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Your own ordering page or delivery platforms: what they cost and what you control

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On delivery platforms such as Glovo, Bolt Food or Wolt, the restaurant pays a commission on every order; in 2020–2023, at Glovo, Tazz and Bolt Food, owners quoted in the business press spoke of up to about 30% of a platform-delivered order, plus VAT. On your own ordering page, with ARIVA Online, the restaurant pays nothing, no subscription and no commission, and the only cost is the Service component, paid by the guest on delivery and pickup. Platforms remain useful for new guests, so the practical question is which orders you want to receive directly.

What does an order through a delivery platform cost?

The percentages are not public, so the figures come from restaurants. What owners say, in the press and on blogs:

  • The commission. Between 2020 and 2023, owners quoted in the business press spoke of commissions of up to about 30% of the value of orders delivered through the apps of the time, Glovo, Tazz or Bolt Food, with VAT added on top.
  • Your own delivery. When the restaurant delivers platform orders itself, the reported commission is lower. How much lower depends on the contract.
  • The price in the app. Between 2022 and 2024, the press, blogs and guests noticed that some restaurants charged higher prices in apps such as Glovo or Tazz than in their own venue.

A calculation in round numbers: on an order of 100 lei in products, a 30% commission means 30 lei, plus VAT, and the platform does the delivery. On your own page, with ARIVA Online, the restaurant pays no commission, but you do the delivery yourself, with its cost. The guest pays the Service, which on 100 lei in products is 8 lei.

Why it matters: in 2025, Romanian restaurants' profit margins were in single digits, according to estimates from HORA, IMM Club and the Iași Regional Hospitality Council. At margins like these, every percentage point paid per order counts.

What restaurants say about depending on platforms

Glovo, Bolt Food or Wolt bring you guests who do not know you yet. From 2020 to 2026, however, hospitality owners and associations describe the same problems with platforms in general:

  • Negotiation. Owners say they have little bargaining power with the platforms.
  • The rules of the list. Your place in the app and the promotions follow the platform's rules, not yours.
  • The guest. Guests order in the platform's app, on a screen where they also see other restaurants, and restaurants complain that the relationship with them stays with the platform.
  • The cost. The commission applies to every order, however often the same guest comes back.

This does not make platforms useless: they can bring you new guests. The gap lies elsewhere, with the guests who already look for you and would order from you directly.

The gap: your own channel for guests who already look for you

Large restaurant chains in Romania have built their own ordering and delivery platforms. With ARIVA Online, an independent restaurant has its own ordering page too, free for the restaurant, and the order comes without a platform in between. The restaurant is the seller, so it decides:

  • Menu and prices. The menu and prices come from your SELIO catalogue. Use the same menu as in the restaurant or a separate one for online orders, for example without the dishes that do not travel well.
  • Payment and fiscal documents. The restaurant collects payment for the order and issues the fiscal documents for the entire total.
  • Delivery or pickup. The restaurant prepares the order and delivers it or hands it over to the guest. You do the delivery, not ARIVA, so the area, the couriers and the delivery cost are yours.
  • What guests see before paying. The items, discounts, delivery cost, the Service, any courier tip and the total appear before the order is sent.
  • Where the order happens. Each location has its own page, not a shared list with other restaurants.

One thing your own page does not give you: a database for campaigns. The restaurant receives the order data it needs for the sale, preparation, delivery, invoicing and resolving problems with the order. Under the privacy policy, QUANTUM POS SRL and the restaurants do not use ARIVA data for marketing, commercial profiling or promotional lists.

How an online order reaches your restaurant with ARIVA Online

An order from your page reaches SELIO Delivery, where your team sees the items and extras chosen, and SELIO KDS, where the kitchen prepares it.

  • Acceptance. An order that is validated and successfully registered with the restaurant is accepted automatically, with no manual approval step. This is why opening hours and item availability need to be kept up to date.
  • Kitchen. Alongside online orders, SELIO KDS can show orders from the POS, the kiosk, QR and delivery platforms, so the kitchen sees all orders in the same system.
  • What you need. ARIVA Online works together with SELIO Delivery and SELIO KDS. ARIVA is free for the restaurant, with no subscription and no commission; for SELIO terms, write to hello@ariva.food.

How to split orders between channels

  • Keep platforms for new guests and for areas you do not deliver to yourself.
  • Invite returning guests to order directly: a link on your website, on social media, on the packaging and in the restaurant.
  • Put a menu online that you can deliver well.
  • Promise only the area and time windows you can keep, including at peak times.
  • Work out for each channel what you keep from an order after commission, promotions and the cost of delivery.

On ariva.food you can see what a restaurant's ordering page looks like and how the order reaches SELIO Delivery and the kitchen. For questions about your restaurant, write to hello@ariva.food. You create the experience. ARIVA makes ordering simple.