How do I handle delivery app fees like DoorDash and Uber Eats?
The tricky part with delivery apps is that you receive deposits net of their fees. DoorDash takes their commission before sending you money, so what hits your bank account isn’t the actual revenue from those orders. If you just record the deposit amount, you’re understating both your sales and your expenses.
The right approach is to record the gross order amount as revenue and the platform fees as a separate expense. Say you had $1,000 in DoorDash orders and DoorDash took $280 in commissions and fees. Record $1,000 in delivery sales and $280 in delivery platform fees. Your net income is the same either way, but your books now accurately reflect what’s happening in the business.
For categorizing the fees, most restaurants create a specific expense account like “Delivery Platform Fees” or “Third-Party Delivery Commissions.” Some accountants prefer to treat these as contra-revenue, which reduces your gross sales figure instead of showing up as an operating expense. Either approach works as long as you’re consistent. The expense method tends to be simpler for most restaurant owners because the fees show up clearly on your profit and loss statement.
Getting the numbers requires downloading detailed reports from each platform. DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub all provide transaction-level data showing gross sales, various fee breakdowns, and net payouts. These reports don’t always match the timing of your deposits since platforms may batch payments, so reconciliation takes some work. If you’re working with Scottsdale bookkeeping services, make sure your bookkeeper has access to these platform accounts or receives the reports regularly.
Tips require separate handling since they pass through to drivers and aren’t your revenue. The apps report tips separately, so make sure those aren’t getting mixed into your sales figures.
Why does this matter beyond clean books? First, those delivery fees are fully tax deductible. If you’re only recording net deposits, you’re missing deductions that could add up to thousands annually. Second, you need accurate fee tracking to understand whether delivery orders are actually profitable. When you see that platforms are taking 25-30% of every order, you can make informed decisions about menu pricing for delivery or whether to push customers toward direct ordering instead. Accurate restaurant bookkeeping gives you the visibility to make these calls instead of guessing.
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