Guides
Catering and events
A guide to making catering pay: per-person quotes, how much food to make, staff, rentals, deposits, and the event-day costs that quietly eat your margin.
- How to run a profitable catering businessA guide to making catering pay: per-person quotes, how much food to make, staff, rentals, deposits, and the event-day costs that quietly eat your margin.→
- Building a per-person catering quote with a minimumHow to build a per-person catering quote: split per-guest food costs from staff, transport and rentals, then set a price table by guest count and a minimum.→
- How much food per guest for a buffetHow to work out how much food to make for a buffet: grams per guest from your own events, how much extra to cook, and how leftovers help you plan the next.→
- How to price canapés and finger food by the pieceHow to cost and price canapés and finger food: cost per piece, assembly time per hundred, pieces per guest, and the price of a mixed platter or event package.→
- Catering staff costs: cooks, servers and drivers per eventWork out what event staff really cost: full hours with setup and cleanup, travel home, staff meals, and the staff cost per guest that goes in your quote.→
- Event rentals, disposables and transport: how to chargeHow to cost and charge tableware rentals, chafing dishes, disposables and van trips for a catered event, at cost or with a handling fee, per guest.→
- Catering deposits, cancellations and payment termsHow big a catering deposit should be, what it must cover, how to set a cancellation scale and when to take the final payment so you never fund the event.→
- Catering tastings: what they cost and how to chargeWhat a client tasting really costs a caterer, whether to charge for it, how to credit it against the booking and which limits stop it eating your margin.→
- How to price wedding catering: tiers, guest count, extrasBuild a wedding catering quote that holds up: menu tiers, a fixed service charge plus a per-head price, guest count changes, service style and overtime.→
- Office lunch boxes: cost per box, minimums and invoicingHow to price office lunch boxes and recurring corporate meals: cost per box, delivery per run, minimum orders, delivery windows, weekly menus and invoicing.→
What does it really cost you?
Put your recipe into the free calculator: ingredients, packaging, your time and the gas. You get the cost per unit and your margin in two minutes, no account needed.