Franchise online ordering for South African multi-store groups

The problem: every branch pays commission, and the brand sits behind someone else’s app

Marketplaces bring reach, and that has real value. But for a franchise group the maths and the brand control both get worse with every branch you add.

• Commission multiplies across the network. Marketplaces take 20–30% commission. On a typical R300 order that is R60–R90, and it is paid on every order, at every branch, every month.
• The customer belongs to the marketplace. Your franchisees serve the order, but the app, the customer account, the order history and the re-order button all belong to the marketplace.
• Brand control is diluted. Your menu, specials and pricing sit next to competitors, in someone else’s design, with someone else’s promotions.
• Head office has no single view. Each branch ends up with different tablets, logins and reports, and nobody can see the whole network’s direct digital performance in one place.

Marketplace AND direct, not necessarily marketplace OR direct. Keep the marketplaces for discovery if they work for you. doorbell gives your group a direct channel you own.

The solution: one branded channel for the group, run branch by branch

One branded app and WhatsApp flow for the whole group

Customers download one app under your brand (iOS and Android), order on the web, or order straight from WhatsApp, and each order goes to their branch. In WhatsApp, customers browse your specials, tap to order, pay securely and track the driver, with no app download needed. The conversation stays yours.

Per-branch menus, delivery zones and hours

Every store is set up as its own branch:

• Branch-specific menus, pricing and product availability
• Delivery zones and delivery fees set per branch
• Trading hours per branch
• National promotions from head office, plus local specials where you allow them

Head-office reporting and control

• Central visibility across every branch
• Network reporting and analytics
• Promotions and vouchers
• Customer accounts and order history, in your own customer base
• Brand control over the ordering experience, from promotion to delivery

The customer is yours. The data is yours. doorbell runs the ordering and delivery layer. We do not own your customer relationships.

Managed delivery and driver fleet management, included

Franchisees don’t need to hire drivers or run their own driver fleet management. doorbell handles:

• Automated driver dispatch and driver management
• Live delivery tracking for the customer
• Order and delivery notifications (WhatsApp/SMS)
• Customer care from order placement through to delivery

Our fulfilment standard: if a delivery is going to miss the ETA, we call the customer. If a doorbell driver causes a poor experience, we contact the customer and, where appropriate, pay for a full replacement order. That cost sits with doorbell, not the store.

Delivery model: standard radius up to 5 km, extendable to 10 km where viable. Base fee within 5 km is R50 per completed delivery: the customer pays R45 and the store contributes R5. Beyond 5 km the customer pays R10 per km. Because the customer pays a flat delivery fee, not a percentage, branches can keep in-store menu prices and specials.

“Order Direct: Get Our In-Store Prices & Specials Delivered to Your Door.”

Keep what already works

Already have a website, an app or a POS? Keep them. At rollout, doorbell integrates with your existing website and/or POS where technically possible. You don’t need to rebuild your digital stack, and no integration is necessary for the pilot: staff use the doorbell direct ordering portal app, or you can connect an optional, very lightweight webhook.

How rollout works

Test our delivery on 1–3 branches for 30 days, with no integration necessary. Add branded ordering when you roll out.

Step 1: Brand demo

We build a demonstration using your own brand and customer journey, so you are not sitting through a generic software presentation.

Step 2: 30-day managed-delivery pilot on 1–3 branches

Choose 1–3 branches. For 30 days, doorbell runs their deliveries: dispatch, drivers, live tracking and customer care.

• No integration necessary. Your branches keep taking orders the way they do now and hand each delivery order to doorbell in one of two ways: (1) staff enter it in the doorbell direct ordering portal app, downloadable from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store and installed on staff devices; or (2) a very lightweight webhook integration.
• Delivery only. There is no customer ordering app, web or WhatsApp ordering during the pilot. The portal app is a staff tool, not customer ordering.
• Free apart from delivery. The pilot is free; you only pay the standard per-delivery fee: R50 per completed delivery within 5 km (the customer pays R45, the store contributes R5), and R10 per km beyond 5 km, paid by the customer.
• Real data. At the end of the 30 days you review the operational numbers (orders, delivery times, issues) before deciding anything more. No national commitment.

Step 3: Full rollout (minimum 25 stores)

If the pilot works, roll out across a minimum of 25 stores. This is when your group gets the full platform: branded iOS/Android apps, web ordering, WhatsApp ordering, per-branch menus, zones and hours, head-office reporting, and POS/website integration where technically possible, all alongside managed delivery. As a guide, onboarding, software and first live deliveries on the full platform take about 2–3 months from signing.

Step 4: Network-wide

Expand region by region to the rest of the network. A full multi-store rollout typically takes about 3–6 months from signing.

Prove first. Scale second.

Pricing: a living subscription, not a static licence

Pilot: free for 30 days on 1–3 branches

Managed delivery only, with no integration necessary: branches hand delivery orders to doorbell through the doorbell direct ordering portal app on staff devices, or a very lightweight webhook. The pilot is free; you only pay the standard per-delivery fee (R50 per completed delivery within 5 km: customer R45, store R5; beyond 5 km the customer pays R10 per km).

Full rollout: R1,000 per store per month (minimum 25 stores)

What every store gets:

• Branded iOS and Android customer apps
• Mobile and web ordering, plus WhatsApp ordering
• Digital menus and product customisation
• Checkout and online payments (powered by Paystack)
• Customer accounts and order history
• Multi-store / branch support
• Delivery zones and delivery-fee management
• Restaurant / admin order-management dashboard
• Automated driver dispatch and driver management
• Live delivery tracking and customer notifications
• Promotions, vouchers, reporting and analytics
• Integration with your existing website and/or POS where technically possible
• Customer care from order placement through to delivery

Not a static licence. That R1,000 pays for a living channel: ongoing updates as mobile and browsers change, new features as we ship them, UI/UX improvements, and reasonable product changes you ask for.

Minimum 25 stores for the full rollout. The minimum doesn’t apply to the pilot.

Multi-store and volume pricing: available on request for franchise groups. Talk to us about your branch count.

No marketplace commission on your direct orders. Cancel anytime with 30 days’ notice.

Proof: live on doorbell

Foodeez: branded food and grocery app on doorbell. Live on the App Store and Google Play.

Score Groceries Discounter (Score Scoot): live on the App Store and Google Play.

Pilot data (national pizza franchise): a 4-week live pilot with 101 orders, 0 delivery issues, 3 map-related delays and 2 food-preparation delays. Delayed customers were contacted proactively and supported.

Common questions