Guide
Drawing zones that make money.
A circle on a map ignores rivers, dual carriageways and one-way systems. Your driver does not.
In short
Draw delivery zones by road and drive time rather than as a radius, and set a different minimum order, fee and quoted time for each. The zone furthest out should carry the highest minimum, because a small order at the edge loses money once you count the driver's round trip. Review zones quarterly against actual delivery times.
Updated 28 August 2026
Why a radius costs you money twice
A circle includes places that are close on a map and slow in reality, across a river or on the wrong side of a dual carriageway. It also excludes streets just past the line that are five minutes away. So you take orders you lose money on and refuse orders you would profit from. Drive time is the real unit, not distance.
Set the minimum by zone, not globally
One minimum across the whole area is a compromise that is wrong everywhere. Near zones can carry a low minimum because the round trip is short. The outer zone needs a higher one, because twenty-five minutes of driver time has to be covered by the margin on that order. Charging the same for both means the close orders subsidise the far ones.
- Inner zone: low minimum, low or no fee, tight time
- Middle zone: standard minimum and fee
- Outer zone: higher minimum, higher fee, wider quoted time
Quote wider at the edge and at peak
The most common complaint in delivery is not the wait, it is the wait being longer than promised. Quote a range, widen it for the outer zone, and widen it again during peak. An honest fifty-five minutes produces a better outcome than an optimistic thirty followed by a cold delivery and a two-star review.
Check zones against reality every quarter
Compare quoted times to actual delivery times by zone. Roadworks, a new one-way system or a seasonal traffic pattern can turn a good zone into a bad one without anybody noticing. If a zone consistently runs over, either shrink it or reprice it. Zones drawn once at launch and never revisited are a common source of quiet losses.
The honest limitation
Tight zones protect margin and cap your reach. If you are trying to grow volume in a quiet period, temporarily extending a zone with a higher minimum can be the right call. Just do it deliberately and measure it, rather than drawing a generous zone at the start and never asking whether it pays.
Questions, answered straight.
Not covered here? Just ask us.
Should delivery be free over a certain amount?
It works well because it raises average order at the same time as removing the objection. Set the threshold above your current average order, not below it.
How far is too far?
Judge by drive time and food quality on arrival, not by miles. If chips do not survive the journey, the zone is too big regardless of what the map says.
Should I charge more at peak?
Varying the fee at peak is common but can annoy regulars. Widening the quoted time is usually a better lever than raising the price.
What about orders just outside a zone?
Have a rule and apply it consistently. Ad hoc exceptions made on the phone at eight o'clock are how drivers end up on twenty-minute round trips for a small order.
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