What goes on a catering estimate
Catering is estimated before the guest count is firm, which makes the per-head figure the whole document. What it has to settle is when that number gets locked, because every cost behind it — food, staff, rentals — is ordered against a figure somebody has to commit to.
- The event: date, time, venue, and style of service
- The menu as proposed, with the per-head price
- The guest count the estimate assumes, and when it must be confirmed
- Staff: how many, for how long, and the ratio to guests
- Rentals: crockery, glassware and linen, and whether they are in the price
- Delivery, setup and collection, with the times
- Dietary requirements, and when they need to be known
The sample line items and example prices this sheet opens with are on the catering invoice template — the same table, which is about the trade rather than about this paper, so it lives in one place rather than on all six. Working out the price itself? The markup calculator turns your cost and markup into the figure to put on the estimate, and shows the margin it leaves.
What you get
A PDF, and a link your customer can open in any browser. Word and Excel versions are not available yet — if a spreadsheet is what you need, this is not yet the tool for it, and saying so is cheaper for both of us than you finding out after typing everything in.
Pick how it looks
Six looks, from a plain classic sheet through a bold top band to a shop ticket, and your initials go on automatically until you upload a logo. See all six.
How to send it
Most customers want the paper on their phone, so the estimate goes out by WhatsApp, text or email, or as a link that needs no app and no account on their side. Or download the PDF to print it or keep it for your own records.
Questions
How do I estimate before the numbers are anywhere near firm?
Price per head and state the count the total was built on, so the client can see exactly which number moves. An estimate quoted as one lump sum for “about eighty” cannot be adjusted without being rewritten, and it will need adjusting — guest counts move right up to the week of the event.
Should rentals be in the per-head price?
Either, so long as the estimate says which. Inside the per-head figure it is simpler and looks more expensive per head; listed separately it looks cheaper and invites the client to source their own, which usually goes badly. Pick one and be clear about it.