How should vegan restaurants cut delivery-app commission without disappearing from vegan near me?
Quick answer
Keep the marketplace storefront live so you stay findable in-app. Point Google vegan near me at an honest Google Business Profile with a first-party order or pickup link. Run a 30-day first-party ladder: owned ordering, pickup SKUs, bag QR, opted-in SMS. Pause in-app ads and percent-off boosts. Open your invoices. Public merchant cards commonly list delivery commission in a 15 to 30% plan band. Do not invent a savings percentage. Do not delist this week. Product SMS lives in SMS marketing. Map citations live in vegan restaurant AI citations.
Vs other guides
| Guide | Job |
|---|---|
| SMS marketing | TCPA and Klaviyo for eco DTC. Not restaurant first-party ordering. |
| Weekday covers | School-night dine-in bundle. That test skips marketplace. This page is the mix. |
| Vegan restaurant AI citations | ChatGPT and Maps for vegan near me. Not commission math. |
| Direct booking vs OTA | Hotels and retreats. Not takeout apps. |
| This guide | 30-day first-party ladder, contribution vs invoice commission, keep the listing, no 20% off |
Two vegan-near-me jobs
Google vegan near me is Maps: GBP, hours, reviews, honest menu URL. Pause GBP and you disappear from Google even if the app is live. In-app vegan browse is the storefront. Delist and you vanish there. Keep the store open. Cut paid boosts. Move repeats onto a URL you own. Assistant citations are a third job in AI citations.
Steal this contribution worksheet
Numbers below are a worked example. Replace every cell from POS and the marketplace invoice. Do not publish a savings percentage. Do not copy 25% as a vegan restaurant rate.
| Line | Formula | Worked example | Your cell |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average marketplace ticket | POS, last 4 weeks, app orders only | $28 | [avg_delivery_ticket] |
| Food cost % | House recipe, including packaging | 30% | [food_cost_pct] |
| Marketplace commission % | Invoice line, not the sales deck | 25% example | [marketplace_commission_pct] |
| Marketplace contribution | ticket × (1 − food% − commission%) | $12.60 | [mkt_contrib] |
| First-party payment fee | Processor, often about 2.5 to 3.5% | 3% | [pay_pct] |
| First-party pickup contribution | ticket × (1 − food% − pay%) | $18.76 | [fp_contrib] |
| Delivery mix | Marketplace orders ÷ all off-premise | Fill from POS | [delivery_mix_pct] |
| Owned ordering live? | Toast, Square, own site, or GBP food orders | Yes or no | [owned_ordering] |
Public merchant cards commonly list delivery commission in a 15 to 30% plan band. Pickup is usually a lower fee. A 2023 FTC marketplace report put the US independent median effective take around 26%. That is a public composite. Your invoice wins. If the recipe already misses the house food-cost cap, do not add a percent-off boost.
30-day first-party ladder
Repeat this 30-day mix whenever marketplace share eats contribution. Not a campaign month.
| Window | Job | Kill |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 7 (stand up) | Export invoices and mix. Stand up a first-party order URL even if it is ugly. Name pickup SKUs that travel. Put menu URL and order or pickup link on GBP. Brief FOH on the QR. | Delist. Sitewide 20% off. A new second app. |
| Days 8 to 14 (thin paid) | Pause sponsored listings and in-app percent boosts. Keep the storefront open. Receipt and bag QR to first-party. One GBP Post: pickup hours, order link, real plate. | Pause the store. Pause GBP. A marketplace promo on the pickup SKU. |
| Days 15 to 21 (repeats) | SMS or WhatsApp only to guests who opted in. Loyalty stamp on the first-party SKU. Pickup hours true on GBP and the door. | Text every checkout phone. A daily blast. |
| Days 22 to 30 (score) | Compare mix and contribution to the prior 30 days. Thin a vanity second app. Keep the primary listing. Kill leftover marketplace promo SKUs. | A claimed mix-shift percentage. Ghosting every app the same day. |
Keep the listing. Move the repeat.
| Surface | Keep live | Change this month |
|---|---|---|
| Primary marketplace | Store on. Hours, menu, vegan vs vegetarian match the ticket. | Pause ads and boosts. Do not run a commission-funded percent. |
| Second marketplace | Only if POS shows real volume, not vanity. | Pause or close if it is a second tax with no discovery. |
| Google Business Profile | Hours, photos, posts, review replies. | Order or pickup link to first-party. Menu URL matches the card. See Google listing. |
| Vegan listing sites | NAP and diet label match GBP. | Website field points at your order URL, not only the app. A paid boost does not replace first-party checkout. |
Do not mark a vegetarian dish vegan to win the filter. See menu claims and seasonal GBP refresh.
