The Top 7 Best Online Ordering Systems For Restaurants

With the growing demand for convenience, buying or selling products over the Internet has become a thing! Customers expect to get their craved foods and drinks from their fave eating houses without leaving their homes or offices. This has urged many food businesses to come up with online ordering systems for their restaurants in the USA. 

What is a Restaurant Online Ordering System

Also known as virtual or contactless table ordering, an online ordering system for restaurants is software for both customers and restaurant owners that lets customers browse an online restaurant menu, place an order, and track it easily via their phones and enables restaurateurs or other food-related business owners to receive and complete those orders, saving time and money for everyone. Furthermore, it allows customers to access information about their order status and the eatery's contact information.

An online ordering system can often be integrated with the POS system of a restaurant, making it trouble-free for customers to order food. It will take orders, route them to the kitchen, and notify the front-of-house team when their customer or rider is coming to pick up the order.

What is a POS System for Restaurants

POS stands for point of sale. It refers to the time and place at which a sales transaction takes place. A restaurant POS system is built explicitly for restaurant businesses as it streamlines the ordering process, making it extremely quick and efficient. It provides stock availability, sales reports, and sales comparisons across all outlets, leading to improved management.

A restaurant POS system comprises restaurant POS software and restaurant POS hardware, which refers to a tablet or handheld device. They work together to give customers control to place their digital orders, send the order information to the kitchen, and manage sales transactions such as receipt printing, credit card processing, etc.

Restaurants are seeing the advantages of implementing an online food ordering system not just because it reduces the chances of error but also because it speeds up the entire process. Fortunately, Toast, Upserve, TouchBistro, and Square for Restaurants are some of the excellent restaurant POS systems that let customers place an order online and help restaurateurs manage those orders without any hassle.

 How Online Ordering for Restaurants Works

To know how an online ordering system for restaurants works, have a look at the steps below:

1. No matter where your customers are, whether at home, in the office, or at any other location, they can view your eatery's menu and prices using your online ordering system on their digital devices like mobiles or laptops.

(To learn helpful tips on how you can use your menu effectively, give the blog on small restaurant menu ideas a read.)

2. Once your customers have browsed the menu, they can add their desired foods or beverages to the cart and may also specify meal instructions via your online ordering system, like how much cheese to add or even personalize a cake, etc.
3. Then, they can make a secure transaction using one of the several payment methods, such as credit/debit cards, digital wallets, and net banking. Alternatively, they can also pay in cash when they receive their order.
4. Next, customers can pick a location where they would like to get their order and pay for it (if they opted for cash on delivery). Also, they may request the food to be delivered within 30 minutes or when it is hot.
5. Finally, a delivery driver using the in-app navigation and map sees the directions to your location and delivers your order at your requested time. 

Benefits of Restaurant Ordering System

There are ample benefits to using an online ordering system for restaurants. Besides making the ordering process easy-breezy for both restaurant owners and their customers, it helps you keep customers, receive larger orders, and so forth. Some of its major benefits are mentioned below:

1. Gain More Customers

You might only be able to seat up to 200 at a time, but online ordering allows you to serve thousands at a time. Besides, there's no need for additional personnel or infrastructure in your restaurant with the help of an robust online ordering platform.

2. Boost Sales Effortlessly

When customers order online, they tend to spend more money than when they dine in your restaurant. Besides, when ordering online, they feel less rushed, so chances are that they will place larger orders. Also, you can sell more upsells or cross-sells online because your customers have more time to browse through your menu.

3. Control Everything Easily

Online ordering gives you the power to control your orders, customers, and every other thing - That's the best part of having it! It even lets you simplify the ordering process as you wish. According to research, if the ordering process is simple, customers are more likely to place an order.

4. Receive No Fake Orders

There are times when restaurants receive numerous phone calls from customers placing food orders, but then they don't hear back when it's time to deliver.  It wastes a lot of time along with the food, creating a severe issue for restaurants taking online orders. However, having an online food ordering system can completely alter this scenario as customers provide their information (even their address) before they place an order. It is, therefore, impossible to disappear after placing an order.

