This article will look at the top 5 online ordering systems currently on the market for 2021. Digital ordering technology is a critical growth driver for restaurants today and will be in the future.

An online food ordering system is software that allows restaurant businesses to accept and manage orders placed via a website or mobile app.

A customer can choose to have the food delivered or for pick-up. The process consists of a customer choosing the restaurant of their choice, scanning the menu items, choosing an item, and finally choosing for pick-up or delivery. Payment is then administered by paying with a credit card or debit card through the app or website or in cash at the restaurant when going to pick up. The website and app inform the customer of the food quality, duration of food preparation, and when the food is ready for pick-up or the amount of time it will take for delivery. 

The next step from here is the items will be delivered to the customer or they will collect their order from the restaurant. Online ordering systems provide numerous payment options from debit cards, credit cards, cash or card on delivery or collection or through electronic wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal and much more. Online ordering systems are an entirely safe and secure way to order your food and they have grown massively in popularity due to the convenience they provide customers and for safe contactless payment in the age of coronavirus.

In restaurant-controlled online food ordering, the restaurants create their own website and app, or choose to hire a delivery vendor. If they choose to create their own website, they make sure to obtain software that manages the orders efficiently, meaning it has the capability to manage different orders at once. When they hire a vendor, the restaurant pays for a monthly fee or percentage-based fees.

The online ordering systems that score the highest will have advanced analytics and reporting, delivery integration, fast checkout and personalised menus with up-selling functionality. They will also include more advanced features such as Google and Apple pay, automated marketing, built in loyalty and direct POS integration. 

When evaluating which online ordering system was the best, we considered a variety of factors. 

• Price: Although some online ordering systems are free when you sign up, they generally charge a percentage on top of each order the restaurant receives. Others charge a monthly fee that ranges from around $30 and $299.
• Ease of use: This is another important factor because it is essential that the restaurant owners, employees and customers find the online ordering system easy to use. Otherwise, they may not make orders with you. 
• Integrations: While some online ordering systems do not integrate with other systems, some do and they communicate directly with your POS and make the order taking process much more efficient. 
• Ordering features: Top notch online ordering systems will have a fast checkout, easy order flow and scheduling for future orders making them suitable for many different styles of restaurants.
• Order tracking: The same goes for order tracking. A top notch online ordering system should notify the restaurant of any pending orders and enable owners to track orders through their system. Integration with delivery fleet software is in demand currently. 
• Customer accounts: There are some solutions that will enable customers to create their own profiles that details payment information and their order preferences to allow for fast re-ordering. This is a good feature to have as it will streamline orders while providing the restaurant with valuable information that they can use for future marketing promotions. 
• User reviews: It is essential to analyse the user reviews available to view how the actual restaurant users feel about the system. 

With all that being said, we are here to tell you about the top 5 online ordering systems for restaurants and takeaways. 

1. MENUU – 5 Star Rating

MENUU offers an easy to use platform that is designed specifically to your restaurant’s branding. Restaurants pay a monthly fee for MENUU software, which bundles order processing, loyalty program capabilities, delivery dispatch, marketing, analytics, and more into a single package. In addition, MENUU offers its clients a variety of features such as a promotions engine, loyalty platform, intelligent upsell, push notifications, end of day reports and automatic refunds. Alongside all of this, MENUU allows you to automatically connect your online ordering to your POS, third party delivery service, payments, loyalty and rewards programs. MENUU also has a responsive support team 24/7. The online ordering and marketing platform boasts a clientele of 1500+ restaurant brands and works with restaurant brands around the globe. The cost of Menuu for restaurants is $149 per month per location. 

2. Olo – 4 Star Rating

Olo is an enterprise ordering engine. It powers millions of orders per week and is one of the fastest and most reliable digital ordering engines on the market. It offers fast, secure and reliable order processing. It allows you to easily control and manage your orders and synchronize your system. In addition, it is fully customizable meaning you can brand it as you like. Similarly to MENUU, Olo offers a number of payment gateways and can automatically connect to your POS. The online ordering and delivery platform boasts a clientele of 250+ restaurant brands and 50,000 units. The cost of Olo for restaurants is $129 per month. Olo have a help centre for customer support.

3. Chownow – 4 Star Rating

ChowNow powers branded online ordering systems for more than 14,000 independently-owned restaurants across the US and Canada through restaurant websites, Facebook and Google. They do this through the apps they create and their website all while providing their restaurant partners with marketing support and key customer insights. Their online ordering system is easy to use and costs restaurants $149 per month along with a $399 setup fee per restaurant location. ChowNow offers integration with Square which connects to everything they offer including multi-channel ordering and Square’s POS technology. ChowNow has a customer support phone line. 

4. Toast – 4 Star Rating

Toast offers online ordering systems where restaurant owners can have complete control of their own operations. Their online ordering is easy to use and seamless, allowing their clients to easily increase their sales. Toast does not charge hefty commissions either. Toast also has its own loyalty program which allows you to show your customers that you care. Toast is an all-in-one restaurant management platform, offering integrations with the most widely used restaurant software. The cost to the restaurant is $79 per month and the cost of hardware is more than $899, you can opt for in-person or remote installation by paying a fee of $499. Toast offers customer support through its chat function and via a phone line.

5. Mobi2go – 4 Star Rating

Mobi2go is an online ordering system that is custom-built and designed to seamlessly integrate with a restaurant’s brand and existing digital presence. Mobi2go allows customers to place orders for ASAP or to schedule them for later making it a great option for those catering large orders. Mobi2Go also offers flexible payment options and there is the option for customers to save their card details, making the next checkout even easier. The cost of Mobi2go for restaurants is $59 per month as well as 3% of all transactions per store each month. Mobi2go integrates with the world’s leading POS systems. Some of the Mobi2go features include receiving digital orders directly to POS and order data is kept in POS. You can also sync your menu from the POS and sync wait times from the POS to Mobi2go. Mobi2go features articles in their help centre for any problems you may be experiencing and also has a form where you can submit your request. 

Conclusion

This article discussed the top 5 online ordering systems for restaurants. Considering the above, we concluded that MENUU is the best overall online ordering system for both large chains and small restaurants. Menuu’s powerful collection of digital ordering platforms helps restaurants build their brand and increase the average check size. It allows for a completely customized, branded web and mobile experience. Menuu has a model that combines online ordering, marketing, branding, digital delivery with high-quality customer service.

It’s reasonably priced and offers valuable insight into your restaurant. Menuu software empowers restaurants to grow their direct sales and move guests away from third-party marketplaces and has multiple partnerships with leading restaurant tech companies.