Mobile
Flutter
Build Android and iOS apps from one shared codebase, so you launch on both platforms faster with a consistent experience.
Used for
- Mobile apps
- Delivery apps
- E-commerce apps
- Booking apps
Industries · Food delivery
Software for food delivery businesses
Build the three-sided platform, for customers, restaurants and riders, with operations tools your team can run daily.
At a glance
The short version
What it is
Platform software for food delivery operators: restaurant onboarding, order routing, rider dispatch, commissions, payouts and live tracking.
- What we build
- How it works
- Customer app
- Restaurant partner app
- Dispatch engine
- Delivery partner app
- 2 more
- Runs on
- Android
- iOS
- Cross-platform
- Web app
- Admin
- Built with
- and 1 more tool
- Who it's for
For food delivery startups, regional delivery platforms, campus and corporate food ordering services, and restaurant groups running their own fleets.
- Cost depends on
- Dispatch sophistication
- Number of apps
- Payment splits
Flutter and the related logo are trademarks of Google LLC. We are not endorsed by or affiliated with Google LLC.
How to start
Tell us what you need in your own words. You talk to the developers who would build it and get a written, line-item estimate.
Get a project estimateRunning a food delivery platform
A food delivery business coordinates three groups with different incentives: customers want speed and choice, restaurants want orders and fair settlement, and riders want steady earnings and short waits. Every order is a small logistics problem with a tight time window.
We build the platform and the tooling behind it: restaurant onboarding and menu management, order routing, rider dispatch and batching, commission and payout calculation, and support tools for the refunds and complaints that come with any delivery business.
Challenges
Operational challenges for delivery platforms
Rider allocation
Assigning riders too early wastes their time; too late delays the food.
Prep time estimates
Unrealistic restaurant estimates leave riders waiting and food going cold.
Settlements and payouts
Commissions, discounts, GST and refunds make restaurant payouts error-prone.
Support volume
Missing items and late orders need fast, fair resolution.
Solutions
Solutions for delivery operators
Across 3 areas
Food ordering and delivery apps for restaurants, chains and cloud kitchens, with menus and add-ons, kitchen displays, prep-time ETAs and delivery tracking.
Aggregator delivery platforms where many local vendors sell through one app, with vendor onboarding, commissions, settlements and shared dispatch.
Hyperlocal delivery apps linking neighbourhood stores, pick-up-and-drop requests and delivery partners within a city, with zone-based dispatch and pricing.
Custom fleet management software for GPS tracking, trips, driver apps, compliance reminders, maintenance and freight billing.
Support and sales chatbots for web, app and WhatsApp that answer from your own content and hand off to your team.
Platform capabilities we build
Dispatch and batching
Rider assignment by distance, prep time and load, with order batching.
Live tracking
Rider location shared with customers and restaurants using Google Maps Platform.
Restaurant partner app
Accept orders, mark items unavailable and update prep times.
Commissions and payouts
Per-restaurant commission rules, settlement statements and payout files.
Support console
Order timelines, refunds, credits and escalations on one screen.
How it works
How an order moves across a three-sided delivery platform
Customers, restaurants and delivery partners each have their own app; dispatch and settlement tie them together.
- Customer app
Step 1: Customer places an order
Only restaurants that serve their zone are listed, with delivery times based on current load.
- Restaurant partner app
Step 2: Restaurant accepts and sets prep time
Sold-out items can be marked unavailable and the prep time adjusted before the order is accepted.
- Dispatch engine
Step 3: Dispatch assigns a delivery partner
Assignment weighs distance, prep time and current load, and batches nearby orders where it saves time.
- Delivery partner app
Step 4: Pickup and live tracking
The delivery partner's location is shared with the customer and the restaurant until handover.
- Customer
Step 5: Delivered and rated
High-value orders are handed over with an OTP, then food and delivery are rated separately.
- Finance console
Step 6: Settlements and payouts
Commissions, discounts, GST and refunds are calculated per restaurant, and payout files are generated each cycle.
Platforms
Apps across the delivery chain
- Mobile
Android app
Apps for Android phones and tablets, tested on budget and mid-range devices and published on Google Play or privately.
- Mobile
iOS app
Apps for iPhone and iPad, built to Apple's guidelines and released through TestFlight and the App Store.
- Mobile
Cross-platform mobile app
One Flutter or React Native codebase for Android and iOS, with native modules where a feature needs them.
- Web
Web application
Browser-based applications with logins, roles and workflows, such as customer portals, SaaS products and internal tools.
- Back office
Admin dashboard
Back-office panels for operations, support and finance teams: orders, users, content, reports and permissions.
Technology
Delivery platform stack
Backend
Node.js
Runs the server side of apps: fast, scalable back ends that power your app, website and integrations.
