Catering Estimate Template

A catering estimate is a written, priced proposal for an event you haven't served yet. It tells the client what you plan to serve, for how many people, with how much staff and equipment, and what that comes to, so they can compare it with other caterers and decide whether to book you.

An estimate isn't a bill. Nothing is owed on it, and on its own it isn't a signed catering agreement. Whether you call it an estimate, a quote or a proposal, write down what the price assumes, especially the guest count, so the client knows what would change it. The documents that follow have different jobs:

• Invoice. When the booking is confirmed and you ask for the deposit or the balance, send a catering invoice. If you work in Billed's estimating software, you can convert an approved estimate into an invoice instead of retyping it.
• Receipt. When money actually comes in, confirm it with a receipt. The restaurant receipt page includes a catering and event receipt that records the deposit and final payment received.
• Planner's invoice. If an event planner is booking you on the client's behalf, ask who the estimate should be addressed to. Planners who pass vendor costs through to their client can use an event planner invoice for that.

Per-person pricing makes the estimate easy to scale: when the guest count changes, the menu lines change with it. Give each distinct item its own line rather than one lump sum, and if guests are eating different meals, such as a vegetarian or allergy-aware alternative or a children's meal, give each its own count and price. Write down what each per-person price includes (courses, sides, bread, coffee, disposables) so the client can compare like with like.

The guest count on an estimate can change before the event, so state how you'll handle it:

• Final count date. Say when you need the confirmed number and that the final bill uses that confirmed count. The sample note asks for the final guest count and entree choices 10 days before the event; use your own deadline.
• If numbers drop after that date. Say whether you charge for the confirmed count or the actual count, since you'll have bought food and booked staff for the confirmed number.
• If numbers rise. Say whether you can take late additions, and at what price.
• Minimum. If you have a minimum guest count or minimum spend for the date, put it on the estimate.

Your catering agreement is where these terms become binding; the estimate is where the client first sees them, so make the two match.

A service charge and a tip are different things, so keep them on separate lines and name them clearly.

• Service charge. In the US, the IRS treats a payment as a tip only if the customer voluntarily decides to pay it and decides the amount. A gratuity required by a contract or invoice, or an automatic charge added to the bill, is a service charge, and service charges you distribute to employees are treated as wages, not tips (IRS: Tip recordkeeping and reporting). So if your estimate builds in a percentage, call it a service charge and say what it covers. The sample note says the 20% service charge covers planning and coordination and isn't a gratuity for staff; replace that with your own terms.
• Tips. A voluntary tip the client decides to leave isn't part of the estimate. Don't add a tip line to the estimated total.

Sales tax on catering depends on where the event is held, so check with your state or local tax agency before you fill in the tax line. As one example, in California the CDTFA says a caterer's charges for preparing and serving food and beverages are taxable, as are charges for the tableware, tables, chairs and linens used to serve it, and that mandatory service charges are part of taxable gross receipts, with banquet gratuities agreed in advance generally treated as required and taxed (CDTFA Publication 22, Dining and Beverage Industry). Other states and localities treat these charges differently.

In the Excel file, the tax line applies the rate to the subtotal plus the service charge. The rate starts at 0%. If the tax where the event is held applies to a different base, change the tax formula or work out the tax and type it in.

1. Add your business details, the estimate number, the date and the "Valid until" date.
2. Enter the client and the event: what it is, the date, the venue, the guest count and the service style and times.
3. Price the menu: one line per item, with the number of guests and the price per guest.
4. Add staffing (hours × hourly rate) and rentals (quantity × price per item).
5. Set the service charge, tax and deposit. In the Excel file, each line amount, the section subtotals, the subtotal, the service charge, the tax, the estimated total and the proposed deposit are calculated by formulas, and the three percentages sit in their own cells (20%, 0% and 25% in the sample). To leave out the service charge, the tax or the deposit, set its rate to 0% rather than deleting the row, because the totals refer to those rows. To add a line, use the blank row in a section, or insert a row between two existing lines of that section and copy the amount formula into it from the row above; the section subtotal and the overall subtotal then include it. In Word or on the PDF, work out the amounts and enter them.
6. Edit the "Menu and guest count" and "Pricing" notes, and add any notes you need on what's included and what isn't. Then send the estimate and keep a copy.