How to get more direct orders for your restaurant or takeaway

How to get more direct orders comes down to three jobs. Make your own ordering channel the easiest place to reorder. Put it in front of people who already know your food. Give repeat customers a clear reason to use it. None of this needs you to leave Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats. The apps find new customers and deliver when you have no drivers. Your own channel keeps the margin and the customer relationship.

The limits matter. Deliveroo and Uber Eats partner terms restrict what you can do with customer details from app orders, and Just Eat does not publish its partner agreement on its sign-up pages. The rules section below sets out what each company’s public terms say, with links and the dates shown on those pages, so every tactic here stays inside them.

Start with your own numbers. Just Eat UK publishes a 30% commission plus VAT when it delivers and 14% plus VAT when you deliver. Uber Eats publishes 30% when its couriers deliver and 13% for self-delivery and pickup in Ireland, with the same percentages in the UK. A regular who moves from app delivery to direct collection saves you far more than one who moves from a 13% or 14% own-delivery listing. The worked example later shows the gap in euro and sterling. For every app’s fee structure, see the Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats commission guide.

Direct orders and marketplace orders compared

The same pizza can go to the same house through an app or through your own website. The fee, the data and the control are different.

The table rows come from the partner terms. Uber Eats keeps sole control over the display, placement and ranking of restaurants in its app. Deliveroo’s UK terms say refunds you are responsible for under its complaints process are deducted from its payment to you.

The apps earn their place. Uber Eats says it connects restaurants with millions of active users around the world. Just Eat’s UK partner page says millions of customers visit its platform each month. Deliveroo’s UK partner page says 73% of its customers order only with Deliveroo each month, citing its own customer panel from Q2 2023. Many of those people will never type your web address. Stay listed for them.

Direct orders earn their place too. There is no commission. You hold the customer’s details with their permission. You can tell them about a new dish, a quiet Tuesday offer or a loyalty reward. The goal is a mix: apps for discovery and extra delivery capacity, your own channel for people who already like you.

Marketplace rules on promoting your own channels

Read your own agreement first. The contract you signed can differ from the public terms, and account-specific addenda can add rules. What follows is what each company published, checked on 10 September 2026.

Deliveroo partner terms

Deliveroo publishes separate terms for the UK and Ireland. The UK service sections show a last-updated date of 14 January 2021. The Irish sections show 11 November 2020. The points that affect direct-order marketing:

• Order information. Deliveroo passes you the details of each order so you can prepare and hand it over. The terms bar you from using that order information for any other purpose. The one stated exception is access to customer data you reasonably need to deal with a complaint.
• Data controllers. The UK terms treat you and Deliveroo as independent controllers of customer personal data, each handling its own data subject requests.
• Public statements. You must not issue a public statement about protected customer data without Deliveroo’s consent.
• Branding. You may use Deliveroo branding to advertise that your site is on Deliveroo.
• Prices. The Irish terms for Delivery and Marketplace+ say menu prices on the platform should match your dine-in or in-store menu. The Pickup terms in both countries let Deliveroo refund a customer who proves a lower in-store price and deduct that refund from you.
• Leaflets and bag inserts. The public terms do not mention leaflets, flyers or inserts in orders.

Uber Eats merchant terms

Uber Eats publishes merchant terms for the UK, last updated 16 June 2025 and contracted with Uber Eats UK Limited, and for Ireland, last modified 3 February 2026 and contracted with Uber Eats Ireland Limited. The points that matter here:

• Personal data. You may use customer personal data only to provide the items ordered. You must not copy, store, retain or remove it from Uber’s tools.
• Marketing use. You must not merge the data with other sources for re-identification, targeted marketing, analytics or similar purposes.
• Marketing materials. Uber’s own marketing materials remain Uber’s property.
• Prices. You set the retail price of each item, including VAT.
• Leaflets and bag inserts. The public terms do not mention leaflets, flyers or inserts in orders.

Just Eat partner agreement

Just Eat’s UK and Irish sign-up pages describe commission and onboarding but do not publish the restaurant partner agreement. The UK page says Just Eat will promote your business in the app and provide free branding. The rules on customer data and marketing that bind you are in the contract you signed. If you do not have a copy, ask Just Eat for one before you run any campaign aimed at customers who found you through the app.

