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Ordering food online has become more and more common first with the age of technology and then further with a global pandemic forcing everyone to stay at home.
Therefore, having a means for your customers to order the food they want online is a critical element to the success of your business.
There are different ways you can manage to achieve online ordering, with the most simple and beneficial being to invest in online ordering systems for restaurants.
In fact, consider these statistics that reiterate the need for online ordering:
- There will be approximately 53.9 million people using smartphone apps for food delivery by the year 2023.
- Around 46% of 18- to 34-year-olds choose to use a smartphone to order food.
- Online ordering is on average 23% higher than in-person orders.
- 51% of consumers have downloaded at least one new food purchasing app since the global COVID-19 pandemic hit.
With such growth in the need for online ordering and the sector as a whole, there is also a boom in available online ordering systems for restaurants to choose from which can often be quite confusing.
That is why we have put together this list of the best online ordering systems for restaurants to help simplify that choice.
So, let’s get right to it!
What is an Online Ordering System for Restaurants?
Before we get into our top picks for the best online ordering systems that you should consider, you first need to understand what these types of systems are, and furthermore, what they can offer you.
Let’s first consider what an online ordering system for a restaurant is:
An online ordering system acts as an online storefront for a restaurant and allows your restaurant to receive customer orders from your website or an external third-party site.
Such systems allow your customers to see and browse your menu and can be used for both delivery and pick-up orders. They provide great benefits to both your business and your customers.
Such systems not only allow you to display your menu to customers and receive pick-up and delivery orders you can also run promotions and increase sales.
Let’s look into the benefits that such systems can offer your business.
What are the Benefits of Online Ordering Systems for Restaurants?
There are multiple benefits for both customers and restaurant owners that can be gained from online ordering systems.
Here are just a few of those said benefits:
- Offers a convenient way for diners to order that is both faster and easier
- Online ordering gives you another platform for sales which will increase your volume of orders due to it offering a greater audience
- You gain a range of tools to help increase your website’s traffic and also gain from great marketing opportunities
- With most such online ordering systems you avoid having to pay commissions which you would have to otherwise if you were to use a third-party food ordering platform
- You gain access to an efficient customer and order management system
- You gain vital information and analytics on your customers to be able to better improve customer experience
These were just a few of the benefits of investing in such an online ordering system. Now let’s look at the online ordering systems for restaurants that are available for you to choose from.
The Best Online Ordering Systems for Restaurants to Choose From
#1 Blink also known as BlinkCo
Blink or BlinkCo is an online ordering solution that provides mobile apps for both Android and iOS devices as well as web interfaces for your restaurant’s online ordering needs.
Blink allows you to create a system for your restaurant that benefits both you and your customers making online ordering both easy and beneficial for all involved.
The platform is offered on a Software-as-a-Service basis where you gain backend access to a white-labeled pre-designed and branded template for your website and mobile application.
Blink stands out with its easy-to-manage, multi-branch, location-based ordering capabilities. You also get integrated payment gateways and real-time inventory and ordering management just to name a few of the stand-out features.
Considering Blink’s complete delivery management system with the ability to track fleets and dispatch management it had to take the top spot on our list.
#2 GloriaFood
Up next on our list is GloriaFood. This online ordering system allows your business to accept orders from customers for both delivery and pick-up. These orders come straight to your Facebook page or website.
Apart from online ordering from your website or Facebook page the system also enables you to receive orders from mobile devices and comes equipped with a table reservation widget.
It should be noted that in order to get some great features from the service such as the ability to accept credit card payment you will have to invest in GloriaFood’s premium paid plan.
#3 JotForm
JotForm is a little unique from the other picks on our list but is still a great option to consider especially if you are just starting out with your online ordering endeavor.
An alternative to an online ordering tool, JotForm is an online form-building software. With JotForm you can manage custom forms and collect orders.
These forms are easy to manage and set up and can be used to receive orders for delivery and pick-up.
The tool also comes equipped with 30 payment gateways. Although much like GloriaFood it should be noted that in order to get some advanced features you will have to invest in one of the paid plans offered by JotForm.
#4 CAKE Point of Sale
At fourth place on our list is CAKE by Sysco. CAKE is a full-service point of sale and management system that also includes online ordering.
CAKE’s cloud-based system lets you accept and manage online orders from your customers while also simultaneously managing in-person orders all within the same platform.
