How Does Grubhub Catering Work for Restaurants? Fees, Setup

Most restaurants find out they do Grubhub catering when a tray order shows up on the tablet. Or a corporate client asks if you're "on Grubhub for catering." Either way, it pays to know how it works before you lean on it.

Here's the short version. Grubhub catering is group ordering through Grubhub's website, and much of it comes from companies on Grubhub for Business. The buyer orders and pays Grubhub. You cook, it gets delivered, and you pay Grubhub's fees on the order.

Catering Funnels is a done-for-you lead generation and automation platform built for restaurants with active catering operations. We work alongside the marketplaces restaurants already use, so this guide walks through Grubhub catering from the restaurant side: where orders come from, who delivers, what it costs, and who ends up owning the customer.

Where do Grubhub catering orders come from?

From companies and from regular diners. Grubhub's restaurant FAQ says anyone can place a catering order, consumers and corporate diners alike, and that catering is ordered on Grubhub's website, not in its apps (Grubhub).

The bigger tickets tend to come from Grubhub for Business. That's Grubhub's corporate program, which gives employers one account for team meals. Grubhub says its enterprise accounts "offer more ways to order (including scheduled team orders and catering)," with formats "from buffet-style platters to individually boxed meals" (Grubhub for Business).

So the person ordering is usually an office manager, an executive assistant or someone on the HR team. They're the same people in the job titles that order corporate catering. The difference is that they find you inside Grubhub, not on your own site.

How does a Grubhub catering order work, step by step?

It runs on the same account as your Grubhub delivery orders, with a later due time. Here's the flow, based on Grubhub's own help pages:

1. The buyer places the order. Grubhub says catering can be ordered same-day or up to 14 days ahead. Regular individual and group orders on Grubhub for Business can be placed up to 7 days ahead. You can require 24 hours' notice and set your own catering hours.
2. You get the order. It arrives in Grubhub for Restaurants, by email or by fax, and scheduled orders sit in a Scheduled tab until their due date. Grubhub notes that POS-integrated restaurants may need a second account to accept scheduled group orders.
3. You confirm and prep it. Confirming tells Grubhub and the customer you're preparing it. Grubhub says orders can't be changed after they're placed, so any change goes through Grubhub.
4. It gets delivered. Either your own drivers take it, or a Grubhub driver does. Catering orders can't be picked up.
5. The buyer pays Grubhub. Corporate clients can pay on a line of credit or by card. On Grubhub for Business, charges are "billed directly to the company using a centralized payment method."
6. Grubhub pays you. Catering shows up on the same monthly statement as your other Grubhub orders, unless you set up a separate catering-only account.

You never send an invoice, and you never chase a payment. That's the real convenience. It's also why the billing relationship stays with Grubhub, not with you.

Who delivers Grubhub catering orders?

You do, or Grubhub's drivers do. Grubhub's restaurant FAQ says catering orders go out with a self-delivery restaurant's own drivers or with "Premium Grubhub Drivers" (Grubhub). On Grubhub for Business accounts, Grubhub says delivery orders are fulfilled by Grubhub drivers (Grubhub for Business).

Either way, Grubhub's FAQ asks you to pack utensils, napkins and other serveware unless the order says otherwise. A tray of tacos with no tongs reads as your mistake, not the driver's.

Does Grubhub catering offer setup or staffed service?

Some, on corporate accounts. Grubhub's corporate catering page says "day-of staffing is available as needed," with a footnote that access to on-site coordinators varies (Grubhub for Business).

What Grubhub doesn't publish is full-service catering: servers running a buffet line, a carving station, or staff on site for a 150-person event. Its driver help center does have an article titled "Should I arrive early to the Diner to set up?" (Grubhub). That points to drop-off with light setup, not an event team.

If the client wants that kind of service, you'll be arranging it outside Grubhub. That's usually where the bigger tickets are.

What fees does Grubhub charge restaurants on catering orders?

Grubhub publishes its plan rates, but not a separate catering rate. Its pricing page lists three plans (Grubhub):

• Basic: 5% marketing commission, per Grubhub's published pricing.
• Plus: 15% marketing commission, per Grubhub's published pricing.
• All-access: 20% marketing commission, per Grubhub's published pricing.

On top of the plan rate, Grubhub says delivery fees for Grubhub Delivery "start at 10%," self delivery carries no delivery fee, and payment processing is not included. New York City has its own pricing, and Grubhub notes pricing in select markets may differ.

Grubhub deserves credit here. Most catering marketplaces don't publish rates at all.

