Commission-free online ordering for restaurants: a sales channel you own next to the delivery apps

If you sell through Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Glovo, Talabat or any other delivery app, you know the feeling: the order comes in, the kitchen cooks, the rider collects, and at the end of the month a large slice of the bill has gone in commission. Worse than the commission, the customer is not yours — their number, address and order history sit with the app.

The answer is not to leave the apps. It is to have your own commission-free online ordering system, so the customers who already know you can order from you directly.

How much are you really paying the apps?

Commission varies by country, contract and service level, but it is usually a noticeable share of each order — and with paid visibility and restaurant-funded promotions on top, the figure climbs. A simple example:

If you do 30 delivery orders a day and move just a third of them to your own site at $7.50 saved each, that is well over $2,000 a month back in your margin. Run it with your own numbers — our Talabat and Elmenus breakdown walks through the same reasoning for one market.

What a restaurant ordering system must have

1. One menu for the till and the website

The biggest problem with standalone ordering sites is a stale menu: the price changed in the shop but not online. On GoSufra the ordering site is built from the same menu as the till, so any price change or sold-out item shows in both at once.

2. Orders straight to the till and the kitchen

Not an email or a message someone has to retype. An online order joins the till’s order list, appears on the kitchen display if you have one, deducts ingredients from stock and lands in your reports.

3. Clear delivery zones and fees

Set zones by radius, fee and estimated time, and addresses outside your range are refused before the customer pays. With delivery management you assign the order to a driver and follow them by GPS.

4. Pickup and ordering from the table

Not every order is delivery. Customers can order and collect, or order from the table with a QR menu.

5. Cash and card

Cash on delivery works from day one. To take cards online, GoSufra supports Stripe and PayPal for most currencies and Paymob and Fawry for Egyptian pounds — you pay the gateway’s normal fee, with no extra commission from GoSufra.

6. The customer data is yours

Every order builds a customer profile: phone, addresses and order history. That is what lets you run promotions, coupon codes and loyalty points for your regulars.

How to move app customers to your own site

Customers will not leave the app by themselves. They need a reason, and they need to know there is another way:

1. A card in every delivery bag: “Order direct next time” with a QR code and a small discount code.
2. A better price or a gift on your site: pass part of the commission you save to the customer. Your site must be cheaper or better than the app.
3. The link everywhere: Instagram bio, Facebook page, WhatsApp Business and Google Maps.
4. WhatsApp that points to the site: instead of typing orders from a chat, send the link. See taking restaurant orders on WhatsApp.
5. Reward the ones who come back: loyalty points on every direct order.

And leave the apps to do what they are good at: helping a new customer find you for the first time.

How to run commission-free ordering on GoSufra

1. Open a free account and add your menu.
2. Switch on the ordering website and pick a theme and language. The address is your-restaurant.gosufra.com.
3. Set how orders are collected: delivery, pickup, or at the table.
4. Set your delivery zones and fees.
5. Share the link and start taking orders.

The ordering website is on the free plan for one branch and up to 500 orders a month. Online card payments and driver management are on the Growth plan, and a custom domain and a customer app under your own brand come with Enterprise — details on the pricing page.

Ordering website or your own app?

Start with the website: customers order from a link without installing anything. When you have many customers coming back every week, your own restaurant ordering app starts to make sense.

Frequently asked questions

Does GoSufra take commission on online orders?

No. You pay the plan subscription (or nothing on the free plan), with no percentage per order. If you take cards, the payment gateway charges its fee.

Do I need to stop using delivery apps?

No. Keep them for new customers, and steer your regulars to your own site.

Do I need a developer to build an ordering site?

No. The site is generated from your menu and configured from the dashboard.

How does an online order reach the kitchen?

It joins the till’s order list and appears on the kitchen screen in real time, like any order rung up at the till.