Pros and Cons of Delivering Food For Doordash (Veteran Driver Explains).

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I started delivering food with Doordash over 2 years ago. It quickly became one of my favorite apps for food delivery for a number of reasons, but it also has it's downsides. A lot of people sign up to deliver food with Doordash not really knowing what they're getting into. In this post I'll give an honest review of all of the benefits of delivering with Doordash along with some of the downsides. I'll also give some actionable advice for new Doordash delivery drivers.

PROS

  • High Volume of Orders

    Doordash is consistently been one of the highest paying gig economy apps for drivers simply because of the number of orders you will see. Payouts are competitive with UberEats (some drivers say Doordash pays more but that depends on your city). If you want to stay busy with deliveries you'll definitely want to apply for Doordash!

  • Customer Tips

    Doordash allows drivers to keep 100% of customer tips. Tip money goes a long way to boosting your earnings as a driver. If you deliver in the right areas (I usually focus on wealthy suburbs just outside of the city) you can earn great tip money.

  • Flexibility of scheule

    With Doordash you can go online and start delivering whenever you want, although it's usually best to deliver during lunch and dinner hours. You can also schedule shifts on the app. This flexibility makes it easy to work part time or full time, for a side hustle, as a student or even during retirement!

  • Instant Cash Out

    For a small fee of $1.99 you can cash your earnings instantly. This makes Doordash a great source of income for anyone that needs to earn money quick! You will get paid weekly (no fee) via direct deposit each Monday if you don't choose instant pay.

  • Driver Incentives

    Doordash offers a lot of incentives to encourage dashers to get out on the road. These include peak pay bonuses (earn extra during busy hours) as well as sign up bonuses.

  • Tax Incentives

    The standard deduction per mile in 2020 is $.58. That means that you can write of $.58 for every mile driven with Doordash. A new driver might look at this and think that their expenses will be high as dasher, but experienced drives know that a reliable fuel efficient vehicle that is a bit older and cheaper will end up costing them much less than $.58 per mile to drive. Essentially this lowers a drivers tax burden at the end of the year and in some cases it could actually mean paying less tax than a W2 employer. * This is not tax advice, speak with a tax accountant

  • No Boss

    As a dasher your responsibilities are relatively little, making this a relaxing gig. You don't have to interact with a ton of people and you don't have a boss looking over your shoulder. However, a physical boss is now replaced with an algorithm, and you will be required to keep your metrics up.

  • Get Started Quick

    If you are looking to find a gig to generate income quickly Doordash is a great option. The application process is simple, if you are 18 years old, have a vehicle/bike, drivers license, and insurance you can apply to Doordash and potentially start delivering within a week (approval time vary by city and require you to pass a background check).

OTHER APPS TO SUPPLEMENT

We recommend checking out the following apps to run between blocks when you're delivering with Doordash:

CONS

  • Order Consistency

    Doordash is one of the most consistent food delivery apps out there in terms of getting orders. With that said, there will still be slow times. There will be days with fewer orders (Mondays can be slow sometimes) and times of day that aren't busy (between lunch and dinner, night, etc.) You'll also have times when you feel like a lot of your orders are low pay and not worth it (you can decline these because as a dasher you are an independent contractor and do not have to maintain a high acceptance rate).

  • No Benefits

    Full time jobs often come with health insurance, paid time off, unemployment benefits if you are laid off and more. With Doordash you are an independent contractor, which means you're not entitled to benefits. Things are always changing in the gig economy and there is pressure on gig companies to provide more benefits to workers. Some apps have been adding partial benefits for gig workers, we'll see if Doordash follows the trend.

  • App Updates

    Doordash will constantly change the app around and it won't always feel like it is to your benefit as a driver. They'll test different features that create incentive for you to accept more offers, and it can be frustrating at times. You also won't always have a complete picture of what you are paid per mile/time.

  • Deactivation

    With Doordash you are always a few mistakes away from potential deactivation. Your metrics and customer reviews will decide your fate on the app. If you take pride in your job and contact customer support when issues arise you likely wont have any issues, but there are plenty of deactivation horror stories out there. If you're worried about potentially getting deactivated I would recommend signing up for other delivery apps as well to diversify your income.

  • Customer Support

    Customer support on Doordash has come a long ways, and some drivers would argue that it's more of a pro these days. Even though Doordash support won't always be able to solve your problems, I recommend reaching out to them in the app if anything comes up!

  • Taxes

    With Doordash you are an independent contractor. That means Doordash is not required to give you benefits and you must set aside money to pay taxes at the end of the year. It's a good idea to download a mileage tracking app as mileage will be your largest expense to deduct as a delivery driver. You're responsible for tracking mileage along with any other expenses (cell phone, etc.) and filing taxes at the end of the year. It requires you to keep track of things you may not have had to worry about when working full time.

GET CASH BACK ON GAS!

Gas is one of your biggest expenses when shopping with Shipt. Use the GetUpside app to get cash back every time you fill up your tank!

rent your storage space app

EARN PASSIVE INCOME RENTING YOUR GARAGE!

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