Offer fence (not 20% off)
| Move | Allow | Kill |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup SKU | Named items that travel, recipe costed, first-party only | Whole-card percent. Marketplace exclusive on the same SKU |
| Fee swap | Skip a bag fee you control on first-party pickup | Free delivery on the app (you pay commission and the dash) |
| Loyalty | Stamp on the first-party order only | A member percent stacked on the marketplace check |
| SMS / WhatsApp | Opted-in, pickup window, one link | Checkout-phone blast. Eco takeout copy with no dish |
Price pickup from [food_cost_pct] including the box. If the recipe misses the house cap, do not launch.
Go / no-go
| Call | When |
|---|---|
| No-go | Delist this week, no first-party URL, 20% off to buy the shift, invent a mix-shift or savings percentage, pause GBP |
| Go | Invoice worksheet filled, first-party live, GBP order or pickup link, primary store stays on, ads paused, 30-day mix and contribution scored against the prior 30 days |
| Partial go | Pickup-only if you cannot staff own delivery. Still no delist. Still no percent-off. |
Rent discovery. Own the repeat.
The app is a directory you pay per ticket. Google is a directory you maintain. Neither is a reason to discount the card.
Template fields and 7-day run
| Field | Fill with | Do not invent |
|---|---|---|
[delivery_mix_pct] | Marketplace share of off-premise, last 30 days | A 50% exit target with no POS |
[avg_delivery_ticket] | App-only average check | Dine-in ticket dressed up as delivery |
[marketplace_commission_pct] | Invoice effective rate | 15% because that is the intro tier |
[owned_ordering] | Yes once a guest can pay you without the app | A PDF menu as checkout |
- Day 1: Export last 30 days of marketplace vs first-party vs dine-in. Fill
[delivery_mix_pct],[avg_delivery_ticket],[marketplace_commission_pct]. - Day 2: Turn on or fix first-party checkout. Fill
[owned_ordering]. If it is no, stop thinning ads. - Day 3: Cost pickup SKUs with packaging. If food cost misses the house cap, cut the recipe. Do not add 20% off.
- Day 4: GBP: hours, menu URL, order or pickup link,
[pickup_hours]. One Post. No percent in the caption. - Day 5: Pause in-app ads and boosts. Leave the store on. Print bag and receipt QR.
- Day 6: SMS or WhatsApp only to opted-in guests. Script: pickup window, link, no eco takeout claim.
- Day 7: First packed pickup. Ticket time. Kill the SKU if the pass cannot hold it. Set the day-30 score date. No-go if you still have no URL or you already delisted.
SMS consent is express and separate from the checkout phone. See SMS marketing.
Frequently asked questions
How should vegan restaurants cut delivery-app commission without disappearing from vegan near me?
Keep the marketplace storefront live. Point Google vegan near me at honest GBP with a first-party order or pickup link. Run a 30-day ladder: owned ordering, pickup SKUs, pause in-app ads, opted-in SMS. Score contribution from invoices. Do not delist this week. Do not invent a savings percentage.
Will we disappear from vegan near me if we leave DoorDash?
You disappear from that app's vegan browse. Google vegan near me is GBP and Maps. Assistants follow GBP, schema, and listing-site facts. Do not confuse the three. Keep the primary app on until first-party volume is real.
What commission percent should a vegan restaurant use in the sheet?
The effective rate on your last invoice. Public cards often sit in a 15 to 30% delivery band by plan. Pickup is usually lower. Do not use 15% because it is the intro tier, and do not use 25% as a vegan benchmark.
Can we run 20% off on our own site to pull people off the app?
Skip it. A percent can wipe the commission gap. Fence a pickup SKU costed to your food-cost cap, with a bag QR and a kill date on any add-on.
Is this the same as hotel OTA versus direct?
Same idea, different object. Hotels have rate parity and room engines. Restaurants have takeout apps, pickup packaging, and Maps. Use the hotel guide for rooms. Use this sheet for tickets.