How Does a Restaurant Online Ordering System Work? (2024)

Curious about the restaurant’s online ordering process? Let’s pull back the curtain so you can see the entire process from the customer’s initial online order to pick up.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made online ordering particularly important for restaurants, as we wrote in our post on the advantages of online food ordering systems. Allowing customers to order their own food online cuts down on errors, improves the customer experience, saves your restaurant money, and can minimize in-person contact to reduce disease transmission risk.

POS systems’ online ordering features should make it easy for customers to order food via your website, whether they want to pick it up or have it delivered.

The best POS programs will also allow you to design and organize your restaurant’s menu the way you want it, allowing you to customize the look, name the sections, and choose highlighted dishes.

If you have multiple locations, a good POS system will also allow you to make changes across those locations simultaneously, or customize each location’s menu.

As mentioned above, there are three main methods that your customers can use to remotely order items from your restaurant. Either they can call you directly, place an order on your site, or go through a third party’s site or app. Seems simple enough. However, there are also three different ways that your restaurant can receive and process these orders.

If the order is placed through your website…

Offering your customers a way to order through your website is convenient for them but also means added revenue for you. (We’ll explain why in a moment.)

Online ordering through your restaurant’s website is pretty straightforward. After finding the appropriate menu on your website, your customer will then place the order there without leaving your website.

Pros:

• You control your customer’s experience because they remain on your website the entire time.
• Because the customer completes the transaction on your website, you won’t need to share profits with a third party.

Con:

• Decreased visibility. If you’re not accessible on third party websites (but your competitors are), you may potentially lose out.

If the order is placed through a third party website/ app…

There are a host of third party websites, including DoorDash and Uber Eats, that enable customers to order items from a huge list of local restaurants. Customers can browse menus and then order directly through the app. These orders are typically delivered through independent drivers hired by the service.

Pros:

• Increased visibility. New customers may discover your restaurant for the first time by using the app.

Cons:

• More work for your staff. They’ll need to check notifications from the third party app and then manually enter the ordering information as it comes.
• Sometimes, third party apps may sell an item that’s no longer available. When this happens, you’ll need to notify the customer, which can be frustrating for them and impact your reputation.
• You don’t control the customer’s experience, including how the payment is processed and how the food is delivered. As a result, the customer may have an undesirable experience based on factors out of your control, and attribute that negativity to you.

If the order is placed through a third party website/ app with Point of Sale (POS) integration…

The final option is a blend of the above two. In this option, the third party online ordering platform integrates with your POS. This eliminates the extra step of your staff processing an incoming order manually. The two systems (your POS and the third party platform) communicate directly with each other. This results in a smoother ordering experience for both your customers and you.

Pros:

• The same as above, increased visibility on the app’s marketplace.

Cons:

• The same as above, except your system is updated in real-time which eliminates awkward phone calls when an item is unavailable.

By offering online ordering through your restaurant’s website, you can control how customers experience your service. You can run promotions and make upsells based on specific orders. Customers can take their time when ordering online without feeling rushed by the staff or a growing line. They can ponder over the different menu items to find the right one.

Offering online ordering is a money maker because it encourages customers to spend more time looking over your menu. When onsite, a customer may feel rushed to make an ordering decision. Even if your staff doesn’t intentionally push them to order, the customer may rush anyway.

But online, the customer has more time to review what you offer and think about what they want. This can lead to them purchasing even more than they would in person because they see how affordable that dessert is. And they may be especially persuaded by a pop up coupon at the end of the ordering process.

By implementing an online ordering system, you’ll improve your customer’s experience with your restaurant and increase your revenue.

If you’re thinking seriously about adding an online ordering system to your restaurant’s website, check out what we have to offer at Truffle POS.

Book your free 30 minute demo of Truffle POS in action here.