How to Set Up an Online Ordering System for Your Restaurant

You already know this: when you run a coffee shop, café, or pizzeria, the goal is simple: to make great food and get it into as many hands as possible. And you probably also have a sense that the right online ordering system can help make that happen.

But the whole idea can feel overwhelming. To start, it may seem expensive. You may feel you don’t have the technical know-how. Or maybe you just don’t want to deal with technology at all. That’s completely fair!

Which is why we’ve prepared this guide for you. It breaks down what an online ordering system actually does, the features that matter, and how you can set it up without needing a tech team. By the end, you’ll be equipped to serve an experience that’s smooth, reliable, and frictionless.

Let’s get started.

What Is an Online Ordering System?

It’s a digital platform that allows customers to browse your menu, place takeout or delivery orders, and make secure payments through your website or mobile app. It routes the order directly to your kitchen and tracks the fulfillment process, reducing manual work and creating a smoother experience for both your team and customers.

Key Benefits of Online Ordering for Restaurants

“How does an online ordering system help my food business?,” you ask. Well, it supports you in several ways:

1. Steady increase in order volume

Online orders allow you to earn beyond the limits of your physical space. You don’t need more tables or extended hours to grow.

Customers can order even during slow hours, after closing time, and on days when the foot traffic is generally low, giving you a steadier, more predictable sales volume.

2. Direct-to-kitchen order flow

With your menu right at their fingertips, customers can choose exactly what they want, such as size, toppings, sides, and substitutions.

Their final order is recorded exactly as selected and sent directly to the kitchen, eliminating miscommunication and errors associated with manual entry.

3. Smoother customer experience

With online ordering, customers can take their time browsing the menu, customizing their meal, and viewing the final price before confirming their order. They don’t have to repeat their order or feel rushed at the counter.

And when you top that process with real-time order updates, multiple payment options, and loyalty rewards, you make it even easier for them to return.

4. Actionable sales and menu insights

Your online ordering system gives you real-time analytics on what sells, when it sells, and who’s buying. That means you can smartly:

• Promote items that are already popular
• Run offers on slow days to boost demand
• Stock ingredients based on actual patterns
• Identify peak hours to schedule staff more efficiently

These are decisions that reduce waste, improve margins, and build repeat loyalty over time.

Before You Choose, Understand Your Restaurant’s Ordering Model

Whether you’re opening a new restaurant or updating your current operation, it’s helpful to define how you want customers to place and receive their orders before choosing an online ordering system.

Therefore, first decide whether you’ll offer pickup, delivery, curbside pickup, catering, or a combination of these. Each option comes with different staffing needs, preparation times, and packaging considerations.

Now, if you’re opening a new restaurant, this step is crucial. Your ordering model will influence your floor layout, kitchen workflow, and delivery approach. Ask yourself:

• How do I expect customers to order most often?
• Will delivery be handled in-house or through a partner?
• What radius or zones make sense for delivery?
• Which hours or menu items require different preparation flows?

Once you’ve mapped out how orders move from placement to fulfillment, the next decision is whether to use your own online ordering system or rely on a third-party delivery app.

Why Direct Online Ordering Software Beats Third-Party Delivery Apps

While third-party apps can boost visibility, they often charge up to 30% commission fees per order, cutting deeply into your margins. Even worse, they store your customer data, meaning you can’t directly re-market or reward loyal guests.

A direct online ordering system like Restolabs gives you complete control. You keep 100% of your profits, own your customer data, and build loyalty directly through your website or branded app without paying for every order you’ve already earned.

So, What are the Key Features to Look for in an Online Ordering System?

Here’s a complete list of features that really matter when you’re picking one for your restaurant:

🎨 Branded interface

When you’re running a restaurant, the last thing you need is a complicated platform that doesn’t align with your café, coffee shop, or pizzeria’s vibe.

Therefore, choose one that comes with ready-to-use website layouts, simple color and font selectors, and editable menu labels that allow you to customize easily without requiring help from a designer or developer.

