February 25, 2024

Multiapping Strategy That Can Help Drivers Increase Monthly Earnings by 25%

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min read

As a gig delivery driver for apps like DoorDash or Uber Eats you've probably heard of the term multiapping. You've also maybe heard of the idea that multiapping can help you earn more money. What if I told you that it's true that multiapping gig delivery platforms can help you earn more money there are certain multiapping strategies you can use to maximize those earnings. Wouldn't you want to increase your monthly earnings by 5%, 10%, or even 25% with a reliable driving strategy?

How to Set Up Before You Use the Multiapping Strategy

Before you go out to start your gig shift, you should always update all and any apps you'll be using for the day on your smartphone. If you're on iOS go to the Apple Store and if you're on Google then use Google Play to update all of your apps. Once you've updated all your apps you'll need to reset your smartphone to make sure your smartphone runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible. This doesn't matter if you're on iOS or Android. Multiapping really puts a strain on your phone and you want to eliminate as many issues or glitches as possible. Keep in mind if your smartphone is a bit outdated (3-4 years old) then you may likely run into performance issues and sluggishness while multiapping. It doesn't matter if you're Doordash multiapping, Uber Eats multiapping, or multiapping with Para, your phone will eat up resources.

The Apps You Need to Set Up On Your Smartphone

When I multiapp, I don't usually turn on every single delivery app because it'll just be too overwhelming. I usually focus on 3 main delivery apps, 1 map app, 2 tool apps, and keep 1 more delivery app in mind in case business is slow. For example, the main 3 delivery apps I'll be using for the Multiapping Strategy will be Grubhub For Drivers, Uber Eats Driver, and Dasher app. I'll use 1 map app like Google Maps. The 2 tool apps that directly or indirectly help me with gig work will be a mileage tracker like QuickBooks Self-Employed and the Para app which helps with trip prediction, tracking earnings, and accepting/declining orders. Every other app on my phone is off or idle besides maybe your photo app for screenshots. I load up all these apps before going out and make sure they're working as intended. Every app I'm using for the multiapp strategy has its purpose it helps you earn more. Your smartphone and the apps will be your ultimate delivery driver tools to make money.

3 Delivery Apps - Uber Eats, Grubhub, DoorDash

1 Map App - Google Maps

2 Tool Apps - Para for driver tools, Quickbooks Self-Employed for tracking mileage/expenses

1 Delivery App on Standby - Roadie or whatever app has business

How to Place the Gig Delivery Apps During the Multiapping Strategy

I have 3 main delivery apps, but I can only have 1 on the main screen at all times. I prefer to have Uber Eats on my main phone screen. Uber Eats in my market gives me the best orders, so I always want to have the first look at Uber Eats orders before anything else. DoorDash and Grubhub run in the background. I'll only look at those apps when I get a ping. If it's very slow I can put any of the other apps in front. Not only do I load up all 3 apps, but I also go online on all of them. I generally try to go online with at least one while leaving my house, and then go online with the other 2 once I'm in my desired area so I get the best possible pings. Remember that I have my tool apps and map app running as well.

How to Accept Orders while Multiapping Effectively

Multiapping and getting multiple pings at once can be one of the most exhilarating and stressful things when you do gig work. Remember that more orders to look at means more opportunities, but on the other hand, sometimes too many orders at once can be overwhelming. Your eye, hand, and phone can only do so many things at once. I try to stay with 3 main apps because it's a good balance of lots of orders and not too much info overload. I suggest 3 main apps but you can add more if you can handle it. Not only can it be overwhelming to get multiple pings at once because you only have a short window to look at them, but it can be very dangerous if you're driving. Pull over and park if you need to access your pings before you make any decisions.

With Uber Eats being the main app on my phone screen, all my priority in analyzing an order goes to Uber Eats orders. I set a certain threshold of earnings on the ping I'm willing to take so if it's under that earnings ping, I'll simply ignore it or decline it. I don't want to waste time looking at orders that don't meet my criteria on Uber Eats as I know better orders can pop up.

Save your mental resources by looking at the other 2 app's pings and the Para app. If you rather have the least guesswork possible and less time switching apps you can use the Accept Decline with Para feature which lets you set your preferences and orders will be automatically accepted based on those preferences. Whether you're looking at 3 orders at once or just 1 order you should always think about Expenses, Earnings, and Efficiency. One of the biggest tips for multiapping is being analytical. How much will this cost me in expenses? What are my real earnings if I take this or these orders? How efficiently will I be doing these orders? Remember that not only does multiapping let you look at different orders, but you have the ability to stack multiple orders from multiple apps at once. You can even queue up orders to maximize efficiency.

