A fair delivery fee should make sense at both ends of the trip: it should help cover the cost of getting food to the guest, and the guest should see it before deciding to pay. To set fees by distance, group deliveries into a few practical bands, estimate the cost of each group, and compare the guest charge with what each trip costs you.
Start with your existing delivery area. Pricing each part of that area is a separate decision from choosing how far you will deliver. A farther address may cost more to serve, but a higher fee can also make the order less attractive. The right bands are the ones your operation can explain, apply consistently, and review against actual results.
Map delivery cost and travel time by band
Pull a representative set of recent delivery orders, including busy and quiet periods. For each order, record the destination, the distance measure used, delivery time, and the cost your restaurant paid to fulfill the trip. If a courier or dispatch provider supplies the service, ask for its per-order charges and any minimums, surcharges, or recurring fees. If you use your own drivers, include the labor and other delivery expenses you allocate to those trips.
Decide what your bands measure. A two-mile radius on a map is not necessarily a two-mile drive. Ask your ordering provider whether a fee rule uses straight-line distance, road distance, or another measure, and which restaurant address it starts from. Use that same measure in your worksheet. Also ask how the system handles an address exactly at a band boundary.
Travel time matters even when the fee rule uses distance. A short trip across a difficult intersection may tie up a driver longer than a slightly farther trip along a clear route. Note the time from pickup to drop-off and, for your own drivers, the return or repositioning time. Look at a range of trips rather than treating the fastest trip as normal.
Separate costs that change with an order from costs you pay regardless of volume. Per-trip courier charges and delivery-related labor belong in the first group. A recurring software subscription is a fixed cost for this exercise. Processing charges and exception costs, such as a failed delivery or a redelivery, should be tracked separately if they are not included in your trip estimate.
Finally, compare the proposed bands with your menu and order sizes. A $6 fee has a different effect on a $15 lunch than on a $60 family order. That does not mean every fee must be a percentage of the basket. It means the guest’s full price belongs in the decision, alongside your delivery expense.
Compare flat and tiered charges with a worksheet
The following example is hypothetical. Assume a restaurant reviews 10 deliveries and groups them by the distance measure used by its ordering system. The estimated delivery costs are variable costs per completed trip. Fixed costs, payment processing, and exceptions such as redelivery are excluded. The distances and amounts are assumptions for this decision, not a quote.
| Distance band | Sample orders | Estimated delivery cost | Tiered guest fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 mile | 4 | $3 each; $12 total | $3 each; $12 total |
| Over 1 to 2 miles | 3 | $5 each; $15 total | $5 each; $15 total |
| Over 2 to 3 miles | 3 | $7 each; $21 total | $7 each; $21 total |
| Total | 10 | $48 | $48 |
In this small sample, the tiered fees collect $48, matching the assumed $48 in variable delivery costs. They do not cover the excluded fixed, processing, or exception costs. The table also does not show whether guests accepted the charges or whether the restaurant made a profit on the food.
Now compare a flat $4 fee. Across the same 10 orders, it collects $40, leaving an $8 gap against the assumed $48 in variable delivery costs. Nearby guests pay $1 more than their estimated trip cost, while guests in the farthest band pay $3 less. The restaurant may accept that gap as part of its delivery offering, but it should make the choice knowingly.
Under these assumptions, the tiered option is the better starting point if the owner’s goal is to match the estimated variable cost of each band. The flat option is easier to explain and cheaper for the farthest guests, but it leaves more delivery cost with the restaurant. Neither result proves what will happen with a different mix of addresses or actual courier bills.
Build your own version using enough orders to represent each band. Add columns in your working sheet for the flat fee, fee revenue, variable delivery cost, and the difference. Then list fixed and exception costs below the table so a match on per-trip costs is not mistaken for an all-in operating result. The guide to comparing order contribution can help you look beyond delivery charges alone.
Show the delivery fee before payment
Guests should be able to see the delivery charge after entering an address and before committing to payment. If the exact charge depends on the address, show a clear starting point earlier in the journey, then display the applicable fee once the address is known. Do not describe a range as the final charge.
For a separate hypothetical checkout, assume a guest has $24 in food, a $5 delivery fee, $2 in applicable tax, and no other charges. The displayed total should be $31. The $5 is a customer charge; it is not automatically the restaurant’s profit or the courier’s pay. If another service charge applies, show it as its own line and include it in the total.
Use a simulated checkout to check the language and math before changing a live menu. Try addresses just inside and outside each boundary, an address exactly on a boundary, and an address outside the delivery area. Check a small basket and a larger one. Confirm when the fee first appears, whether it updates when the address changes, and whether the final total includes every displayed charge.
Keep the simulation from creating a real payment, guest message, or courier dispatch. Ask the provider how to use a safe test mode or other non-live method. If the system cannot simulate a step, ask the provider to demonstrate it without sending a live order. A simulated check verifies the displayed flow; it does not prove that a live delivery will arrive on time or that the courier bill will match the estimate.
Review the ordering page on a phone as well as a larger screen. A guest should not have to search through a policy page to find the fee after entering an address. Your restaurant website can explain the delivery area and how fees are calculated, while the checkout shows the charge for the specific order. Ask your ordering provider what fee rules and checkout labels it can configure before promising a particular display.
Review guest response and delivery costs
Before changing fees, record a baseline for a comparable period. Track completed delivery orders by band, guest fees collected, delivery charges paid, and any refunds or redelivery expenses. If your ordering system reports checkout starts and completed orders, compare those figures too. Ask how it defines each event so you do not mistake a page visit for an order attempt.
After a change, review the same measures by band. A fall in completed orders in the farthest band may matter more than a rise in fee revenue per completed order. Equally, a band with healthy order volume may still create a loss if actual trip costs regularly exceed the charge. Avoid attributing every change to the fee: weather, promotions, hours, menu changes, and seasonality can affect demand too.
Keep the cost review separate from sales. Delivery fees collected are money charged to guests; delivery spend is what the restaurant pays for fulfillment; food sales are a different measure. Deposits or payment-processing amounts are not delivery profit. Reconcile the figures against provider invoices and your own records rather than assuming the fee on the order equals the courier charge.
When comparing software quotes, include recurring charges and per-order charges alongside processing and delivery or dispatch costs. For example, Fleksa’s plans page, checked in November 2026, lists Fix at $199 per month per location and 0% Fleksa commission on direct online orders. Payment processing, delivery or dispatch, hardware or add-ons, and applicable sales tax are extra. That commission figure does not make courier delivery free or describe the all-in cost of operating delivery.
A simulation is useful before launch. A live service pilot is a separate decision: use the actual order process, monitor real charges and guest experience, and have staff ready to address problems. Do not promise uninterrupted service or assume the test results will hold at every address. After the pilot, adjust a boundary or charge only when the evidence supports it, then update the guest-facing explanation.
To take the next step, use the worksheet and checkout checks on your current setup. Then ask Fleksa about US availability and whether its restaurant online ordering setup can support your preferred distance rules and fee display.
Frequently asked questions
Should every delivery band cover its own cost?
Not necessarily. You may choose to absorb some expense in a farther band, but calculate the gap and decide whether the full order still makes business sense.
Is a flat delivery fee simpler than distance bands?
Usually, yes. One fee is easy to communicate, but it can charge nearby guests more than their estimated trip cost while leaving the restaurant to cover more of a longer trip.
When should a guest see the exact fee?
Once the address is known and before the guest commits to payment. Show the fee as a separate charge and include it in the final total.
