How to take online orders in a pizzeria
There are three ways to take orders online: a delivery platform, which brings new customers and takes 13–30%; your own ordering page, which costs card fees of about 1.5% + 20p and brings nobody; or both. For most pizzerias the answer is both — the platform for discovery, your own page for the regulars who already know your name.
What each route costs per order
| Route | You keep | Cost of the order |
|---|---|---|
| Uber Eats, platform delivers (30%) | £19.60 | £8.40 |
| Uber Eats, you deliver (13%) | £24.36 | £3.64 |
| Aggregator, self-delivery (~14%) | £24.08 | £3.92 |
| Your own page, card payment | ~£27.38 | ~£0.62 |
| Phone order, cash on collection | £28.00 | £0 (plus the call) |
Uber Eats UK published rates. Aggregator self-delivery is the figure commonly reported by industry guides — Just Eat does not publish a rate card. Card fees around 1.5% + 20p.
Start with the regulars
The practical move is not leaving the platforms. It is giving the people who already order every Friday somewhere cheaper to do it, and making sure they know it exists:
- The web address on every box, bag and receipt.
- A card in the bag on platform deliveries — that is your one chance to talk to a customer the platform owns.
- The link in the Instagram bio, and on the Google Business listing.
- An offer that only exists on your own site. It does not need to be large to move habit.
What your ordering page has to get right
- Options before price, not after. Size, base and extras change the number. Showing "£11" and then charging £16.50 at checkout is how baskets get abandoned.
- A visible minimum and delivery radius, before the customer fills a basket they cannot check out.
- A realistic ready time. Under-promising by ten minutes costs you nothing; over-promising costs you the review.
- Sold-out that actually works. One tap on the busiest night, from wherever you are standing.
- Allergens per item, before checkout. Legally required for distance selling, not optional.
- Confirmation with a reference, so the phone call that follows has something to quote.
Where the orders arrive
The kitchen problem is not taking the order, it is noticing it. Whatever you use has to make a noise somewhere a chef will hear at the busiest moment of service, and has to be acknowledged so two people do not make the same pizza. A tablet on silent behind the till is how an order gets found at closing time.
Payment: card up front, or cash on collection?
Card up front removes no-shows and is what most customers now expect. Cash on collection costs nothing in fees and suits a takeaway with a steady local trade. Offering both is fine; what does not work is card-only for collection, which excludes a real part of the customer base for no gain.
Whatever you take, the money should land in your account on a normal schedule you understand. Ask specifically how often payouts run before you sign anything.
Do not delete yourself from the platforms
A pizzeria that goes direct-only usually loses more in volume than it saves in commission, especially in the first year and especially in a dense city where the app is where the choice is made. Keep the shop window. Move the regulars.