How do I check a bakery’s online and delivery-app orders before buying?

Online orders can make a bakery feel busier than the counter suggests, but they are also the part of the business that is easiest to lose in a handover. Ask whose name the accounts are in, what fees apply to each sale, and what happens to the reviews. A careful buyer looks at the channel on its own before relying on it.

Who owns the website and the pre-order system

Ask who registered the domain, who hosts the site, and which person set up the ordering tool or card processor. If the owner’s personal email or a former web designer holds the login, fix that before closing. Ask what happens to the customer list, and whether the seller may keep contacting those customers, which your lawyer can address in the sale agreement.

Delivery-app accounts and their fees

Check each delivery app’s terms to see whether the account can change hands and whether approval is needed. Ask for the app statements, not only the sales totals. They show commissions, promotions the bakery paid for, refunds and adjustments. Work out what stays with the bakery after those costs, and whether the same customers would have bought at the counter anyway.

Reviews, ratings and how the channel is run

• Ask whether ratings and reviews stay with the listing after the sale.
• Ask who packs online orders and whether this strains the kitchen at peak hours.
• Ask how often orders go wrong, and how the seller handles refunds.

Compare these answers with the wider picture of what makes one bakery more profitable than another. A channel that carries a large share of revenue deserves a longer look than one that adds a little on the side.