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Catering pricing calculator

How much to charge for catering?

Price the event total first, then divide by the minimum booked guest count. State the minimum and menu scope.

A 20-guest event with owner coordination, two crew members, food, and delivery.

  • Editable example assumptions
  • Cost-based, not a market rate
  • Before tax

Your assumptions

Editable example inputs. Replace them with your own numbers.

Work and time

Owner prep and coordination

Owner delivery time: 9.00 h

Other people

Job costs

Food and disposables per guest

Goal, fees, and billing

Your quote result

Based on the assumptions you entered, before tax.

Exact minimum target price$857.15
Suggested rounded quote$860
Operating profit at suggested quote$260

Based on your inputs, not a market rate or after-tax take-home pay.

Cost breakdown

Owner labor
$180
Other labor
$180
Direct job costs
$180
Travel, equipment, overhead & other fixed costs
$60
Total fixed cost
$600
Show calculation and assumptions

(9.00 delivery + 0 other hours) × $20/h + $180 other labor + $180 direct costs + $60 other fixed costs = $600. $600 ÷ (1 − 0% fees − 30% margin) = $857.15 after rounding up to the cent.

Cost coverage: $600 ÷ (1 − 0% fees) = $600.

Owner pay is included as labor cost. Quote-based percentage fees are subtracted in the denominator.

Suggested equivalent: $43.00 per guest across 20 guests. Total quote comes first.

Compare your own scenarios

Enter and confirm your low and high total owner hours and material costs. These are planning assumptions, not market ranges.

Low scope

Add both values to compare.

Expected: current inputs

$857.15 exact · $860 suggested

High scope

Add both values to compare.

$

Enter a positive quote to see its profit and margin.

How to scope this catering quote

Start with the actual deliverable and billing unit: 20 guests in the editable example. If the customer’s scope differs, change task quantities, hours per item, and billable unit count before relying on the result.

Costs to check

  • Owner prep and coordination: estimate the quantity and the time each one takes.
  • Food and disposables per guest: enter the amount you expect to pay for this job.
  • Include your owner pay, travel, equipment use, overhead, and any helper or subcontractor costs that actually apply.

Worked example

Illustrative inputs, not observed local prices.

9.00 delivery hours + 0 other hours at $20/hour = $180 owner labor. $180 other labor. $180 direct job costs, plus $60 other fixed costs, gives $600 fixed cost.

With a 30% target margin and 0% quote-based fees: $600 ÷ 0.70 = $857.15 exact minimum target price.

Where this estimate can change

Taxes, gratuities, venue fees, rentals, and unusual food waste are excluded unless you enter them.

The result covers only entered costs and the owner pay target. It is a before-tax operating estimate; it does not establish a local market rate or legal requirements.

Before quoting

Confirm the scope

What is the minimum guest count, menu, service style, staffing plan, delivery scope, and rental arrangement?

When work changes

Revise the estimate

A guest-count or menu change affects food quantities; a service-style change can also affect crew hours and equipment. Recalculate the event total first.

Billing unit

Price the full task first

The example covers 20 guests. Divide the full quote by this count only when it matches what the customer will actually buy.

Source and method

This page uses the QuoteForProfit cost-based formula and explicitly labeled, editable example assumptions. It does not use an external market price table. Method updated 2026-11-06.

Food businesses may need state or local permits and must follow the rules applicable to their operation; check the relevant health authority. FDA: starting a food business.

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