Inside Restolabs: Restolabs offers an intuitive and modern UI/UX ordering interface, which allows you to customize it according to your brand guidelines. With the Label Editor and Color Selector tools, you can adjust fonts, colors, and menu text live from the dashboard.
  

📱 Mobile-optimized ordering experience

In the US, 49% of customers aged 18–34 now order food via mobile more often than they did three years ago. This makes it essential to optimize your mobile experiences for fast loading, seamless navigation, and a smooth checkout process.

Inside Restolabs: Restolabs provides a mobile-optimized direct ordering platform and custom-branded iOS and Android apps, giving your customers a direct hotline to your restaurant. Whether they order through your site or app, they enjoy lightning-fast reordering, personalized offers, and real-time push updates, all within your brand experience.
  

‍💳 Flexible and secure payment processing

Modern customers expect convenience, and if the checkout only offers one or two payment methods, you risk losing the sale. Your online ordering system should accommodate a variety of payment methods, including digital wallets and significant credit cards.

Inside Restolabs: Restolabs integrates with leading payment gateways, including Stripe, Authorize.net, and FreedomPay. Through these integrations, you can offer Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and other secure digital payment options to your customers. Cash on delivery as an option is also available.
  

🧭 Smart order management dashboard

No restaurant wants to juggle orders across multiple screens. You want to be able to see everything in real time. A central dashboard makes that possible—it displays all incoming orders from your website and mobile apps in real time.

With tools like live order tracking, prep-time controls, and peak-hour throttling, your team can stay organized and maintain food quality even when demand spikes.

Inside Restolabs: The Order Notifier App instantly syncs every order with connected devices and POS terminals. Features like Order Throttling and Busy Hours automatically balance the kitchen load and avoid bottlenecks.

Note: Restolabs focuses on direct digital ordering. Orders placed through third-party marketplaces (like DoorDash or UberEats) are not aggregated within the dashboard.
  

🚚 Integrated delivery management

Coordinating deliveries manually takes time and focus away from delivering the best service. A connected system should unite your in-house drivers and delivery partners under one umbrella.

Inside Restolabs: Restolabs supports both in-house delivery and third-party dispatches. Manage your own fleet seamlessly through Odravel and Tookan, or connect with trusted partners like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Shipday for extended coverage. Customers receive live tracking links, while you can monitor delivery routes and status in real time.
  

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🎟️ Built-in marketing and loyalty tools

Loyal guests generate far more revenue than one-time orders. The real question is: how do you keep them coming back? Your online ordering system should provide tools that equip you to run time-bound offers and reward repeat visits.

Important components typically include a coupon or promotion builder, a loyalty points system with configurable earning and redemption rules, and the ability to send push or in-app notifications.

Inside Restolabs: Beyond loyalty, great marketing is about staying connected with your audience. Restolabs enables you to share ordering links directly on Facebook and Instagram, turning posts and stories into instant ordering channels.

For email outreach, you can export customer data to email marketing platforms. You can also engage customers through built-in promotions, such as coupons, loyalty points, and on-screen banners, to boost repeat orders and highlight special offers.
  

📊 Real-time analytics and reporting

Since your online ordering system is a core part of your daily operations, it should provide you with clear visibility into what’s working and where to improve.

Check if it can shed light on key metrics, such as sales volume, average order value, repeat customer rate, and top-selling or underperforming menu items.

Use those insights to restock high-demand items, update underperforming dishes, or time promotions to coincide with your busiest hours.

Inside Restolabs: Restolabs aggregates four analytics layers—Product, User, Order, and Sales—to give you a complete view of operations.

You can filter reports by location or time period to compare performance across multiple branches, uncover local customer preferences, and pinpoint where marketing adjustments will have the most impact.
  

🔐 24/7 support and enterprise-grade security

When your business runs on online orders, downtime isn’t an option. Choose an online ordering system that keeps you protected and supported 24×7 with real people ready to help, and built-in safeguards that protect every transaction.

