How to quote an event or catering job, line by line
Event and catering quotes go wrong in the same few places: food costed from memory, staff hours that stop when the guests leave, a bar priced by feel and rentals forgotten until the invoice arrives. This guide builds the quote one line at a time, from the cost of a single plate to the price per guest the client signs. Each step links to the calculator that does the arithmetic.
1. Start with the brief, not the menu
Before you cost anything, pin down the numbers that drive every other line: guest count, service style, the length of the event, the venue and what it already provides, and whether the client wants a bar. A seated three-course dinner and a standing canape reception for the same number of guests are different jobs with different staffing and different food quantities. Write the brief down and send it back to the client to confirm. If the client has a total budget in mind, enter it in the event budget calculator early so you can see the cost per guest it allows and whether the brief is realistic before you spend an evening costing it.
2. Cost the food per guest
Work out the ingredient cost of each dish for one portion, including trim, waste and the extra you always make in case. Add the dishes together to get a food cost per guest, then multiply by the confirmed headcount plus a small allowance for vendor meals and late additions. The catering price per guest calculator starts from this food cost per guest and carries it through to a full quote. If you are costing a dish for the first time, the recipe cost calculator handles the waste and trim allowance and gives a cost per portion you can reuse on every future quote.
3. Count the staff and every hour they are paid
Labour is the line most often underquoted. Staff are paid from the moment they arrive to set up until the last crate is loaded after breakdown, plus travel if your agreement with them includes it. Decide the ratio of servers to guests for the service style, then add chefs, kitchen porters, a bartender and an event lead. The event staffing calculator works out how many servers you need, the paid hours for each person including setup and breakdown, and the total labour cost. Use the rate you actually pay, including any employer costs, not the headline hourly wage.
4. Price the bar on its own line
Drinks are hard to guess and expensive to get wrong in either direction. Estimate consumption from the guest count and the hours the bar is open, split it between beer, wine and spirits according to the crowd, and cost each part separately. The bar cost calculator produces that estimate and the cost of stocking it. Keep the bar as a separate line on the quote. Clients often want to compare an open bar with a limited bar or a cash bar, and a separate line lets them change it without you rebuilding the whole quote. If the client supplies the drinks, quote bar staff, glassware and ice instead.
5. Add rentals, transport and the costs nobody sees
List everything you will hire or buy for this job: tables, linens, crockery, glassware, chafing dishes, a mobile kitchen, a van, fuel, parking, disposables, ice and cleaning. Each item is small and the total is not. These lines go into the catering price per guest calculator as rentals and extras, and the event budget calculator shows each line's share of the total, which makes it obvious when one item has crept out of proportion. Ask for written quotes from rental suppliers and include delivery and collection charges, which are easy to miss.
6. Set the margin and read the price per guest
Once every cost is in, add your margin. The margin pays for the hours you spend on tastings, calls, menu planning and shopping, for the equipment you own, and for profit. Decide it as a percentage of the price rather than a markup on cost, because the two are not the same number. The catering price per guest calculator turns costs and margin into a total quote and a price per guest. Look at that price per guest and ask whether it makes sense for the service the client is getting. If it seems too high, cut the scope, not the margin.
7. If you sell tickets, price the ticket from the cost
For events you run yourself, such as supper clubs, tastings or workshops, the quote becomes a ticket price. Total your costs, decide how many tickets you can realistically sell rather than the venue capacity, and remember that ticketing platforms and card processors take a fee from each sale. The ticket price calculator gives the price that covers costs after those fees and the price needed to hit a profit target. If the break-even price is higher than your audience will pay, the event needs a smaller cost base, a larger audience or a sponsor before you commit to it. The break-even calculator shows how many tickets you need to sell at a given price.
8. Protect the date with a deposit and clear terms
A booked date is a date you cannot sell to anyone else, so ask for a deposit when the client confirms. A non-refundable deposit with the balance due before the event is a common arrangement in catering; the deposit split calculator divides the total into a deposit and stage payments. State the final guest count deadline, the cancellation terms and what happens to the price if numbers change. If you want the whole workflow in one spreadsheet, the Event & Catering Quote Workbook on the kits page keeps the menu costing, staffing, bar, rentals and quote together, so each new job starts from your last one instead of a blank page.
The mistakes that cost the most
- Paying staff for service hours only. Setup, breakdown and travel are paid time. Quote them, or they come out of your margin.
- Burying the bar in the food price. Drinks vary more than food. A separate line lets the client choose and protects you when consumption runs high.
- Forgetting the small rentals. Ice, disposables, delivery charges and parking are individually minor and together significant. Keep a checklist and run through it every time.
- No final numbers deadline. Without a date after which the guest count is fixed, you buy food for one number and get paid for another.