Activities inside and outside the rules

The principle is simple. Anything that relies on names, numbers or addresses from app orders is out. Anything that works the same for every customer who walks in or opens a bag is a question for your own contract.

Before you print anything, email your account manager at each app. Ask three questions and keep the replies:

1. Does my agreement allow a printed card for my own website inside orders placed through your app?
2. Does my agreement restrict menu prices on my own website or in my shop?
3. Is there any clause about exclusive items or offers on my own channels?

Set-up steps for more direct orders

A direct channel only wins repeat orders if it is quicker than opening the app. Set it up in this order.

1. Put ordering on your own domain. A web address with your restaurant’s name is easy to print, easy to say on the phone and builds your Google presence. Compare the types of online ordering system for restaurants before you choose one.
2. Connect card payments. Your payment provider charges its own processing fees. Get the rate in writing and include it in your cost per order.
3. Build one menu with the same item names as your app listings. Regulars look for the dish they know. Keep modifiers, allergens and descriptions consistent across channels with proper restaurant menu management.
4. Add photos for your ten best sellers. Use your own photos, taken in daylight, of the dish as it arrives.
5. Set honest collection and delivery times. Use your real ticket times on a Friday, not a quiet Tuesday.
6. Choose how direct orders reach the customer. Collection, your own drivers or an on-demand courier. The delivery section below compares them.
7. Design checkout for speed. Wallet payments, saved addresses for returning customers and as few fields as possible.
8. Add a marketing consent step. An unticked box or a clear opt-out at the point you collect details. The consent section explains the Irish and UK rules.
9. Place ten test orders. Use an iPhone and an Android phone, card and wallet payments, collection and delivery. Check the kitchen ticket, printer and customer emails for each one.
10. Publish the link everywhere you control. Google Business Profile, website header, Instagram and Facebook bios, receipts, window and bag cards.

Questions to ask a direct ordering provider

Get the answers in writing before you sign.

• What do you charge at set-up, per month and per order?
• Is there any commission or percentage fee on direct orders?
• Who processes card payments, and what are the card fees?
• Does the ordering page run on my own domain?
• Who owns the customer list, and can I export it at any time?
• What is the minimum contract length and the notice period?
• Can customers pay with Apple Pay and Google Pay?
• How do orders reach the kitchen: printer, tablet or kitchen screen?
• What happens to orders if the internet drops in the shop?
• Can I run loyalty, discount codes and email or text campaigns from the same system, with consent records?
• Who builds and tests the menu before launch?

Launch checklist

• Ordering page loads on 4G on a mid-range phone
• Menu prices, modifiers and allergen notes match your POS
• Collection time and delivery area match what the kitchen can do
• Test card payment refunded successfully
• Order confirmation email or text reaches the customer
• Kitchen ticket prints or displays with all modifiers
• Marketing consent wording and opt-out tested
• Google Business Profile ordering link added and checked on Maps
• Website header has an Order button above the fold on mobile
• Staff can explain how to order direct in one sentence
• Written replies from each app about bag cards and pricing filed

Google order online button and Business Profile

Many customers search your name on Google or Maps before they order. That result often shows ordering links from the apps. Add your own.

Google’s help page on managing online ordering options sets out the steps:

1. Go to your Business Profile.
2. Select Food ordering.
3. At the bottom, select Add a link and add your own ordering page.
4. To favour a provider, select it and turn Preferred for pickup or Preferred for delivery on or off.
5. To take a provider off your profile, select it and choose Remove link. Google says providers have five business days to complete a removal.

Google notes that in some countries and regions ordering options sit under an Order online button, while in others Place an order links appear separately on the profile. Search your restaurant on a phone in Maps and in Google Search after each change.

Removing an app’s link is a trade-off. Some customers prefer to order through the app they already use, and a removed link can mean a lost order. Setting your own link as preferred is the gentler first step. Remove app links only after you have watched your direct and app order counts for a few weeks.

Keep the rest of the profile working for you. Correct opening hours, a current menu link, recent photos and replies to reviews all support the ordering link. The restaurant SEO guide covers Business Profile, reviews and local search in full.

Website, search and social profiles

Your website should make ordering the obvious action.

• Order button in the header on every page, visible without scrolling on a phone.
• Menu as text, not only a PDF or image, so Google can read dish names.
• One page per service area if you deliver to several towns or districts, each with real delivery times.
• Opening hours and collection address in the footer and on the ordering page.
• Fast loading. Large uncompressed photos are the usual cause of slow restaurant sites.

