The better ordering channel is the one that produces more contribution after its actual order costs and brings enough completed orders to matter. A direct order may leave more money per ticket, while a marketplace may produce more total contribution if it brings substantially more orders. Neither result is automatic.
Start with comparable baskets, calculate contribution in cents, and then look at volume. Keep guest fees visible too: a delivery charge can offset your expense but may also affect whether a guest completes the order.
Compare the same kind of order
Contribution is the money left from an order after the costs that change with that order. It is available to help cover rent, salaried labor, software subscriptions, and other fixed costs. It is not the same as sales, a payment deposit, or profit.
Make separate comparisons for pickup and delivery. A pickup order may have no courier charge, while a delivery order can involve dispatch, a guest delivery fee, and more packaging. Combining them can make a channel look better or worse simply because its mix is different.
For each comparison, use completed orders from the same period and similar service areas. Record the food and drink subtotal before guest fees, discounts, and tips. Then note who funds each discount and who receives each fee. If one channel attracts larger baskets, calculate both the average contribution per order and the total contribution for the period.
Check the details behind the deposit. A deposit is the cash transferred to your account; it may already reflect deductions and may arrive after the order date. Sales are the value sold. Neither figure alone tells you what the order contributed after food and fulfillment costs.
Also distinguish an order that moved channels from one that would not otherwise have happened. A regular guest switching from marketplace to direct changes the cost of serving that order. A guest who would not have ordered at all may add contribution, provided you have enough kitchen capacity to serve them without disrupting other orders. Keep those two effects separate when judging a channel.
Calculate contribution per completed order
The following delivery comparison is hypothetical. Every amount is in cents per completed order. Both orders have the same food basket and the same assumed food, packaging, delivery, and processing costs. The guest pays a 300-cent delivery fee in each case. In the direct example the restaurant receives it; in the marketplace example the marketplace retains it. These are modeling assumptions, not claims about any provider.
| Per completed delivery order | Direct | Marketplace |
|---|---|---|
| Food and drink subtotal | 4,000 | 4,000 |
| Guest delivery fee received by restaurant | 300 | 0 |
| Food cost | −1,200 | −1,200 |
| Packaging | −150 | −150 |
| Delivery fulfillment | −600 | −600 |
| Payment processing | −120 | −120 |
| Marketplace charge | 0 | −800 |
| Contribution per order | 2,230 | 1,130 |
The direct calculation is 4,000 + 300 − 1,200 − 150 − 600 − 120 = 2,230 cents. The marketplace calculation is 4,000 − 1,200 − 150 − 600 − 120 − 800 = 1,130 cents. Under these assumptions, direct contributes 1,100 cents more per completed order before fixed costs.
The table includes neither tips nor sales tax in contribution. It also excludes fixed subscriptions, hardware, advertising, refunds, and costs associated with canceled orders. Add those where they apply rather than treating the example as your expected margin. Do not subtract the same charge twice if it is already included in another line.
Use your own invoices and settlement records to build the rows. Ask each provider for a written breakdown of charges, including whether a percentage applies to the food subtotal, a discounted subtotal, or another amount. Check whether the delivery charge is per dispatch, per completed order, or subject to additional conditions. For discounts and refunds, record the share your restaurant actually bears.
Processing deserves its own line. A percentage plus a fixed amount behaves differently on a small ticket than on a large one. Likewise, a marketplace charge might contain several components. Grouping all deductions under one label can hide the cost you need to compare.
Test basket size and guest fees
Run the calculation at a small, typical, and large basket. Food cost generally changes with what guests buy; a fixed packaging charge or per-order processing amount may not. Use the actual cost of a representative order at each size instead of assuming every cost rises at the same rate.
Then change the guest fee. In the example above, if the direct guest fee falls from 300 cents to zero and every other assumption stays the same, direct contribution falls from 2,230 to 1,930 cents. If the restaurant still pays the 600-cent fulfillment charge, that cost has not disappeared; the restaurant is absorbing more of it.
Guest fees are also part of the price a diner sees. Compare the full checkout total, including the food subtotal, delivery and service fees, and any discount. Do not count a fee retained by another party as restaurant revenue. A lower restaurant cost per completed order may matter less if a high guest total reduces completed orders. The reverse can also happen: absorbing part of delivery may improve conversion, but the added orders must contribute enough to cover what you absorb.
