Case study: a grill house runs its own three drivers beside Careem

What happened at the illustrative grill house?

Al-Balad Grill is a fictional Jordanian grill house with one branch, three drivers and a busy dinner trade. On one illustrative busy day, it handled 100 delivery orders and 20 pickup orders. Sixty-five delivery orders came from its own website or phone, and 35 came through Careem. Its own orders had no delivery commission, while Careem brought extra demand during peaks.

The owner wanted both channels without sending every order to the same driver. Own drivers made sense when several orders were going to nearby zones. Careem was useful during a sudden spike, for a distant address or when no driver was available.

When do own drivers make financial sense?

Assume the grill house receives 100 delivery orders on a busy day. Sixty-five come through its own website or phone, 35 through Careem, and 20 additional orders are pickup orders.

For the own-driver figure, the owner must include the driver's shift cost, fuel, vehicle wear and time waiting between trips. A driver who completes several nearby deliveries in one run may cost less per order than an app commission. A driver sent across town for one small order may cost more.

Careem commonly carries a quoted commission of 25% to 30%, depending on the agreement and market. The restaurant should use its signed rate, not a generic estimate. Nexara can receive Careem orders and manage dispatch for the restaurant's own orders, while Careem keeps its own commission on orders it brings.

How did the branch decide which driver took each order?

The branch used simple rules. Nearby website and phone orders went to the restaurant's drivers when one was free. Careem handled overflow, farther addresses and periods when all three drivers were already out. The manager checked the order address, preparation time and driver status before assigning the trip.

Nexara gives the branch one order board for phone, website, Talabat and Careem orders. Its delivery area can use zones, and a driver role can be assigned to the restaurant's own fleet. The kitchen receives printed tickets in Arabic on standard ESC/POS thermal printers, so the dispatcher is working from the same order details as the kitchen.

How did the owner reconcile cash per driver?

Each driver started with a recorded float and received a delivery list. At return, the manager checked delivered orders, cancelled orders, cash collected and cash handed in. The driver signed off the difference before leaving the branch.

1. Print or review the driver's assigned orders for the shift.
2. Separate cash-on-delivery orders from card or prepaid orders.
3. Add the cash due from delivered orders and subtract any approved refund.
4. Count the driver's handover with a second person present.
5. Record the difference and the reason before closing the shift.

Nexara includes a Cashier Reconciliation report and delivery report areas, while the owner still needs a branch rule for floats, refunds and shortages. A report can show the recorded numbers; it cannot replace a person counting the cash.

What changed after the hybrid model?

The fictional branch stopped treating every delivery order alike. Its three drivers covered dense nearby routes, while Careem absorbed overflow and difficult timing. The manager could see the channel, order type and delivery status together instead of copying details between app screens and paper notes.

The illustrative target was to keep 45 nearby deliveries with the own fleet and use Careem for 35 orders. The owner would review actual cost per completed delivery after four weeks, including fuel, wages, commissions, refunds, failed deliveries and idle time. That review decides whether the fleet should grow, shrink or stay at three drivers.

Nexara sits beside the till as the order and operations layer. The cashier still records the day's net sale at close. Nexara keeps the order path, delivery assignment and operational records together.

What should another branch measure first?

• Orders per delivery zone and the number of nearby orders grouped in each hour.
• Completed deliveries per driver, including waiting and return time.
• True own-driver cost after wages, fuel, maintenance and idle hours.
• Careem commission, refunds and cancelled orders by channel.
• Cash handed over by each driver at the end of every shift.
• Late deliveries and customer complaints by dispatch choice.

Nexara's delivery dispatch for own drivers and own delivery versus aggregators explain the operating choices in more detail. The features page lists the order, delivery, printing and reconciliation tools available in the platform.

To discuss your branch, message Nexara through WhatsApp or visit nexaratech.io. The founder can review your order channels, driver routes and cash controls with you.