6 Proven Ways to Reduce Commissions for Online Orders

Have you ever wondered why online orders can sometimes feel like they barely move the needle in your month-end profit statement? You bring in deliveries night after night, but when the bills are paid and you look at your balance sheet, the impact feels smaller than expected.

The reason is straightforward. Every third-party delivery order includes a commission that removes a percentage of revenue before it reaches your business. That portion never contributes to wages, rent, ingredients, or retained profit.

So, how do you reduce commissions for your online restaurant orders? This blog post explores six actionable strategies.

Understanding the True Cost of High Commission Fees

Research shows that major platforms commonly charge restaurant commissions of around 30% of each order in areas without regulatory caps.

This means you don’t receive the full value of every delivery order. A percentage is deducted as commission before the payout reaches your business.

The amount you receive from each order follows a simple calculation:

Revenue you receive = Order Value – (Order value X %Commission rate)

For example, if a customer places a $40 delivery order and the platform charges a 30% commission, this is what the breakdown looks like:

Per-order breakdown

You begin with $28, not $40. All food, labor, packaging, and overhead costs are paid from this amount.

Monthly impact

Yearly commission paid

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Use the Restolabs’ commission savings calculator

Also Read: Benefits of Commission-Free Ordering Systems

Strategies to Reduce Commissions for Online Orders

Here’s what you can do to minimize commission exposure while maintaining online order volume:

1. Make direct ordering the default for repeat customers

Third-party platforms are good at one thing: helping customers find you the first time. So, once someone has tried your food, make it effortless for them to place the next order from you.

Set up a direct online ordering link that works on mobile, loads quickly, and mirrors your live menu accurately. This link should be easy to remember and access. If customers have to search for it, you have already lost them back to the marketplace.

Every third-party delivery order should include a prompt that directs the customer to your own ordering channel.

Put a printed leaflet in every delivery bag. Keep it plain and specific. Mention that direct orders cost less for the restaurant. Include a QR code that opens your ordering page immediately. Add a small incentive tied only to direct orders, such as a free side or a fixed percentage off.

2. Engineer delivery menus to survive commission pressure

Leaving the same menu everywhere assumes every item can absorb the same percentage cut. That assumption is usually wrong. Therefore, pull a list of items that appear on third-party delivery menus. For each item, note three things:

• Food cost
• Packaging cost
• How often it appears in single-item orders versus larger baskets

You’re looking for items that cost a lot to produce but rarely increase the total order value. These items take the same commission cut as everything else while contributing less margin to cover it.

Once you identify those items, decide how they should behave on delivery. For example, if an item sells frequently on delivery but drags margins down, reprice it on third-party platforms only. Keep in-house pricing unchanged.

If an item sells mainly as a standalone order and lowers average ticket size, delete it from delivery menus or require it to be part of a bundle. Bundles raise order value and reduce the percentage impact of commissions.

And if an item travels poorly or creates prep delays, remove it from delivery entirely.

3. Increase margin efficiency with pickup-first ordering

Offering delivery is convenient but it comes with its own share of driver coordination, timing variability, 25-30% commissions fees and service risks. On the other hand, pickup typically involves lower fulfillment complexity and more predictable operational costs.

Make pickup the default option on your direct online ordering page. List it before delivery. Use plain language and avoid burying pickup behind extra clicks or tabs. For example, you can say: “Pickup in 20 minutes. No delivery fee.” This adds a clear incentive.

Next, give customers a reason to choose pickup. Keep the incentive small and consistent. A fixed $5 credit on that order, a free drink, or a loyalty point works well.

Now align pickup with your kitchen workflow. It performs best when timing is reliable. For example, if you provide clear preparation windows and maintain on-time readiness, customers learn they can arrive and collect their order without waiting.

4. Decide when third-party delivery is worth paying for

Not every delivery management platform contributes equally to your revenue. Some bring profitable orders. Others generate volume that carries high commission costs with limited return. You must know what works for you.

For that, extract three numbers from the last 30 to 60 days for each of the platforms you use:

• Total number of orders
• Average order value
• Total commission paid

Next, calculate how much revenue you retained from each platform.

Use this formula:

Revenue retained = Total order value − Total commission paid

For example: If Platform A generated $50,000 in order value and charged $15,000 in commissions, you retained $35,000.

Now calculate commission percentage:

Commission % = Commission paid ÷ Total order value

In this case:

$15,000 ÷ $50,000 = 30% is the commission paid for Platform A

Repeat this calculation for each platform to find out which ones retain more usable revenue and which ones take a larger share of each sale.

5. Replace percentage-based delivery where volume justifies it

Percentage commissions scale with order value. The higher your order volume grows, the more expensive this model becomes compared to fixed delivery costs. Therefore, you need to identify where the demand is consistent.

For that, review delivery addresses from the last 30 to 60 days. Highlight areas that appear frequently, especially those within 3 to 5 miles of your location. These zones represent predictable delivery demand.

Next, calculate your current commission cost per order.

Use this formula:

Commission per order = Average order value × Commission rate

For example:

$40 average order value × 30% commission = $12 commission per order

Now compare this with your projected in-house delivery cost in high-volume zones.

If you pay a driver $18 per hour and they complete 3 deliveries per hour, your estimated cost per delivery would be: $18 ÷ 3 = $6 per delivery

In areas with consistent order density, your per-order delivery expense becomes more predictable and often lower than percentage-based commissions.

6. Track commission spend the same way you track food cost

Commission fees become harder to control when they aren’t included in your regular cost reviews. Many restaurants notice them only when net revenue looks lower than expected. By then, the damage has already compounded.

You fix this by including that spend in the same cost reviews as food and labor. Review a monthly summary of commissions paid across all ordering channels. Break it down by platform and by order type.

Commission % is calculated as:

Commission % = Commission Paid ÷ Total Revenue

This percentage shows how much of your revenue each channel consumes in fees. Channels with higher percentages reduce retained revenue more aggressively.

Embrace a Commission-Free Future with Restolabs

Restolabs is a direct online ordering platform built specifically for restaurants that want to own their revenue and operations.

It provides a branded online ordering system that facilitates pickup, delivery, dine-in QR ordering, and catering workflows — all managed from a centralized dashboard.

You can configure prep times, pause ordering during busy hours, throttle order volume, set day-based menu availability, and manage multiple locations from one interface.

On the delivery side, Restolabs supports both in-house fleet management and third-party dispatch integrations. You can define delivery zones using map-based controls, manage radius rules, and monitor driver workflows. This enables you to expand delivery coverage without surrendering control of the customer experience.

The platform integrates with key POS systems, payment gateways, gift card providers, and loyalty platforms. It includes built-in promotions such as coupon creation, time-based combos, and configurable checkout experiences.

You can retain access to full customer data, order history, and performance analytics — including product, user, and sales reports, making smarter operational and marketing decisions.

If you’re a multi-location brand, franchise, or a growing QSR chain, Restolabs comes with centralized management with store-level customization capabilities. Menus, pricing, taxes, branding elements, and user permissions can be configured at scale.

If you’re ready to move from commission-heavy third-party reliance to a system you control, book a demo and see how Restolabs can drive your restaurant growth.