Stop paying delivery app commissions

Many marketplace plans charge a percentage, per-order fee, delivery cost, promotion, or a combination. Those costs affect contribution margin, but marketplace discovery and fulfillment may also create value. Calculate each channel from the restaurant's current statement rather than using a blanket rate.

Customer-data access also varies. Compare the fields the restaurant receives, permitted uses, export rights, attribution, and whether the customer separately consented to marketing. A transaction record is not automatically a promotional contact.

A direct ordering channel starts on the restaurant's website and connects to a supported checkout or POS. The exact kitchen flow, hardware, menu synchronization, delivery, and exception handling depend on the restaurant's vendor configuration and must be verified before scope is promised.

A direct order placed outside a marketplace does not incur that marketplace's commission, but it is not free. Include payment processing, POS or ordering software, delivery, discounts, setup, monthly management, and operating labor. ClickMingo does not take a percentage of client orders; other vendors may charge flat, usage, per-order, or percentage fees.

Marketplaces can put a menu in front of new customers and provide fulfillment. Treat the applicable commission and promotion spend as acquisition and operating costs, then compare them with the channel's incremental demand. Repeated marketplace orders from existing customers deserve a separate economic analysis.

The play is simple. Let the apps bring in first-time customers. Then make sure the second order happens on your channel. A menu insert in the bag, a sign at the counter, a first-order offer on your own site — every touchpoint points to direct ordering. The apps stay on. They just stop owning your regulars.

A configured direct system may capture eligible name, contact, and order fields when the vendor and permissions allow it. The service agreement should define client data, export rights, retention, deletion, and offboarding. Marketing consent must be stored separately from the transaction record.

Sign-up and missed-call workflows can create useful conversations, but they should collect only necessary data and must not automatically enroll every customer or caller in promotions. The goal is a lawful, useful relationship—not the largest possible list.

A permission-based audience can support approved promotions that link to the direct order path. Channel eligibility, content, frequency, suppression, sender identity, and attribution must be configured and monitored.

When reliable activity data and the required consent exist, an approved reactivation workflow can test a reason to return. It should stop on revocation, respect frequency rules, and report attributable results rather than assume success.

Gigi's New York Style Pizza in Long Branch uses a custom website with an order path connected to Clover, and ClickMingo does not take a percentage of client orders. The exact workflow, vendor costs, fields, permissions, and measured business result should be confirmed from current source data before publication.

Gigi's Sea Bright location has a separate public site, and Sea Bright Bagels has a public direct-order and sign-up path. Database fields, ownership, permissions, exports, and quantified outcomes require verification from current client-approved source data.

Restaurant ordering is part of our standard five-engine system — website, CRM, SEO, text messaging, and email — with Clover integration added for restaurants. See our restaurant system page for the full breakdown. Monthly plans carry a 12-month agreement.

Ownership and costs should not be fine print. The proposal identifies client-owned assets and data, reusable platform components, third-party licenses, export and offboarding rights, and applicable vendor costs. ClickMingo does not take a percentage of client orders, but the monthly fee is not necessarily the only recurring cost.