Moving Away From Just Eat: How Restaurants Build a Direct Ordering Channel
Can restaurants move away from Just Eat?
Yes. Thousands of restaurants across the UK and Ireland have built direct ordering channels that allow them to reduce or eliminate Just Eat commission costs. It requires a deliberate plan, the right technology, and a customer migration strategy — but the economics are compelling for any restaurant with an established customer base.
Just Eat charges restaurants commission on every order placed through its platform. Rates vary by contract and tier but typically sit between 14% and 30%. A restaurant processing £400,000 in annual delivery orders at 22% commission is sending £88,000 to Just Eat every year. That money does not disappear when you build a direct channel — most of it transfers back into your revenue.
What Just Eat charges — and what it costs beyond the percentage
The commission rate is the headline cost. The less visible cost is the customer relationship.
When someone orders through Just Eat, Just Eat owns that customer's email address, order history, and marketing relationship. Your restaurant receives the order and the revenue, but not the data. If that customer stops ordering from you — or switches to Deliveroo — you have no way to reach them.
For restaurants building a long-term business, this matters as much as the commission percentage. A direct channel captures both the margin and the customer.
What a direct ordering channel looks like
A direct ordering channel is any mechanism that allows customers to order from you without going through a third-party marketplace. In practice, this means one or more of:
Ordering website. Your own domain with an integrated menu and checkout. No app download required for first-time customers. Quick to launch and easy to link from Google and social media.
Branded mobile app. A native iOS and Android app listed under your own brand name. Higher acquisition friction upfront, but stronger retention — customers who have your app installed order more frequently and spend more per order on average.
AI phone ordering. A meaningful share of delivery orders in the UK and Ireland still come through the phone, particularly for complex orders or older customers. An AI phone agent handles these automatically without tying up staff.
QR codes. Physical codes on packaging, receipts, and in-store materials route customers to your ordering channel at the exact moment they are thinking about ordering from you.
Most restaurants begin with a website and add a branded app once the direct channel is generating consistent volume.
Why direct ordering has become accessible
Until a few years ago, building a branded website and native app with integrated payments and loyalty required a development agency, a significant budget, and months of work. Most independent restaurants could not justify that investment.
That has changed. Platforms like Flipdish online ordering package a branded website, mobile app, payment processing, loyalty tools, and AI marketing into a monthly subscription. The setup time is days, not months. The technology cost is now a fraction of what a restaurant saves in a single month of reduced commission.
Step-by-step: building your direct ordering channel
Step 1: Choose your platform
The right platform needs a branded ordering website on your own domain, a branded native mobile app (your name in the App Store, not hosted on a shared platform), integrated payment processing, menu management that syncs across all channels, customer data access — email addresses, order history, preferences — a loyalty programme with redemption built into the checkout, and marketing tools that re-engage inactive customers automatically.
Flipdish provides all of this in a single platform designed specifically for restaurants. It integrates directly with its own POS, meaning online and counter orders share one kitchen queue — a significant operational simplification over running separate systems.
When comparing providers, check whether the app is genuinely branded and whether there are per-order fees hidden beneath the monthly cost.
Step 2: Set your pricing strategy
Your direct channel can price identically to your Just Eat menu, or differently. If your Just Eat prices already include a commission uplift, the direct channel can price lower and still generate more revenue per order.
A common approach: offer a visible 10% discount for direct orders, funded entirely from the commission saving. This makes the customer value proposition obvious and accelerates migration. Even at that discount, the economics are strongly in your favour.
Step 3: Migrate your regular customers first
Regular customers are the primary target. They already intend to order from you — they are going to Just Eat out of habit, not because they prefer the platform. Changing that habit requires a clear incentive at the right moment.
What works:
- In-packaging inserts on every Just Eat delivery, with a QR code and a first-order offer for the direct channel
- A loyalty programme available only through direct ordering
- Staff mentioning the direct channel at the counter and on the phone
- Google Business Profile updated with a link to your direct ordering website
- Social media posts explaining the direct channel
Step 4: Sort out delivery logistics
If Just Eat currently provides courier fulfilment, you will need an alternative for direct orders. Your options are your own drivers, third-party courier integrations, or launching direct as collection-only initially.
Starting with collection simplifies the first phase of the transition. Collection customers tend to be motivated by cost and convenience — they are more likely to switch channels. Once direct volume is established, adding delivery is straightforward.
Step 5: Run both channels during the transition
Keep your Just Eat listing active while building direct volume. Exiting Just Eat on day one risks losing orders before your direct channel is established. Just Eat still provides discovery value for new customers. The goal is to shift loyal, repeat customers to direct — not to disappear from the marketplace overnight.
As direct volume grows, reduce your Just Eat tier or promotional spend. Many restaurants end up maintaining a Just Eat presence at lower cost for new customer acquisition while their direct channel handles existing customer retention.
The financial case
| Metric | Just Eat (22% commission) | Direct (Flipdish) |
|---|---|---|
| Average order value | £32 | £32 |
| Platform cost per order | £7.04 | ~£1.50 |
| Revenue retained per order | £24.96 | £30.50 |
| Extra revenue per order | — | +£5.54 |
| Monthly gain (500 direct orders) | — | +£2,770 |
| Annual gain | — | +£33,240 |
These numbers assume no increase in order frequency. A well-run loyalty programme typically increases visit frequency by 15–25%, adding further upside.
What to look for in a direct ordering platform
| Feature | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Branded app and website | Customers associate the experience with your brand |
| POS integration | Online and in-store orders share a single kitchen queue |
| Customer data ownership | You can market directly to your own customers |
| Loyalty programme | Incentivises the habit of ordering direct |
| AI phone ordering | Captures customers who still prefer to call |
| AI marketing tools | Automates customer reactivation without manual effort |
| Multi-location support | Handles growth without rebuilding the stack |
| Delivery integrations | Scales beyond collection as the channel matures |
Customer migration checklist
- Select a direct ordering platform
- Build and test your online menu
- Configure loyalty programme
- Decide on direct channel pricing strategy
- Launch branded website
- Launch branded app
- Create in-packaging marketing materials with QR code and first-order offer
- Update Google Business Profile with direct ordering link
- Train staff to promote direct ordering at the counter and on the phone
- Begin tracking direct vs marketplace order split weekly
- Gradually reduce Just Eat promotional spend as direct volume grows
How Flipdish helps restaurants go direct
Flipdish is used by restaurants and takeaways across the UK and Ireland to build direct ordering businesses. It provides branded websites, native mobile apps, integrated restaurant POS, loyalty tools, and AI marketing in a single platform built for restaurants.
The Flipdish AI Phone Agent automatically handles inbound phone orders, ensuring no order is lost during the channel transition. Flipdish AI Marketing identifies lapsed customers and triggers personalised reactivation campaigns by email, SMS and push notification — without manual effort.
For any restaurant currently paying significant Just Eat commission, building a direct channel is not a distant aspiration. The technology exists, the process is proven, and the returns start from the first direct order.