How to Calculate Expenses, Earnings, and Efficiency

The hardest thing is deciding what are the right orders for you to take. So what's the best way to go about it? When you're multiapping, your main goal is either going to be volume, high pay, or a mixture of both. Your pay is dictated by the expenses you will incur for the orders, your pay on the offer screen, and how efficient you can be. You will need to decide if you want to focus solely on volume, high pay, or a mixture of both. I generally tend to stir towards high pay with a bit of volume.

Expenses will be the number one thing cutting into your pay. The less money you spend, the more money you will make. The expenses are generally going to be based on the costs of driving your car such as gas, depreciation, and driving habits. When you multiapp you want to take stock orders that are going in the same direction, you want to take lower mile orders and focus on quicker and sometimes higher-paying orders. You save on gas by doing more efficient orders which overall helps cutting expenses. Remember that with multiapping, you'll have a chance to look at more orders. No need for you to take orders going so far out with no order in return. Focus on the dollar-per-mile or dollar-to-mile ratio. I generally try to aim for at least a $ 2/per-mile ratio which means I need to earn at least $2 for every mile that is needed to finish that order. If I'm driving 4 miles, I want to earn at least $8 for example. That would be for one single order. Now if you multiapp and were able to stack another order going the same direction and distance that would be an absurd $4/per mile. A higher dollar-to-mile ratio generally decreases your expenses such as gas while you're doing orders. If you use the Para driver tool 'Accept Decline with Para' you can set your own parameters.

Earnings are generally what tells you what you get paid on an offer screen. Well, that isn't always the case with platforms like DoorDash and Uber Eats. DoorDash doesn't tell you the upfront tip amount and Uber Eats lets customers change tips up to an hour after the delivery has been completed. With the multiapping strategy, you get to maximize your earnings simply by eliminating orders that simply don't deserve to be analyzed. Multiapping gives you more orders to look at so why waste time on trying to overanalyze every trip if it's worth it? Using the Para in conjunction with Uber Eats and Doordash mostly takes the majority of the guesswork from you. If I see a low-paying offer on any app, I will simply decline even if it's a quick delivery because I know that I'll have more opportunities with the other apps. I won't accept anything below $8 for example. With the bigger orders that pop up on your phone, Para can take care of that guesswork for you, especially with the Auto Decline with Para feature. Just focus if you agree with the driving distance or not. Remember that with earnings, you always want to leave the possibility of stacking another order on top with the same app or another. If you can't stack then maybe queue up the next order. All these processes lead to efficiency during the multiapping strategy.

Efficiency happens when you're able to maximize your earnings via multiapping. Going to a Chipotle for a Doordash order but then you get pinged for a Chipotle order for Uber Eats as well? You should take it as long as it makes sense in terms of distance and time. Whenever you accept an order on any app, screenshot the ping so you remember where the order is going. You don't want to confuse yourself with accepting a second trip that is going in another direction. You need to be efficient, not wasting time and expenses that will eat up your earnings.

How to Execute the Multiapping Strategy with Food Delivery Apps in A Likely Scenario

Let's bring everything together into a scenario that you may find yourself in for the multiapping strategy.

Update all your apps and reset your smartphone
Load up the apps you'll use for multiapping (this also includes tool apps like mileage tracking and setting up preferences on the Para app)
Go online on one delivery driver app like Uber Eats and drive to your desired delivery area
Accept any order that leads to your desired area, if no order then park in your desired delivery area
Go online with your other two delivery apps which can be DoorDash and Grubhub or your preference of apps
Have one app on your main screen and wait for orders, take preference in that app before the others (remember the main app is the one you can most details of on the ping screen)
Either use Para to accept/decline your orders or examine the order that is pinged, if multiple orders are pinging at once then you need to preference the main app first and then look at the others (Para can help you with this)
Accept your order and go to deliver it, at this point you want to look for an ideal order to stack or an order to queue up with the other two delivery apps
Rinse and repeat step 8 for an efficient way to maximize your earnings and cut your expenses
If it gets too busy or overwhelming then go offline to one of the apps, if its too slow then go online to a fourth app

There you have it, the multiapping strategy that can help drivers increase their earnings! Multiapping adds to your income diversity only if you're doing it effectively. Having multiple streams of income with delivery apps means you'll never have to rely on one single app. Using tools like mileage tracking or Para to help you with orders will make your shifts more profitable. This strategy is the one I use pretty often and has definitely helped me earn 10%, 15%, and 25% more than I would usually have with just single apping or with unorganized multiapping. This isn't the perfect strategy but you can use this as a template and change things that work for you. Just make sure you take advantage of all delivery driver tools at your disposal!

If you're new to multiapping then you should check out our article on To Multi-App or Not to Multi-App.

Extra Reading:

Why Multiapping Is No Longer 'Just a Fancy Word'

Still hesitating to work multiple apps at once? Multiapping is not a "nice-to-have" option. It's a necessary tool to bump your daily gig work earnings.

Chandana Raghunath

8 mins read