Enter the number of guests, what the food costs per person, the staff, transport, rentals and the margin you want. The tool gives you the price per person, the quote total and the deposit to ask for, with sales tax added if you quote with tax.
How it works
- Event cost = guests × food cost per guest + staff × hours × hourly rate + transport + rentals and disposables + other costs.
- Price before tax = event cost ÷ (1 − margin).
- Per person = price before tax ÷ guests, then × (1 + tax rate) if you add tax.
- Quote total = price before tax × (1 + tax rate).
- Deposit = quote total × deposit percentage.
Margin is worked out on the price before tax, as in every Rindero tool. If you quote without tax, leave that field at 0. Your local tax rules decide whether you need to add it.
Worked example: a buffet lunch for 60
A company books a buffet lunch for 60: pulled pork sliders, two salads, roast vegetables, brownies and lemonade. The food costs you $14 a head. You need 3 staff for 6 hours at $20 an hour. Transport comes to $90, plate and chafing dish hire plus disposables to $240, and other costs (fuel, ice, a little contingency) to $60. You choose a 35% margin, quote before tax and ask for a 50% deposit.
| Step | Sum | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Food | 60 × 14 | $840.00 |
| Staff | 3 × 6 × 20 | $360.00 |
| Event cost | 840 + 360 + 90 + 240 + 60 | $1,590.00 |
| Quote total | 1,590 ÷ 0.65 | $2,446.15 |
| Price per person | 2,446.15 ÷ 60 | $40.77 |
| Deposit at 50% | 2,446.15 × 0.50 | $1,223.08 |
Your margin in money is 2,446.15 − 1,590 = $856.15. That has to pay for your own time shopping, prepping and coordinating if you did not list yourself as staff.
What quotes most often leave out
- Your own work. If you cook and serve, put yourself in the staff line with your hours. Otherwise the margin goes on paying you. The guide to labour cost helps you price an hour.
- The hours before and after. The lunch lasts two hours, but staff arrive early to set up and stay to clear.
- The extra you make. You always cook a little more in case more people turn up. Build it into the cost per guest.
For a fuller look at building the menu and the price, read the guide to catering pricing, and to decide whether events suit you compared with other channels, the one on catering and events. If you need to multiply a recipe for 60, the recipe scaler gives you the quantities, and the markup and margin calculator shows what your chosen margin looks like as a markup.
For the full cost of a product, with ingredients, packaging, your time and the gas, use the food cost calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get the food cost per guest?
Cost the full menu for one person: starters, mains, sides, dessert, drinks and bread, in the quantities you really serve. If that is hard, cost the whole batch and divide it by the number of guests it feeds.
What margin should I put on catering?
The one you choose, thinking about your time shopping and prepping, the risk of running short or over, and what your client will accept. Try a few in the tool and look at the price per person each one gives.
How much deposit should I ask for?
That is your call. What matters is that the deposit covers at least what you have to buy before the event, so you are not funding the party with your own money.
Should transport and rentals be charged separately?
You can list them separately or build them into the price per person. This tool builds them in, so the client sees one number and you do not forget any of them.