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Third-Party Channel
P&L.

Run the honest math on DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub. Gross sales minus commission, marketing fees, refunds, packaging, and the labor those orders cost. Settles the argument.

Pack: Conversions & Reservations Cadence: Monthly Private — runs in your browser

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Third-Party Channel P&L

Type your numbers — the math runs in your browser. Print it, save it as a CSV, or save it to your Workshop.

Worked example Single-unit operator running DoorDash + Uber Eats See what a Tuesday-morning fill-in looks like

What they typed in

Gross third-party sales (last 4 weeks)$24,000
Commission + marketing fees (avg 28%)−$6,720
Refunds + adjustments−$480
Packaging cost−$960
Incremental kitchen labor estimate−$1,800

What the sheet returned

Net contribution after channel costs$14,040
Channel contribution margin58.5% · green
Per dollar of gross third-party revenue$0.585 stays

The channel pencils — but only because their incremental labor estimate is honest. If they were treating delivery orders as 'free' kitchen time, the margin would read closer to 70% and they'd quietly be subsidizing the platform. The next move is the recipe-cost-card on the three SKUs that move 60% of delivery volume — those decide whether the channel stays accretive.

Composite-typical numbers — not a real shop. Use the rhythm, not the figures.

Channel & period
Channel statement (paste from their dashboard)
Your costs (the platform does not show these)
Net payout from platform $0.00
Total channel cost (food + packaging + labor) $0.00
Contribution margin (dollars) $0.00
Effective margin on gross 0.0%

Type your numbers. A positive contribution margin means the channel earns its keep; negative means each order loses money before fixed costs.

Try a scenario — what if commission, marketing, or your labor estimate shifts?

Slide one or more, the contribution margin re-runs on top of your typed numbers. The labor multiplier is the honest one — if you typed $1,800 but the real number is closer to $3,600, slide it to 2x and watch what happens.

Read the long version The headline lie, the five lines you need to count, the contribution-margin bands, and a four-lever renegotiation playbook for when the channel doesn't pencil. The honest channel P&L — Why most operators discover delivery is a subsidy →