Inside Restolabs: You get round-the-clock support via chat, email, and WhatsApp. Every checkout is protected by SSL encryption, reCAPTCHA, and GDPR-compliant data handling, ensuring that customer trust and business credibility remain intact.
  

Steps to Set Up Your Online Ordering System

Ready to bring online ordering to your restaurant? Here’s a simple roadmap to get you started:

1. Create your account and complete the initial setup

Enter your restaurant’s basic details, including location, contact information, business hours, and the types of orders you plan to offer. This information builds the foundation of your online storefront. On Restolabs, setup typically happens in three simple stages:

• Account setup: Add your restaurant information, upload your menu (or share it for assisted setup), define delivery areas, and connect your payment provider.
• Order operations: Enable ordering on your custom page (mobile and desktop), design pickup and delivery workflows, and link the order management app to keep staff updated in real time.
• Retention and growth tools: Activate analytics, promotions, and loyalty programs to foster repeat orders and promote long-term customer retention.

2. Define your menu, modifiers, and item groups

Upload your menu and organize it into clear categories such as Sandwiches, Pastries, or Coffee & Beverages. Each item should have a concise name, a brief description, and a clear price for easy browsing.

🎟️ Built-in marketing and loyalty tools

Loyal guests generate far more revenue than one-time orders. The real question is: how do you keep them coming back? Your online ordering system should provide tools that equip you to run time-bound offers and reward repeat visits.

Important components typically include a coupon or promotion builder, a loyalty points system with configurable earning and redemption rules, and the ability to send push or in-app notifications.

Inside Restolabs: Beyond loyalty, great marketing is about staying connected with your audience. Restolabs enables you to share ordering links directly on Facebook and Instagram, turning posts and stories into instant ordering channels.

For email outreach, you can export customer data to email marketing platforms. You can also engage customers through built-in promotions, such as coupons, loyalty points, and on-screen banners, to boost repeat orders and highlight special offers.
  

📊 Real-time analytics and reporting

Since your online ordering system is a core part of your daily operations, it should provide you with clear visibility into what’s working and where to improve.

Check if it can shed light on key metrics, such as sales volume, average order value, repeat customer rate, and top-selling or underperforming menu items.

Use those insights to restock high-demand items, update underperforming dishes, or time promotions to coincide with your busiest hours.

Inside Restolabs: Restolabs aggregates four analytics layers—Product, User, Order, and Sales—to give you a complete view of operations.

You can filter reports by location or time period to compare performance across multiple branches, uncover local customer preferences, and pinpoint where 
marketing adjustments
will have the most impact.
  

🔐 24/7 support and enterprise-grade security

When your business runs on online orders, downtime isn’t an option. Choose an online ordering system that keeps you protected and supported 24×7 with real people ready to help, and built-in safeguards that protect every transaction.

Inside Restolabs: You get round-the-clock support via chat, email, and WhatsApp. Every checkout is protected by SSL encryption, reCAPTCHA, and GDPR-compliant data handling, ensuring that customer trust and business credibility remain intact.
  

Steps to Set Up Your Online Ordering System

Ready to bring online ordering to your restaurant? Here’s a simple roadmap to get you started:

1. Create your account and complete the initial setup

Enter your restaurant’s basic details, including location, contact information, business hours, and the types of orders you plan to offer. This information builds the foundation of your online storefront. On Restolabs, setup typically happens in three simple stages:

• Account setup: Add your restaurant information, upload your menu (or share it for assisted setup), define delivery areas, and connect your payment provider.
• Order operations: Enable ordering on your custom page (mobile and desktop), design pickup and delivery workflows, and link the order management app to keep staff updated in real time.
• Retention and growth tools: Activate analytics, promotions, and loyalty programs to foster repeat orders and promote long-term customer retention.

2. Define your menu, modifiers, and item groups

Upload your menu and organize it into clear categories such as Sandwiches, Pastries, or Coffee & Beverages. Each item should have a concise name, a brief description, and a clear price for easy browsing.

