BC's delivery app fee cap: what it covers, what it does not and how to work out your real margin

Delivery apps are a bargain for the diner and an expense for you. British Columbia was the first province to pass a permanent law limiting what large platforms can charge a restaurant. Knowing what the law does, and where it stops, lets you price delivery honestly.

Is the BC delivery fee cap still in force?

Yes. The Food Delivery Service Fee Act replaced the emergency orders made during the pandemic, and the BC government describes the cap as permanent. It applies to a platform that provides both ordering and delivery services and serves 500 or more restaurants, a number set in the Food Delivery Service Fee Regulation, so a small local delivery service falls outside it.

For core ordering and delivery services, the Regulation sets the cap at 20 percent of the order value, not counting taxes and gratuities. The law also bars platforms from cutting driver pay to make up for lower fees. The government's page on the Act has the current wording, so read it before you quote a figure in a dispute.

What does the cap cover?

It covers the fees a platform charges you, the restaurant, for its core services such as listing, order handling and delivery. It does not cover:

• the delivery, service and small-order fees the platform charges your customer
• optional services you choose to buy, such as marketing and promoted listings
• the cost of packaging and the food waste from late or cancelled orders

Treat the cap as a ceiling on one line of your costs, not a promise that delivery is profitable.

How do you work out your real margin on a delivery order?

Take one popular dish and follow the money:

Line	Example approach
Menu price on the app	What the customer sees before fees
Platform commission	The percentage your contract states, no higher than the cap
Payment processing	If charged separately
Packaging	Bag, container, cutlery, sauce pots
Food cost	Ingredients at your usual cost
Labour	A share of the kitchen time spent on the order

Subtract all of it from the menu price. Many owners find that a dish that earns a healthy margin in the dining room earns very little through an app. Do this for your five best sellers, since those are the orders you will receive most.

Should you raise your prices on the app?

Many restaurants list higher prices on delivery platforms than in the dining room, to protect the margin. It is legal, but read your platform contract, because some platforms have parity clauses that restrict it. Check what your agreement says before you change prices. If you do, be honest: a small note that app prices include platform costs prevents complaints.

What are your alternatives?

• Your own phone and website orders, with pickup. No commission, and you keep the customer's details with consent. Payment processing still costs money.
• Your own drivers or a courier you pay by the run, which can work for a tight local radius.
• Shared delivery with neighbouring businesses, where a couple of kitchens split a driver's time.
• A limited delivery menu of the dishes that travel well, so the platform orders you take are the profitable ones.

Many owners combine them: apps for reach, direct ordering for regulars.

What happens if a platform charges more than the cap?

Start with the BC government's page on the Act, which explains how the Act and the Regulation apply to platforms, restaurants and delivery drivers and where to take a complaint. Keep your contract, your statements and any emails. If you are unsure whether a fee is a core service or an optional one, ask the platform to put in writing which category it falls into.

What about the drivers?

The law forbids platforms from reducing driver pay to offset the cap. As a business, you do not control how drivers are paid, but you can help by having orders ready on time, so drivers do not wait. Long waits at your counter cost drivers money and make them less willing to take your orders.

What should you do now?

1. Download your last three months of platform statements.
2. Work out your average commission as a percentage of food sales.
3. Cost your top five delivery dishes.
4. Decide your delivery menu, prices and radius.
5. Tell regulars how to order directly.

Whatever tool you use to take direct orders, make sure it shows the real cost of each channel side by side, so you can see which orders earn money.

More guides for your business:

• The Accessible BC Act and your restaurant website: what applies today and what to do anyway
• Liquor licences for BC restaurants: food primary or liquor primary, and who needs Serving It Right
• BC minimum wage for restaurants in 2026: 18.25 dollars, liquor servers and the June adjustment

More in the Canadian guides for food businesses.