Vendor Handbook

All food businesses apply through the unified Vendor Application, which consolidates business details, operational requirements, location data, and plan selections into a single submission.

POS Qualification Gate. A compatible POS / ordering system is required to participate in FoodRunz and DriverPay™. During application, the automated POS qualification gate checks whether your system is supported:

• Qualified: Square, Clover, Toast, Owner.com, or Shopify — fully supported with API/OAuth integration.
• Unqualified (no POS): No POS system in place — application cannot proceed.
• Unqualified (planning): POS acquisition in progress — application is held until a supported system is live.
• Unqualified (unsupported POS): A custom or proprietary system without API access — application is rejected.

Applications are not automatically approved. Each submission receives an automated readiness score based on revenue volume, operational fit, driver capacity, and risk factors. High-scoring applications may receive expedited approval; all others undergo manual admin review. Approved vendors receive a 48-hour activation timelinenotification.

Not every business is approved. FoodRunz maintains quality standards and may decline applications that do not meet operational or compatibility requirements.

Once your application is approved, you enter the structured 6-stage onboarding pipeline. Each stage must be completed and reviewed before advancing to the next:

1. Stage 1 — Account Creation: Contact details, user invite, and platform access setup.
2. Stage 2 — Business Information: Legal name, DBA, business type, EIN, license number, and primary address verification.
3. Stage 3 — Service Area: Delivery radius, zones, service hours, and days of operation.
4. Stage 4 — Menu Upload: Menu URL, item count, and category mapping.
5. Stage 5 — DriverPay™ & Stripe Setup: POS integration verification, $3.99 delivery fee configuration, tip reporting confirmation, funding method, and reserve funding initiation.
6. Stage 6 — Payment Agreement: Final acknowledgments, electronic signature, commission agreement, and data-sharing consent.

All stages are gated behind admin approval. Your VendorDashboard displays real-time progress through each stage.

Every participating vendor with a supported POS system agrees to add the standard FoodRunz delivery fee (currently $3.99 per delivery, unless updated by FoodRunz) to each eligible delivery order.

This delivery fee is collected by the vendor and is designated for the dedicated driver's delivery compensation according to the FoodRunz DriverPay™ program.

The vendor is responsible for properly configuring its POS system to collect this fee. Fee configuration is verified during Stage 5 onboarding and continuously monitored through the ClearPay™ reconciliation system.

For catering orders, pre-negotiated flat delivery fees may apply instead of the standard $3.99. These are agreed upon during onboarding or event booking.

Customer gratuities are collected through the vendor's POS system.

FoodRunz does not collect, process, or distribute customer tips. The vendor is solely responsible for paying all earned gratuities to the dedicated driver.

Tip withholding is strictly prohibited and may result in immediate suspension.

For GigSmart drivers, tip add-on pay must be submitted through the GigSmart platform as Add-On Pay. FoodRunz tracks this submission through the ClearPay™ reconciliation system.

DriverPay™ is FoodRunz's national driver compensation and vendor settlement ecosystem. It replaces manual tip-out tracking with an automated, reconciled ledger system.

POS Compatibility. Your POS provider determines your DriverPay integration status:

• Fully Integrated: Order, delivery fee, and tip data flow automatically from your POS.
• Partial: Some fields are retrieved automatically; others require manual entry.
• Manual: All transaction data is entered manually by the vendor.
• Unsupported: POS lacks API access — DriverPay is unavailable.

Reserve Funding. Each vendor maintains a DriverPay reserve balance — a pre-funded account that covers driver compensation obligations. The reserve target is auto-calculated based on your delivery volume. When the balance drops below the threshold, auto-replenishment triggers via your verified funding method (ACH or card). Vendors can also fund the reserve manually through the Stripe-protected checkout.

Nightly Settlement. Every night, the DriverPay engine batches eligible completed deliveries into settlements grouped by driver and shift. Each settlement includes delivery compensation ($3.99 × deliveries), verified tips, and any additional compensation. Settlements are paid via Stripe Connect transfers.