5. Reduce Staff Workload

If you want to minimize the workload of your restaurant staff, an online food ordering system will help you with that. It will control everything, from taking orders from customers to delivering them, so that your restaurant staff doesn't need to converse with customers on calls and save time on more complex tasks.

6. Make Error-Free Orders

In some cases, when customers place large orders, restaurant staff may overlook some items or have much confusion due to miscommunication over the phone. In contrast, when ordering online, there's no room for error as the order details are saved automatically in the online ordering system. It enables kitchen staff to prepare food as per the order details, delivering multiple error-free large orders daily. Besides, only the customers are responsible for what order they place.

7. Save Costs & Keep Customers

Since an online ordering system automates several processes, it eliminates the need to hire staff to manage your accounts or take orders, helping you save a substantial amount of money. In addition, it also helps you keep your customers. Here's how. When your staff is on the phone with a customer and at the same time another customer also calls you to place an order but finds the number busy, he may decide to switch to another restaurant, thus losing you a customer. However, you can avoid this with an ordering system.

List of Top 7 Online Ordering Systems

The following online ordering systems for restaurants are the best to get started with!

1. GloriaFood

The affordable food ordering solution, GloriaFood, is ideal for small, medium, and budget-conscious restaurants. It is a user-friendly system that sets up quickly, streamlines the ordering process, and lets eateries take limitless orders at zero costs. With its ‘See MENU & Order’ feature, customers can make reservations before they visit. They can place orders directly via the eatery’s site, app, or Facebook page.

GloriaFood offers ample free tools like POS integration, end-of-day reports, and invitations to customers. It also provides order history data, customer heat maps, and real-time order tracking, helping restaurateurs customize discounts or vouchers. Plus, it has a WordPress Plugin so that you can add an online ordering and table reservation feature to your WordPress website. Most importantly, it integrates with PayPal, Stripe, and other payment gateways, ensuring secure online payments.

Pricing & Commission: GloriaFood features zero commission and no hidden costs. It offers a free service plan which includes essential features. While their optional paid services include online payments, promotions, branded mobile apps, and sales optimized websites.

2. Bookmyorder

This online food ordering system for restaurants is great for startups and comes with a bunch of essential features that help you run your food business with ease. It provides a rich restaurant panel, real-time order processing, and multiple location and branch support. It also offers delivery, takeaway, and dine-in support, and a rider app too. What's more, you can receive orders from Facebook and Instagram by linking these social media platforms with your ordering system's chatbot feature.

Being the best restaurant website builder, Bookmyorder builds you a responsive website or app with a restaurant panel that lets you manage orders and customize menus. It also enables you to view customer data analytics, track restaurant performance, and generate sales reports. This ordering system allows your customers to pay via PayPal and Stripe payment methods that are super-fast, secure, and easy to use.

Pricing & Commission: The system’s monthly subscription fee is $9 per month. On top of that, it is 100% commission-free with no hidden costs so that you will own all your profits.

3. Upserve

Another renowned restaurant management platform, Upserve, is an excellent pick for restaurants with a limited budget, including bars, breweries, bakeries, and coffee shops. Upserve’s online ordering system integrates effortlessly with its POS system, mobile app, and payment service. It offers inventory tracking, real-time order management, and customer data analytics so you can track the performance of your restaurant.

Being convenient and user-friendly, Upserve makes it easy for customers to place an order and helps drive customer engagement and loyalty via marketing tools. It provides expeditious round-the-clock customer support and marketing tools, increasing retention rates, earning loyal clients, and enhancing the restaurant’s brand image. In addition, it features delivery tracking, menu management, and advanced analytics that give helpful insights into client behavior to make better decisions. Besides, to ensure secure payment processing, Upserve integrates with First Data, Worldpay, and Chase Paymentech payment gateways.

Pricing & Commission: The pricing starts at $69 monthly with a 2.6% + 10¢ credit card processing fee per transaction.

4. ChowNow

The innovative tool ChowNow is designed for restaurateurs who want customers to order from their restaurant’s website, mobile app, social media page on Facebook or Instagram, or Google search to reach new customers. This powerful third-party food ordering app for restaurants integrates with the POS system and features a user-friendly interface that improves the ordering experience. It also offers food delivery services to customers by partnering with Uber and Postmates.

