Branded customer storefront
Mobile-optimised online ordering page on your own URL — order.yourdomain.com or embedded in your existing site. Your menu, your photos, your colours, no third-party logos.
Online ordering system
Take orders direct. Keep the commission.
Katalyst’s online ordering is a branded storefront on your own URL — commission-free, native to the POS, with kitchen pacing and customer data baked in. The 15–30% you’re losing to marketplaces becomes margin again.
0% commission on direct orders
vs 15–30% on third-party marketplaces
Branded checkout on your URL
your colours, your logo, your domain
Native to the POS
every order routes to your KDS instantly
What you get
Direct online ordering, built the way restaurants actually run
Most online ordering products are bolt-ons — a tablet on the counter, a syncing problem at midnight. Katalyst online ordering is the same software as your POS, KDS, and loyalty. One database, one customer record, one source of truth.
Commission-free direct ordering
Customers pay you directly. No 15–30% marketplace fees, no commission caps, no surprise rate hikes. Payment processing at transparent processor cost via Katalyst Payments.
Built-in delivery options
In-house delivery, third-party drivers via Uber Direct or DoorDash Drive, or customer pick-up. Switch zones and fees by daypart and order type.
Order status notifications
Automated SMS and email updates — order confirmed, in the kitchen, ready for pickup, on the way. Reduces front-of-house phone calls by ~40%.
Direct KDS routing
Online orders flow into the same Katalyst KDS as dine-in tickets. No tablet farm, no manual re-entry, no missed orders during a rush.
Customer data you actually own
Every online order builds your customer database — names, emails, order history, frequency. Plug straight into Katalyst loyalty and remarketing.
The marketplace math
Why direct ordering pays for itself
A $50 order on a third-party marketplace nets the restaurant about $35 after commission, payment processing, and bag fees. The same $50 order on your own direct ordering channel nets $48–49. Across 100 weekly online orders, that’s $1,300–1,400/week left on the table — roughly $70,000/year per location.
The pushback we hear from operators: “but marketplaces drive new customers”. True — for the first order. After that, every repeat customer who returns through DoorDash instead of your own site is paying a 30% tax for no acquisition value. That’s where direct ordering breaks even within months: you only need to convert a fraction of marketplace customers to direct repeat orders.
Katalyst’s playbook: keep the marketplaces for discovery, but add a small printed insert in every marketplace bag pointing to your direct site, plus a $5 first-direct-order incentive. Operators who run this consistently see direct orders climb to 40–60% of total online volume within a year.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from DoorDash or Uber Eats?
DoorDash and Uber Eats are marketplaces — they own the customer relationship and charge 15–30% commission per order. Katalyst’s online ordering is your own branded storefront on your own URL: customers find you, pay you directly, and you keep 100% of the revenue minus standard payment processing (~2.4–2.6%). Most operators run both — marketplaces for discovery, direct for repeat customers.
What does the online ordering system cost?
It’s included in the standard Katalyst platform — no per-order commission, no per-month add-on. You pay payment processing on transactions (transparent processor cost) and that’s it. Our standard SaaS pricing covers everything else: storefront, hosting, kitchen routing, customer database.
Can customers order through my existing website?
Yes. We give you a branded ordering URL (e.g. order.yourdomain.com), embeddable widgets for your existing site, and a deep-link integration if you have a custom CMS. Most operators link the storefront from their main site’s nav — no full rebuild required.
How long does setup take?
Most single-location restaurants are live in 1–2 weeks: menu import (we handle this for you), brand setup, payment processor verification, and a soft-launch shift. Multi-location rollouts run 4–8 weeks per wave depending on menu complexity.
Does it work for catering and large pre-orders?
Yes — Katalyst online ordering shares the same engine as Katalyst catering management. You can set per-item lead times, minimum order amounts, and deposit requirements. Catering orders flow through the dedicated catering workflow with automatic invoicing.
What about delivery — do I have to hire drivers?
Three options, all native: (1) in-house drivers using the Katalyst driver app, (2) on-demand delivery via Uber Direct or DoorDash Drive (we book a courier per order, you pay only the delivery fee, no commission on the food), (3) pick-up only. Most operators mix in-house for high-value orders and third-party drivers for everything else.
Stop paying commissions
See Katalyst online ordering in action
A 30-minute walkthrough — your menu, your branding, on a working storefront. We handle the menu import.