How to Set Up Online Ordering at Your Restaurant

You already know online ordering matters. 67% of consumers now prefer ordering directly from a restaurant's own website or app, and mobile orders account for 60% of all digital restaurant transactions. The question isn't whether to offer it. It's how to set it up without overcomplicating your operation or giving away your margins.

Here's the good news: launching online ordering at a single-location restaurant is a weekend project, not a six-month IT build. You need a platform, a menu that works for takeout, and a plan for getting the word out. The rest is details.

First decision: your own system, third-party apps, or both?

Before you pick a platform, you need to understand what you're choosing between. The two paths look similar from the outside (customer orders food on a screen) but work very differently for your business.

Your own system (first-party ordering) means customers order through your website or branded page. You keep the customer data, you keep the margin, and you control the experience. Monthly fees range from $0 to $150 depending on the platform. Processing fees sit around 2.5-3% per transaction.

Third-party apps (Uber Eats, DoorDash, SkipTheDishes) bring instant visibility and a built-in customer base. The trade-off: commissions run 20-30% per order in Canada, and the platform owns the customer relationship. You won't get their email, their phone number, or their order history.

On a $50 order, the math looks like this:

	Your own system	Third-party app (25% commission)
You keep	~$48.50 (after 2.9% processing)	$37.50
The platform keeps	~$1.50	$12.50
You get the customer's contact info	Yes	No

That $11 difference adds up. Twenty orders a day means $220 more in your pocket, every day.

The honest recommendation for most independents: use both, but with a strategy. Third-party apps are your discovery channel. They bring in people who didn't know your restaurant existed. Your own ordering system is your retention channel. Once someone orders from you, move them to your direct platform for the second order.

We've covered the full cost breakdown of third-party delivery separately. This guide focuses on the practical setup.

Which platform fits your restaurant?

Canada has several solid options for first-party online ordering. The right choice depends on what POS you're already running, how much you want to spend, and whether you need delivery or just pickup.

Platform	Base cost	Commission	POS integration	Best for
Square Online	Free tier available ($0/mo)	0% (2.8% + $0.30 processing)	Square POS	Restaurants already on Square, or those wanting zero upfront cost
Lightspeed Order Anywhere	Add-on to Lightspeed POS ($69+/mo base)	0% (processing included)	Lightspeed Restaurant	Lightspeed POS users who want a smooth, integrated add-on
UEAT (Moneris)	Contact for pricing	0% on direct orders	Multiple POS systems, plus UEAT's own Uboard	Canadian restaurants wanting a local, Moneris-backed solution
TouchBistro Online Ordering	Add-on to TouchBistro POS ($69+/mo base)	0% (commission-free)	TouchBistro POS	TouchBistro users in Canada (excl. Quebec)
iOrders	Contact for pricing	0%	Multiple POS systems	Canadian independents wanting a full direct-ordering suite

A few things to notice. Most of these platforms charge zero commission on direct orders. You pay a monthly fee and/or a per-transaction processing fee, but there's no percentage cut of your food revenue. That's the fundamental difference from third-party apps.

If you're already on a POS system, start with that vendor's ordering add-on. Square users should look at Square Online first. Lightspeed users should check Order Anywhere. TouchBistro users (outside Quebec) have their built-in option. Keeping your ordering and POS on the same system means orders flow straight to your kitchen display without anyone re-entering them manually.

If you're not locked into a POS, UEAT and iOrders are worth a look. Both are Canadian companies, both integrate with multiple POS systems, and both are built with Canadian independents in mind. UEAT is backed by Moneris, which means payment processing and ordering live under one roof.

A note on ChowNow: it's a popular commission-free platform in the US, starting around $119-199/month. Canadian availability is limited, so verify before committing.

Step-by-step: getting your first online order

Once you've picked a platform, here's what the setup actually looks like. Most of this takes a day or two, not weeks.

1. Sign up and connect your POS

Every platform starts with onboarding. You'll create an account, connect your POS system (if applicable), and configure basic settings: restaurant name, address, hours, contact info. If your POS and ordering platform are from the same vendor, this step takes minutes. Cross-vendor integrations might take a call with support.

2. Build your online menu

This is where most restaurants spend the bulk of their setup time, and where it pays to be intentional.

Don't just copy your dine-in menu. Some dishes travel beautifully. Others don't. A French onion soup with a perfectly melted Gruyere cap? Amazing at the table. Sad in a delivery container. Be honest about what works for takeout and delivery. Cut anything that won't arrive the way you'd want to serve it.

For each item, you'll need a name, a description, a price, and ideally a photo. Adding images to online menus can increase sales by up to 30%. You don't need a professional photographer. Natural light, a clean background, and your phone camera are enough for most items.

Set up modifiers and customization options: sizes, add-ons, toppings, dietary notes, special instructions. The more control customers have, the fewer phone calls your staff fields.

Pricing strategy: Some restaurants charge slightly more for online orders to offset packaging costs and platform fees. Others keep prices identical and absorb the cost. There's no universal answer, but be transparent. Customers notice when prices don't match.

3. Configure your ordering settings

This is the operational backbone. Get these details right before you go live:

Prep times. Be realistic. If a burger takes 12 minutes in the kitchen, don't promise 8. Underpromise and overdeliver. Customers are far more forgiving of a 20-minute quoted wait that arrives in 15 than a 10-minute promise that takes 25.