+ (Math.round(abs * 100) / 100).toFixed(2); } function fmtPct(v) { var sign = v < 0 ? '-' : ''; return sign + (Math.round(Math.abs(v) * 10) / 10).toFixed(1) + '%'; } // D8 · Read what-if slider state. Commission/marketing are // additive points-of-gross; labor is a multiplier on the typed // incremental_labor line. function whatif() { var f = document.getElementById('sheet-fields'); if (!f || !f.whatif_comm) return { comm: 0, mkt: 0, laborMult: 1 }; var lm = n(f.whatif_labor.value); if (!isFinite(lm) || lm <= 0) lm = 1; return { comm: n(f.whatif_comm.value), mkt: n(f.whatif_mkt.value), laborMult: lm, }; } function recalc() { var f = document.getElementById('sheet-fields'); if (!f) return; var w = whatif(); var gross = n(f.gross_sales.value); // D8 — apply commission/marketing point deltas as a fraction // of gross; labor multiplier scales the typed incremental. var commission = n(f.commission.value) + (w.comm / 100) * gross; var marketing = n(f.marketing_fees.value) + (w.mkt / 100) * gross; var labor = n(f.incremental_labor.value) * w.laborMult; var deducts = commission + marketing + n(f.refunds.value); var costs = n(f.food_cost.value) + n(f.packaging.value) + labor; var payout = gross - deducts; var contrib = payout - costs; var pct = gross > 0 ? (contrib / gross) * 100 : 0; // Update what-if output labels. if (f.whatif_comm_out) f.whatif_comm_out.value = (w.comm >= 0 ? '+' : '') + w.comm.toFixed(1) + 'pt'; if (f.whatif_mkt_out) f.whatif_mkt_out.value = (w.mkt >= 0 ? '+' : '') + w.mkt.toFixed(1) + 'pt'; if (f.whatif_labor_out) f.whatif_labor_out.value = w.laborMult.toFixed(1) + 'x'; document.querySelector('[data-output="net_payout"]').textContent = fmt$(payout); document.querySelector('[data-output="total_costs"]').textContent = fmt$(costs); var dEl = document.querySelector('[data-output="contrib_dollars"]'); dEl.textContent = fmt$(contrib); dEl.dataset.band = contrib > 0 ? 'good' : (contrib < 0 ? 'bad' : 'idle'); var pEl = document.querySelector('[data-output="contrib_pct"]'); pEl.textContent = fmtPct(pct); // D9 — band routes through Bench.evaluate when available, so // updating data/benchmarks.json's channel_contribution_pct // thresholds cascades to this sheet automatically. Inline // ladder is the graceful fallback. if (window.Bench && window.Bench.evaluate) { var bench = window.Bench.evaluate('channel_contribution_pct', pct); if (bench && bench.band) pEl.dataset.band = bench.band; } else { pEl.dataset.band = pct > 5 ? 'good' : (pct >= 0 ? 'warn' : 'bad'); } var verdict = document.querySelector('[data-output="verdict"]'); if (verdict) { if (gross <= 0) { verdict.textContent = 'Type your numbers. A positive contribution margin means the channel earns its keep; negative means each order loses money before fixed costs.'; } else if (contrib < 0) { verdict.textContent = 'This channel is losing you money on each order before fixed costs are even applied. Either renegotiate fees, raise menu prices on this channel, or turn it off.'; } else if (window.Bench && window.Bench.evaluate) { // Centralized message for non-edge bands (>= 0 contrib). var b2 = window.Bench.evaluate('channel_contribution_pct', pct); if (b2 && b2.msg) verdict.textContent = b2.msg; } else if (pct < 5) { verdict.textContent = 'Thin contribution. The channel is not paying for itself once fixed costs (rent, utilities, salaried management) are included. Action: raise menu prices on this channel, or shrink the menu offered through it to higher-margin items only.'; } else if (pct < 12) { verdict.textContent = 'In the typical band for third-party delivery — earning some contribution, but not as much as a dine-in dollar. Watch the trend month-over-month.'; } else { verdict.textContent = 'Healthy contribution for a third-party channel. Keep an eye on packaging and incremental labor — these are the line items that drift quietly.'; } } } function collect() { var f = document.getElementById('sheet-fields'); if (!f) return [['Field', 'Value']]; return [ ['Field', 'Value'], ['Channel', f.channel.value], ['Period', f.period.value || ''], [], ['Gross sales', f.gross_sales.value || '0'], ['Commission & service', f.commission.value || '0'], ['Marketing fees', f.marketing_fees.value || '0'], ['Refunds & adjustments',f.refunds.value || '0'], ['Net payout', document.querySelector('[data-output="net_payout"]').textContent], [], ['Food cost', f.food_cost.value || '0'], ['Packaging', f.packaging.value || '0'], ['Incremental labor', f.incremental_labor.value|| '0'], ['Total channel cost', document.querySelector('[data-output="total_costs"]').textContent], [], ['Contribution margin ($)', document.querySelector('[data-output="contrib_dollars"]').textContent], ['Effective margin (%)', document.querySelector('[data-output="contrib_pct"]').textContent], ]; } // D8 · Reset scenario sliders. document.addEventListener('click', function (ev) { if (ev.target && ev.target.matches && ev.target.matches('[data-whatif-reset]')) { ev.preventDefault(); var f = document.getElementById('sheet-fields'); if (!f) return; if (f.whatif_comm) f.whatif_comm.value = 0; if (f.whatif_mkt) f.whatif_mkt.value = 0; if (f.whatif_labor) f.whatif_labor.value = 1; f.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true })); } }); if (window.SheetPage) { window.SheetPage.register({ slug: 'third-party-channel-pnl', collect: collect, recalc: recalc, }); } })();

Keyboard: ⌘P print · ⌘S download CSV · ⌘↵ save to Workshop

When to use it

Pull this sheet out when —

  • End of month, when the platforms have settled and you have the real fee picture.
  • When a marketing rep calls and offers "a free promo" — see if it actually breaks even.
  • Before you decide whether to keep one of the three platforms turned on.
Common mistakes

What operators get wrong

  • Treating promo subsidies as revenue. The subsidy ends; the discount habit does not.
  • Ignoring packaging cost. A clamshell, a lid, a sticker, a bag — easily 90 cents per ticket.
  • Forgetting incremental labor. Delivery tickets eat expo and packing time you would not bill direct.
Pairs with

The tools, terms, and articles this sheet sits next to.

Tools

Glossary

Reading

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