Getting started with Uber Eats is easy with its three-step signup process. This guide will walk you through each step and provide additional tips to ensure you're fully prepared to manage your restaurant on the platform.

Step 1: Create an account on Uber Eats for Merchants

Start by creating an account on the Uber Eats for Merchants page. This is your first step to becoming an Uber Eats restaurant partner. Enter your store name and address, then provide the brand name that will appear on the app. 

Select your business type from options like Restaurant, Convenience Store, Grocery Store, Specialty Food Store, Liquor Store, Florist, or Pharmacy.

Step 2: Menu Creation

For merchants brand-new to the Uber Eats app, the Uber Eats team will initially create your menus. 

Once your initial menu is live in Uber Eats Manager, you’ll have full control to make edits or add new items using the Menu Maker tool. Here’s how to get started:

• Initial Setup: The Uber Eats team will upload your basic menu, including your most popular items. This ensures you can start receiving orders as soon as possible.
• Editing and Adding Menus: Once your initial menu is live, you can make changes or add new items using Menu Maker. This tool is user-friendly and allows you to customize your menu with photos, descriptions, and pricing.

Check out this video or go through this guide to understand the functionality of the menu maker. 

For additional insights on optimizing your menu, check out our blog on menu engineering to enhance your offerings and boost your sales.

Step 3: The Restaurant is Live, Ready for Uber Eats Delivery!

Once you've completed the above steps, your restaurant will be ready to start receiving orders via the Uber Eats dashboard. 

How to Manage Orders on Uber Eats?

After completing your Uber Eats signup, you’ll want to efficiently handle incoming orders. When a new order arrives, the Orders screen on your device will flash green and you’ll hear a sound notification. To ensure you don’t miss any orders, keep your device's volume up and watch the green screen for the order alert.

Here’s how to process new orders effectively:

1. Tap on the flashing green screen to view the details of the new order.
2. Communicate the order to your kitchen staff by either inputting it into your POS system, verbally relaying it, or printing it out, provided you have printer functionality enabled.
3. Press “Confirm” as soon as the kitchen begins order preparation, notifying the customer that their meal is on the way.
4. Pay close attention to both the “Expected Pickup Time” and “Time Given.” The former indicates when the delivery partner will arrive for pickup, while the latter reflects the total preparation time needed, based on your restaurant’s historical data.

Consider implementing UrbanPiper, trusted by over 35,000 restaurants worldwide. This integration streamlines your Uber Eats orders by centralizing them, along with those from delivery services like DoorDash, Swiggy and Deliveroo, directly into your Point-of-Sale (POS) system. 

With this seamless integration, you can eliminate manual entry, reduce errors, and speed up order processing, allowing you to focus on what really matters—serving your customers.

While the Uber Eats signup process is straightforward, understanding these details will help you manage your orders more effectively. Let's begin by understanding the various services associated with Uber Eats, which is crucial information to know before signing up on Uber Eats for Merchants.

How to Choose the Right Service for Your Needs?

Uber Eats provides various services tailored to meet the unique needs of your business, whether you’re looking to expand your reach, streamline operations, or enhance customer experience.

Uber Eats marketplace

Expand your restaurant's reach by showcasing your menu on the Uber Eats marketplace, where you can tap into a vast online customer base especially if searching for Uber Eats near me. Uber Eats marketplace integrates with your existing POS system, ensuring a streamlined process from order to delivery. We will dive into the details of this a little later in the blog.

Uber Direct

This is a white-label delivery-as-a-service solution, allowing for swift and dependable local delivery through your website, app, and phone orders. You can easily link it with your current POS, connect through Uber Eats API, or use the Uber Direct dashboard to keep track of everything.

Webshop

Uber Eat’s Webshop solution enables businesses with a website or social media presence to offer delivery and pickup options directly from their platforms, boosting online sales. This tool helps expand reach by making it simple for customers to order through your existing online accounts, while also gathering customer information (with their consent) to tailor promotions and cultivate loyalty.

What Photos Work Best for Your Uber Eats Profile?

When you first join Uber Eats, you will find their team is there to assist with your menu upload, ensuring your storefront makes a stellar first impression. However, as your menu evolves, the responsibility of updating and maintaining its visual appeal falls to you. 

To make the most of your Uber Eats signup, it's crucial to choose photos that highlight your dishes, captivate customers, and reflect the quality of your restaurant.

