FOR SMALL CATERING TEAMS
Practical help for
your next quote.
Start with a clear client quote. Keep the approved version. Give the kitchen a plan everyone has agreed to.
BEFORE THE QUOTE · WORD + PDF
Catering inquiry questionnaire
Ask for the details you need before preparing a quote, with blank Word/PDF downloads and a filled fictional example.
Get the inquiry questionnaire ↗Turn missing details into clear questions.
Record the date, count, service and requested menu. Leave unanswered details marked To confirm.
Try the first-booking teaching pack ↓FREE TEMPLATE · WORD + PDF
A catering quote you
can make your own.
Menu quantities, prices, fees and space for your terms. Download a blank template or follow a worked example from 40 guests to 60.
Get the catering quote templateFree downloads. No email or account required.
FICTIONAL EXAMPLE
Northwood team lunch
Revision 2 · 60 guests
60 portions × CAD18CAD1,080
Revision 1 stays in history: 40 guests · CAD725.
FREE INVOICE · WORD + PDF
One booking total.
A clear payment schedule.
Turn an agreed quote into a manual invoice. Keep the full amount, requested deposit and dated payment records clear.
Get the catering invoice template ↗Blank template and fictional example. Free, no signup.
Keep the issued amount intact.
The deposit and later installment are parts of the same total. A separate status sheet records what remains outstanding.
FREE CALCULATOR · GUIDE + WORKSHEET
What should your first catering job cost?
Calculate a planning price from your food, labour, job expenses and overhead. Follow the guide or use the free worksheet for your own booking.
Price your first catering jobFree .xlsx download. No email or account required.
START WITH YOUR OWN FIGURES
Cost the whole booking.
Compare a planned price before writing the customer’s quote.
FREE CHECKLIST · WORD + PDF
A clear plan for prep
and packing.
Start from the approved event. Record kitchen acknowledgment, ingredient prep, food and equipment checks on one revision-labelled working sheet.
Get the prep and packing checklistBlank checklist and fictional filled example. No signup.
FICTIONAL EXAMPLE
Northwood kitchen plan
Approved revision 2 · 60 guests
Awaiting acknowledgment.
Prep and packing checks still open.
SOFTWARE BUYER’S GUIDE
What does your team actually need?
Compare spreadsheets with a connected quote, approval and kitchen workflow. Check the requirements, setup effort and limits before choosing catering software.
Read the catering software guidePractical criteria and a fictional booking example.
Start with three questions
- Can everyone find the current approved version?
- What happens when the guest count changes?
- Does the workflow fit your team and menu?
FOR NEW CATERING BUSINESSES
Prepare your first booking.
Bring your business details and menu. Follow the steps from your first customer quote to approval and the kitchen plan.
Plan your first booking in CaterScaleSetup guidance for solo owners and small teams.
Build a process from the start
- Add your menu and booking details.
- Review the quote and get approval.
- Prepare from the approved plan.
FREE TEACHING PACK · 45–60 MINUTES
Plan your first catering booking
Practice a booking before using the documents for a customer. This free 45–60 minute exercise follows an invented Cedar Room lunch from an incomplete inquiry to costing, a quote, a guest-count change and a kitchen handoff.
Use it on your own or in an educator-led session. The learner pack contains the case, tasks and response space. Separate facilitator notes contain the arithmetic, answers and discussion prompts.
You can complete the exercise with the printed packs. The calculator, worksheet, quote template and prep checklist are optional companion resources; no account, live booking or payment is required.
Facilitator notes — answers
Keep separate until learners attempt the tasks · 4 pages
The fictional inquiry
Practice Catering · Cedar Room training lunch
Hello, can you cater lunch for 50 people on 2026-11-16 at the Cedar Room training venue? Two people would like vegetarian alternatives. We would like a simple drop-off lunch. Can you send a price? — Alex, Training Client; cedar-room@example.com (fictional training contact)
The classroom clarification sets drop-off at 12:00 and service at 12:30, America/Edmonton, on November 16, 2026. The first 50 guests include 48 standard lunches and two requested vegetarian alternatives. Complete address, access, venue contact and allergy information remain to confirm. Drop-off only; no setup, on-site service or collection.
