How much does it cost to build a restaurant ordering system in BC?
A direct cost breakdown for BC restaurant owners: online ordering site, POS/Clover integration, payment processing, and ongoing costs — with real ranges, not a vague 'it depends.'
Short answer: a custom online ordering system for a single-location BC restaurant typically runs $3,500–$9,000 to build, plus 2.5–3.5% + a small per-transaction fee in ongoing payment processing, and $40–$120/month in hosting and platform costs. Multi- location or deeply POS-integrated builds (real-time menu sync with Clover or Square across several sites) run $10,000–$25,000+. Below is exactly where that money goes — and if you’d rather see a real one than a range, order.chadspizza.ca is a Clover-integrated system we built for a Maple Ridge pizza restaurant; the case study breaks down exactly what’s in it.
What you’re actually paying for
Restaurant owners get quoted wildly different numbers because “ordering system” means different things. Break it into four separate costs and it stops being confusing.
1. The ordering site or app itself — $3,500–$25,000+
- Basic ordering page (menu, cart, checkout, no POS sync — you re-enter orders manually): $3,500–$6,000. Fastest to launch, most manual labour per order.
- Standard integrated build (menu synced from your POS, orders print or push directly to the kitchen, online + in-store inventory stay in sync): $7,000–$14,000. This is what most single-location restaurants actually need.
- Multi-location or advanced (centralized menu management, location-based routing, loyalty/rewards tie-in, multiple POS integrations): $15,000–$25,000+.
2. Payment processing — 2.5–3.5% + $0.10–$0.30 per transaction
This is ongoing, not one-time, and it’s the cost most owners underestimate. On $15,000/month in online orders at a blended 3% + $0.20/transaction (roughly 400 orders), that’s ~$530/month — every month, forever, regardless of who built the site. This is true whether you build custom or use a marketplace app; the difference is what’s layered on top of it (see the Clover vs. Stripe comparison for how the base processing cost compares to what Clover adds).
3. POS integration — $0–$4,000 depending on your existing hardware
If you’re already running Clover, Square, or Toast, integrating a custom ordering site with their API is usually the cheaper path ($1,500–$4,000 in dev work) because the hardware and merchant account already exist. If you have no POS at all, you’re pricing in hardware too — add $800–$2,500 for a terminal and printer.
4. Hosting, maintenance, and updates — $40–$120/month
Domain, hosting, SSL, and a maintenance retainer for menu changes, seasonal specials, and security patches. Skip this and the site rots — menus go stale, plugins go unpatched.
The honest range, by restaurant type
| Setup | Build cost | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Single location, no POS sync | $3,500–$6,000 | $40–$80 + processing |
| Single location, POS-integrated | $7,000–$14,000 | $70–$120 + processing |
| Multi-location, full integration | $15,000–$25,000+ | $150–$400 + processing |
What changes the number most
Menu complexity (modifiers, combos, allergen flags) and how deep the POS integration goes are the two biggest swings — not design. A restaurant with 40 menu items and simple modifiers is a much smaller build than one with build-your-own bowls, size/topping matrices, and real-time 86’d-item sync. Get an exact quote by describing your actual menu structure and current POS, not just “I want online ordering.”
If you want a number specific to your restaurant rather than a range, book a free 30-minute call and bring your menu structure and current POS setup — we’ll give you a real quote, not a placeholder.
Written by Jazz Grewal, who builds these systems for BC service businesses.