Your restaurant is getting more delivery orders. Why is there less money left?
Updated: 1 day ago
More delivery orders can leave a restaurant with less cash when the extra food, packaging and kitchen work cost more than the sales contribute.
The docket printer keeps running, bags cover the pass and someone needs another carton of containers. It looks like a good night. Then you check what is left for the food supplier, wages and rent, and the answer feels surprisingly thin.
For an Australian restaurant, that is a reason to examine the orders before chasing more of them. A busy kitchen can have a margin problem, a payment-timing problem or both. Each needs a different response.
Start with what each order actually leaves behind
The useful number is the amount left after the costs that come with making and fulfilling the sale. That contribution still has to help cover rent, regular staffing, utilities and other overheads.
Pull out a normal week of delivery sales and the matching settlement statements. Allow for ingredients, containers, bags, cutlery, platform charges, funded promotions and any extra labour required. Check refunds and adjustments rather than assuming the sales screen shows the money available to spend.
For example, Uber Eats’ Australian merchant terms describe remittances after applicable fees, refunds and other permitted deductions. They state weekly remittance unless otherwise agreed. The fee depends on the services selected and the agreement. That is a reason to use your own statements and terms rather than an industry-wide percentage.
Compare delivery, takeaway collected directly and dine-in separately. A shared kitchen does not mean each channel has the same costs. The distinction between profit and cash flow helps explain why even a worthwhile sale may not fund this week’s bills.
Are delivery orders adding business or replacing it?
An extra order at a quiet time may use capacity you have already paid for. The same order at seven o’clock on Saturday might require another kitchen hand, delay meals in the dining room or displace a more useful sale.
Look at the time and the menu item, not just the weekly total. A popular dish that travels poorly can generate complaints and remakes. A labour-intensive special might be manageable for twenty seated guests but disruptive when another fifteen orders arrive together.
Ask the team where the bottleneck starts. It could be one fryer, a small packing bench or the person answering collection queries. Fixing that particular constraint may cost less than adding a full shift or buying equipment immediately.
Also check whether regular customers have moved from direct collection to an app. You may be processing more orders through one channel without gaining as many new customers as the headline suggests. Treat this as something to measure in your own records, rather than an assumption about everyone who orders.
Change the menu and the service before changing the debt
A delivery menu does not have to contain everything the kitchen can cook. Subject to your platform agreement, consider a smaller range that travels well, uses ingredients already turning over and can be packed consistently.
Review prices against actual portion costs and permitted menu-pricing arrangements. Do not assume you can add any surcharge or set different prices without checking the relevant terms. Uber Eats’ Australian service terms contain requirements that differ by service option, including rules for non-delivery menu prices.
Packaging deserves the same attention as food. Count the complete bag, including sauces, labels and extras. A container that saves a few cents but causes spills may create more rework than it saves. Trial a change on a limited range and record the result.
Choose one improvement that the team can carry out this week. The practical guide to improving cash flow before borrowing is useful when the immediate answer is smaller purchasing, clearer pricing or better timing rather than another finance commitment.
Buying more food can create another squeeze
Higher orders tempt owners to buy extra ingredients to avoid running out. The risk is paying for stock that does not sell before it spoils, particularly when the delivery mix changes quickly.
Use recent sales by dish to guide the next order, then check what is already in the cool room. Smaller, more frequent purchases can sometimes reduce waste, although delivery charges, minimum orders and supplier arrangements need to be included in the comparison.
Food safety remains part of the operating cost. Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s temperature-control guidance explains the requirements for potentially hazardous food, including during storage and transport. A cash-saving idea must still meet the applicable food-safety requirements.
Avoid interpreting less waste as permission to stretch safe holding times. The better commercial question is whether the menu and purchasing pattern can reduce how much food becomes surplus in the first place.
Put the cash dates beside the service dates
You can have a sound margin and still need money before the next receipt lands. Ingredients may be paid for before they are sold, while wages, rent and tax obligations follow their own timetable.
Build a weekly calendar using actual receipt dates for each channel. Record gross sales and deductions separately so you do not count a platform fee twice. Have your bookkeeper check GST treatment and make sure tax money is not being mistaken for spare operating cash.
business.gov.au’s cash-flow guide recommends planning incoming and outgoing money and allowing for ongoing costs. A 13-week cash-flow forecast turns that into a useful restaurant decision: which week runs short, by how much and for how long?
Run a quieter-sales version as well. If your plan requires every weekend to beat the last one, the apparent funding gap may be understated. A forecast should help you choose what to do when trade softens, not simply describe the best outcome.
Hypothetical example: The busy week with little left
Consider an illustrative restaurant adding $4,000 in weekly delivery sales. All figures are assumed, exclude GST for simplicity and are not a platform quote or an industry benchmark.
Suppose the related ingredients cost $1,400, packaging costs $240, and the restaurant’s actual platform charges, funded offers and adjustments total $1,000. Extra paid kitchen and packing time costs another $900. That leaves $460 towards existing overheads and other obligations.
The extra sales have contributed something, but much less than the $4,000 headline suggests. If a further $600 of food is bought and remains unsold at week’s end, cash is tighter again. The unsold stock and the trading result need to be understood separately.
Reducing waste, withdrawing an uneconomic offer or simplifying packing might improve the result. Borrowing could cover a timing gap, but it would also add repayments. The right choice depends on what remains after those operating changes, and actual results will vary.
A five-point check before funding the rush
Can you show the contribution from delivery sales after all related costs?
Have you checked the busiest hours for added labour and displaced sales?
Do purchases reflect likely demand and stock already on hand?
Have you reconciled settlement deductions and confirmed expected receipt dates?
Would the cash forecast support repayments during a quieter fortnight?
If the remaining shortfall is identifiable and temporary, compare funding against the amount and duration of that shortfall. The guide to how much working capital a business needs can help you avoid treating an entire month’s turnover as the amount to borrow.
Check the total repayment burden, fees and any security or guarantee obligations. The discussion of working capital loan costs provides questions to use when comparing proposals. The delivery channel needs to produce enough usable cash to carry the proposed commitment.
Frequently asked questions
Does higher delivery turnover mean I need a bigger kitchen?
No. First identify what limits the service and whether the orders generate enough contribution. A packing change, narrower menu or better order scheduling may help. A larger kitchen introduces costs that need to be supported during quiet periods as well.
Should I stop taking delivery orders if cash is tight?
Not automatically. Work out which dishes, hours and offers help cover costs and which create pressure. Review any changes against customer commitments and platform terms. The aim is to make informed choices about the channel rather than judge it from turnover alone.
Can working capital finance solve the problem?
It may help bridge a demonstrable timing gap where trading supports repayment. It will not improve the contribution from an underpriced dish or remove waste. Resolve those issues first, then assess whether the remaining cash requirement justifies the cost and obligations of finance.
Need a clearer plan for your restaurant’s cash flow?
Fairlane Finance can help you assess possible funding structures against your business’s cash-flow timing.
General information only. This article does not constitute financial, credit, legal, tax, accounting, compliance or valuation advice. Finance is subject to lender approval, eligibility criteria, terms, fees and conditions. Consider obtaining independent professional advice for your circumstances before acting.
