Delivery-app error charges
Delivery Error Charge Calculator
Updated · Checked against primary sources
The short answer
Multiply weekly delivery orders by your error-charge rate and average charge to get the yearly cost, then by the share you can win on dispute. Only disputes filed inside 14 days (DoorDash) or 30 days (Uber Eats, Grubhub) count.
One platform, or all combined.
Check two weeks of your payout report to get your own number.
Depends on your evidence and filing inside the window.
- Error charges per year
- $7,020
- Recoverable if disputed in time
- $2,808
- Lost if never disputed
- $7,020
The default inputs are placeholders, not benchmarks. Replace them with the error rate and average charge from your own payout export. Only the restaurant can file disputes on DoorDash and Uber Eats.
The formula
This is exactly what the calculator above computes.
annual orders = weekly orders x 52 error charges = annual orders x error rate x average charge recoverable = error charges x win rate
Worked example (placeholder inputs)
- 250 delivery orders a week = 13,000 a year.
- 3% carry an error charge averaging $18: 13,000 x 0.03 x $18 = $7,020 a year.
- Winning 40% of them back: $2,808 recovered.
With these inputs, about $7,020 a year in error charges, of which roughly $2,808 is recoverable if disputed in time.
What this does not account for
- The default inputs are placeholders. No independent study publishes a per-location error-charge rate, so pull two weeks of your own payout report.
- Win rate depends on evidence and timing. One vendor case study reports a 75% win rate across 10,333 disputes; treat that as a self-reported ceiling, not a benchmark.
- Dispute labor is not counted. Some owners dispute only charges above about $20.
Frequently asked questions
- Can someone else file my disputes?
- Not on DoorDash or Uber Eats, which prohibit third-party and automated disputes. A service can find the charges and prepare the evidence; your Admin or manager files.
- Where do I find my error-charge rate?
- DoorDash: Financials > Transactions filtered to Error charge, or the Financial report CSV. Uber Eats: the Order Errors (Transaction) CSV. Grubhub: Financials > Transactions filtered to Prepaid Order Adjustment.
Free leak scan
Find out what your restaurant is owed
Send exports, not logins: processor statements, payout reports, delivery-app CSVs and payroll summaries. We return a written list of what looks recoverable, what each item is worth, and which deadlines are still open. If something is worth pursuing, we quote the recovery before you commit to anything.
Request a free leak scanQuestions this calculator answers
- AnswerWhat is a DoorDash error charge?A DoorDash error charge is a deduction from a restaurant's payout when a customer reports a missing or incorrect item that DoorDash attribut...
- AnswerHow long do you have to dispute a DoorDash error charge?You have 14 days. DoorDash's self-serve dispute requires the delivery to have occurred within the last 14 days, and its merchant terms ask r...
- AnswerHow long do you have to dispute an Uber Eats order error?Uber Eats allows 30 days from the order date to dispute an order error adjustment, using the dispute button in the Orders tab of Uber Eats M...
- AnswerHow long do you have to dispute a Grubhub order adjustment?Grubhub gives restaurants 30 days to dispute a prepaid order adjustment, extended from 7 days on July 18, 2022, with no cap on the number of...
- AnswerWhat evidence wins a delivery-app dispute?Evidence that ties the finished order to its order ID wins. Uber Eats names three kinds: CCTV footage of the order being prepared and bagged...
Go deeper
- GuideDoorDash Error Charges: How to Dispute ThemDoorDash error charges take 25% to 100% of an item off your payout, and you get 14 days to dispute. The exact portal steps, evidence and weekly routine.
- GuideUber Eats Error Charges: How to Dispute ThemUber Eats order error adjustments come off your payout and you get 30 days to dispute. The charges Uber says it won't pass on, and the evidence that wins.
- GuideGrubhub Error Charges: How to Dispute AdjustmentsGrubhub order adjustments charge customer refunds to your store. You get 30 days to dispute by portal, email or phone. The rules, denial traps and evidence.
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Sources
- DoorDash Merchant Help: order error adjustments
- Uber Eats Merchants: Order errors
- Grubhub restaurant policies
- Voosh case study (vendor self-reported)
Cite this page
Pavado, “Delivery Error Charge Calculator”, https://www.pavadotech.com/restaurants/calculators/delivery-error-charges, updated 2026-09-23.