How to cut delivery costs without losing riders

Marketplaces take 25% of every order. Here’s how to keep the rest—and the riders too.

Say you serve 500 delivery orders a week, and the marketplace takes 25% of each. That’s £1,250 a week, or £65,000 a year—enough to hire a full-time rider or upgrade your kitchen equipment. The problem isn’t just the money. It’s the control. Marketplaces decide who delivers, how fast, and whether they show up at all. Cut them out, and you keep the margin and the say over service. But here’s the catch: if you move orders to your own system, you also take on the logistics—finding riders, tracking them, and making sure they don’t ghost you when the kitchen’s busy.

The solution isn’t either/or. It’s how to run your own delivery without losing the riders who already know your routes, your customers, and your pace.

Start with the numbers. If you’re paying £8 an hour for a rider, and they average 12 deliveries in 4 hours (including travel and breaks), that’s £2.67 per order. Add £1.50 for fuel, and you’re at £4.17. Now compare that to the £6–£8 per order you’d pay the marketplace plus their 25% cut. Even if you lose a few riders at first, the math still wins: you control the cost, the schedule, and the quality.

But the real risk isn’t the upfront cost—it’s the three-month slump. Riders who’ve built a reputation on a marketplace won’t automatically switch to you. You’ll lose orders while they adjust. The fix? Offer them a cut of the savings. Pay them £3.50 per order for the first month, then drop to £3.25. That’s still cheaper than the marketplace, and it gives them an incentive to stick around.

How to keep riders when you cut out the marketplace

The biggest mistake is assuming riders will follow you because you’re ‘better.’ They won’t—unless you make it easier for them to earn more, with less hassle.

Here’s the workflow that works:

Pay them per order, not per hour. Marketplaces pay by the delivery, so match that. Riders hate clocking in for nothing, and hourly pay turns them into time-wasters. £3.50–£4.50 per order (depending on distance) keeps them focused on moving fast.
Give them real-time order updates. No rider wants to show up to an empty kitchen or a cancelled order. Your system should ping them the second an order’s ready, with the customer’s name, address, and a note if it’s urgent (e.g., ‘hot food—leave in 5 mins’). Berryin’s rider app does this automatically, but even a WhatsApp group with order details works if you’re starting small.
Let them clock in and out via the app. No more arguing over ‘I was there for 30 minutes waiting.’ A tap to start/stop their shift means disputes vanish, and you can track who’s actually working.
Offer bonuses for speed and accuracy. A £1 bonus for deliveries under 20 minutes (where possible) or a £2 tip if the customer rates them 5 stars. Riders care more about tips than base pay.
Cover their fuel. If you’re not already, add £0.50–£1 per order to their pay to cover petrol. It’s cheaper than the marketplace’s cut and keeps them loyal.

The result? Riders stay, orders go up, and you keep the margin. But here’s the edge case: what if a rider flakes?

What happens when a rider ghosts you—and how to stop it

Marketplaces hide bad riders behind algorithms. You don’t. If a rider no-shows three times in a month, you’ve got two choices:

Fire them and replace them. Easy in theory, hard in practice. In a city like Karachi or Lahore, good riders are scarce. If you lose one, you might lose 10% of your delivery volume while you train a replacement.
Warn them, then cut their orders. Most riders won’t risk losing access to your kitchen. A simple message: “You’ve missed three deliveries this month. Next time, you’re off the roster.” Works 90% of the time.

But the real fix is data. Track which riders cancel most often, which routes take longest, and which customers complain. Berryin’s delivery dashboard shows you this in real time, so you can drop the deadweight before it costs you sales.

Here’s the worked example:

your 25-minute average).

Cost: Rider A costs you £1.50 per cancelled order in lost sales + customer goodwill. Rider B burns £1 in fuel for every extra 10 minutes.
Fix: Move Rider A to backup shifts (e.g., weekends) and pair Rider B with shorter routes. Saves £50–£100 a week.

How to handle peak hours without burning out riders

Delivery demand isn’t flat—it spikes at 7–9pm, then again at 1–3am. If you’re paying riders hourly, you’ll either overpay for quiet slots or understaff for busy ones.

The solution? Pay per order, but cap the hours.

Example: A rider does 15 deliveries in 4 hours (£52.50). If you pay £3.50 per order, they earn £52.50—same as hourly, but you only pay for results.
Peak fix: Add 2–3 extra riders for the 7–9pm slot, then cut them loose after. No wasted payroll.

But here’s the trade-off: if you pay too little per order, riders will slow down.

Minimum viable rate: £3.25 per order (covers fuel + their time).
Sweet spot: £3.75–£4.25 (fast turnaround, happy riders).
Premium rate: £4.50+ (for rush hours or high-value orders).

What breaks when you switch from marketplaces to your own delivery

The biggest failure mode isn’t riders—it’s customers assuming you’re still on the marketplace.

Problem: A customer orders via your website, expects a marketplace rider, and gets frustrated when yours shows up.
Fix: Train your riders to say your restaurant’s name first (“Hi, I’m from [Your Brand], your order’s ready!”). Also, add a note to orders: “Delivered by [Your Brand]—track your ride live at [link].”

Another pitfall: delivery zones. Marketplaces let you set a 3km radius, but real-world logistics are messier. A rider in Lahore might take 20 mins to cover 2km if traffic’s bad.

Solution: Start with three zones (e.g., 1km, 2km, 3km) and adjust pay per zone:
1km: £3.50
2km: £4.00
3km: £4.50
Pro tip: Use Google Maps’ “avoid tolls” route to estimate real travel time. If it’s >15 mins, bump the pay.

How much does this actually cost—and when does it pay back?

Let’s say you’re doing 300 deliveries a week at £6 average order value. Currently, you’re paying:

Scenario	Marketplace Cost (25%)	Your Cost (Riders + Fuel)	Net Savings per Week	Payback Period
Current (marketplace)	£450	£0	£0	—
Your riders (basic)	£0	£750 (£2.50/order)	£200	3 weeks
Your riders (premium)	£0	£1,050 (£3.50/order)	£400	2 weeks

But wait—what about the software?

Berryin’s Growth plan (£180/month) covers:

Rider management (hiring, pay, schedules)
Real-time order tracking
Customer notifications
PCI-compliant payments (Easypaisa, JazzCash, cards)

At 300 deliveries/week, that’s £43/month per 100 orders. You save £200/week—so the software pays for itself in a single month.

Frequently asked questions

What if my riders quit when I cut their pay?

They won’t—if you pay per order, not per hour. Riders on marketplaces earn £3–£4 per delivery anyway. Offer £3.50–£4.25, and you’re already competitive. The key is transparency: show them exactly how much they’ll earn per shift, and let them choose their hours.

How do I stop customers complaining about slow deliveries?

Set realistic ETAs based on your riders’ average speed (not the marketplace’s algorithm). Then over-communicate:

Text the customer when the order’s out for delivery.
Update them every 5 minutes via the app.
Offer a £1 credit if the delivery’s late by >15 mins.

Can I still use marketplaces for some orders?

What if a customer refuses to pay a rider who’s not from the marketplace?

This almost never happens if your riders wear your logo and say your name. If it does, offer to refund the customer and fire the rider. The risk is lower than the marketplace’s cut.

How do I handle cash payments from riders?

Don’t. Require riders to scan customer cards or use digital wallets (Easypaisa, JazzCash). If a customer insists on cash, the rider takes a photo of the receipt and you reconcile it later. Berryin’s till handles this automatically—no manual entries.

Next step: If you’re ready to take control of your delivery, start a free trial to see how much you’d save in your first month. No contracts, no marketplace cuts—just your margin back where it belongs.