How do I spot a food counter that relies on one delivery app for orders?

Request a report that splits orders by channel and shows what each channel cost, including commissions, promotions and refunds. Compare gross sales with what actually arrived in the bank. An app can inflate sales while shrinking what the shop keeps, so the net figure matters more than the headline.

Next, see how the shop is affected by the platform’s decisions. Is the counter visible only because it pays for placement? Have the fees or terms changed lately? What happens to orders if the account is suspended or a review drops? A counter that has no other route to those customers has little control over its own sales.

Look at the customer side. Does the shop have its own phone line, ordering page or list of customers, or does everything run through the app? Ask what is in the shop’s name and who holds the logins, and ask your lawyer how to transfer them. Look also at how the app’s orders compare with the shop’s overall trade in the industry data. Ask whether the counter has ever tried pulling back from the app, and what happened to sales when it did.

Key takeaways

• Ask for orders and net sales by source, not just totals.
• Compare app sales with money received after fees.
• Check whether the shop has direct customers of its own.
• Confirm who holds the app logins and how they transfer.