What each page of a restaurant site needs, and what it costs to build, is covered under restaurant website builder.

Social profiles are shop windows. Put the ordering link in the bio of each account. Pin a post that shows the menu and the link. When you post a new dish, post the direct link, not the app listing. Reply to comments asking how to order with the same link every time.

In-store, phone and in-bag prompts

Your best prospects for direct orders are people already eating your food. They are in your shop, on your phone line or opening your bag.

Counter and dining room

• A counter card with a QR code to your ordering page and one line explaining the benefit, such as points on every direct order.
• The web address printed on menus, takeaway menus and table cards.
• Staff trained to say one sentence at payment: “Next time you can order on our website and collect it, it’s ready when you arrive.”
• A window sticker with the web address, visible from the street.

Phone orders

Many regulars still ring. Take the order. Do not push anyone off the phone who wants to use it. At the end of the call, give the web address once for next time. Put it on the recorded message that plays when lines are busy.

Bags and packaging

A printed card in the bag reaches every customer, including walk-ins and your own delivery orders. Keep it generic: the web address, a QR code, and one offer code for a first direct order. Do not personalise cards using names or details from app orders.

Check your agreement before putting cards in orders placed through an app. The public Deliveroo and Uber Eats terms do not address it, and Just Eat’s agreement is not public. The written reply from your account manager is your record.

Receipts

Print the web address and a short line on every POS receipt. Direct collection customers see it when they pay. Staff can circle it on receipts for regulars.

Offers that move repeat customers direct

An offer should cost less than the commission it replaces and should reward repeat behaviour, not one-off bargain hunting.

Compare the offer with the fee. On a €30 order delivered by Uber Eats at the published 30%, the fee is €9.00 plus VAT. A 10% first direct order offer on the same basket costs €3.00, once. If the customer comes back at full price, every later order carries no commission at all.

Offers that fit direct ordering:

• First direct order code. Printed on bag cards and counter cards. One use per customer.
• Loyalty points on direct orders. Points build a habit, where discounts only buy one order. See restaurant loyalty programme for points economics and restaurant loyalty programme ideas for formats by restaurant type.
• Referral rewards. A credit for the regular and for the friend they bring.
• Collection reward. A free side or drink on direct collection orders, where there is no delivery cost.
• Quiet-night offers. Offers limited to your slowest nights, sent to customers who opted in.

Avoid permanent across-the-board discounts on your website. They cut margin on customers who would have ordered direct anyway. They can also raise questions under price clauses, such as the Irish Deliveroo clause described above.

Customers to move first

Start with the people easiest to reach without touching app data.

• Walk-in regulars. They already know the shop and the staff. A counter prompt and a loyalty card move them fastest.
• Phone regulars. They like ordering from you directly already. Offer the website as an option for busy nights when lines are full.
• Locals within collection distance. Collection has no delivery cost, so every switch is close to pure saving.
• Lunch and office orders. Group orders are larger and repeat on set days. A direct link shared in the office chat reaches the whole group.
• Customers who pick up app orders at your counter. They are standing in your shop. The counter card and staff prompt reach them without using any data from the app.

Leave people who only ever order late-night delivery from the app until last. They value the app’s delivery and choice, and moving them costs you the most in delivery.

Customer data and consent in Ireland and the UK

Direct orders give you customer details. The law on marketing to those people is strict, and it differs slightly between Ireland and the UK. App customer data is already off-limits under the partner terms. These rules govern the list you build yourself.

Ireland

Electronic marketing is governed by the ePrivacy Regulations, S.I. No. 336 of 2011, alongside GDPR. The Data Protection Commission’s guidance on consent for electronic direct marketing explains how they apply. Regulation 13 says you need consent to send marketing by electronic mail to individuals, unless the existing-customer exception in Regulation 13(11) applies. That exception needs all four conditions:

• you got the contact details from the customer during a sale;
• you market your own products or services;
• the products are similar to what the customer bought;
• the customer was given a free, easy chance to object when you collected the details and in every message since, and the sale took place within the previous 12 months, or you have sent them email marketing within that 12-month period.

Breaking the rules is an offence. Under Regulation 13(15), a company convicted on indictment faces a fine of up to €250,000.

