 25% commission on this order. Direct delivery isn't a free version of app delivery. What it gives you is a choice about who pays, plus the guest's details.
Commission also pays for something: apps bring you guests who have never heard of you. Your own ordering brings no new guests by itself. It keeps more from people who already want your food, so it works alongside the apps rather than replacing them.
Your options
| Option | What it is | What you pay | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your POS's online ordering | Toast, Square and similar sell ordering that feeds the same kitchen system | Card processing, plus any subscription on your plan | Most restaurants: one menu and one kitchen flow |
| A delivery app's direct product | Online Ordering by DoorDash advertises "0% commission on direct orders" | Standard payment processing; customers cover delivery | Restaurants already on that app that want a quick start |
| A standalone ordering platform | Separate ordering software or an all-in-one marketing product | A monthly fee, sometimes per-order or guest fees | When your POS has no ordering, or you want its other features |
| Phone orders | Still the cheapest channel per order for many | Staff time, and mistakes | Regulars who prefer to call |
Sources: Square, DoorDash Online Ordering. We read Toast's support documentation for this guide but could not open its pricing page, so we don't quote its plan price. Ask for it in writing.
Questions to ask any provider
- What do I pay a month, and is there a per-order fee?
- Do guests pay a fee at checkout, and who keeps it?
- What is the card rate, and can I use my own processor?
- Does it feed my POS and kitchen, or need its own tablet?
- What does delivery cost per order, and who can pay it?
- Who owns the guest list, and can I export it?
- How long is the contract, and what does leaving cost?
How to set it up
1. Check what you already pay for
Start with your POS. Ordering that feeds the same system means no second tablet, no re-keying, and one menu to keep current. Only look elsewhere if your POS has no ordering, or its version can't do something you need.
2. Build the menu for a phone
Guests read this on a phone, often in a hurry. Use short names and a plain description of each item, with modifiers that match how the kitchen works. Set a real prep time for each daypart, and make sure sold-out items actually switch off. Photos help where the dish looks good. An order for something you are out of costs you a refund and a phone call.
3. Start with pickup
Pickup needs no driver, costs only card processing and brings the guest to your door. Run it for two or three weeks and fix what breaks, such as prep times, packaging and where guests wait, before adding delivery.
4. Decide who pays for delivery
The usual way to offer delivery on your own ordering is a white-label service: a courier from a delivery network brings your order, and the guest stays your customer. Square publishes its rates: a DoorDash courier is $6.99 within 5 miles, plus $1 per extra mile up to 10 miles, in most areas; $8.99 in California and $9.98 in New York City. Uber is $4.20 plus $0.75 per kilometer in most states. Square's card processing still applies, and the fee can be charged to the guest or to you (Square). Other systems charge differently, so get yours in writing.
Then set the split. The worked example shows why it matters: at a fixed delivery cost, small orders can't carry the fee and large ones can.
| Your cost on any order | 3.3% + $7.29 |
| Break-even against 15% (DoorDash Basic) | $62.31 order |
| Break-even against 25% (DoorDash Plus) | $33.59 order |
| Break-even against 30% (DoorDash Premier) | $27.30 order |
So absorbing the whole fee only beats a 25% plan from about $34 an order, and on Basic it hardly ever does. A common answer is a guest fee that covers most of the cost, plus a minimum order. Guests are used to paying for delivery. Remember that pickup prices on DoorDash's 6% rate must match in-store, while delivery prices may differ, so a lower menu price on your own ordering is one way to give guests a reason to switch.
5. Test it end to end
Order from a phone on cellular, at a busy time, as a guest would. Follow the ticket through the kitchen, time it, and pick it up. Then order delivery to an address at the edge of your radius. Try ordering just before closing and try a sold-out item. Most problems show up on the first day, and it is better that you find them.
6. Link it everywhere
This is where most of the savings are lost. Put an Order button at the top of every page on your website, going to your own ordering. Then fix Google, where many guests start. In your Business Profile, open Food ordering, use Add a link for your own page, then select it and use Set as preferred for pickup, delivery or both (Google).
Delivery apps can appear there automatically. You can select one and choose Remove link, and providers must take third-party links down within 5 business days of your request. Don't turn off "Accept orders on your profile" to get rid of them: Google warns that this hides the links you add too (Google). If you are on Toast, Order with Google is included with its online ordering and described as commission-free. Toast says it switches on automatically as long as your profile hasn't opted out of food ordering, and changes can take 48 hours (Toast).
7. Move your regulars
Guests on the apps are not all the same. Leave new ones alone, and aim at the regulars, who already know you and would be happy to order direct if they knew it was the same food.
- A card in every app order: "Order direct next time: same food, better for us." Check first that the app's terms allow it where you operate.
- A reason to switch: a lower menu price on your own ordering, or a loyalty reward that only works there.
- Your staff: a word at pickup and on the phone, where regulars already are.
- Your list: one message to the guests who have agreed to hear from you, with the link.
How to tell if it is working
Measure it monthly, and add up what you kept, not only what you sold. The numbers that matter are the direct share of online orders (direct orders ÷ all online orders), your average cost per order on each channel, and how many app regulars have moved. Our delivery commission calculator shows what a given share is worth. Moving 30% of a restaurant's app orders, on its example of 600 orders a month at $32 on a 25% plan, keeps about $14,000 a year if those guests pick up or pay for their own delivery.
Mistakes that cancel the savings
| Mistake | What it costs | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Order button on your site goes to an app | Commission on guests who came looking for you | Link to your own ordering |
| Google's preferred link is still an app | Commission on people searching your name | Set your own link as preferred |
| Absorbing all delivery on small orders | More than the commission you avoided | A guest fee and a minimum order |
| Turning off ordering on Google to remove apps | Your own link disappears too | Remove each provider instead |
| A second menu that drifts out of date | Refunds and calls about sold-out items | Run ordering from the POS menu |
| Dropping the apps overnight | Losing the guests who find you there | Move regulars and keep apps for reach |
| Ignoring guest fees in the contract | Guests see a higher total at checkout | Ask about every fee before you sign |
What to do this week
Ask your POS provider what online ordering costs on your plan, and whether it includes the features above. Work out your typical order through the arithmetic here using your own delivery rate. Then spend five minutes on Google: open Food ordering and see which link is preferred right now. Often it's an app. For the full picture, our DoorDash fees guide covers what you pay today, and the free restaurant audit includes what delivery apps are costing you.
