Restaurant loyalty programme for independent restaurants

A restaurant loyalty programme gives customers a reason to order from you again and gives you a record of who comes back. Customers earn points, stamps or status when they order, then swap them for a reward. Done well, it moves regulars from the delivery apps to your own channels and brings in more margin than it costs. Done badly, it hands discounts to people who were coming anyway.

This page explains the main types of programme, the economics with worked maths in euro and sterling, how to choose loyalty software, the rules on terms, vouchers and VAT in Ireland and the UK, a step-by-step set-up and how to measure results. It is written for owner-operators of takeaways, pizzerias, cafés and restaurants with one to five sites.

For specific rewards and campaigns by type of business, see the list of restaurant loyalty programme ideas. The consent rules for texting and emailing members are on the restaurant CRM page.

Restaurant loyalty programme basics

Every programme has the same five parts.

1. Enrolment. How a customer joins: a tick at online checkout, a phone number at the till, an app download or a card.
2. Earning. What the customer does to progress: spend, visits, orders or referrals.
3. Rewards. What they get, and when: a free item, money off, a perk.
4. Redemption. How they use a reward: automatically at checkout, with a code, or by showing a card.
5. Communication. How members hear about balances and rewards: receipts, email, SMS or push notifications.

The record behind the programme matters as much as the reward. A digital programme tied to your ordering system tells you each member’s order history, favourite items and last order date. A paper card tells you nothing about who holds it.

Restaurant loyalty card, app or built-in programme

A physical restaurant loyalty card is cheap to start and suits a café testing the idea for a month. Once you take online orders, a paper card cannot follow the customer, and you never learn who your members are.

Loyalty programme types

Points

Points are the most flexible format. A customer who spends €60 earns more than one who spends €12, which is fair and protects your margin. You can also change the earn rate for particular days or items without reprinting anything.

Example: 1 point per €1 spent. 150 points for free garlic bread. 300 points for a free large pizza. The thresholds tell customers roughly how many orders away they are.

The weakness of points is that they are abstract. “You have 212 points” means little. Show what the balance is worth: “88 points to your free pizza”.

Stamps and digital stamp cards

A stamp card gives one stamp per purchase and a reward after a set number, such as a tenth coffee free. A digital stamp card does the same on a phone. Stamps are easy to explain in five words at the counter, and they work best when purchases are similar in value. For a takeaway where one order is €14 and the next is €70, a stamp per order rewards the smallest orders as much as the largest, so set a minimum spend per stamp.

Tiers

Tiers give members a status, often three levels, based on spend or visits over a year. Higher tiers get better earn rates or perks. Tiers suit chains with large, frequent customer bases, because status becomes part of the reward. For a single site, tiers add rules customers have to learn and perks you have to fund, while most members sit in the bottom level. Consider tiers only after a simple points programme has run for a year.

Referral rewards

A referral programme rewards an existing customer for bringing a new one. The usual structure rewards both: the new customer gets money off a first order, and the referrer gets points or a reward once that order is completed. You only pay when a new customer actually orders.

Build referrals around codes customers share themselves. Do not ask customers for their friends’ phone numbers or emails. The ICO advises against collecting friends’ contact details for marketing and treats encouraging people to forward marketing messages as instigating them. In Ireland, Regulation 13 of S.I. No. 336 of 2011 applies to anyone who sends unsolicited marketing or causes it to be sent.

Discount codes

Codes are the simplest loyalty tool and the easiest to overuse. Give each code one job: a first direct order, a win-back for a lapsed customer, or members of a local club. Make codes single use or capped, give them an end date, and exclude items that are already discounted, such as meal deals.

Paid membership

A paid membership charges a monthly or annual fee for ongoing perks, such as a coffee a day or free delivery. The fee brings cash in advance. The catch is that the people who sign up are your heaviest users, so the perk costs most where you expected least. Model the cost at your top customer’s usage, not the average.

Restaurant loyalty programme economics

A programme costs four things: rewards, software, messages and the staff time to explain it. It pays through extra orders that would not otherwise have happened, and through orders that move from a commission marketplace to your own channel.

Reward cost at food cost versus menu price

The most useful number in loyalty maths is what a reward costs you, not what it is worth to the customer.

• A free item costs its ingredients and packaging. A €4.50 portion of garlic bread with a 30% food cost costs about €1.35.
• Money off costs its full face value. €4.50 off the bill is €4.50 less revenue, and the food on the order still has to be made.

A free item and an equal amount off look the same to the customer and cost very different amounts to you.

Effective reward rate

The effective reward rate is the cost of a reward divided by the spend needed to earn it.

The 30% food cost is an assumption for illustration. Use your own costing for each reward item, including packaging on delivery orders.