Readiness Score. Your DriverPay Readiness Score (0–100) reflects POS compatibility, funding verification, delivery fee configuration, tip reporting, reserve funding, and signed agreements. A score below threshold restricts your account to "restricted" status until requirements are met.

Account Status. Vendor DriverPay accounts operate in one of four states: Active, Restricted, Payment Attention, or Suspended. Each delivery creates a permanent ledger record (DriverPayTransaction) with a full audit trail.

ClearPay™ is the reconciliation layer that verifies every completed delivery against your POS records. It ensures delivery fees, tips, and order details match across systems before driver payouts are released.

Reconciliation Status per order:

• Pending: Delivery complete, awaiting POS match.
• Reconciled: POS order confirmed — fee and tip verified — payout eligible.
• Flagged: Mismatch detected (missing order, missing tip, partial/full refund, duplicate) — vendor action required.
• Disputed: Under formal review by vendor or FoodRunz.

Flagged exceptions generate a DriverPayException record and may trigger automatic actions such as held payouts or account restriction. Vendors must resolve flagged exceptions promptly through the ClearPay admin dashboard to restore payout eligibility.

The AI Driver Scheduler™ is the primary interface for vendors to request driver coverage. Instead of manually posting individual shifts, you describe your needs in plain language and the AI generates a staffing plan.

Request flow:

1. Vendor submits a natural-language shift request (e.g., "I need 2 drivers for lunch and dinner, Monday–Friday, 5-mile radius").
2. AI classifies the delivery type and generates a recommendation with confidence score, estimated cost, and assignment duration.
3. Vendor reviews and approves the recommendation (or routes to exception review for unusual requirements).
4. Upon approval, the system searches for and matches certified drivers based on zone, tier, expertise, and availability.
5. Matched drivers receive notifications and confirm assignments through the platform.

The scheduler supports single-day, multi-day, recurring, 30-day, Weekendz, catering event, corporate event, large-order dropoff, and multi-stop event shift types. All assignments are tracked end-to-end with real-time status updates.

Every FoodRunz driver must complete the Driver Academy™ and pass the certification quiz before being assigned to any vendor shift. The Academy is a smartphone-first training program covering delivery standards, customer service, conduct, and FoodRunz protocols.

Vendors receive only certified drivers. The Academy certification status is verified nightly as part of the DriverPay settlement gate — uncertified drivers are excluded from payout eligibility until they complete certification.

Drivers who decline three shifts within a 30-day window receive a warning and may face tier demotion. Vendor shift requests can specify minimum driver tier requirements (Standard, Silver, Gold, or Elite) based on performance and reliability.

During onboarding (Stage 6), the vendor selects its tip payment schedule. Available options:

• End of each shift — Driver is paid immediately after the shift ends.
• Daily — Driver is paid at the end of each business day.
• Weekly — Driver is paid once per week on an agreed day.
• Custom — A custom schedule negotiated with FoodRunz.

The selected schedule becomes part of the vendor agreement and is visible to drivers in the Driver Opportunity Preview before they accept an assignment.

Vendors report tip payouts through the ClearPay™ reconciliation dashboard for transparency and audit purposes. DriverPay nightly settlements reference this schedule.

Subscription billing and DriverPay pass-through ledger activity are separate.

Your FoodRunz subscription plan (Growth, Scale, or Enterprise) is billed on a recurring monthly or annual basis through Stripe. This covers platform access, the AI Driver Scheduler™, ClearPay™ reconciliation, and Driver Academy™ certification for your assigned drivers.

DriverPay™ reserve funding, nightly settlements, and driver payouts are pass-through ledger activity — funds that flow from your reserve to your drivers. These are not subscription charges and are tracked separately in your DriverPay account ledger.

Specialty plans (Weekendz, Food Trucks & Home-Based, Franchise) have tailored pricing and are configured during onboarding based on your business type.