An order through a delivery platform costs you commission on the full order value, and that percentage depends on who delivers. In the Netherlands Uber Eats charges 30% when they provide the courier and 14% when you deliver yourself or the guest comes to pick up. Thuisbezorgd sits at 14%. On top of that percentage you have no idea who placed the order, and that loss appears on no invoice.

On the fifth order from that same guest you still pay the same percentage as on the first.

That is what SOUS was built for: your own ordering channel alongside the platforms, with no commission on direct orders. With several locations that saves money per location on every order that comes in directly.

What exactly do the platforms charge?

Uber Eats publishes this on its own restaurant page, and Thuisbezorgd charges 14% regardless of who delivers.

The pickup order is the bill that weighs heaviest

With Uber Eats you pay 14% even when the guest comes to pick up the order.

On an order like that the guest drives over and takes the food out of your own venue, without the platform providing a courier or a route. What the platform does is list you in the app with an order button next to your name, and you pay 14% of the order value for that. On an average order of €45 that comes to €6.30 each time.

Those pickup orders are the easiest ones to move to your own ordering channel, because the guest is standing in your venue anyway.

What you lose beyond the commission

The commission is on the invoice, so you can check that one yourself. The rest of what a platform order costs you is written down nowhere.

You do not know who placed the order: the email address, the phone number and the order history stay with the platform. That means you cannot send an offer to a guest who has ordered the same dish three times, and you cannot see which neighbourhood or which location is growing fastest. With one venue that is a shame. With six locations you miss that comparison six times, at exactly the moment you want to know which location is falling behind.

This runs deeper than the percentage: whoever holds the guest data decides whether that guest comes back to you directly a second time.

What does the same order cost through your own ordering channel?

On your own ordering channel you pay in a completely different way, and it is worth putting the two side by side, because the commission percentage on its own says too little.

SOUS Commerce Launch includes SOUS Spotlight for one location, and for your other locations SOUS Spotlight is added per location. Because it runs per location, you know in advance what an extra location costs you.

A platform charges a percentage that grows along with every order, including the hundredth order from the same guest. Your own ordering channel has a fixed amount plus transaction costs, so the more direct orders you get, the lower your cost per order becomes.

On an average order of €45, a commission of 14% sends €6.30 to the platform, while an iDEAL payment on your own ordering channel costs €0.29.

When is it worth making the move?

Moving over happens step by step, with the platform simply staying where it is.

The question is which share of your orders does not need to sit there. Look at two numbers: how many of your orders are pickup, and how many come from guests who have ordered from you before. Those are the two groups the platform does the least for and earns the most on.

Put your own ordering channel with SOUS Commerce next to it and leave the platform in place for new guests, while you move the repeat and pickup orders across. With two or more locations that adds up quickly, because both the percentage and the duplicated work scale per location.

Frequently asked questions

Are these rates negotiable?

For Uber Eats they are published on their own restaurant page, which suggests these are the standard rates. Whether larger volumes get different terms in practice has not been made public.

Do I also pay commission on the delivery fee the guest pays?

That is not in the published rates and it differs per platform and per contract. Your own statements do show it, so check those.

Can I stay on the platforms and have my own ordering channel?

Yes, and for most venues that is the most sensible route as well. The platforms bring in new guests, and your own ordering channel through SOUS Commerce picks up the repeat orders without commission.

What happens to my existing guests if I make the move?

You cannot take them with you out of a platform, because you do not have their details. What does work is reaching them while they are with you. A QR code on the packaging does that, and so does a card in the bag or an offer on the receipt.