Breakage

Not every point gets redeemed. Some members stop ordering before a reward; others forget. Unredeemed points are called breakage. Do not design a programme that only works because of breakage. If members cannot reach a reward, they stop caring, and you are paying for software that changes nothing. Plan costs as if most earned rewards will be redeemed.

Worked example: a pizzeria points programme in euro

This is an illustration with assumed figures, not a forecast.

A pizzeria in Ireland runs points on direct orders: 1 point per €1, and 300 points for a free large pizza (menu price €18, food and box cost €5.40).

Assumptions:

• 400 active members, each ordering twice a month.
• Average order value €30.
• Food and packaging cost 30%, so each order contributes €21 before labour and overheads.
• 60% of earned rewards are redeemed.
• Software at €50 a month, and two texts a month to each member at €0.08 each.

Eighteen extra orders a month from 400 members is 818 member orders instead of 800, a 2.25% rise in order frequency (18 ÷ 800). If the programme also moves orders off a marketplace, each moved order saves the commission you would have paid. The rates for each app are in the guide to Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats commission.

The trap: if those 400 members would have ordered 800 times anyway, the €373.20 is pure cost. That is why the measurement section below compares members against their own ordering before they joined.

Worked example in sterling

The same pizzeria in the UK. Assumptions: average order £26, free large pizza with a menu price of £15 and a food and box cost of £4.50, software at £40 a month, texts at £0.06 each, everything else as above.

Break-even by programme size

The same euro assumptions as the pizzeria example: €30 average order, €21 contribution per order, two orders a month per member, 60% of rewards redeemed, a €5.40 reward at 300 points, €50 software and two texts a month at €0.08.

Each member costs €0.808 a month. That is rewards of 60 points ÷ 300 × 60% × €5.40 = €0.648, plus texts of 2 × €0.08 = €0.16.

The fixed software fee weighs most on a small programme. As membership grows, the rise in ordering needed to break even falls towards the variable cost alone, which in this example settles at a little over 2%. A programme with 100 members has to work harder than one with 1,000.

Earn rates and reward thresholds

1. Pick the first reward. Choose an item with a low food cost and wide appeal: garlic bread, a side, a dessert, a drink or a large pizza.
2. Decide how many orders away it sits. For a takeaway whose regulars order every week or two, four to six orders puts the first reward one to three months away. For a coffee shop with daily customers, eight to ten purchases works.
3. Set the threshold from your order value. Threshold = average order value × number of orders. At a €30 average and five orders, the first reward sits at 150 points.
4. Check the cost rate. Reward food cost ÷ threshold spend. €1.35 ÷ €150 = 0.9%.
5. Add a bigger second reward. A second threshold at about twice the first gives regulars a new target after their first redemption.
6. Add a welcome bonus. Points on joining shorten the distance to the first reward. Example: 50 points on the first direct order.
7. Save bonuses for quiet times. Double points from Monday to Wednesday moves demand into slow nights instead of discounting your busiest ones.

Thresholds also nudge order size. A customer 12 points from a reward adds a side to get there. More tactics are in the guide to increasing average order value.

Loyalty across ordering channels

• Online direct orders. Earning and redemption should happen at checkout, with no code to type.
• In-store and collection. Staff should find a member by phone number in seconds. If it takes longer than taking payment, staff stop asking.
• Phone orders. Members should earn on phone orders too, or regulars who phone learn the programme is not for them.
• Table service. Identify the member when the bill is opened, not at payment, so a reward can be applied before the bill is printed.
• Marketplace orders. Your programme runs on your own channels. Marketplace terms restrict how you use their customers’ data. Deliveroo’s UK partner terms, last updated 14 January 2021, say order information may only be used to fulfil the order it relates to. Reward direct orders, so a customer who found you on an app has a reason to order direct next time. The steps are in the guide to getting more direct orders.

A programme that works in one channel and not another teaches customers to use the channel that rewards them. For most takeaways that is the point: points on direct orders, none on marketplace orders.

Restaurant loyalty software compared

Prices come from each company’s own pricing page, checked in September 2026. They change often and may exclude VAT. Ask for a written quote.

A loyalty visit, in Square’s pricing, includes a customer enrolling, earning a point or redeeming a reward.

Standalone restaurant rewards app versus loyalty inside your ordering system

If most of your trade is walk-in coffee with no online ordering, a standalone stamp app may be the simpler choice. If most of your revenue comes from online orders, loyalty inside the ordering system avoids a second login and a second customer list.

Loyalty scheme rules, vouchers and VAT

Terms and conditions

Keep terms short, and put the key ones where customers join. In the UK, CAP Code rule 8.17 requires promotions to state significant conditions where leaving them out is likely to mislead. The ASA’s advice, dated 28 August 2026, lists how to take part, any closing date, restrictions and limits on availability among them. Irish restaurants should hold their programmes to the same standard of clarity.

