Commission-free food delivery: how to run deliveries with your own riders
Delivery apps bring you customers, but they keep a large share of every order. More restaurants now run their own deliveries for regulars and nearby orders. Here's how to work out whether it pays, and how to set it up so it doesn't turn into chaos.
Wemu Team
Product
Commission-free food delivery means customers order from your own website or ordering page, and your own staff (or a courier you pay per trip) deliver it, so you keep the full order value instead of paying the delivery app a percentage. Most restaurants that do this keep the apps for discovery and move regulars and nearby orders to their own channel.
Does running your own delivery actually pay?
Do the maths on your own numbers before you change anything. For one typical week, compare:
| Cost | Through a delivery app | With your own rider |
|---|---|---|
| Commission per order | A percentage of every order (check your contract) | None |
| Rider cost | Included in the commission | Wages or pay per drop, plus fuel |
| Payment fees | Usually inside the commission | Your card or QR fees |
| Customer data | Stays with the app | Yours: name, number, order history |
| Promotions | Often funded by you | Your choice, on your terms |
A simple test: weekly commission paid to apps versus what a rider costs you for the hours you're busiest. If your evening deliveries cluster within a few kilometres, one rider on a shift often costs less than the commission on those orders.
Don't quit the apps on day one
The apps are good at finding new customers. Keep them, and give your regulars a reason to order direct: a QR on the bag, a small loyalty perk, or free delivery over a set amount on your own page.
What you need to run your own deliveries
- 1An ordering page where customers can order and pay for delivery, with a delivery area and fee you control.
- 2A way to assign orders to whoever is driving tonight, without shouting across the kitchen.
- 3Rider details on the order: address, what to collect if unpaid, and the customer's notes (gate codes, "call on arrival").
- 4Customer updates: who is coming and when, so they don't call the shop five times.
- 5A record of every drop: delivered when, how the customer paid, and ideally a photo at the door to settle "it never arrived".
- 6Cash handling: if riders collect cash, a clear amount they're holding and a hand-over at the end of the shift.
Setting delivery fees and areas
- Use distance bands (for example, near, medium, far) rather than one flat fee, so long trips pay for themselves.
- Set a minimum order for delivery, or free delivery above a spend that protects your margin.
- Cap the radius at what one rider can do and still come back for the next order.
- Pause delivery when the kitchen is slammed, rather than promising times you can't keep.
Running the shift
- Riders mark themselves available when they start delivering, so the counter only assigns to people who are actually on.
- Group orders going the same direction into one trip.
- Riders confirm pick-up, then delivered, and record cash or QR payment at the door.
- At the end of the shift, compare the cash each rider is holding with what the system says they collected.
Where Wemu fits
Wemu has own-rider delivery built in. You choose which staff deliver in Settings → Delivery riders. Riders tap Start delivering in the Wemu Team app when they're on shift, and the counter assigns online orders to them from the POS or the web app with Assign rider. The rider sees the address, the amount to collect and the notes, marks it delivered, records how the customer paid and can take a photo at the drop-off. The customer's order page shows who's on the way, with a Call button that rings the shop.
Your online shop handles delivery areas, distance-based fees and spend deals, and in the Philippines customers can pay online by QR Ph, GCash or card through HitPay. See how it fits restaurants and cafés.
Keep reading
- QR code ordering for restaurants
- What is a kitchen display system?
- How to calculate food cost percentage
Frequently asked questions
Can a small restaurant afford its own delivery riders?+
Should I stop using delivery apps?+
How do customers know who is delivering?+
What if a customer says the food never arrived?+
Run your business from one app
POS with drawer counts, sales reports, bookings, low-stock alerts and staff timesheets. Set it up in an afternoon and run a real day on it before you decide.
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