How to choose an online ordering system for your restaurant
An online ordering system lets guests order pickup or delivery straight from your restaurant, on your website or app, instead of through a marketplace. Picking the right one decides how much of each order you keep and whether those guests come back to you or to the app.
Marketplace vs. direct ordering
Marketplaces like DoorDash and Uber Eats bring discovery, but charge a commission on every order and own the relationship with the guest. A direct online ordering system is one you run under your own name: guests order from your website, you set the prices, and their name and email land in your customer list.
Most restaurants use both: the apps for new guests, direct ordering for regulars. The goal is to move every repeat guest to the channel where you keep the margin.
The fees to compare
Add them up at your real order volume. A flat monthly fee usually beats a percentage once you pass a few hundred orders a month.
- Commission per order. Direct systems range from 0% to a percentage similar to the apps
- Monthly subscription, and what it includes (website, hosting, marketing)
- Payment processing per transaction
- Delivery cost per order, and who pays it
- Setup, hardware and cancellation fees
Features that move the numbers
- Your brand and domain, so guests never see another company’s name
- Apple Pay and Google Pay, which shorten checkout on phones
- Upsells and pairings (a side with every main) that raise the average ticket
- Scheduled orders for later in the day
- Text updates as the order moves along
- Reorder in one tap, the biggest driver of repeat orders
- Loyalty points and gift cards that work at checkout
Delivery without the marketplace
You do not need your own drivers to offer delivery from your site. White-label courier networks pick up from you and deliver under your brand for a per-delivery fee. Ask how couriers are timed: a courier who arrives before the food is ready waits; one who arrives late leaves food sitting.
How it fits the kitchen
An ordering system that adds another tablet to the counter adds work. Look for orders that print straight to your kitchen printers, a single screen for online orders and reservations, and a way to mark items sold out that hides them online right away.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Who owns the customer list, and can I export it?
- Can I keep my current domain?
- What happens when a delivery courier cancels?
- How long does setup take, and who builds the menu?
- Is there a contract or a cancellation fee?
How Saltifi helps
Saltifi online ordering runs on your own website with zero commission per order, Apple Pay and Google Pay, upsells, scheduled orders and order texts. Couriers are booked when your kitchen fires the order, timed to your prep, and orders print to your kitchen through Saltifi Terminal on the tablets you already own.
