Direct online ordering
Direct online ordering: orders that come to you, not through someone else
A direct order is placed through your own online ordering system, paid into your account, and recorded with the customer's details in your system. Nobody takes a percentage in between. This page explains what changes when orders arrive that way, with the arithmetic shown rather than implied.
- No platform commission on orders from your site
- Customer name, number and history stay with you
- You set the menu, the prices and the hours
- Works alongside marketplaces, not instead of them
Kabir Street Kitchen
North Indian · Indiranagar
Deliver to · 12 MG Road, Indiranagar
Chef's specials
View all
Mains Butter chicken
₹320
Thalis Biryani thali
₹340
- Add
Butter chicken thali
With rice, two rotis and raita
₹320
- Add
Paneer tikka wrap
Mint chutney, pickled onion
₹190
- Add
Masala chai
Served hot, 250 ml
₹40
Illustrative view.
A direct order and a marketplace order, line by line
Both get food to a customer. Almost everything else about them is different.
| Direct order on your site | Marketplace order | |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds the customer's details | You. Name, number, address and past orders are on the order in your account. | The marketplace. You typically see a first name and an order ID. |
| What it costs per order | Payment gateway fee on the online payment, plus your delivery cost if it is a delivery order. No commission from Tuckly. | A percentage commission set by the marketplace and your contract, plus whatever is deducted for promotions or delivery. |
| Where the customer came from | Your Google listing, social profiles, QR codes, packaging and word of mouth. | The marketplace's search and promotions. New customers, mostly. |
| Who controls menu and prices | You, instantly, in the menu builder. | You, within the marketplace's rules and sometimes its review process. |
| Who handles a complaint or refund | You, directly with the customer. | The marketplace, often without asking you. |
| What happens when hours change | You change them once. | You change them in each marketplace's dashboard, and sometimes wait. |
Marketplace terms vary by country and contract, and published rates change. Check your own agreement; the comparison with delivery apps goes into dated figures.
Worked example
What moving a share of orders direct is worth
Take a restaurant doing 400 marketplace orders a month at an average order value of ₹450, paying a 22% commission (pick your own rate from your statement; this one is only an example).
- Marketplace order revenue: 400 × ₹450 = ₹1,80,000 a month
- Commission at 22%: ₹39,600 a month, or ₹4,75,200 a year
Now suppose 30% of those orders (120 a month) move to the restaurant's own site over time, because regulars are pointed at the direct link. Nothing is assumed about new customers.
- Direct revenue: 120 × ₹450 = ₹54,000 a month
- Payment gateway fee at an example 2%: ₹1,080 a month
- Commission no longer paid on those orders: 22% × ₹54,000 = ₹11,880 a month
- Difference before delivery costs and subscription: about ₹10,800 a month, or about ₹1,29,600 a year
Two things change the result. If those 120 orders are deliveries, a rider still has to carry them: Porter's trip fee where you use Porter, or your own rider's cost, is a real expense that marketplace commission previously covered. If they are pickup orders, there is no delivery cost at all. And the Tuckly plan is a fixed cost that sits against the whole difference; the pricing page covers it. The commission calculator lets you run this with your own numbers.
Figures are illustrative and chosen to show the arithmetic, not to predict your results.
How restaurants actually move regulars across
Nobody switches channels because a restaurant asks them to once. These are the placements that do the work, in roughly the order they pay off.
- 1
Put the direct link where people already look you up
The website field on your Google Business Profile, the link in your Instagram bio, and your WhatsApp business profile. Someone searching your name should land on your ordering page, not on a marketplace listing of it.
- 2
Answer every order enquiry with the link
Customers who message to ask what is available today are your best candidates. A saved reply with the ordering link turns that chat into a paid order with notes and an address, and trains the regular to go to the page next time.
- 3
Put a QR code on everything that leaves the kitchen
A sticker on the bag, a card in the box, the receipt itself. Someone who has just eaten your food and liked it is the most likely person to order direct next week. Make the code with the QR code generator and test it before printing. If you insert cards into marketplace orders, check your marketplace agreement first; some restrict it.
- 4
Give direct customers a reason that costs you less than commission
A slightly larger portion, a free side on the direct menu, or simply a lower price than the marketplace listing where your agreement allows it. A direct-only item is a menu decision, not a feature, and it is cheaper than the commission you would otherwise pay on that order.
- 5
Keep the experience better than the alternative
Realistic ready times, orders accepted quickly, and a page that loads fast on a weak signal. Regulars come back to the direct link because it worked, not because you asked them to.
