How to Start a Food Delivery Business in Flossmoor, IL

Food delivery services work with local restaurants that don't have delivery service. When customers call or order food online from the delivery service, the company in turn sends the order by fax to the restaurant, which prepares the food. The delivery driver picks up the order and delivers it to the customer hot or cold, whichever was specified. Starting a delivery business requires planning and research. Before you start a delivery business in Flossmoor, IL, you must know if the town can support a business of this type. The presentation of your services and your business are vital to the success of the food delivery business.

Things You'll Need

* Restaurant business proposal

* Ordering software

* Bank account

* Website

* Bankcard processing company

* Business cards

* Menu brochures

* Mainframe computer server

* Fax machine

* Computer and monitor

* Phone service with landlines and mobile

* Hot bags or boxes

* Delivery drivers

Step 1

Research the population of Flossmoor. Talk to people in the community to see if the idea of a food delivery service is something that people would use. Ask the people what restaurants they would order from if there were a delivery service. After the research is completed, and you believe that there is enough interest in the business, you need to find the restaurants. Define the boundaries of the delivery area.

Step 2

Make a restaurant business proposal detailing the business and how it will help the restaurant's sales. Detail what percentage of the sales that you will make and what percentage the restaurant will make. If you will charge a monthly fee for menu upkeep and providing a delivery service for the company, which can be $50 per month, put the information in the proposal. Include a section about the delivery service being responsible for the sales tax collected and not the restaurant. Note: Some restaurants may want to raise the prices of their food items to accommodate your percentage of the sales (one percent or more).

Step 3

Make a list of possible restaurants to visit. Do not include fast food restaurants. Franchise restaurants are good, but the manager will need to present the proposal to the franchise owners. Set up appointments and start selling your service.

Step 4

Draw up a contract between your delivery business and the restaurant. Include the $50 monthly service fee, percentage of the food order you will receive, hours of operation, the responsible party for sales tax and what date each month the restaurants can expect to be paid for food sales from the prior month. Set up the pay date so that all of the monthly credit card charges will post to your bank account, which should be by the 7th of the next month.

Step 5

Talk to a software supplier in the area or talk with another food delivery business in the state of Illinois to see what that company uses for a software supplier. If you cannot find a software supplier, talk with neighboring states such as Wisconsin’s Wausau To Go at 715-849-3663 for information on software suppliers. The software supplier will help you set up a website for customer ordering and teach you how to enter menus and take phone orders, as well. The software is set up on the main server and any other computers that you will use for order taking and confirmations.

Step 6

Set up an account for accepting credit cards and debit cards with a local bank in Flossmoor. If the bank does not offer this type of service, the bank can give you a number of some of the bank card processing companies. Open a bank account for the business at this time. The bank will link to the software and bankcard processing company.

Step 7

Purchase a mobile and landline phone package. You will need one mobile phone for each driver and one for the order taker in the office with text capabilities, two landline numbers for receiving phone orders and one fax line. Each driver that you have on the road will need a mobile phone for receiving restaurant and customer information when a sale is made. You will need an Internet provider as well. Purchase the hot bags for the delivery drivers.

Step 8

Make up business cards and start handing them out in the community. Have a local print shop in Flossmoor make up menu brochures for the drivers and yourself as a business owner to pass out around town. You can leave brochures in the restaurants, grocery stores and taverns. Hire drivers through the newspaper or through an employment office.

Step 9

Pay delivery drivers as independent contractors. The drivers will use their own vehicles and car insurance for delivery work. Report wages with a 1099 form. Charge the drivers $.50 for renting the phone and hot bags per day of delivery work. Pay the drivers half of the delivery fee that you charge per order. They will also make tips. For instance, if you charge a fee of $3, the driver receives $1.50.