Click and collect for takeaways: a UK set-up checklist

1. Register the business

Online and phone sales count as distance selling, and food businesses selling that way need to be registered with their local authority. Register at least 28 days before you start trading; registration is free and can't be refused. If you already trade from a shop and add click and collect, tell your local authority about the new service. Source: GOV.UK, "Starting a food business" (FSA).

2. Set collection hours you can keep

Customers read the times on your ordering page as a promise. Set collection hours for the days and times you can really cook, and keep them separate from delivery hours if you offer both. On Chefzi, collection hours and delivery hours are set separately, and a holiday closure is one special-day window covering both. Review the hours before bank holidays and Ramadan or Christmas pre-orders. See takeaway Christmas opening hours and pre-orders.

3. Decide how far ahead people can order

A pre-order lead time stops orders arriving with too little notice. On Chefzi the lead time is set for the location, not for one dish, so choose a figure that works for your slowest common order. Chefzi has no cap on how many orders can be placed in one time slot, so if the kitchen is full you pause ordering instead.

4. Give allergen information twice

For orders placed online or by phone, the Food Standards Agency says allergen information must be provided at two stages:

1. Before the purchase is completed, in writing on the website or menu, or orally on the phone.
2. When the food is delivered (and, for click and collect, at handover as the safe equivalent), in writing (for example allergen stickers on the bag or an enclosed copy of the menu) or orally.

Label takeaway meals clearly so customers know which dishes are suitable for those with an allergy, and keep ingredients that contain allergens separate to avoid cross-contamination. See allergen information for online orders.

5. Pick a simple handover routine

• Bag and seal the order, and write the order number or customer name on the bag.
• Keep allergen-order bags and their stickers together.
• Keep a clear collection point so customers don't queue behind walk-in orders.
• Check the order against the ticket before handing it over.

6. Decide how customers pay

Cash on collection is available on every Chefzi plan. Card payments at checkout, through Stripe Connect, Square, Worldpay or PayPal, are on the Plus plan and above. Card fees are set by the processor you choose. See Chefzi pricing.

7. Make the link easy to find

Put your ordering link on your Google Business Profile, your Instagram bio, your leaflets and a QR code at the counter. See add an Order online link to your Google Business Profile.

Where Chefzi fits

Chefzi gives your takeaway its own ordering website on your own domain, with 0% commission ever, from £9 a month per location billed annually (£12 monthly, excluding VAT). The first month is free and no credit card is required. Orders ring in the Chefzi app on a phone or tablet you already own until someone accepts or rejects them. See online ordering for takeaways.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Starting a food business (Food Standards Agency, last updated 19 August 2026), read 10 Nov 2026: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/starting-a-food-business