The customer's details stay on the order
Every direct order carries the customer's name, number, address, items and notes, in your account. That is the information a marketplace keeps to itself, and it is the difference between a list of order IDs and a list of people you can tell about the new tandoor menu.
- Returning customers see their saved address and details, which is most of why people reorder from a site they have used
- Complaints and refunds are handled between you and the customer, not through a support queue you cannot see
- Order notes reach the kitchen ticket as typed
- Marketing to that list (email, SMS, offers) is something to ask us about, not something to assume is built in
Orders · Today
Accepting ordersNew 2
Delivery
Porter rider requested
₹640
Pickup
Ready by 13:15
₹230
Preparing 2
Dine-in · Table 6
Scanned QR 12:48
₹890
Delivery
Own rider · Ravi
₹420
On the way 1
Delivery
Picked up 12:40
₹1,120
What “direct” changes in the day-to-day
The commission line gets the attention, but the operational differences are what you will notice first. These are the ones worth planning for.
The order arrives with everything on it
A direct order shows the items, options, notes, order type, timing and the customer’s contact details, in your account. Nothing has to be transcribed from a tablet or a chat. When the customer writes “ring the bell twice, dog is friendly”, the rider reads it as written.
You set the ready time, and you have to keep it
On a marketplace, the platform estimates the time. On a direct order you accept with a preparation time, and the customer plans around it. This is better for the customer when the estimate is honest and worse when it is optimistic. A good habit is to set the Friday-night time on Friday night rather than reusing Tuesday’s.
Refunds and complaints come to you
If something goes wrong on a direct order, the customer contacts the restaurant, and the restaurant decides how to put it right. That is more work than a marketplace quietly refunding on your behalf, and it is also how regulars get made. A replacement sent out quickly, with a note, is remembered.
The payment gateway becomes part of your setup
You will have a gateway account, a fee per transaction, a payout schedule and a dashboard for refunds. It is worth knowing all four before launch. Gateway fees are published by each provider and vary by country and payment method; the market pages note the common considerations for each country.
Delivery is a decision, not a default
A marketplace sends a rider whether you want one or not. On a direct order you choose per order: a Porter rider where the service runs, one of your own staff, or pickup. The self-delivery page covers running your own riders; the delivery partner integration page covers what connecting a third-party fleet does and does not do today.
Your list of customers grows
Every direct order adds a name and a number to a list you own. What you do with that list is up to you, and the tools for contacting it in bulk are something to ask about rather than assume. Even without any of that, a customer who has saved their address on your page is more likely to use it again than to search a marketplace.
Marketplaces keep their role
None of this requires leaving a marketplace. It changes which orders go where. Discovery stays with the marketplace for as long as it brings you new customers at a cost you accept; repeat orders move to the channel that costs you less and tells you who the customer is. The guide to increasing direct orders is the practical version of that plan.
Questions about direct online ordering
Is a direct order really commission-free?
Tuckly charges no commission on orders placed through your ordering page. The order still has costs: your payment gateway's fee on the online payment, your delivery cost if it is delivered, applicable taxes, and the Tuckly plan. The pricing page lists each one so there is no surprise on a statement.
Where does the money go?
Online payments go through the payment gateway connected to your account and are paid out to your bank on the gateway's schedule, less its fee. Tuckly is not in the money flow.
Can I charge a lower price on my own site than on the marketplace?
That depends on your marketplace agreement; some include pricing parity clauses. Read yours. Where it is allowed, pricing direct orders lower, or adding a direct-only portion or side, is a common way to move regulars.
What about delivery? Marketplaces bring their own riders.
They do, and that is part of what the commission pays for. On a direct order you choose: request a Porter rider where Porter operates, assign your own rider, or offer pickup. Each option is explained on the delivery management page, including which parts of the Porter workflow are still being validated.
Do marketplace orders show up in Tuckly?
Not at present. The integrations directory lists each marketplace and POS with a plain status. Many restaurants run the marketplace tablet and the Tuckly order screen side by side.
How long does it take for regulars to switch?
Weeks rather than days, and it depends on how consistently the link is used in replies, on packaging and on your listings. Restaurants that treat it as a habit for staff, not a one-off announcement, see the shift. Nobody can give you a percentage in advance, and we will not.
Start taking the orders that should have been yours anyway
Set up your menu and payment, then put the direct link where your regulars already look for you.
Gateway fees, delivery and taxes are separate. Pricing
Last reviewed 29 October 2026.