When a marketplace or vendor offers to fund part of an ordering discount, start by separating three things: what the guest saves, what your restaurant gives up, and what the provider pays back. Then check whether fees are charged on the original order amount or the discounted amount. A generous-looking offer can produce a different result once those terms are applied.
Keep a record for each promotion that connects the offer terms to individual orders, provider statements, and reimbursements. That record lets you compare the expected contribution from an order with the money and costs that actually appear. It also gives you something specific to take back to the provider when a payment is late or a fee looks wrong.
Read the written promotion terms
Ask for the promotion terms before enrollment, even if the offer is presented as a simple percentage match. The person setting up the offer needs the same details as the person checking the payout later. Save the terms with the promotion name, dates, and any later changes.
Start with the guest-facing offer. Is the discount a fixed dollar amount or a percentage? Does it have a maximum value, a minimum order, or a limit on eligible menu items? Check whether it applies before or after any other offer. An order that does not meet the eligibility rules may not receive the funding you expect.
Next, find the funding split. The provider might promise a fixed amount per order, a percentage of the discount, or reimbursement only up to a campaign cap. Ask whether the split applies to every eligible order and whether there is a total budget that can run out. If a third-party vendor is involved, identify which company owes the restaurant money and which statement will show it.
Finally, identify the settlement rules. Ask these questions in writing:
- Is the provider’s share deducted from the discount immediately, credited against fees, or paid separately?
- What order amount is used to calculate commission and payment processing fees?
- Are delivery charges, tips, or other charges affected by the offer or fee calculation?
- When should reimbursement arrive, and which order or campaign ID will appear with it?
- What happens to funding and fees when an order is canceled, refunded, or changed?
- Can the restaurant stop the promotion, and what happens to orders already placed?
The provider should supply its offer and payout terms. Your restaurant supplies its own food, packaging, labor, and delivery cost estimates, along with the sales and payout records needed to check the result. If a term is unclear, ask for a worked example using your menu price and the proposed discount. Do not assume that a provider-funded share changes the fee base in your favor.
Allocate the discount, fees, and reimbursement
The full guest discount is not automatically the restaurant’s cost. If a guest saves $10 and the provider owes $6, the restaurant’s stated share is $4. But the restaurant may initially receive payment based on the full $10 discount and collect the $6 later. That timing matters for cash flow and for checking a payout.
Write down the order in separate lines rather than trying to interpret one net deposit:
- Start with eligible menu sales before the promotion.
- Subtract the full discount to find the discounted amount paid for those items.
- Add the provider-funded reimbursement when calculating the restaurant’s expected receipts.
- Subtract commission, processing, and any other order-level charges under the written terms.
- Subtract the restaurant’s relevant order costs to estimate contribution.
This approach avoids counting the provider’s share twice. For example, if your starting figure is already the amount you retain after the provider’s credit, do not add the same credit again. Likewise, a credit against commission is not necessarily a separate deposit. Record it according to how the provider settles it, and keep enough detail to see which orders it covers.
Separate guest charges from restaurant costs. A delivery charge paid by a guest is money the guest pays; a courier charge billed to the restaurant is an expense. They may offset each other partly or fully, but neither tells you the other amount. Tips and taxes should also be kept distinct from menu sales and promotion funding when reviewing a statement.
Contribution is useful for an operating decision, but it is not the same as net profit. An order can leave money after food and order-level fees while still needing to support rent, salaried staff, software, and other fixed costs. For a broader channel comparison, use the guide to comparing direct and marketplace orders on contribution.
Calculate contribution for a sample order
The following example is hypothetical. It is not a quote or a claim about any provider. Assume a $40 eligible menu order receives a $10 discount. The provider funds $6 and the restaurant funds $4. The guest pays $30 for the discounted menu items, and the provider reimburses the restaurant $6 separately.
Assume commission is 20% of the original $40 menu amount, or $8. Processing is an assumed $1 for the order. Food costs $12, packaging costs $2, and the restaurant pays $3 for delivery. There is no guest delivery charge in this example. Tips and taxes are excluded.