All-in, third-party analyses report Grubhub costing restaurants roughly 15% to 30% of an order depending on plan and delivery, with processing reported at about 3.05% plus $0.30 per order (Sauce). Your merchant agreement has the figures that apply to you, including on catering.

On a catering ticket, that percentage hurts more than it does on a burrito. Here's a $1,200 office lunch delivered by Grubhub, assuming the published rates apply to catering the same way:

• Marketing commission: $180 at the published Plus rate of 15%, or $240 at the published All-access rate of 20%.
• Delivery fee: at least $120, since Grubhub says its delivery fees start at 10%.
• Processing: about $37 at the third-party-reported 3.05% plus $0.30.

That's somewhere around $337 to $397 on one order, before any ads. Check the numbers against your own agreement. For how every marketplace compares, see catering marketplace commissions vs direct ordering. For the published tiers run against catering-sized tickets, see Catering Funnels and Grubhub side by side.

Who owns the customer on a Grubhub catering order?

Grubhub does.

The buyer's account, payment and order history live on Grubhub's side. You see the order, not the relationship. When that office manager wants lunch again next month, they open Grubhub, and you're one listing among many.

That's the same problem covered in how ezCater works for restaurants. Marketplaces are good at the first order. They're built to keep the repeat orders on their side.

How does Grubhub catering compare to ezCater?

They solve the same problem from different starting points.

• Grubhub is a delivery marketplace with catering added on. Its corporate side, Grubhub for Business, reaches companies already using it for employee meals, with catering next to group orders.
• ezCater is built only for catering, so its buyers arrive expecting tray pricing, lead times and headcounts.

Both charge per order, and both keep the customer relationship. If you're weighing your options, read ezCater alternatives for restaurants, or see Catering Funnels and ezCater side by side.

Is Grubhub catering worth it for restaurants?

It can be, as long as you use it for what it does well.

Grubhub is worth having when:

• you already run Grubhub delivery and the tablet is on the counter
• you want occasional office orders with no sales effort
• you'd rather pay a percentage than handle billing

It costs you more when:

• your average catering ticket is large
• the same companies keep ordering from you
• the client wants setup, staff or a custom menu

The move most restaurants miss is building direct accounts alongside the marketplace. Every restaurant that caters has a few offices that order again and again. Those are worth winning directly through your own outreach, so the next order costs you nothing per ticket. Here's how to turn a one-time catering order into a recurring account and how to build a recurring office lunch account.

How do restaurants get catering orders without Grubhub?

They go to the buyers directly. The companies on Grubhub for Business are real companies with real people who order lunch, and those people can be reached without a marketplace.

That means finding the people who book catering at nearby offices, reaching out with a menu and an offer, following up, and making reordering easy. It's more work up front. The payoff is an account with no per-order cut.

It works. Bain Barbecue, in Memphis, booked a $5,550 corporate catering order for 150 people from a single LinkedIn message. Fob Grill booked a 600-person corporate holiday party for $22,000, direct, no marketplace, no commission.

This is what Catering Funnels builds for restaurants: a direct corporate pipeline for a flat monthly price with no commission. See pricing, or try the catering revenue calculator to see what a few repeat corporate accounts are worth. To run the outreach yourself, the Corporate Catering Playbook has the scripts and cadence.

Common questions

Does Grubhub do catering? Yes. Grubhub takes catering orders on its website, from regular diners and from companies on Grubhub for Business. Grubhub says catering can be ordered same-day or up to 14 days ahead, and catering isn't available in its apps.

Who delivers Grubhub catering orders? Your own drivers, if you self-deliver, or Grubhub's drivers. Grubhub's restaurant FAQ says catering goes out with a self-delivery restaurant's drivers or "Premium Grubhub Drivers." Catering orders can't be picked up.

Does Grubhub catering include setup? On corporate accounts, Grubhub says day-of staffing is available as needed, and that access to on-site coordinators varies. It doesn't publish a full-service option with servers or a buffet line. Expect drop-off with light setup, and check with your Grubhub rep.

How much does Grubhub take from catering orders? Grubhub doesn't publish a catering-specific rate. Its pricing page lists marketing commission of 5%, 15% or 20% by plan, Grubhub Delivery fees starting at 10%, and processing not included. Third-party analyses report all-in costs of roughly 15% to 30%, so check your merchant agreement.

Can I get the customer's contact info from a Grubhub catering order? The account and billing relationship stay with Grubhub. To build a direct relationship, give the client a reason to order from you directly next time, through your own outreach and follow-up.