Add modifiers and add-ons where customization matters—for example, size, toppings, milk alternatives, spice levels, or extras like add cheese or extra shot of espresso. Finally, set default prep times so the system can calculate accurate pickup and delivery estimates.

3. Configure payments, taxes, and delivery zones

• Connect your payment gateway, such as Stripe or Authorize.net, to securely start accepting online payments. Verify your business details and run a quick test transaction to confirm that checkout, payment capture, and receipts work as expected.

• Next, set up your tax rules in accordance with local regulations. This may include different rates for food, beverages, or alcohol, or location-based adjustments if you operate in multiple regions.

• If you offer delivery, define your service area. You can set a fixed radius (e.g., 3 miles) or upload delivery zones to include specific neighborhoods while excluding areas beyond reach.

• Add delivery fees if applicable, and define estimated delivery times so customers know what to expect before placing an order.

4. Establish your order workflow and train your team

Once your menu and ordering options are live, determine how new orders will reach your staff and be processed through the kitchen. Assign a tablet in the front-of-house or kitchen area to display incoming orders in real-time.

Your team should be able to accept orders, adjust prep times when it’s busy, and mark them as ready for pickup or delivery.

Decide how the kitchen will receive order details. You can either connect a thermal printer to generate tickets or use a kitchen display system (KDS) if your team prefers working digitally. 

Before you go live, run a few internal test orders. Have one person place the order, another manage it through the Order Management App, and a third handle preparation.

This ensures that everyone understands their role, order statuses are updated correctly, and handoffs to customers or drivers run smoothly.

5. Customize your branding and domain

Now that your ordering flow is up and running, ensure the online experience accurately reflects your restaurant’s identity. Add your logo, select your color palette, and update fonts or button styles to ensure the page is in line with your in-store aesthetic.

If possible, connect a custom domain or subdomain such as yourrestaurant.com/order or order.yourrestaurant.com. This creates a direct, shareable link for online orders that can be accessed across social media, your Google Business Profile, or via menu QR codes.

Finally, review your menu images and descriptions. Keep item names concise, formatting consistent, and photos bright and clear, especially where visuals influence ordering decisions (such as pastries, sides, signature dishes, and beverages).

6. Launch with a controlled rollout and refine

Start with a small launch group (staff, regulars, nearby friends) and run real orders through every step of your workflow. Keep this phase brief, focused, and data-driven so you can address the major issues promptly.

Week-1 checklist (day-by-day actions you can follow)

Daily (5–15 minutes)

• Quick system check: Verify POS/integrations, printer/KDS, and run a $1 test order end-to-end.
• Dashboard snapshot: Note total orders, average ticket, average prep/fulfillment time, cancellations, and refunds.

Every day (Operational fixes)

• Menu tuning: Push a top seller, hide a slow-selling item, clarify any unclear names/options, and adjust prep times for items causing delays.
• Delivery sanity check: Confirm zones, fees, and ETAs; adjust dispatch rules or boundaries if drivers run long.
• Promotion smoke test: Activate one simple promotion (weekday combo, first-order discount) and confirm accrual/redemption.

Weekly (end of week)

• Feedback loop: Collect post-order feedback; categorize comments (menu, delivery, service). Identify the single most common issue, address it, and recheck the metrics the next day.
• Team sync: Conduct a 15-minute briefing to review findings and assign fixes.

Ready, Get Set, and Choose Restolabs!

If you’ve been exploring how to set up an online ordering system for your restaurant, Restolabs gives you everything you need to start quickly and confidently.

The platform helps you design a branded ordering page, manage orders in real-time, and accept secure payments without incurring high commissions. In just a few days, you can turn your menu into a digital storefront that customers love to use.

And the best part? The Restolabs team can set everything up for you, from uploading your menu and running test orders to making sure your site and app are launch-ready. So you can sit back, relax, and just focus on taking your first order.

‍Book a free demo today and see how Restolabs helps your café, bakery, or restaurant take orders online and grow with every sale.