Cloud kitchens · Hospitality
Know what each brand earns after the aggregator has been paid
A cloud kitchen sells almost entirely through delivery platforms, and the platform decides how much of each order reaches the bank. We reconcile every payout to the orders behind it and separate commission, advertising, discounts and refunds by brand. The shared kitchen's cost is then allocated, so each brand shows what it really contributes.
In one paragraph
Delivery-only kitchens and multi-brand operators run several virtual brands from one or more kitchens, usually on ₹2–150 crore turnover. A founder or finance lead is accountable for the numbers. One kitchen and one team cook for every brand, and each brand is listed separately on each platform. Revenue, platform cost and kitchen cost therefore have to be split three ways before any margin can be read.
Founder or head of finance, often with the head of growth who manages the platforms
The economics
How the money moves in this trade
Revenue arrives through food-delivery aggregators that collect from the customer and deduct commission, payment charges, advertising, brand-funded discounts and complaint refunds. The balance is remitted on a cycle that is usually weekly, although some platforms offer daily settlement to smaller restaurants. The aggregator also pays GST on restaurant services supplied through it and deducts tax at source under the Income-tax Act. The tax figures in the payout therefore have to be reconciled to the brand's own returns.
Behind the brands sits one kitchen whose rent, staff, gas, power and packaging are shared. Brands launch, are renamed and are withdrawn quickly, often on the strength of gross orders. Unless platform cost and kitchen cost are both attributed to the brand, a brand with heavy discounting and advertising can look the strongest. It may be losing money on every order.
The problem
Where the numbers usually break down
Payouts are booked as net receipts
The settlement transfer is recorded as sales, so commission, advertising and refunds never appear as separate costs.
Ad spend is not tied to a brand
Platform advertising is deducted at account level and nobody attributes it to the brand and outlet it promoted.
Refunds and cancellations are accepted
Complaint refunds charged back by the platform are not reviewed, so recoverable deductions are lost.
Shared kitchen cost sits in one pool
Rent, staff and gas are recorded for the kitchen, not split across the brands that use it.
Platform tax figures are never reconciled
GST paid by the aggregator and tax deducted on payouts are not matched to the brand's returns and tax credit.
What we do
The work, and the result each part produces
Payout-to-order reconciliation
Every aggregator payout matched to its orders, with commission, payment charges, advertising, funded discounts and refunds separated.
Revenue and platform cost are both stated in full.
Brand and platform contribution
Contribution by brand, by platform and by kitchen after food cost, packaging and every platform deduction.
Each brand is judged on what it keeps, not what it sells.
Shared-kitchen cost allocation
Rent, staff, utilities and overhead allocated to brands on a stated basis such as orders or prep time.
Multi-brand margins reflect the kitchen each brand uses.
Refund and chargeback review
Platform refunds and cancellations listed by reason, with disputable items raised within the platform's window.
Avoidable deductions are recovered instead of absorbed.
Platform tax reconciliation
GST paid by the aggregator and tax deducted on payouts reconciled to returns and to the credit shown in the tax statement.
Tax filed agrees with tax the platforms reported.
Brand launch and exit review
A short contribution review for each new brand after its first months, against the cost of keeping it listed.
Brands are withdrawn on evidence rather than on order counts.
Where we start
The first steps of an engagement
Payout files and order reports
We ask for each platform's settlement statements and order-level reports for every brand, the kitchen's purchase and payroll records, and the bank statements the payouts land in.
Match payouts to orders
A recent run of payouts is matched to its orders, with commission, payment charges, advertising, funded discounts and refunds separated by brand.
Refund and ad-spend tagging
Refunds and chargebacks are listed by reason so disputable items can be raised within each platform's window, and advertising is tagged to the brand it promoted.
A brand contribution statement
Contribution by brand and platform after food cost, packaging and every platform deduction, with the shared kitchen's cost allocated on a stated basis.
How it is measured
The reports the work is judged on
Each is recorded as a baseline before the work starts, so later reports have an honest comparison.
- Net payout as a share of gross order value, by brand and platform
- Contribution per order, by brand
- Advertising and funded discounts as a share of net revenue
- Refunds and cancellations by reason, with amounts recovered
- Kitchen cost per order, by kitchen
- Platform tax deducted reconciled to the tax statement
Who it suits
Written for, and not the right fit for
- Most of your sales are dine-in; the restaurant chains page fits better.
- You want commission terms renegotiated with the aggregators on your behalf; we show what each deduction costs, and the negotiation stays with you.
- Delivery-only kitchens running several brands on two or more aggregators.
- Multi-kitchen operators adding locations or brands quickly.
- Restaurant groups whose delivery business has become large enough to report on its own.
Services
Services this work draws on
Outsourced accounting
Your books kept current and reconciled, closed to a published calendar.
Explore service ↗Costing and profitability
What each product, line and customer really contributes.
Explore service ↗GST, TDS and tax compliance
GST, TDS and income-tax prepared from reconciled data, not a working file.
Explore service ↗Finance technology and automation
Systems configured around your process, not the other way round.
Explore service ↗Every other service, also available in this trade
Common questions
Questions owners in this trade ask
The aggregator dashboard shows our payouts. Why reconcile them separately?
The dashboard shows what the platform decided to pay. Reconciling it to orders is how you find refunds you didn't accept, ad spend charged to the wrong brand and orders that never settled. Those don't surface unless someone looks.
How do you split kitchen cost between brands that share everything?
On a basis agreed up front, usually orders or preparation time, and then applied without change. The exact basis matters less than keeping it consistent so brands can be compared month to month.
Can aggregator payout reconciliation be automated?
Largely. Platform payout reports follow a fixed format, so the matching can be scripted and only the exceptions need a person to review them.
FSSAI registration or licence for each kitchen remains the operator's own responsibility. Statutory audits and tax-audit reports are signed by an independently engaged CA. Full detail is on our Professional Scope page.
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