Using valuable customer data and marketing tools, restaurateurs can create custom promotions, email campaigns, and push notifications to engage customers and drive sales. Further, they can safely accept credit cards with ChowNow thanks to its integration with Square and Stripe payment gateways.

Pricing & Commission: The monthly subscription fee for ChowNow starts from $149. While this may seem a bit pricey, the platform also offers curbside pickup and in-restaurant pickup configurations. Additionally, ChowNow is 100% commission-free with no hidden fee, helping you save up to 30% in commissions.  

5. MenuDrive

For restaurant owners who want to build an online ordering customer experience via a staunch website, MenuDrive is a perfect platform! It makes it easy for restaurateurs to transform their menus into actual engaging websites where users can customize what they order. Also, it lets you personalize the design to suit your brand.

On top of that, you can update your menu, store hours, and promotional features from any internet-connected device anytime, anywhere. Even you can build a dedicated customer base using integrated marketing services and automated email campaigns. With this platform, it is possible to receive larger orders as it focuses on features that help you engage customers, such as personalized coupons and rewards. 

Pricing & Commission: The pricing for MenuDrive’s services is $149 per month, including a one-time setup fee. It also charges a 3% + 20¢ credit card processing fee per transaction.

6. UpMenu

One more popular option is UpMenu, which features online payment processing, POS integration, and automated printing of kitchen tickets, making the ordering process smooth. It helps restaurants control inventory, manage customer data, and customize online menus. Additionally, UpMenu escalates in-store and online orders by letting businesses create customer loyalty programs and custom marketing strategies and promotions that they can send via SMS, email, and push notifications.

The secure and easy-to-use system provides insights into customer behavior so you can modify promotions or discounts. It gives real-time updates so customers know the arrival time of their food. Besides, it sends orders straight to the kitchen, eliminating errors that occur due to manual processing. Furthermore, UpMenu offers an API (application programming interface) that allows integration of the system with a variety of third-party POS systems as well as delivery services, promoting business with little effort.

Pricing & Commission: Their pricing starts at $49 monthly after a 7-day short trial. Further, it features 0% commission and no hidden costs.

7. Restolabs

Restolabs is a food ordering system that caters to the needs of small and medium-sized restaurants. It has a fairly basic yet easy-to-use interface that lets restaurateurs customize menus, accept orders, and manage deliveries. So, in a short span of time, you will be getting orders.

The platform features real-time analytics and order tracking, Facebook ordering, as well as POS system integration. Its Facebook ordering feature allows customers to browse the restaurant menu and use the system’s widget to order via social media pages directly. Apart from that, its AI-powered chatbot helps customers with order placing, question answering, and personalizing experiences. Moreover, this online ordering platform for restaurants supports payment gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, and Square for secure online transactions.

Pricing & Commission: You can try Restolabs for free for 14 days. After that, you can buy any plan that suits your needs. The basic plan starts at $69 per month with no commissions.

Build Your Own Online Ordering System

If you are a restaurateur or a food-related business owner, you can count on Bookmyorder's restaurant management system. We help you scale up your business and transform the way your eating house works. Or seek a reliable software development company in the USA that will build a solution tailored to your business needs.

 Closing Thoughts

From the mentioned best online ordering systems for restaurants in the USA, pick the one that would best fit your needs and START growing your restaurant business online!

FAQs:

1. What are the examples of online food ordering system?

In addition to the above, Toast, Square, DoorDash, Uber Eats, OpenTable, and Grubhub are some of the best examples of online ordering systems for restaurants.

2. What is an online restaurant ordering system?

An online restaurant ordering system is a platform that features two components: a website or an app and an admin interface. The website or app allows customers to view an eatery menu and place orders, while the admin interface helps restaurateurs to accept and fulfill those orders.

3. How do I set up an online food ordering system?

Online food ordering systems have varying setup processes. However, the main steps include signing up on an online ordering platform for restaurants, designing an inviting menu with pricing, setting up delivery zones, adding your restaurant info, contact, and working hours, and setting up online payments.