Straight answer: if you are starting from zero or want quick visibility, Wolt, efood or Foody can help. But if you already have customers, phone orders, Instagram, a Google profile and repeat orders, your own online ordering system will usually suit you better, because you reduce your dependence on commissions and build a direct relationship with the customer.
The point is not to “fight” the platforms. It is to know what role each channel plays. Platforms are a customer acquisition channel. Your own system is a channel for repeat orders, loyalty and control. Below, you will see how to calculate it practically, without theory.
1. Start with the real cost per order
Before you decide on a channel, you need to see how much each order costs you. Do not look only at turnover. Look at what is left at the end, after the cost of food, packaging, delivery and commission.
Create a simple table for 10 of your typical orders. For each one, write down:
- order value, e.g. €18
- raw material cost
- packaging cost
- cost of the delivery driver or delivery time
- any platform commission
- final net margin
Platforms charge commission on each order and do not publish a fixed percentage. In Cyprus, restaurants reported 19–25% per order with delivery and 10% for pickup, according to Cyprus Mail in January 2025. But do not assume. Check your own agreement and add the number to your table.
2. When platforms are worth it
Platforms make sense when they bring you orders you would not otherwise receive. If someone does not know you, opens the app, searches for “burger”, “souvlaki” or “pizza” and finds you, then the commission can work like a visibility cost.
Use them more strategically:
- For new customers: keep strong photos and a clear menu.
- For quieter hours: promote dishes that make financial sense.
- For areas where people do not know you: measure whether customers come back.
- For products with a good margin: do not apply the same discounts everywhere.
The mistake is treating every platform order as pure profit. If the order has a low basket value, expensive packaging and a long distance, it may fill the kitchen but not leave enough result.
3. When your own system pays off
Your own system pays off when you already have contact with customers: they know you in the neighbourhood, follow you on Instagram, find you on Google or often order by phone. There, you do not always need to pay commission to win them again.
Your own online ordering channel helps you move these orders from the phone or platforms into an environment you control. For example, with Wiiz Eat you have your own ordering link and QR code, a menu with photos, options, extras, allergens, opening hours, delivery or pickup, minimum order and a live order acceptance dashboard.
Most importantly, the customer pays the restaurant directly, by cash or card on your own POS at the door. Wiiz Eat does not hold the restaurant’s money. The charge is €0.15 per accepted order, with a €250 one-off activation fee, excluding VAT in the prices and with no commitment.
4. Do not decide based on turnover, but on the mix
A restaurant may look like it is “doing well” because it has many online orders, but if most of them come from a high-cost channel, the result may be under pressure. That is why you need a mix of channels.
Split your orders into four categories:
- phone orders
- orders from platforms
- orders from your own online system
- pickups from the shop
Then set a target for each category. For example, hypothetically: if you currently have 70 orders a day, of which 40 come from platforms, you can set a target to move 10 repeat customers to your own link within one month. It does not all have to happen suddenly. It is enough to increase direct orders a little each week.
The right question is not “should I leave the platforms?”. It is “which orders should stay there and which can I take directly?”.
5. How to move customers to your own channel without pressure
The customer does not change habit because you want them to. They change when it is easy, fast and clear. So your own link must be everywhere the customer sees you.
Add the link or QR code:
- in your Instagram bio and highlights
- on your Google profile
- in the window or on the counter
- on the delivery bag with a sticker
- on the leaflet or menu inside the bag
- on a small card: “Next time, order directly from here”
Do not make the customer search. If they need to send a message, wait for a reply or download a menu photo, they will go back to the easier option. A clear menu with prices, options, extras and the ability to hide a dish that has sold out reduces mistakes and phone calls.
6. Watch the kitchen and delivery, not only the order
The ordering channel is only the beginning. If the kitchen gets overloaded or the delivery driver is late, the customer remembers the experience, not the system. That is why you need to organise the flow.
Set simple rules:
- define a realistic average preparation time
- temporarily close orders when the kitchen is under pressure
- hide dishes that have sold out immediately
- separate pickup and delivery if they have different speeds
- set a minimum order that makes sense for delivery
- set a delivery charge or free delivery threshold based on your own area
If you have your own delivery drivers, you need clear assignment. In Wiiz Eat there is a free app for the restaurant’s delivery drivers: they log in with an SMS code, see the customer’s details only after they take the order and open the address in Google Maps. There is no shared fleet of delivery drivers, so delivery responsibility stays with your own team.
7. Make a decision with a simple 30-day test
If you are not sure what pays off, do not decide in theory. Run a 30-day test and measure. Choose a period without major seasonal changes and keep basic daily figures.
For each channel, note:
- number of orders
- average order value
- commission cost or system cost
- how many customers are repeat customers
- how many order mistakes happened
- how many phone calls were needed for clarifications
At the end, compare not only turnover but also operational ease. If direct orders have fewer mistakes, better repeat behaviour and a lower variable cost, it is worth pushing them more. If platforms bring in new customers with orders that leave a margin, keep them as an acquisition channel.
For a more detailed comparison, you can also see the guide Wiiz Eat or Wolt, Foody, efood?, especially if you want to put the cost and control models side by side.
8. The practical strategy: keep the platforms, build your own channel
For most restaurants, the most realistic answer is not absolute. You do not need to choose only Wolt/efood/Foody or only your own system. You need to give each channel the right role.
A practical strategy is:
- Platforms: for new customers, visibility and areas where you do not yet have recognition.
- Your own system: for repeat customers, orders from Instagram, Google, QR and delivery bags.
- Phone: for customers who prefer it, but with the aim of reducing mistakes and delays.
- Pickup: as a separate channel with fast service and a clear preparation time.
Start with a small target: for every order that comes from a customer who already knows you, try to send them to your own link next time. That is where the difference in cost, control and the customer relationship starts to show.