Best Accounting Software for UK Restaurants on Delivery Platforms
If your restaurant is on Deliveroo, Uber Eats, or Just Eat, your accounting software needs to handle things that a standard small business setup was never designed for: multi-platform commission tracking, VAT on commissions with mixed-rate food items, weekly net lump-sum payouts that do not match individual orders, and refund clawbacks that appear without explanation.
Most restaurant owners pick their accounting software based on what their accountant uses or what is cheapest. For a restaurant on delivery platforms, that choice matters more than you think.
What delivery platform restaurants actually need from accounting software
Before looking at specific tools, here is what you should be evaluating:
1. Multi-source revenue tracking
You have at least three income streams from delivery platforms, plus dine-in, plus takeaway phone orders. Each has different commission rates, payment timing, and VAT treatment. Your software needs to track these separately -- not bundle everything into one "sales" line.
What to look for: Tracking categories, classes, or departments that let you split revenue by source (Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat, dine-in, phone orders). If you cannot report revenue by channel, you cannot spot problems.2. Commission expense coding
Delivery commissions are a cost of sale, not a general expense. At 25-35% of order value, they are likely your second-largest cost after food ingredients. They need their own nominal code and should appear on your profit and loss statement separately from rent, utilities, and staff costs.
What to look for: Customisable chart of accounts that lets you create specific expense codes for each platform's commission. Pre-built restaurant templates are a bonus but not essential -- you need flexibility more than templates.3. VAT on commissions handling
Platform commissions are subject to VAT at 20%. If you are VAT-registered, this is reclaimable input tax. But if you sell both standard-rated food (hot meals) and zero-rated food (cold takeaway items), the reclaim gets complicated.
What to look for: Support for partial exemption or at minimum the ability to code VAT inputs at different rates per line item in a manual journal entry. Some software makes this straightforward; others make it painful.4. Bank feed matching
Delivery payouts arrive as single lump sums. Your software should let you match a single bank deposit against a multi-line journal entry that breaks out gross sales, commissions, VAT, refunds, and fees.
What to look for: Bank reconciliation that supports matching one bank transaction against a journal with multiple lines. This is standard in most cloud accounting software, but the workflow varies significantly between providers.5. HMRC compliance
Since January 2024, HMRC receives your revenue data directly from delivery platforms under the Digital Platform Reporting Rules. Your books need to match.
What to look for: Software that makes it easy to pull revenue reports by source and period, so you can compare against what HMRC has received. Making Tax Digital (MTD) compatibility is also essential for VAT-registered businesses.How to evaluate: the delivery platform checklist
When choosing or reviewing your accounting software, score it against these criteria:
- Can you create separate revenue tracking for each delivery platform?
- Can you create dedicated commission expense codes per platform?
- Can you enter multi-line manual journals for payout reconciliation?
- Does the VAT coding support mixed-rate input tax scenarios?
- Can you match bank deposits against multi-line journals?
- Does it support bank feeds from your business bank account?
- Is it MTD-compatible for VAT returns?
- Can your accountant access it remotely?
- Does it have an API or app ecosystem for integrations?
The real gap: reconciliation automation
Here is the honest assessment: no accounting software currently automates the delivery platform reconciliation workflow. You still need to:
- Download CSVs from three platform dashboards
- Cross-reference orders and verify commission rates
- Calculate VAT on commissions correctly
- Create manual journal entries
- Match bank deposits
What about "restaurant accounting software"?
Search for "restaurant accounting software" and you will find generic accounting platforms that mention restaurants in their marketing. The truth is that restaurant-specific features in most accounting software mean:
- POS integration: Syncing till data into your accounts. Useful for dine-in, but delivery platform orders bypass your POS entirely
- Inventory management: Tracking food costs and wastage. Important but unrelated to delivery reconciliation
- Staff scheduling: Payroll and rota management. Again, important but separate
What to do right now
- Audit your current setup: Can you answer "how much did I actually make on Deliveroo last month, after all deductions?" If not, your tracking needs work
- Set up proper tracking codes: Even with basic accounting software, creating separate revenue and expense codes for each platform gives you visibility you currently lack
- Learn the reconciliation workflow: Our step-by-step guide to reconciling delivery payouts in Xero walks through the exact journal entries you need
- Check your VAT treatment: If you sell both hot and cold food, make sure your commission VAT coding reflects the actual split
This guide covers accounting software considerations for UK restaurants on delivery platforms. It is not financial or tax advice. For guidance on your specific accounting setup, consult a qualified accountant.