How do you compare a month of restaurant delivery costs?

Compare a month of restaurant delivery costs by matching completed orders to every related charge, then subtracting delivery fees paid by customers. Restaurant delivery without commission removes the percentage charged on food sales, not the cost of getting an order to the door. At GoSwift, we charge $11 for the first 3 miles, $2 per extra mile, no commission. Compare that with your app charges to see what your restaurant keeps.

A $40 order: commission versus flat-fee delivery

On a $40 order, a 30% commission is $12. With GoSwift, if you charge your customer a $5.99 delivery fee, your share of the $11 delivery is $5.01 — about $5. That leaves $6.99 more with your restaurant on that order, before any differences in payment processing, ordering fees or other costs.

The bigger the order, the bigger the gap, at the same commission rate, delivery distance and customer delivery fee. This example covers a delivery within the first 3 miles; longer trips cost $2 per extra mile. The 30% commission is an example, not a claim about every app or plan.

How do you compare a month of restaurant delivery costs?

Build a delivery-only statement for one full calendar month. Use the same start date, end date and order-status rules for every channel. A marketplace payout, a payment-processor deposit and a courier invoice describe different parts of the same sale; none tells the whole story alone.

For your 2026 comparison, start with the orders rather than the bank deposits. Deposits can arrive after the order date and can combine sales, refunds and adjustments. Record each charge against the order it belongs to wherever your records allow.

Use this sequence:

1. List completed delivery orders by ordering channel.
2. Record food sales and customer delivery charges separately.
3. Match commissions, courier charges and other deductions to those orders.
4. Separate refunded, canceled and disputed transactions.
5. Total what the restaurant paid and what customers contributed.
6. Compare similar baskets, delivery distances and customer groups.

The commission-free delivery guide explains the ordering model. This worksheet answers a narrower question: what did that model cost your restaurant over a real month?

Why this matters: an invoice is not your delivery margin

A courier invoice measures courier charges. It does not measure the whole cost of selling a meal online. Your restaurant can pay for delivery, collect part of that cost from the customer and still have separate ordering or payment charges.

The reverse mistake happens with marketplace statements. Treating the net payout as sales hides the deductions that explain the gap. Start from the sale, show the deductions and reconcile the result to the payout.

The useful comparison is retained money on comparable orders, not one fee against another. A lower headline rate does not establish a better result if you compare short-distance direct orders with larger, longer-distance marketplace orders.

Keep the first worksheet simple. The aim is a reliable monthly view your manager can repeat, not a complicated report that nobody updates.

What records do you need?

Use one full month's order report, app statements and courier invoices. Your existing ordering system has the starting point — no new system needed.

For each channel, total:

• Completed orders and food sales, excluding tax and tips.
• Commission or courier charges, minus delivery fees collected from customers.
• Separate ordering fees, payment charges, discounts and refunds.

Match the totals to your statements. Don't count a deduction twice, and keep unexplained differences separate until you've checked them.

Which costs should stay separate?

Use distinct columns even when a provider bundles charges into one statement. The categories below are a reporting template, not a claim that every restaurant pays every charge.

Do not subtract a fee twice. If a statement already presents food revenue after a discount, either restore the original subtotal and show the discount separately or leave the discounted subtotal as it is. Pick one treatment and use it consistently.

When the invoice and order export disagree, put the difference in an unresolved column until it is explained. Calling the difference savings before reconciliation turns a bookkeeping gap into a false business result.

How do you calculate what the restaurant keeps?

First calculate the restaurant's net delivery expense:

Net delivery expense = courier charges minus customer delivery charges collected.

Then calculate the retained food revenue before kitchen and other operating costs:

Retained food revenue = food subtotal minus commission, net delivery expense, ordering charges, processing charges and restaurant-funded incentives.

Apply refunds and adjustments once, using the treatment established in your worksheet. If a refund is already reflected in the food subtotal, do not subtract it again.

This is not profit. Food ingredients, packaging, kitchen labor, rent and other expenses still exist. For a profitability decision, bring in the costs that change when you accept another delivery order, using your own restaurant's records.

For a 2026 monthly review, report both the total retained amount and the retained amount per completed order. The total shows the size of the channel. The per-order figure helps explain whether the economics changed, even when volume went up or down.

