Toast online ordering: fees, setup and phone orders

Toast Online Ordering gives a Toast restaurant its own ordering page for pickup, curbside and delivery. Orders go into the Toast POS and print in the kitchen like orders taken at the counter. Toast charges no commission on these orders. It does not print a monthly price for the product, so you need a quote.

If you already run Toast, this is the ordering page built into the system you have. Setup takes ten steps in Toast Web. Toast's FAQ names three common reasons a new page says "Not available at this time": ordering is switched off, the schedule does not cover the current hour, or no auto-firing device is set up. Card fees and any delivery fees come on top of the software.

What does Toast Online Ordering do?

Toast's online ordering page says the product has "No commissions. No hidden fees." and lists flat delivery fees, offers and upsells, Order with Google, loyalty, and pickup, delivery, curbside and drive-thru order types. Guests order from a page on toasttab.com that carries your logo, banner and a link you choose.

Toast also sells Toast Online Ordering Pro. The same page says Pro adds hosting on your own domain, design templates, Google and Facebook pixel tracking, banners and popups, and time-based ordering rules. Toast's Pro setup guide says US customers need a Digital Storefront Pro subscription, bought through Toast Shop.

What does Toast Online Ordering cost?

Toast's pricing page lists online ordering inside its Digital Storefront suite. Digital Storefront Essentials covers online ordering, Toast Delivery Services and the Local by Toast app; Digital Storefront Pro adds Toast Websites, custom online ordering and SEO features. The page gives no price for either. Here is what Toast does print.

Charge	What Toast prints
Monthly software	No public price for Online Ordering or Digital Storefront; ask for a quote
Commission per order	"No commissions. No hidden fees."
Card payments online	Charged at the card-not-present rate. Toast prints American Express card-not-present at 3.89% + 15¢; it quotes Visa, Mastercard and Discover
Toast Delivery Services	Lowest Uber Direct rate: $6.99 flat fee per delivery for orders under 6 miles; regulatory fees apply in California, New York City and Seattle
Guest delivery fee	Setup creates a $3.99 delivery service charge, which you can change or waive above an order total you set

The card-not-present point comes from Toast's online ordering FAQ, which says Apple Pay orders placed online are charged at the card-not-present rate and taps at a terminal at the swiped rate. The American Express rate is in the footnotes of Toast's starter kit page. Our Toast vs Square comparison covers Toast's plans and contract terms.

The delivery figures come from Toast's Toast Delivery Services setup guide. Drivers come from Uber Direct or DoorDash Drive, the default radius is 10 miles, and Toast withholds the delivery fee and driver tip from each order.

A worked example, with made-up volume: at the lowest Uber Direct rate of $6.99, the default $3.99 guest fee leaves the restaurant to cover $3.00 of each delivery. At 150 deliveries a month under 6 miles, the restaurant pays $450 a month for delivery, before card fees. Raise the guest fee, set a delivery minimum, or price it into the menu if that gap is too wide.

How do you set up Toast Online Ordering?

Toast's setup guide lists four things you need first: Toast Web access that can edit Takeout & delivery, Menus, Kitchen and Front of house settings; the Online Ordering module on your account; one Toast POS device that stays on during open hours; and a takeout dining option. Then the ten steps, in short:

1. Menu visibility. Turn on the Toast Online Ordering channel for each menu, group, item and modifier group you want online.
2. Approval mode. Approve every order by hand, send orders straight to the kitchen (Toast's recommendation), or use rules such as a cash threshold or delivery minimum.
3. Auto-firing device. Pick exactly one POS device per location, ideally on Ethernet. A second auto-firing device causes duplicate kitchen tickets.
4. Dining options. Choose takeout, curbside and delivery, and add a pickup message for each. Curbside cannot be the only option.
5. Server and revenue center. Toast suggests a generic "Online Ordering" employee and its own revenue center so reports separate online sales.
6. Special requests and payment. Write the note guests see, turn cash and cards on or off, and decide on tips.
7. Delivery. Use your own drivers or Toast Delivery Services. You cannot run both at one restaurant.
8. Hours. Online hours can differ from dining room hours. Use overrides for one-off dates, and use the stop switch in step 2 to pause orders.
9. Page design. Upload a logo (at least 230 by 230 px) and banner (at least 1400 by 788 px), and set your link.
10. Test order. Place one, check that every prep station prints, then void it.

What should you test before you share the link?

Toast's guide and FAQ point to the places orders go wrong. Run these checks during a quiet hour with the kitchen warned.

1. Order an item from every menu and every prep station, with modifiers. Toast's FAQ says a group, item or menu set to POS only hides everything under it online.
2. Add a paid extra and check the ticket price. Toast's FAQ says a multi-select modifier group lets guests add extras without being charged.
3. Log the auto-firing device out and place an order. Toast says orders then wait for manual approval until someone logs back in.
4. Try to order outside online hours and on a holiday override. Our holiday hours checklist covers the other places hours live.
5. Pay by card and void the test. Toast suggests a 100% off promo code or test transaction mode so you avoid real charges.
6. Check who hears about new orders. Toast offers email alerts and says text and phone-call alerts are not available.
7. If you use DoorDash or Uber Eats through Toast, place a test order on each.

What happens to phone orders?

Guests still call to order or to ask about an order, and Toast's order status page shows them the restaurant's contact details. Staff key phone orders into the POS as before.

If you use Toast Delivery Services, Toast's phone order guide shows how to send a called-in order to a driver: pick the Toast Delivery Services dining option, enter the guest's phone number and address, and take a credit card. It accepts only credit cards, and the driver's tip must be in the first card authorization.

If the phone is where you lose orders during a rush, Maple Pro answers calls and writes phone orders into Toast. The Maple Toast integration page lists what to test.

Should you use Toast's ordering page or another one?

For most Toast restaurants, the built-in page is the first to price, since orders already land in your POS and kitchen routing. If you want a whole website, app and marketing bundle, our Owner.com alternatives guide compares ordering platforms from their own price pages, with Toast's page as one row.

Published by Maple. This AI-assisted guide combines Toast's own product, pricing and help-center pages with an original test checklist and a delivery-fee example using made-up volume. It does not include a Toast quote, and it does not claim anyone tested Toast Online Ordering.