Are you sending all online orders through a third-party aggregator that takes 25-30% commission and owns the customer data, with no way to market directly to repeat customers or build loyalty?
Is your online ordering widget a third-party embed with no control over menu display, upsell logic, or checkout experience?
Online Food Ordering System Development
Custom online food ordering systems for restaurants and food businesses -- branded web and mobile ordering that you own, with full control over menu structure, upsell logic, payment, and customer data. No 25-30% commission going to an aggregator on every order.
We build direct ordering channels that give customers a fast way to order on web and app, route orders to the kitchen, handle collection and delivery scheduling, and connect loyalty so repeat customers have a reason to order direct.
Branded web and mobile ordering fully owned by the restaurant
Menu management with modifiers, combos, and availability windows
Order routing to kitchen display or printer with prep time management
Loyalty programme and direct customer re-engagement
RaftLabs builds custom online food ordering systems for restaurants and food businesses. A direct ordering system removes the 25-30% commission paid to third-party aggregators on every order and gives the restaurant full control over the menu, upsell logic, and customer data. Most online food ordering projects deliver in 10-14 weeks at a fixed cost.
100+Software products shipped
·FixedCost delivery
·10-14Week delivery cycles
·24+Industries served
The commission problem is a margin problem
A restaurant doing $500,000 in annual revenue through a third-party aggregator at 25% commission pays $125,000 per year for a customer channel it does not own. That number rarely appears as a cost in the profit and loss account because the commission is deducted before payout. Most owners have not calculated it explicitly.
A direct ordering channel costs a fraction of that to build and run. Customers who already know the restaurant -- the ones who have ordered three or four times through an app -- will order direct when given a fast, easy way to do it. The economics change because regulars shift to the direct channel and aggregator commission applies only to new customer acquisition. The second problem is menu control. Aggregator platforms are built for the median restaurant. Complex modifier logic -- build-your-own bowls, substitution rules, combo trees -- either does not map correctly or requires workarounds that confuse customers. A custom ordering system is built around your actual menu.
What we build
Branded web and app ordering
Branded ordering experience on mobile web, desktop, and native iOS and Android apps. Menu displayed with item photography, descriptions, allergen information, and dietary filters. Delivery and collection toggle so customers choose at the start and the flow adapts. Delivery address entry with postcode-based zone validation so customers outside your area are told early, not at checkout. Modifier and extras selection inline with each item. Basket management with quantity adjustments and notes. Checkout with card payment, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Order confirmation by SMS and email. A direct channel fast enough to compete with the aggregator app already on the customer's phone.
Menu and modifier management
Item availability by time of day and by location so breakfast items close at 11am and location-specific specials appear automatically. Modifier groups with min and max selection rules: choose one sauce, choose up to three toppings, choose a required base. Combo management where a combo contains a main, a side, and a drink each with their own modifier trees. Item 86 -- mark an item unavailable for the rest of service from the manager tablet when stock runs out, with automatic restoration for the next service period. The menu engine that keeps what the customer sees aligned with what the kitchen can deliver.
Order routing and kitchen integration
Orders routed to kitchen display screens or printers by station on receipt. Configurable routing rules: cold starters to the cold section, grilled items to the grill. Timing display showing how long each order has been waiting so the team manages pace. Order consolidation for multi-item orders: all items displayed together so the expediter can check before dispatch. Prep time management with customer-facing ready time estimates updated as the order progresses. The workflow that means every order arrives at the right station the moment it is placed, with no verbal relay and no missed tickets.
Payment processing and tipping
Card payment, Apple Pay, and Google Pay at checkout with 3D Secure authentication. Tipping prompt at checkout with preset tip amounts and a custom entry option. Split payment support for group orders where multiple people pay for a shared basket. Refund and void management for cancelled or incorrect orders handled from the manager dashboard without manual gateway access. Payment reporting showing daily takings, order count, average order value, and tip totals. The payment layer that handles every scenario without requiring the restaurant to log in to a separate gateway portal for routine management.
Collection and delivery scheduling
Collection time slots by location so customers pick a time that fits kitchen capacity during peak periods. Slot capacity limits per time window so the kitchen is not overwhelmed with simultaneous collections. Delivery zone configuration per location: draw the zone, set minimum order value, set delivery fee by tier. Delivery time estimates calculated from kitchen load and distance. Pre-order support for customers who want to schedule an order up to 7 days ahead. The scheduling layer that smooths demand across the service period and gives the kitchen team visibility of what is coming before the rush hits.
Loyalty and customer re-engagement
Points earning on every direct order -- a specific reason for customers to order direct rather than through an aggregator. Discount codes and promotional pricing at checkout with single-use or multi-use rules. Birthday offer automation sending a discount timed to arrive before the customer's birthday. Triggered reactivation campaigns for customers who have not ordered in 30 days. Integration with email marketing platforms so order data drives segmentation without manual export. The loyalty layer that turns a customer who found you through an aggregator into one who orders direct every time.
Frequently asked questions
Third-party aggregators charge 15-30% commission per order. A custom direct ordering system has a one-time build cost and ongoing hosting and payment processing fees -- typically 1.5-2.9% for card processing. For a restaurant doing $30,000 per month in delivery revenue, the gap between 25% aggregator commission and 2% direct processing is $6,900 per month. At that volume, a $25,000 direct ordering system pays back in under four months if 40% of repeat orders shift to the direct channel. The specific numbers depend on your order volume, current commission rate, and average order value. We can model the payback for your volumes before you commit.
A custom system is built around your actual menu, not constrained by what a platform can model. We handle nested modifier groups (a combo that contains a main with its own modifiers, a side with its own modifiers, and a drink choice), conditional modifiers (a sauce option that only appears when a specific base is selected), and exclusion rules (a topping that cannot be combined with another). Minimum and maximum selection rules are set per group. Required selections block checkout until the customer completes them. Items with no valid modifier combination -- for example, a build-your-own dish where nothing has been selected -- are caught before the order reaches the kitchen. We build the modifier logic against your actual menu during scoping, not a generalised approximation of it.
Collection slots work by setting a capacity limit per time window. If the lunch window between 12:00 and 12:15 has a limit of eight orders, the ninth customer is offered the next available window. Slot capacity can be set differently by day of the week and by location. The manager dashboard shows slot fill rates in real time so capacity can be adjusted between services. Pre-orders placed the day before appear in the kitchen schedule alongside same-day orders so the team can see the full load before the period starts. Slot management removes the spike problem where every customer clicks the same time because it is the first option and the kitchen receives 20 orders in five minutes.
A focused ordering system covering branded web ordering, menu management, kitchen routing, and payment processing typically costs $15,000-$40,000 at a fixed price. Adding a native iOS and Android app, loyalty integration, and direct customer marketing tools moves the range to $25,000-$60,000 depending on the complexity of your modifier logic, location count, and loyalty requirements. We scope the project in a discovery session and give you a fixed cost before work starts. Timeline is 10-14 weeks for the core system. We do not quote on hourly rates -- you know the cost before we begin.
Tell us your location count, current delivery volume, which aggregators you run, and your modifier complexity. We will scope a direct ordering system and model the commission payback.