Also keep a separate view of exceptions. A month with a refund problem needs a service fix, not an automatic conclusion that the pricing model is wrong.

How does a flat delivery rate change the comparison?

Our restaurant delivery price is $11 for the first 3 miles, $2 per extra mile, no commission. Your share depends on the delivery fee you collect from your customer: charge $5.99 on an $11 delivery and you cover $5.01, before separate processing, ordering, packaging and food costs.

New restaurants earn up to $1,000 in delivery credit as their deliveries grow. We take earned credit off your weekly invoice automatically: $100 at 100 deliveries, $200 at 300, $300 at 600 and $400 at 1,000. Show these earned credits separately in your monthly comparison so you can see both your introductory savings and your ongoing delivery costs.

A flat courier fee does not become cheaper simply because it has no commission. Compare the actual restaurant-funded delivery amount with the actual marketplace deductions for a similar order. Small baskets and longer trips deserve particular attention.

We connect GoSwift restaurant delivery to Toast, Square and Clover. You keep your existing ordering system, and delivery orders route to a courier automatically — no separate tablet or double entry. We walk you through the connection during onboarding.

What changes the monthly result?

These variables explain why two restaurants using the same delivery model can reach different conclusions:

• Order size. A percentage charge grows with the food subtotal; a distance-based courier charge follows a different driver.
• Delivery distance. Orders beyond the included distance add to the courier charge.
• Customer contribution. The delivery charge collected determines how much courier expense the restaurant funds.
• Ordering setup. Existing ordering and payment agreements determine separate charges.
• Offers and refunds. Restaurant-funded incentives and exceptions reduce retained money.
• Repeat ordering. A returning direct customer and a newly discovered marketplace customer answer different business questions.

Break the month into meaningful groups before choosing an action. Compare nearby deliveries with nearby deliveries. Compare repeat customers with repeat customers when your records support it.

Avoid forcing a winner across every order. You can keep a channel that introduces new customers while moving willing regulars toward your own ordering page. The financial case should show which orders suit which route.

Should you compare marketplace orders with direct orders?

Yes, but treat the two routes as different ways to reach and serve customers, not identical products with different fees. The marketplace can play a discovery role; direct ordering gives an existing customer a route back to your restaurant without browsing a marketplace.

We deliver your orders and help you bring regulars back to your own ordering site. GoSwift is not a consumer marketplace: your customers order from you, and we handle the delivery. You keep your existing ordering system and the direct customer relationship.

In your 2026 worksheet, keep discovery spending visible. If you pay to attract a direct order, include that separately rather than pretending direct demand is free. Equally, do not charge an existing regular's order with an imagined marketing expense that never occurred.

How do you check whether repeat customers are moving direct?

Measure returning customers in your own ordering and customer records. Count customers who completed another order, not people who only scanned a code, opened a page or started checkout.

Use a consistent customer identifier where your system provides one. Compare repeat direct orders over the same period, and retain an unknown category when identity is unavailable. A bigger direct-order total alone does not prove customers moved from a marketplace.

Ask the operational questions behind the numbers:

• Can a regular find the restaurant's ordering page without searching again?
• Does the checkout show the delivery charge clearly?
• Does the order reach the kitchen without duplicate entry?
• Does the customer receive delivery tracking?
• Can the restaurant contact that customer again with the required permission?

Our Direct Growth program gives you direct-order materials and practical guidance to bring regulars back to your restaurant's own ordering page. Use customer communications with the required permission, and check each marketplace's rules before placing promotional materials in its orders.

How should you run the first monthly review?

Choose one full month as the baseline. For the following month, keep the same worksheet and order definitions so changes reflect the business rather than a new calculation.

Have the restaurant manager check the service exceptions alongside the owner checking retained money. A small reduction in delivery expense is not a good trade if order failures or refunds erase it.

For your next 2026 review, record one decision, the reason for it and the result you expect to see in your own data. That might be a narrower delivery radius, a clearer checkout charge or a more visible direct-order link. Test one operational change at a time so the following month can explain what happened.

FAQ

One last thing

Reconcile one actual invoice before projecting a year of savings. A pricing calculator helps you compare assumptions; a matched order statement tells you whether those assumptions describe your restaurant.

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