For a practical sensitivity check, calculate three cases: your current guest fee, a lower fee, and a higher fee. For each, estimate contribution per completed order and record the number of completed orders needed to cover the change. These are scenarios, not forecasts. During a live comparison, measure completed orders and checkout totals rather than assuming guests will react a certain way.
At the channel level, compare total contribution as well as contribution per order. Using the table's assumptions, 200 marketplace orders produce 226,000 cents before fixed costs. Matching that total at 2,230 cents per direct order requires about 101.35 orders, so at least 102 completed direct orders. This is a volume threshold, not proof that those orders can be attracted or are incremental. Different fees, baskets, and order costs will change it.
Account for fixed costs and capacity
After calculating order-level contribution, subtract channel-specific fixed costs for the same period. Include a subscription only once, and identify costs shared across channels separately. If you allocate a shared cost, write down the method so the comparison remains consistent. The result is a channel comparison after the costs you chose to assign, not necessarily the restaurant's overall profit.
For a separate illustrative subscription calculation, Fleksa's plans list Fix at $199 per month per location, with 0% Fleksa commission on direct online orders, as checked in November 2026. Assume 300 direct delivery orders in a month and a $6 delivery expense for each. Delivery spend is $1,800; adding the $199 base gives $1,999, before processing, tax, hardware, add-ons, and other costs. The base subscription allocation is about $0.66 per order.
That $1,999 is an expense total, not an order contribution or a quote for delivery. If guests pay a delivery charge that the restaurant receives, record it separately as revenue to offset expense; it remains a cost to the guest. If the order count changes, the subscription allocation per order changes too. Confirm current plan terms and fulfillment charges before making a decision.
Capacity matters alongside the arithmetic. A channel that brings more orders during an already full dinner rush can lengthen waits or displace other business. Check kitchen throughput, pickup space, and delivery handoff capacity by service period. An extra order is useful only if you can fulfill it without creating costs or lost sales elsewhere that outweigh its contribution.
Choose a role for each channel and measure it
You do not have to give every channel the same job. Direct ordering may be useful for regulars who already know your restaurant. A marketplace may be worth keeping if it reaches guests you would not otherwise serve at a cost that leaves acceptable contribution. Those are hypotheses to measure, not guaranteed outcomes.
Set a four-week live measurement period, or longer if weekly demand varies sharply. Before it starts, agree on the service areas, hours, menu prices, promotions, and costs you will track. Avoid changing several things at once. If a promotion runs on one channel, include the restaurant-funded discount and advertising expense in that channel's result.
At the end of each week, review:
- Completed pickup and delivery orders separately, with their average basket and guest checkout total.
- Contribution per order and total contribution after the order costs assigned to each channel.
- Fixed channel costs, refunds, cancellations, and promotions that were excluded from the per-order model.
- Busy-period capacity, delays, and whether extra orders appear to have displaced other sales.
- Evidence of genuinely new demand, kept separate from guests who merely switched where they ordered.
Incrementality is difficult to establish from order counts alone. A guest ordering through a new channel may have ordered elsewhere anyway. Compare similar periods where practical, note changes in hours or promotions, and treat uncertain gains as uncertain. Ask providers what reporting lets you reconcile completed orders, fees, refunds, and deposits; request a written quote for the full setup you need.
For more context on setting up a direct channel, read the online ordering guide and review how a restaurant website fits into your guest journey. Then take one recent week of delivery orders, fill in the table with your own numbers, and review Fleksa's restaurant online ordering page. If it fits your needs, ask for a demonstration and a written cost breakdown.
Frequently asked questions
Is a direct order always more profitable?
No. Direct orders can have processing, delivery, software, and promotion costs. Compare contribution per completed order and the number of orders each channel brings.
Should guest delivery fees count as restaurant revenue?
Count only the portion your restaurant receives. Show the full fee separately as part of the guest's checkout cost, and record fulfillment expense separately.
How do I compare pickup with delivery?
Calculate each one separately using its own packaging, processing, and fulfillment costs. Then combine their total contributions only after accounting for the actual order mix.
