Driver management
As an ezCater partner you can choose to deliver your orders with your own employees, managers and in-house delivery drivers. You can use our Driver Management tools for assigning drivers, tracking deliveries and optimizing performance.
Assign a driver so they can:
Access order and delivery information
Provide delivery tracking to customers
Leave feedback and photos
Delivery tracking standards
ezCater requires that all orders provide delivery tracking so customers can see real-time status updates and our support team can help if something goes wrong.
Why tracking matters
Gives customers confidence that their order is on the way
Reduces “where is my order” calls
Helps ezCater support you when there are building access or timing issues
Feeds into Operational Metrics and qualification for Reliability Rockstar
Provides data for performance analysis and coaching opportunities
As of 2026 we are requiring delivery tracking to be provided on every ezCater order. For any orders where tracking is not provided, a "delivery tracking fee" of $2.25 will be incurred and applied to the order
What “tracked delivery” means
For self-delivery, a fully tracked delivery includes:
A driver assignment in the Partner Portal
Delivery marked as on the way
Delivery marked as complete
Delivery tracking order issues
Any orders that don't provide full delivery tracking to the customer will be flagged with a delivery tracking order issue and a delivery tracking fee of $2.25
Definitions
Delivery Untracked
We received no tracking records for this order
Partially Tracked
The order is missing an event (pickup or drop-off) or timestamps don't reflect accuracy event timing (i.e. event times are too close together)
Delivery Outsourced
A third-party delivery driver was used outside of Dispatch
Delivery tracking fee
Untracked, partially tracked and delivery outsourced orders will incur a fee of $2.25
You can see these fees:
On the order details page under the financial breakdown
On payment order reports and completed order reports
Will show under the "misc. fees" column
learn more about reporting here
How to dispute a delivery tracking order issue
If you believe a delivery tracking fee was applied in error (for example, if tracking was provided or the order qualifies for an exception), you can dispute it directly in your Partner Portal. Read this article to learn more about our dispute process
How to meet tracking standards
Assign a driver to every order so that delivery tracking can be provided
Ensure updates are being sent for both events (pickup & drop-off) by your drivers
Track performance to view delivery tracking and timing performance by your in-house drivers
Orders delivered by Dispatch will automatically meet the delivery tracking requirements. Read more here about using Dispatch for delivery
Jump to Driver Management for a full walkthrough of managing drivers and deliveries
Delivery reporting
Delivery reporting dashboard
Under the Delivery tab in your portal, click on Reporting to view the delivery reporting dashboard. Here you'll see key delivery metric data to understand what you're doing well and any opportunities for improvement.
Filter results
From the drop-down filters at the top, choose your timeframe (30, 60 or 90 days) and a location to view your data:
Delivery tracking metrics
The first section shows your delivery tracking metrics, including:
Percentage of fully tracked orders
Driver assigned, order marked as on the way and completed
Percentage of partially tracked orders
Driver assigned, delivery event missing (pickup or drop-off)
Percentage of untracked orders
No delivery tracking provided
Delivery timing metrics
The second section shows your delivery timing metrics, showing the percentage of orders for each:
On-time delivery
An order is on time if it is delivered in the 15 minutes before the event time.
More than 15 minutes early
Orders delivered more than 15 minutes before the event time are not on time.
1-15 minutes late
Orders delivered anytime 1-15 minutes after the event time are considered late.
More than 15 minutes late
Orders delivered over 15 minutes after the event time are considered very late.
Order breakdown
The table at the bottom of this page will show you the orders from the selected time range and:
Tracking status
Delivery driver
Event date
Delivery start time
Delivery complete time
Customer event time
Best Practices
Click the order number to view the order details page
Filter the table by driver or event date
Compare the delivery complete time to the customer event time to recognize top performers and coaching opportunities
Driver Tip Reporting
To allocate tips to in-house delivery drivers, utilize the payment order report or completed order report available through your portal. Read more here about reports.
Delivery settings
Your delivery settings determine your delivery capabilities and cost to the customer. For self-delivery, you decide your delivery fee setup and structure.
Delivery fee structure
Each delivery fee will have:
Fee amount
The cost to the customer for delivery, paid to you
Order minimum
The minimum amount the customer needs to spend to qualify for delivery
Max delivery distance
The maximum delivery distance from your restaurant for the specified fee
You can set your delivery fee amount in a few different ways:
Fixed fee
Set flat fees for deliveries within a specified distance
i.e. $10 for orders up to 10 miles away, $20 for orders up to 20 miles away
Per mile
Set a dollar amount per mile - i.e. $1 per mile
Percentage of food
Set the fee to be based on subtotal (food total)
i.e. 10% of subtotal
Recommended Settings
Tiered delivery structures work best on our site. With a tiered delivery-fee structure, your delivery minimums and fees can increase gradually with distance.
Example tiered structure:
Delivery Fee | Order Minimum | Max Delivery Distance |
Free | $50 | 5 miles |
$10 | $100 | 10 miles |
$20 | $150 | 15 miles |
$30 | $200 | 20 miles |
With the above delivery setup, an order with:
Delivery distance of 8 miles would have a $100 minimum and a $10 fee
Delivery distance of 18 miles would have a $200 minimum and a $30 fee
Where to manage delivery settings
Where to update your delivery settings:
In your Partner Portal
Go to Settings → Store Settings
Click "Request Store Update" and fill out the update form
Update form
Access our account update form here
Partner Success
Email our Partner Success via [email protected]
Delivery settings best practices
Review these settings for every store
Delivery radius
Define the area where you can consistently deliver on time
Avoid setting a radius you cannot reliably cover in traffic
Delivery fees
Set fees that cover your self-delivery costs while remaining competitive
Keep fees consistent with your other catering channels
Delivery windows and hours
Set delivery hours that match when you can actually staff drivers
Learn about adjusting delivery hours here
Delivery hours set when customers can schedule deliveries. For example, if your opening time is 11 AM, customers can place orders to be delivered by 11 AM
Lead times
Set minimum notice based on what your team needs for prep and delivery for our average order size of $420 and serving 25 people
For new stores, start conservatively and shorten only when you’re confident
Align delivery settings with what your team can actually support every day, not just on your best days
Additional Resources
Training Resources