Work through the booking
Read the booking and choose your roles
Read the initial inquiry. Circle facts that are explicitly supplied. Underline words that still need clarification.
Find the omissions before quoting
Ask at least six useful questions covering timing, exact location/access, count and dietary requirements, menu, service scope and the customer’s price expectations.
Build an internal price estimate
Complete the calculations, showing at least the cost allowance, price division and rounding step.
Write the customer quote and identify the decision
Fill in the quote outline.
Revise 50 guests to 60 without losing the approval
Recalculate the 60-guest price from the fresh whole-job estimates.
Prepare the current approved kitchen handoff
Complete the operational handoff with reference, version, date, times, count, menu split and packing plan.
Debrief and use the pattern on a real booking
Name one unknown you would resolve earlier next time.
Facilitator answers and worked revision history
| Whole-booking calculation | CLASS-Q1 · 50 guests | CLASS-Q2 · 60 guests |
|---|---|---|
| Guests | 50 | 60 |
| Food | 230.00 | 276.00 |
| Labour (including owner time) | 560.00 | 640.00 |
| Other job costs | 200.00 | 210.00 |
| Overhead | 50.00 | 50.00 |
| Manual fee estimate | 10.00 | 12.00 |
| Entered costs | 1,050.00 | 1,188.00 |
| Contingency · 10% | 105.00 | 118.80 |
| Cost allowance | 1,155.00 | 1,306.80 |
| Unrounded price · allowance ÷ 0.80 | 1,443.75 | 1,633.50 |
| Fixed total · rounded up to CAD5 | 1,445.00 | 1,635.00 |
| Per guest | 28.90 | 27.25 |
| Planned surplus | 290.00 | 328.20 |
| Achieved planning margin | 20.1% | 20.1% |
These fresh whole-job estimates produce CAD1,445 for 50 guests (CAD28.90 each) and CAD1,635 for 60 guests (CAD27.25 each). Changing the guest count alone never rescales the calculator’s whole-job costs. A 10% contingency is a cost allowance, not profit. The chosen 20% planning margin divides that allowance by 0.80; it is not a 20% markup.
CLASS-Q1 · revision 1 · 2026-10-26
Fictional response from Alex, Training Client: I approve CLASS-Q1, revision 1, for 50 guests at CAD1,445 before sales tax, with the stated training scope.
CLASS-Q2 · revision 2 · 2026-10-29
Fictional response from Alex, Training Client: I approve CLASS-Q2, revision 2, for 60 guests at CAD1,635 before sales tax, with the stated training scope.
While CLASS-Q2 is awaiting approval, the 50-guest CLASS-Q1 approval remains unchanged and visible. A change request does not approve a new price. Only the explicit October 29 decision makes CLASS-Q2 the current approved scope; retain CLASS-Q1 and its October 26 decision as history. Approval does not establish payment, dietary suitability or completed work.
Current approved kitchen handoff
CLASS-Q2, revision 2: November 16, 2026; drop-off 12:00; service 12:30, America/Edmonton. 60 guests: 57 standard lunches and three requested vegetarian alternatives, subject to operator review. Full address, access/contact and allergy review remain outstanding.
The fictional packing plan is 60 meal boxes, 60 cutlery sets and two labelled transport crates. Leave checks blank until work is done. A new approved revision requires fresh acknowledgment and revision-specific checks; older ticks remain only with their original revision.
Customer quotes exclude private job costs and margins. Kitchen handoffs exclude private contact details, the raw inquiry, prices and payment history. The office must resolve the remaining operational questions before real delivery.
All customer details, costs, prices, quantities and decisions are invented for practice. They are not market rates, tax advice, food-safety instructions or evidence of a real customer result.
Designed for individual practice and educator-led sessions. Keep the fictional-case label and source links with any shared copy. No third-party endorsement is implied.
Optional companion resources
- Inquiry questionnaire
- Pricing calculator and worksheet
- Customer quote template
- Prep and packing checklist
These manual resources do not import into CaterScale or create a booking. The product walkthrough uses a separate fictional Northwood example.
SEE THE WORKFLOW
What happens after the quote?
See the real CaterScale screens for customer approval, a guest-count revision and the kitchen handoff. The walkthrough uses a clearly labelled fictional booking.
See the product walkthrough