This transition is a fantastic opportunity to reflect your brand's identity and culinary excellence through high-quality images. Here’s a structured approach to mastering the art of food photography for your Uber Eats menu, which plays a critical role in captivating potential customers and adhering to platform standards

Cover Photos

• The cover photo must be aesthetically pleasing, centered, and showcase available products or meals.
• Required dimensions are 2880 pixels in width and 2304 pixels in height, with a 5:4 aspect ratio.
• Backgrounds should be simple (e.g., wood, stone), highlighting items relevant to your store.
• Brand names can be included discreetly, provided they don't dominate the image.
• Avoid images with people to sidestep the need for image authorization and ensure images are politically correct, especially when displaying adult products like alcohol.

What to Avoid in Cover Photos?

• Steer clear of using just logos, embedding banned words, or unrelated text and logos.
• Low-quality images, blurry and unfocused images, or inadequately lit photos will not be accepted. 
• Images that are too cluttered, depict your storefront, or include animals and irrelevant objects should be avoided.

Item Photos

• Item photos should accurately represent a single menu item, centered without appearing off-frame.
• Maintain an aspect ratio between 5:4 and 6:4.
• You must own or have rights to use the images.
• Acceptable formats: jpg, png, gif, with a maximum size of 10 MB.
• Dimensions should range from 440-10,000 pixels in height and 550-10,000 pixels in width.

What to Avoid in Item Photos?

• Multiple items in one image, unclear focus, strong shadows, or unsanitary conditions.
• Logos, watermarks, text, or any content that infringes on third-party rights.
• Exceptions apply to logos/text on a few items or their packaging, excluding profanities.

Why does Uber Eats reject images?

• Not adhering to the specified dimensions or aspect ratio.
• Being overly cluttered or featuring irrelevant objects.
• Displaying multiple items when only a single item should be showcased.
• Including logos, watermarks, or any text not related to the item or packaging.
• Being blurry, out of focus, or having poor lighting conditions.
• Depicting an unsanitary environment or used cutlery.

Essentials of Menu Photography

• Lighting: Harness indirect, natural light to highlight the freshness and appeal of your dishes, avoiding harsh shadows.
• Angles Matter: Utilize top-down views for flat dishes to display ingredients distinctly, and side angles for dimensional items like burgers to showcase their layers.
• Visibility of Ingredients: For items like burgers or wraps, consider cutting them to exhibit the interior, providing a transparent view of what customers will enjoy.
• Color: Enhance your dish's visual appeal with colorful garnishes, ensuring the photo remains an accurate representation of the meal.
• Freshness: Photograph dishes promptly after preparation to capture their most vibrant state.
• Style: Infuse your restaurant’s unique flair, selecting various textures and backgrounds that complement the dish while keeping the focus squarely on the food.

You can also check out Uber eat’s restaurant menu photography guidelines to get a better understanding.

Uploading Your Photos on Uber Eats

Once you’ve finished taking your photos, you can use the Menu Maker tool in your Uber Eats Manager account to upload them.

Follow these steps to upload photos to your menu items in Uber Eats Manager:

1. Log into Uber Eats Manager: Access your account and open the Menu Maker tool.
2. Navigate to the Items Tab:
   • Go to the "Items" tab.
   • Select the item for which you wish to upload a photo.
3. Upload the Photo:
   • In the Photo section at the top of the item detail page, either drag and drop or upload your desired photo.
   • Click the "Save" button to submit the photo for approval.
4. Submission and Approval Process:
   • Once submitted, the item detail page will be locked, preventing further edits until the photo is approved.
   • You can check the status of your photo in the "Items" tab. Icons will indicate whether it is still under review or has been rejected.
5. Photo Status:
   • If approved: The photo will appear next to the menu item in the "Items" tab and on the item detail page.
   • If rejected: You will see the reasons for rejection on the item detail page and receive an email with further instructions.

Conclusion

Joining Uber Eats offers a significant opportunity to expand your reach and increase revenue. This blog has walked you through the essentials, from completing your Uber Eats signup and setting up your menu to managing images.

As your online delivery needs grow, consider UrbanPiper to simplify managing multiple platforms. By leveraging tools like Uber Eats and UrbanPiper, your restaurant can thrive in the competitive digital marketplace.

Ready to experience the difference? Reach out to us with any questions. If you're aiming to expand your restaurant delivery across multiple locations and brands, we're here to support you.