It should be noted that due to the service’s pricing method, that is that it includes a transaction fee it may become quite pricy the more money your restaurant starts making. Thus, making this option better suited for startups or other smaller restaurants.
#5 iMenu360
iMenu360 is another online ordering platform. With this platform, you can create an interactive custom menu for your customers to put on your website.
iMenu360 offers their facilities by letting you integrate with your existing website thus enhancing your customer’s experience without compromising your brand.
The fees may seem fairly extensive with a one-time fee, plus a monthly subscription and a small percentage of your monthly sales. However, with integrations with various point-of-sale systems, it may be worth it for your restaurant.
#6 NetWaiter
If you are looking for an online restaurant marketing system with online ordering facilities NetWaiter could be for you.
NetWaiter made it onto our list of online ordering systems for restaurants because of its ability to help you create a custom mobile app as well as an ordering widget on your website.
#7 Toast Point of Sale
Toast Point of Sale system offers a range of features for your restaurant including an integrated online ordering system making it our next pick.
The system is aimed at allowing your restaurant to manage its operations from a centralized system to streamline your work.
Therefore, the system includes the ability to generate, accept, and sell gift cards. You also have the option of restaurant inventory management within the system.
This system may be considered best suited for you if you already use Toast POS.
#8 MenuDrive
MenuDrive is a great online ordering system to consider if you are looking to create a branded ordering experience for your customers on your restaurant’s own website.
MenuDrive is also a great tool if you are starting out with online ordering and are confused as to how to begin. All you are required to do is send relevant information including your menu, and photos, and other branding materials to MenuDrive who will create the interactive menu for you.
What’s more, is that MenuDrive offers a few payment platforms you can choose and connect to your point-of-sale system or email to help manage your orders.
#9 Upserve
Upserve is next and is a full-service restaurant management system. Upserve offers a complete package with its online ordering system working with its Point-of-sale system, mobile app, and payments service to give you everything you need to manage your online presence.
This system is great not just for restaurants but also works well for coffee shops, bakeries, bars, wineries, and more.
#10 Restolabs
Restolabs provides an online ordering system for restaurants and offers a load of features including real-time analytics, multilingual support, as well as Facebook ordering.
Retrolabs is a great option for those that are less tech-savvy with its simple user interface. All you need to do is enter your menu and then paste a widget right onto your restaurant’s website to get it running.
It should be noted, however, that delivery management tools are only available at higher membership tiers and thus may end up costing your business quite a bit.
How we Curated Our List of Top Online Ordering Systems for Restaurants
It is important to understand what you should be on the lookout for when choosing such an online ordering system.
Here are the criteria we kept in consideration when creating this list of our top picks.
- General Features
The general features accounted for 25% of our overall consideration. Such online ordering systems have a basic function of receiving orders online and communicating these to your restaurant.
You also want to ensure that such a system allows you to market your own brand and have control over the image you portray. Therefore, we considered systems that provide the ability to support custom branded websites.
- Niche Online Ordering Features
Niche online ordering features accounted for 30% of our overall consideration. We considered what each system offers in terms of additional features that can provide further utility to your online ordering platform.
Some of the specific features we were keen to see were things such as in-house driver management. We also looked for the ability to support in-person payments, in-house order pickup, and curbside pick-up options.
- Ease of Use
When investing in any type of system or software you want something that will be easy to use for yourself and any team members you work with. That is why ease of use of the system was our next consideration and accounted for 30% of our scoring system.
You want to consider the ability to integrate with popular point of sale systems or be offered the ability to build your own such connections.
You also want to invest in an online ordering system that can handle a lot of orders or busier times since that is the ultimate goal of implementing online ordering.
Having a tool that provides customer support and guided installation was a plus and is beneficial to smooth out the initial process of implementing online ordering.
- Access to Customer Data
While you may feel that this consideration could easily fall within the niche online ordering category of our list, we had to give it its own consideration. In fact, access to customer data accounted for 15% of our overall consideration.
Customer data is a great way to improve customer experience and create marketing strategies that can target the right audience.
One of the main reasons to invest in an online ordering system that works with your own website rather than relying on aggregating sites is the benefit you can gain from such data.
Conclusion
So, there you have it! Our top picks for the best online ordering systems for restaurants are available for you to choose from.
We hope this list helps push you in the right direction and allows you to get the most for your restaurant and customers with your online presence.
Check out our other blog posts for other such countdowns and other information that can help take your restaurant business to the next step.