Used for
- App back ends
- Live order tracking
- Chat and notifications
- Payment processing
Data
PostgreSQL
A reliable database for the records your business runs on: orders, payments, bookings and stock, kept accurate and easy to report on.
Used for
- Orders and customers
- Payments and ledgers
- Stock and inventory
- Bookings
Data
Redis
Keeps frequently used data in fast memory, so apps stay quick on busy days and live features like order tracking feel instant.
Used for
- Faster apps
- Live order status
- Shopping carts
- Job queues and alerts
Payments & maps
Google Maps Platform
Adds maps, address search, live tracking and travel-time estimates to delivery, ride and field apps, so orders reach the right door.
Used for
- Live delivery tracking
- Address search
- Store locator
- Distance-based fees
Payments & maps
Razorpay
Lets customers in India pay by UPI, cards, netbanking or wallets, and handles subscriptions, refunds and payouts to sellers or partners.
Used for
- UPI payments
- Cards and netbanking
- Subscriptions
- Payment links
Cloud & DevOps
Firebase
Ready-made building blocks for mobile apps, such as push notifications, phone OTP login and crash reports, so you launch sooner.
Used for
- Push notifications
- Phone OTP login
- Crash reports
- Real-time updates
Flutter and the related logo are trademarks of Google LLC. We are not endorsed by or affiliated with Google LLC.
Plain-English glossary
Delivery platform terms, in plain English
- Dispatch engine
- The logic that decides which delivery partner gets which order, and when. Assigning too early wastes the partner's time at the restaurant; too late delays the food.
- Order batching
- Giving one delivery partner two or more orders from the same area on one trip. Done carefully, it lowers the cost per order without making the first customer wait.
- Serviceable zone
- The area on the map where a restaurant, or the platform, delivers. Zones with city-level settings let you launch in one area first and add more by configuration rather than new code.
- Split settlement
- A payment gateway feature that routes each restaurant's share of a payment to its bank account automatically. Each restaurant completes the gateway's KYC first; after that, transfers no longer have to be made by hand.
Product preview
The four apps behind a delivery platform
Customer app. Customers follow the order from acceptance to doorstep with the delivery partner's live location, which cuts 'where is my order' calls. 
Restaurant partner app. Restaurants accept orders, mark sold-out items and set prep times, which gives dispatch the numbers it needs to time each pickup. 
Delivery partner app. Delivery partners see pickups and drops in order, including batched runs and today's earnings, in a simple Android app that copes with patchy data. 
Operations console. The operations team watches delivery partners and delayed orders on a live map, and steps in before a late order turns into a refund.
Illustrative preview
Sample screens: names, prices and figures are examples, not client data.
Cost drivers
Food delivery platform cost factors
Dispatch sophistication
Nearest-rider logic is quicker to build than batching and prep-time prediction.
Number of apps
Customer, restaurant, rider and admin apps each need design and testing.
Payment splits
Automated vendor payouts through gateway split settlement add onboarding and reconciliation work.
Estimates are written from your scope, with the effort and assumptions behind each line item.
How pricing worksServices
Services for this industry
The design and engineering services our in-house team combines on projects in this sector.
Mobile app development
Native and cross-platform Android and iOS apps, from first release through regular store updates, built by our in-house designers and engineers.
Flutter development
Android and iOS apps from one Dart codebase, built by engineers who know when Flutter is the right call and when native code is needed.
Web application development
Browser-based products, customer portals, dashboards and internal tools, built on clean data models with secure roles and integrations.
Admin panel development
Back-office dashboards built around your team's daily tasks: order queues, approvals, catalogue management, payouts, reports and audit logs.
API development
Secure, documented REST and GraphQL APIs, plus integrations that connect your apps to payment, logistics, GST, messaging and business systems.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Should we hire our own riders or use delivery partners?
Early on, many platforms use third-party hyperlocal delivery partners through their APIs, which avoids hiring and managing a fleet before demand is proven. Your own riders give more control over service quality and cost at scale, but require a rider app, dispatch logic, shift management and payouts. We often build the dispatch layer so both can be used, switching by area or time of day.
How are restaurant payouts calculated and settled?
Each order records the item total, taxes, platform commission, discounts funded by the platform or the restaurant, packaging charges and refunds. A settlement job groups these by restaurant and cycle, produces a statement the restaurant can check, and generates payout instructions. Split-settlement features from gateways such as Razorpay or Cashfree can automate transfers, subject to their onboarding and KYC requirements for each restaurant.
Can we launch in one city first and expand later?
Yes, and we recommend it. The platform is built with serviceable zones, city-level settings for fees and commissions, and restaurant and rider onboarding by area, so adding a city is mostly configuration and operations work rather than new code. Launching in one dense area first lets you tune dispatch and prep-time estimates on real data before you scale.
Next step
Planning a food delivery platform?
Tell us your city, restaurant pipeline and delivery model. We'll scope an MVP that can launch in one area first.