Expert analysis on delivery platform finances, payout discrepancies, and reconciliation strategies for restaurant operators.
Restaurants using third-party delivery platforms lose 2–5% of delivery revenue to reconciliation errors, overcharged commissions, and unexplained deductions. These guides cover how delivery platform fees work, where payout discrepancies originate, and how to audit your statements to recover lost revenue. Whether you use DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub, start with the resources below.
For most restaurant operators, the core problem is straightforward: “statements don’t match the deposits.” You pull a payout report from your delivery platform, compare it to your bank account, and the numbers disagree. The gap might be small on any single deposit, but over weeks and months it compounds into thousands of dollars in unrecovered revenue. Operators tell us they have “no meaningful method for reconciliation” — just spreadsheets, manual lookups, and best guesses that consume hours every week without producing reliable answers.
This resource library exists to change that. Inside you’ll find detailed guides on how delivery platform commissions work, where hidden fees originate, how refund adjustments reduce your payouts, and step-by-step reconciliation workflows for DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Each article is written for restaurant operators — not accountants — with real examples, practical checklists, and clear explanations of platform-specific terminology. For a quick estimate of how much your restaurant may be losing, start with our delivery reconciliation calculator.
A comprehensive breakdown of every line item on your DoorDash payout statement — from gross order revenue and commission deductions to refund adjustments and payment processing fees. Learn where errors hide and how to verify your payouts.
Read the full guide14 min read · Complete DoorDash statement walkthrough with examples
A detailed breakdown of DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub commission structures, including marketplace fees, logistics costs, and why rates vary between restaurants.
CommissionsUnderstanding the factors that cause delivery commission rates to fluctuate, from contract renegotiations and promotional fees to logistics cost shifts and platform policy changes.
Fees & ChargesAn examination of the less obvious fees buried in delivery platform statements, including payment processing charges, marketing fees, fee stacking, and logistics surcharges.
RefundsHow customer refund policies on DoorDash and Uber Eats translate into payout deductions for restaurants, including partial adjustments, abuse patterns, and verification methods.
Revenue LeakageWhere commission calculation errors, refund discrepancies, and fee stacking create revenue leakage for restaurants, and the data-driven methods to detect overcharges.
ReconciliationA step-by-step reconciliation workflow for matching delivery orders to platform statements and bank deposits, with practical guidance on identifying and documenting discrepancies.
ReconciliationStep-by-step guide to matching your DoorDash payout deposits to POS records and identifying where discrepancies occur.
ReconciliationHow to export Uber Eats data, match orders to POS, and understand the difference between Sales and Payouts in the Uber dashboard.
ComparisonSide-by-side comparison of DoorDash and Uber Eats commission structures, plan tiers, and total cost per order.
ComparisonHow DoorDash’s tiered plans compare to Grubhub’s marketplace model in total cost to restaurants.
ComparisonComparing Uber Eats tier-based pricing to Grubhub’s marketplace split model and total cost differences.
RefundsHow customer refunds on DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub translate into payout deductions for restaurants.
DoorDashHow DoorDash processes refunds, which deductions restaurants absorb, and how to dispute unfair charges.
Uber EatsUber Eats refund categories, restaurant liability, and how to use the dispute resolution process effectively.
ProfitabilityTrue cost analysis: which restaurant types profit from delivery and which lose money after all fees.
MarginsAnalysis of how 15–30% delivery commissions compress restaurant profit margins and strategies to offset the impact.
ProfitabilityStep-by-step formula to calculate actual profit on each delivery order after all fees, food costs, and overhead.
To reconcile delivery platform payouts with your POS, export order-level data from both systems for the same date range. Match each delivery order to its corresponding POS transaction using order IDs or timestamps. Then compare the platform payout statement to your bank deposit. Discrepancies typically arise from commission deductions, refund adjustments, and timing differences between when orders are recorded in your POS and when the platform processes the payout.
The most common delivery payout discrepancies include missing payouts (orders that appear in your POS but not on the platform statement), overcharged commissions (effective rate higher than contracted rate), refund deductions for orders the restaurant did not authorize, deposit timing gaps where bank deposits do not match statement totals, and fee stacking where multiple charges apply to the same order.
Yes. Automated reconciliation tools like DeliverGuard cross-reference your POS data, delivery platform statements, and bank deposits to identify discrepancies without manual spreadsheet work. Automation eliminates the hours spent manipulating reports by hand and catches errors that manual review typically misses, including small per-order overcharges that compound over time.
Use our free calculator to estimate potential delivery payout discrepancies for your restaurant.
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