Expected contribution is $30 + $6 − $8 − $1 − $12 − $2 − $3 = $10. The calculation includes the stated variable order costs, but excludes fixed costs and exception costs such as refunds or disputed orders. It also assumes the reimbursement is earned and paid in full.
For a comparison without the promotion, hold the other assumptions constant: the guest pays $40, there is no reimbursement, and the same $8 commission, $1 processing charge, and $17 in food, packaging, and delivery costs apply. Contribution would be $14. Under these assumptions, the promotion reduces contribution by $4 per order—the restaurant-funded share.
That comparison does not show whether the campaign attracts additional orders or changes what guests buy. It only shows the contribution on an otherwise equivalent order. If the provider instead calculates a fee on the discounted amount, or the restaurant pays an additional campaign charge, redo the math with those terms. A smaller restaurant share does not by itself guarantee a better result.
Before approving the offer, decide what contribution you need from an order and how much volume your kitchen can handle at the offered price. If the estimated $10 is below your operating threshold, negotiate the funding or fee terms, change the offer, or decline it. If it meets your threshold, set a review date and check actual orders rather than treating the sample as a forecast.
Reconcile the provider statement
Use the worksheet below for the same hypothetical order. The expected column follows the assumptions above. The actual column shows an example in which the order payout arrives as expected but the separate reimbursement has not yet appeared. It is a reconciliation aid, not a complete accounting statement.
| Line | Expected | Actual example | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible menu sales | $40 | $40 | Match order ID and eligibility |
| Guest discount | −$10 | −$10 | Confirm offer applied |
| Commission | −$8 | −$8 | Check rate and fee base |
| Processing | −$1 | −$1 | Match order charge |
| Order payout | $21 | $21 | Match provider statement |
| Provider reimbursement | $6 | $0 received so far | Track $6 outstanding |
| Total receipts | $27 | $21 received so far | Check reimbursement due date |
| Food, packaging, delivery | −$17 | −$17 assumed | Compare with restaurant records |
| Contribution | $10 | $4 before reimbursement | Update when payment arrives |
The order payout is $30 in discounted menu sales less $8 commission and $1 processing. The expected $6 reimbursement brings total receipts to $27; after $17 in listed costs, expected contribution is $10. Until the reimbursement arrives, the example shows $21 received and $4 after those costs. The outstanding $6 is not an extra discount or an extra fee.
For each real campaign, keep the order ID, date, eligible sales, full discount, promised funding split, fee amounts, payout date, and reimbursement reference together. Reconcile by settlement period as well as by campaign: an order placed near the end of one period may have its reimbursement in a later period. Mark a credit as outstanding until it can be matched to a payment or statement credit.
Review exceptions separately. For a canceled or partly refunded order, compare the actual adjustment with the written terms instead of assuming the original reimbursement remains due. If the statement groups many orders into one credit, request an order-level breakdown. Send discrepancies to the provider with the relevant IDs, expected amount, actual amount, and a copy of the applicable offer terms.
When deciding whether to repeat the promotion, total the restaurant-funded discounts and relevant order costs alongside fees and confirmed reimbursements. Compare that result with your operating threshold and a suitable non-promotional order. For more context on channel charges, see direct ordering and marketplace economics and the online ordering buying guide. Ask a qualified adviser about accounting, contract, or tax treatment where needed.
Next step: Use the worksheet on one recent promotion, flag any unmatched reimbursement, and ask the provider for the missing detail. If you are also reviewing your direct channel, ask Fleksa about restaurant online ordering and verified availability in the United States.
Frequently asked questions
Is the full guest discount a restaurant expense?
Not necessarily. Separate the restaurant’s funded share from the amount the provider owes, and check how and when the provider settles its share. Ask a qualified adviser how to record the amounts for your business.
Should commission be calculated before or after the discount?
Use the fee base stated in the provider’s written terms. Calculate both possibilities if the terms are unclear, then ask the provider to confirm which applies before you enroll.
What if a promotion credit is missing from the payout?
Check its due date and whether it appears as a separate payment or fee credit. If it remains unmatched, request a breakdown using the campaign and order IDs, and track the amount as outstanding until resolved.
