Catering Quotation: Per-Head Pricing, Staffing and Final Numbers
Quote the food per head and everything else separately, fix the date final numbers are confirmed, and write cancellation terms before you take the deposit.
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Catering quotations are priced per head, and almost everything that goes wrong with them comes from that: costs which do not scale with headcount get absorbed into a per-head figure, and then the headcount moves.
Staff, hire, travel and set-up are broadly fixed whether forty or sixty people sit down. Put them on their own lines. It makes the quotation look longer and it makes it survive a change in numbers, which is a trade you should always take.
Line items
What goes on a catering quotation
Food per head; everything that does not scale with guests priced separately.
Menu and price per head
By course, with the menu written out. The menu is the part the customer reads and forwards to other people, so it is worth writing properly rather than summarising.
Guest numbers and confirmation date
The quoted number, and the date final numbers must be confirmed — with the line that the invoice follows the confirmed figure or the actual figure, whichever is higher.
Staffing
Number of staff, hours on site, and the rate. Chefs, servers and bar staff separately where they differ. This is the cost most often hidden in the per-head price and most often disputed.
Equipment and hire
Crockery, glassware, linen, chafing units, mobile kitchen. Include collection and any replacement charge for breakages, which is a real cost and an awkward conversation if it is not in writing.
Travel, delivery and set-up
Distance, vehicles, set-up and break-down time. Evening break-down after a late finish is labour at an unsociable hour and should be priced as such.
Dietary provision
A number of special meals included, with a price for additional ones. Named allergens handled, and what you cannot guarantee in a shared kitchen.
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Avoid these
Where catering quotes go wrong
- Staffing inside the per-head price. Numbers drop from sixty to forty, the per-head total falls by a third, and you still bring the same five staff.
- No final-numbers date. Food is bought against a guess. Name the date and the rule that applies after it.
- Unlimited dietary requirements. Allow a number, price the rest. Eleven separate dishes for a sitting of forty is a kitchen problem and a cost.
- Cancellation terms written after the deposit. Terms have to be on the quotation the customer accepted. Retrofitted cancellation terms are unenforceable and read as bad faith.
- Breakages not mentioned. Hired glassware comes back short. A replacement-charge line turns that into an expected cost rather than an argument on the Monday.
- Service times left vague. “Evening” is not a service time. Arrival, service and clear-down times define your staffing hours and therefore your price.
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Invoice & Quotation Generator builds the quotation on your phone while you are still at the venue, then carries it through to the deposit invoice and the final bill.
- Per-head lines and fixed costs separately
- Deposit to proceed on the quotation
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Questions
Questions
How do you quote for catering?
Price per head for the food, then add the things that do not scale with headcount — staff, equipment hire, travel, delivery and set-up — as their own lines. A single per-head figure that silently includes staffing collapses when the guest count drops and the staffing does not.
What should a catering quotation include?
Menu by course, price per head, guest numbers with the date they must be confirmed by, staffing (number and hours), equipment and hire, travel and delivery, service times, dietary provision, and the deposit and cancellation terms. Cancellation terms matter more here than in almost any other trade.
When should catering final numbers be confirmed?
Name a date — commonly 7 to 14 days before — and state that the invoice is based on the confirmed number or the actual number, whichever is higher. Without that sentence you buy food for guests who do not arrive.
Should a catering quote include a deposit?
Yes, and say what it secures and whether it is refundable. A non-refundable deposit on a date is normal and defensible in events, but only if the quotation said so before the customer paid it.
How do I handle dietary requirements in a quotation?
Quote a number of special meals as an allowance and price further ones individually. Open-ended “we will cater for any dietary requirements” means producing eleven separate dishes for a sitting of forty at no extra charge.