Order limits. Most platforms let you cap the number of active orders. Use this. Start conservative: maybe 5-8 simultaneous orders if you're running a small kitchen. You can increase the cap as your team finds its rhythm.

Pickup vs. delivery. Decide what you're offering at launch. Pickup is simpler, cheaper, and carries zero delivery logistics. If you want to offer delivery, you'll need either your own drivers or a delivery integration (DoorDash Drive, for example, provides delivery logistics without the marketplace commission).

Operating hours. Your online ordering hours don't have to match your dine-in hours. In fact, they probably shouldn't. If your kitchen slams between 6 and 8 PM on Fridays, consider pausing online orders during that window or extending prep times. Protect your dine-in experience.

4. Set up payments

If you're using a POS-integrated platform, payment processing is likely already configured. If not, you'll connect a payment processor. In Canada, the standard processing fee sits around 2.5-3% per transaction.

Make sure you can accept both credit and debit cards. Some platforms also support Apple Pay and Google Pay, which reduce checkout friction on mobile.

Tax configuration matters too. Your platform should auto-calculate GST/HST (or QST in Quebec) based on your location. Double-check this before going live. Getting tax wrong on the first order is a bad look.

5. Test everything yourself

Before you tell a single customer, place orders yourself. Test on your phone (that's where 60% of orders come from). Test on a laptop. Try every menu category. Add modifiers. Use a promo code if you've set one up.

Watch the order come through on your POS or kitchen display. Check the receipt. Verify the tax. Make sure the pickup time makes sense. Have a team member test it too, ideally someone who wasn't involved in the setup.

This step catches 90% of the issues that would annoy a real customer. A modifier that doesn't save. A menu item with no photo. A prep time that's wildly wrong. Fix them now.

6. Go live and tell people

Soft-launch first. Tell your regulars. Put a note at the counter. Add the link to your Instagram bio. If you have an email list or SMS list, send a quick message: "You can now order directly from us at [link]. No app download needed."

A first-order discount (10-15% off, or free delivery on orders over $40) gives people a reason to try it now instead of "eventually."

For dine-in customers, table tents or a line on the bill work well: "Love the food? Order it at home next time." Include a QR code pointing directly to your ordering page.

The flyer-in-the-bag move: If you're already on Uber Eats or DoorDash, include a small card in every delivery bag: "Order directly next time and save. [your ordering URL]." This is the single most effective tactic for converting third-party customers to your own channel. You're reaching people who already like your food.

7. Watch the numbers and adjust

After the first week, check your data. Most platforms show you:

• Number of orders per day
• Average order value
• Peak ordering times
• Top-selling items
• New vs. returning customers (on first-party platforms)

Use this to adjust. If Tuesday nights are dead, run a Tuesday-only promo. If one menu item gets ordered constantly, make sure it's front and centre with a great photo. If orders spike at 5:30 PM and your kitchen isn't ready, shift your prep schedule.

The beauty of first-party ordering is that you own this data. On third-party apps, the platform keeps most of it. On your own system, every order teaches you something about your customers.

Common mistakes to avoid

Launching with your full dine-in menu. Start lean. Pick your 15-20 best takeout items. Expand after you see what people actually order.

Ignoring packaging. Bad packaging kills repeat orders. Test your containers with actual food, at actual delivery distances. A $2 container that keeps food warm and leak-free is worth every cent compared to a $0.50 container that arrives soggy.

Setting it and forgetting it. Your online menu needs the same attention as your dine-in menu. Seasonal updates, price adjustments, and item rotations keep it fresh and profitable. Apply the same menu engineering principles you use in-house.

Not promoting direct ordering over third-party. If you're on both, actively steer repeat customers to your own channel. Every customer you convert from Uber Eats to your direct system saves you $5-15 per order, permanently.

What this costs: a realistic budget

For a single-location independent restaurant in Canada, here's what online ordering setup actually costs:

Item	Cost
Platform (monthly)	$0-150/mo depending on vendor and tier
Payment processing	2.5-3% per transaction
Packaging (per order)	$1.50-3.00
Menu photography (DIY)	$0 (your phone + natural light)
Menu photography (professional)	$300-800 one-time
Delivery service integration (optional)	$5-10 per delivery (DoorDash Drive or similar)

Compare that to what you'd pay in third-party commissions. At 25% commission on $50 average order, 20 orders per day: $250/day, or roughly $7,500 per month. Even the most expensive first-party platform pays for itself in days.

The weekend plan

If you want online ordering live by next Monday, here's the compressed version:

Friday evening: Sign up for your chosen platform. Connect your POS. Start building your menu (focus on your top 15-20 items).

Saturday: Finish the menu. Add photos. Configure prep times, order limits, and payment settings. Set up your ordering page link.

Sunday: Test orders. Fix issues. Brief your team on the new workflow: where orders appear, how to confirm them, packaging standards.

Monday: Go live. Tell your regulars. Post on Instagram. Add the QR code to your counter. Start taking orders.

That's it. No six-month rollout. No IT department. Just your restaurant, your food, and a direct line to your customers.

Sources: Restolabs, Owner.com, Square Canada, Lightspeed, UEAT, TouchBistro, iOrders.

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