UK

The UK rules are in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. Regulation 22 requires consent for email and text marketing to individuals, with a soft opt-in where you got the details during a sale, you market similar products and services, and you gave a simple, free way to refuse at collection and in every message. The ICO’s electronic mail marketing guidance says the soft opt-in does not cover prospective customers or bought-in lists. The ICO page also says that guidance is under review after changes made by the Data (Use and Access) Act.

Consent set-up for a restaurant

• At checkout, show a clear marketing choice next to the contact fields.
• Record when and how each customer gave consent or was offered the opt-out.
• Put a working unsubscribe link in every email and an opt-out instruction in every text.
• Remove opted-out customers within days, not at the end of the month.
• Keep app customers out of your marketing list entirely.

How to structure a customer database and segments is covered under restaurant CRM.

Message examples for consented customers

Short, specific messages bring orders back better than long newsletters. Each example below goes only to customers who consented or who meet the soft opt-in conditions, and each one carries an opt-out.

• Thank-you after a first direct order. Sent the same evening. Confirms points were added and links to a review.
• Second-order reminder. Sent 10 to 14 days later if the customer has not reordered. Names their usual dish and the collection time.
• New dish. Sent only to customers who order from that part of the menu, such as pizza buyers for a new pizza.
• Quiet-night offer. Sent on Monday afternoon for a Monday or Tuesday offer, only to customers within collection distance.
• Win-back. Sent after 30 to 45 days without an order, with a reward that expires in seven days.
• Reward ready. Sent when loyalty points reach a reward, with the exact reward and expiry date.

Keep texts short. Put the restaurant name first, the offer second, the link third and the opt-out last. Example text for a fictional pizzeria: “Forno Pizza: your free garlic bread is ready on your next direct order this week. Order at yourdomain.ie. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Watch the Irish 12-month limit. Under Regulation 13(11), the existing-customer exception depends on a sale in the previous 12 months, or on email marketing sent to that customer within that period. A customer who ordered once 14 months ago and has heard nothing since needs fresh consent before you market to them.

Delivery options for direct orders

Delivery is where direct orders can cost more than expected. Compare these before you promote delivery on your own site.

Uber’s Irish pricing page says Uber Direct uses per-delivery pricing with no start-up costs, commissions or monthly minimums, and that rates vary with products and delivery distance. Ask for a written quote for your area.

Driver employment status, insurance and dispatch sit under restaurant delivery management software. The short version: work out your real cost per drop before you promote free delivery.

Worked example: repeat orders moved direct

The examples below are illustrative. The app fees are the published rates linked above. Card processing, delivery cost and offer take-up are assumptions for the example. Replace them with your own figures.

Example in euro: pizzeria in Ireland on Uber Eats

Example: a pizzeria sells 500 orders a month through Uber Eats, delivered by Uber couriers, at an average of €30. The published fee is 30%, so €9.00 per order, plus VAT at 23%, €2.07. Over time, 75 of those monthly orders come from regulars who switch to ordering direct.

Assumptions for the example: card processing of 2% of order value, so €0.60 per order. Own driver cost of €5.00 per delivery. A 10% first direct order code used by 40 customers in the month, costing €3.00 each.

The €99 is Eclyde’s monthly price. Use your own provider’s fee if you use a different system. If you are not registered for VAT, add the €2.07 VAT on each avoided fee to the saving, because you cannot reclaim it.

The lesson is in Scenario B. Direct delivery only beats app delivery when your cost per drop is well below the commission. Direct collection wins clearly. Promote collection first.

Example in sterling: kebab shop in England on Just Eat

Example: a kebab shop sells 400 orders a month through Just Eat at an average of £22. Just Eat UK publishes 30% plus VAT when Just Eat delivers and 14% plus VAT when you deliver. Sixty monthly orders move to direct collection.

Assumptions for the example: card processing of 2%, so £0.44 per order. A 10% first direct order code used by 30 customers in the month, costing £2.20 each.

In the second column, the customer switches from your own-delivery Just Eat listing to collecting direct. The saving includes the driver cost you no longer pay. If that customer still wants delivery, remove the £4.00 line and the gain falls to £92.40 a month.

The same principle holds in both currencies. Moving a delivery customer to direct collection saves the most. Moving a delivery customer to your own delivery saves the least.

90-day plan for more direct orders

A steady plan beats a burst of discounts. This sequence suits a single site with one to three people doing marketing between services.

