Your own restaurant ordering app: your name and logo on Google Play and the App Store

The big chains all have apps. But you do not need to be a global brand to have your own restaurant ordering app: an icon with your name and logo on your customer’s phone, which they open to order their usual in three taps, without you paying commission to anyone.

This article explains how that happens without spending months and a fortune with a development agency, what it really costs, and when an app is worth having at all.

Why your own app instead of the delivery apps?

A customer who opens your app is not comparing you with twenty other restaurants. They came for you.

How the app is built on GoSufra

GoSufra builds the customer app under your brand (white-label) from the same system that runs your till and kitchen:

• App name shown under the icon.
• Icon and splash screen with your logo.
• Your colours throughout the app, not just the header.
• Your own package ID, so the store listing belongs to you.
• Push notifications sent in your name from your own messaging project.

Each build produces real installable files: an AAB for Google Play and an APK you can install directly, an IPA for the App Store, and desktop builds for Windows, Linux and macOS. The technical detail is in apps under your own brand.

What the app does for your customer

• Browse the menu with photos and today’s prices — the same menu as the till.
• Order for delivery or pickup, and pay by cash or card.
• Track the order status live.
• Save addresses and reorder a favourite in a tap.
• Earn and redeem loyalty points, and use promo codes and the spin wheel.
• Rate the order — and you reply from the dashboard.

Every order from the app reaches the till, the kitchen display and stock like any other.

The real costs nobody mentions

The app itself is part of GoSufra’s Enterprise plan, but some costs and tasks are yours, and you should plan for them:

1. A Google Play developer account: a one-time registration fee (currently $25), plus identity verification.
2. An Apple developer account: an annual membership (currently $99 a year).
3. The accounts must be in your company’s or your own name, never the agency’s — so the app stays yours.
4. Review: the first store submission takes days, sometimes a week or more, and may come back with questions.
5. Store listing content: screenshots, a description, a privacy policy link and a support contact.

Plan two weeks from deciding on an app to seeing it in the store, and do not tie the launch to an opening day or a big promotion.

When is an app worth it — and when is it not?

It is worth it when:

• Customers order from you more than once a month.
• You have two or more branches, or a large delivery volume.
• You want a loyalty scheme that brings people back.

It is not worth it yet when:

• You have just opened and most sales are at the counter.
• You do not yet have a base of returning customers.

In that case, start with a commission-free ordering website and a QR menu — both are on the free plan, and customers need to install nothing. When your regulars multiply, the app builds on the same account and the same customer data.

A practical order of steps

1. Today: the ordering website and QR menus on the tables.
2. This month: the link on Instagram and Google Maps, and a card in every delivery bag.
3. When customers come back twice a week: loyalty points and offers.
4. When the base is big enough: an app under your name, where customers find the points they earned on the website waiting for them.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a restaurant ordering app cost?

Building an app from scratch with an agency is expensive and takes months. On GoSufra, the branded customer app is part of the Enterprise plan, and you pay only the store account fees — see the pricing page.

Does the app work on iPhone and Android?

Yes, with desktop versions as well.

Can the POS and kitchen apps carry my brand too?

Yes — the POS, kitchen, driver and waiter apps can also be built under your name, but the customer app is the one that earns money back.

Does the app take commission on orders?

No, there is no commission on orders through your app. If you take cards, the payment gateway charges its fee.