Cover these points in your terms:

• how points are earned, and on which channels;
• reward thresholds and what each reward includes;
• expiry rules for points and rewards;
• whether rewards combine with meal deals or codes;
• how you will give notice of changes;
• how a member leaves and has their data deleted.

Points expiry and gift vouchers

In Ireland, the Consumer Protection (Gift Vouchers) Act 2019 requires gift vouchers sold after 2 December 2019 to have no expiry date or to be valid for at least five years. Citizens Information lists vouchers that are part of a customer loyalty or promotion scheme as an exception. Gift vouchers you sell for money are different: the five-year rule applies, and if more than €1 is left after a purchase the balance must be refunded.

For points, a clear rule works best. Example: points expire 12 months after a member’s last order, with a reminder a month before.

VAT on rewards

• UK. HMRC’s VAT Notice 700/7 on business promotions, updated 25 June 2026, covers loyalty schemes in section 11. Where retailers give free loyalty cards that let customers buy further goods at a reduced price, only the consideration actually received is the taxable amount. Because schemes vary, the notice says to contact HMRC if you are still unsure of the treatment.
• Ireland. Revenue’s manual on VAT on gifts and promotional items, last reviewed October 2024, says an item described as “free” is not a gift for VAT if the customer pays or has to pay to receive it, with “buy one, get one free” as an example. A true gift for no consideration is not liable where it costs €20 or less excluding VAT, but a series of gifts to the same person is.

Ask your accountant how your reward structure is treated before launch, and record every redemption in the POS so takings reconcile.

Changing or closing a programme

1. Set the date of the change at least 30 days ahead.
2. Tell members with a receipt line and a website banner, and by email or text for members who have given permission.
3. Honour earned points. Let members redeem at the old values until the change date.
4. Update the terms, with the date the new rules start.
5. If closing, give a final redemption window, then close the programme and delete or anonymise member data you no longer need, in line with your privacy notice.

Marketing to members

Joining a loyalty programme is not blanket permission to send offers. Offers by email or SMS need consent or the existing-customer route in Ireland and the UK. The rules and penalties are set out on the restaurant CRM page. Campaign tools for members are covered on the restaurant marketing software page.

Loyalty programme set-up steps

1. Write down the job. One sentence: “Get delivery regulars ordering direct” or “Fill Tuesday nights”. Every other choice follows from it.
2. Pull your baseline. For the last 90 days: number of customers, share who ordered more than once, orders per repeat customer, average order value and share of orders through marketplaces.
3. Choose the type. Points for varied order values, stamps for similar-value purchases, with referral rewards and codes alongside either.
4. Set rewards and thresholds using the steps above. Cost every reward at food and packaging cost.
5. Decide which channels earn. Direct online, collection, phone, dine-in. Most takeaways leave marketplace orders out by design.
6. Write the terms. One screen, plain words: earning, rewards, expiry, exclusions, changes, leaving.
7. Set up consent. Separate, unticked boxes for email and SMS marketing at sign-up.
8. Configure the software and run test orders on every channel: earn, redeem, refund, cancel.
9. Brief staff. One sentence to say at the till and on the phone, and how to find a member in under ten seconds.
10. Launch to existing customers with a welcome bonus, contacting only those you have permission to message.
11. Promote on your own channels: a banner on your ordering website, a line on receipts, a counter card, stickers on direct-order bags and posts on your Google Business Profile. Local search is covered in the restaurant SEO guide.
12. Review at 30, 60 and 90 days against the baseline, and change one thing at a time.

Enrolment scripts and placements

Put the invitation where customers already are, and make it about the order in front of them.

• Online checkout. One line above the pay button: “This order earns 32 points. 88 more for a free garlic bread.” Show what the current order earns, not a general invitation.
• Till. One sentence from staff: “Give me your mobile number and this order counts towards a free pizza.” Look up or add the number while the card machine processes payment.
• Phone. At the end of the call: “I can put the points for tonight’s order on this number.” Save it on the POS during the call.
• Receipts. Print the balance and the distance to the next reward on every direct-order receipt.
• Website. A short rewards page linked from the menu, with the earning rule, the rewards and the terms.
• Table service. Mention the programme when the bill is presented, and apply points before payment.

Joining the programme and agreeing to marketing are separate choices. Keep the marketing consent boxes unticked and apart from the loyalty sign-up.

Launch checklist

• The programme’s job written in one sentence.
• A 90-day baseline saved.
• Every reward costed at food and packaging cost.
• A cost rate calculated for each threshold.
• A break-even figure: extra orders a month needed.
• Terms published and linked at sign-up.
• Expiry rule stated, with a reminder before points lapse.
• Marketing consent boxes unticked and separate from the terms.
• Test orders completed for online, collection, phone and dine-in.
• Refunds and cancellations reversing points correctly.
• Staff script agreed and practised.
• Stacking rules decided for meal deals and codes.
• Counter card, receipt line and website banner live.
• Review dates in the diary.

