How to invoice for catering

Catering is priced per head before anybody knows how many heads there will be. Every convention in this trade — the guarantee, the final count deadline, the service charge — exists to make that estimate binding enough to buy food against.

Edit this template

The guarantee and the final count

  1. Set a guaranteed minimum at booking

    The number of guests billed for whatever the actual attendance. It is what makes the deposit and the food order safe.

  2. Set a date for the final count

    Commonly a few days before the event. After that date the count can go up but not down, because the food has been bought.

  3. Bill the greater of guarantee and actual

    Stated that way on the contract and repeated on the invoice, so a low turnout is not a surprise negotiation on the day.

Service charge is not a tip

A service charge is your revenue, covering staffing and operations; a gratuity is money intended for the staff. They are treated differently for tax and, in several states, for wage law — so they go on separate lines with different names and never as one blended percentage.

Itemise what is not food

  • Staffing: servers, bar staff, chefs, with hours and rates
  • Rentals: linen, china, glassware, passed through or marked up, consistently
  • Delivery, setup and breakdown, with any travel outside your normal radius
  • Cake cutting, corkage or similar per-item fees agreed in advance

Alcohol and tax are their own question

Prepared food, alcohol and rentals are often taxed differently in the same state, and a service charge may itself be taxable. Show tax against the lines it applies to rather than as one figure at the bottom.

Invoice the balance before the event

Deposit at booking, balance due on the final count date, and a short reconciliation afterwards for overtime, bar consumption or damages. The reconciliation should be the smallest invoice of the three.

Start from the catering invoice template

Common questions

What is a guaranteed minimum?
The head count you will be paid for even if fewer people attend. It is agreed at booking and is what lets you order food and staff with confidence.
Is a service charge taxable?
In many states, yes, and in some it depends on whether it is distributed to staff. It is a state question, and one worth confirming rather than assuming.
Should gratuity be automatic?
It can be, if it is disclosed at booking and shown separately from the service charge. An automatic gratuity that first appears on the final invoice is the line customers challenge most.

Where to next