Days 1 to 14: foundations

1. Record a baseline: four weeks of direct orders, app orders by app, and average order value per channel.
2. Launch your ordering page on your own domain and complete the launch checklist.
3. Add the ordering link to Google Business Profile and set it as preferred for pickup.
4. Put the link in your website header and social bios.
5. Email each app’s account manager the three questions about bag cards, pricing and exclusive offers.

Days 15 to 30: in-store prompts

1. Print counter cards, receipt lines and a window sticker.
2. Train every staff member on the one-sentence prompt at payment.
3. Add the web address to the phone greeting.
4. Start bag cards on walk-in and direct orders. Add them to app orders only if your agreements allow it.
5. Turn on the marketing consent step at checkout.

Days 31 to 60: reasons to return

1. Launch a first direct order code on bag and counter cards.
2. Start loyalty points on direct orders.
3. Ask every direct customer for a review after their order.
4. Review weekly: new direct customers, repeat direct customers, code redemptions.

Days 61 to 90: repeat and refine

1. Send one email or text a fortnight to customers who consented, about a new dish or a quiet-night offer.
2. Send a win-back message to consented customers who have not ordered in 30 days.
3. Compare contribution per order by channel. Drop offers that bring one-off orders only.
4. Decide whether to change your Google preferred provider for delivery as well as pickup.

Direct order measurement

Track the same numbers every week, on the same day.

Look at the trend over four weeks, not one. A wet weekend or a local match changes a single week. Channel-by-channel reporting and a weekly routine are covered in restaurant analytics software.

Common mistakes when growing direct orders

• Using app customer details for marketing. It breaches the Uber Eats data clauses and falls outside Deliveroo’s fulfilment-only use. Keep your list clean.
• Removing app listings too early. You lose discovery before the direct channel carries its weight.
• Discounting every direct order. A permanent 20% off trains customers to wait for codes and cuts margin on your best regulars.
• Promoting delivery you cannot fulfil. Late direct deliveries push customers back to the app, where refunds are someone else’s process.
• A slow or clumsy ordering page. If reordering takes longer than tapping the app, regulars will tap the app.
• Different dish names on each channel. Regulars cannot find their usual order.
• No written answer from the apps. Printing thousands of bag cards before checking your agreement risks a dispute.
• Marketing without consent records. Under Irish and UK rules, you need to show how you got permission or met the soft opt-in.
• Measuring orders, not contribution. Direct delivery at a high driver cost can earn less than the app order it replaced.

Eclyde for direct orders

Eclyde is a restaurant growth platform for independent restaurants in Ireland and the UK. It is built for the plan above: keep marketplaces for discovery, and turn those customers into direct, repeat customers through your own channel.

• Ordering website on your own domain, with pickup and delivery, built for conversion, order value and repeat orders. Apple Pay and Google Pay at checkout, SEO landing pages and a sitemap.
• No commission on direct orders. Eclyde costs €499 to launch, then €99 a month for the whole platform, with no limits on orders or customers. The launch fee covers menu build, website and ordering set-up, POS and printer configuration, customer import, staff onboarding, testing and go-live support, and is refunded in full within 30 days if Eclyde is not right for the restaurant.
• Payments go through your own Stripe account, connected during set-up. Eclyde does not process cards, so card fees are set by Stripe.
• Customer data belongs to the restaurant: who ordered, what, how often and favourite items.
• Repeat orders: points-based loyalty with rewards, referral rewards, discount codes, email and SMS campaigns, push notifications and personalised promotions.
• Reviews and Google: review requests after orders, sent to every customer, and a Google Business Profile connection that shows reviews with AI-drafted replies. Google Ads campaigns can run from Eclyde using ad credits.
• Delivery: an own-driver app with live driver location, address lookup at checkout.
• Phone orders: caller ID on incoming calls in the Eclyde POS.

How flat-fee ordering compares with commission-based systems, with break-even maths, is set out under commission-free online ordering.

Your restaurant’s numbers

The worked examples use assumptions. Your own mix of app delivery, own delivery, collection and walk-ins decides how much direct orders are worth. The free Eclyde audit looks at your restaurant’s online presence, ordering links and marketplace listings, and shows where direct orders could come from first. It takes a few minutes to request, and it is useful whether or not you ever use Eclyde. Request your free restaurant audit and bring last month’s app invoices.