Measuring a loyalty programme

Your best customers join first, so members will always look better than non-members. Comparing each member’s ordering before and after joining gives a fairer picture.

A 20-minute monthly routine:

1. Pull the metrics above for the month.
2. Compare them with last month and with the launch baseline.
3. Check the reward cost rate is within the figure you set at launch.
4. Look at redemption. If few earned rewards are being used, the rewards are unappealing or the thresholds are too high.
5. Change one thing, write down what and when, and check again next month.

Example 90-day review

This is an illustration with assumed figures. A takeaway launches points on direct orders and reviews the numbers after 90 days.

Reading the numbers:

• Members went from 1.6 to 1.9 orders a month. Across 420 members that is 0.3 × 420 = 126 extra orders a month.
• At a €30.20 average and a 30% food cost, each order contributes €30.20 × 70% = €21.14. So 126 × €21.14 = €2,663.64 a month.
• Member sales are 420 × 1.9 × €30.20 = €24,099.60 a month. Reward cost at 1.4% is €337.39. With software and texts at €120, the programme costs €457.39 a month.
• Estimated extra contribution: €2,663.64 − €457.39 = €2,206.25 a month, before any saving on marketplace commission.

Decision in this example: keep the programme, and test a second, larger reward threshold next, because redemption is healthy and regulars need a new target. The before-and-after comparison assumes nothing else changed, such as a new menu or a nearby competitor closing. Write down anything that did.

Reports on repeat rate and order value are covered in more depth on the restaurant analytics software page.

Common loyalty programme mistakes

• Rewards too far away. A free meal after 20 orders is most of a year away for a fortnightly customer. Put the first reward within five or six orders.
• Money off where a free item would do. €5 off costs €5. A free €5 side costs its ingredients.
• Rewarding orders you pay commission on. Make direct orders the earning channel.
• Stacking. Points plus a meal deal plus a code on one order can wipe out the margin. Decide in advance what combines.
• Changing point values without notice. Members notice. Give notice and honour earned balances.
• Silent expiry. Points that vanish without warning turn regulars against you. Send a reminder before expiry.
• No staff script. If nobody mentions the programme at the till, in-store sign-ups will be close to zero.
• Counting sign-ups instead of orders. A thousand members ordering at the same rate as before is a cost.
• Tiers too early. On a single site, tiers add rules without adding orders. Start with points.
• Collecting friends’ details for referrals. The ICO advises against it. Use codes customers share themselves.
• Marketing to members without permission. A loyalty sign-up is not consent to receive offers by text.

Questions to ask a loyalty software provider

1. Do members earn and redeem automatically on online orders, in-store, phone orders and table service?
2. Can I choose which channels earn, such as direct orders only?
3. Can I set different earn rates by day, time or item?
4. How are points reversed for refunds and cancelled orders?
5. What does it cost per month and per location, and does the price rise with members, visits or messages?
6. What does each SMS cost, and is there a cap?
7. Can I export all members, balances and consent records if I leave?
8. Can I run referral rewards using codes that customers share themselves?
9. Can discount codes be single use, time-limited and excluded from other offers?
10. Which reports compare member frequency and order value with non-members?
11. Is there a set-up fee, a minimum contract or a notice period?
12. Who owns the customer data?

Loyalty in Eclyde

Eclyde is the restaurant growth platform for independent restaurants, with loyalty in the same system as online ordering, POS and customer management.

• Points-based loyalty with rewards.
• Wallet stamp cards for dine-in, kept in the customer’s phone wallet instead of a paper card.
• Referral rewards.
• Discount codes.
• Customer profiles with order history and insights, so you can see who your members are and what they order. The restaurant owns this customer data.
• Email and SMS campaigns and push notifications to tell customers about rewards and offers.
• A sales dashboard and AI insights for tracking results.
• Online ordering on a branded website on your own domain, with pickup and delivery, and an offline-capable Android POS for in-store orders.

Pricing is €499 to launch, covering menu build, website and ordering set-up, POS and printer configuration, customer import, staff onboarding, testing and go-live support. That fee is refunded in full within 30 days if Eclyde is not right for the restaurant. After that, the whole platform is €99 a month, with no Eclyde commission on direct orders and no limit on orders or customers. There is no contract: the plan is monthly rolling. Online payments go through the restaurant’s own Stripe account.

If you want a paper card stamped at the counter rather than a wallet card, a dedicated stamp card provider from the table above may suit you better.

Your restaurant’s repeat customers

A loyalty programme only pays if it changes how often customers order from you directly. Start with where your orders come from today. The free Eclyde restaurant audit takes about two minutes: it checks your Google profile, your website and how much your restaurant depends on the marketplaces, then shows what direct ordering is worth to you. Use that figure as the baseline your programme has to beat.