How to price catering: a complete 100-guest quote

To price catering, total the job cost, divide by the guaranteed guest count, then divide by 1 minus your chosen margin. Add any agreed charges and applicable tax on the correct tax base. A per-person food cost is only one part of the quote.

This worked example prices a 100-guest corporate buffet in USD. It reproduces the current calculator model. All costs, hours, staffing and percentages are illustrative assumptions; replace them with your own menu and service plan.

Open the catering price calculator and select Corporate Lunch and Buffet. Leave bar service off. The result is a $3,109.65 base quote and $3,980.35 total under the charge and tax assumptions below.

1. Cost 100 meals and the food allowance

Assume one planned meal per guest. The Buffet style adds a fixed 12% food-cost allowance: $1,000 x 0.12 = $120. Buffered food cost is $1,120. This is the cost equivalent of 112 planned meals; you still quote for 100 guests. The allowance is a calculator assumption, not a measured waste rate or a recommended portion plan.

Cost the component recipes in the recipe costing template. Enter $10 food per person before this tool's buffer. If you already added the same allowance to your ingredient estimate, remove it first to avoid counting it twice.

2. Include every paid role and service cost

Automatic buffet staffing is one server per 20 guests, rounded up, so 100 guests gives five servers. Override this count for the actual venue and service plan. Assume the crew's three hours per person cover all kitchen prep, loading and setup/cleanup for this example. If they do not, increase the recorded hours. Both hourly rates are assumed to include applicable payroll costs.

The tool has one server rate and one prep/setup/cleanup rate, plus separate bartender inputs when bar service is enabled. A job with more roles or different pay rates needs a separate labor schedule. Do not omit kitchen staff because the automatic server count looks complete.

3. Allocate overhead and define contingency

Assume the 12% overhead allowance covers this job's share of kitchen rent, utilities, insurance, administration and payment-processing costs. It applies to the direct-cost subtotal, including labor, rentals and transport. Do not enter the same items again elsewhere.

The 12% food allowance is the example's only separate contingency. There is no extra general contingency line in the calculator. If another known cost or risk allowance is needed, include it in the supported cost inputs or a separate worksheet, then check the total. Overhead and food allowance solve different cost questions.

This cost-based approach follows the principle in Penn State Extension's pricing guidance: price decisions need variable costs such as ingredients, labor and packaging, as well as fixed costs. The example's percentages come from its stated model, not that source.

4. Apply margin, not markup

Divide by 100 guests: the unrounded base price is $31.0964706 per guest. The calculator displays $31.10 and a $3,109.65 base quote. It uses unrounded values for the event total; multiplying the displayed $31.10 by 100 would instead give $3,110.00. Choose and disclose one invoice-rounding rule.

The modeled surplus is $3,109.6470588 - $2,643.20 = $466.4470588, displayed as $466.45. It is 15% of the base quote. A 15% markup on cost would give only $3,039.68, which is a 13.0% margin. The equivalent markup for a 15% margin is 15 / 85 = 17.6%.

The buffered meal-food share is $1,120 / $3,109.6470588 x 100 = 36.0%. That ingredient ratio differs from the 15% margin after all modeled job costs. Neither number is the business's net profit.

5. Add charges and check the tax base

The calculator applies both percentages to the base quote. It does not apply tax to the service charge. The 8% rate and that tax base are hypothetical assumptions for reproducing the model, not a rule for your location. Confirm the correct taxable items and rate before sending the invoice. If the service charge is taxable, this calculator's default tax line is incomplete for your event.

A required service charge is different from a voluntary tip. The IRS guidance on service charges explains that employee distributions of mandatory charges are wages. The tool does not allocate the $621.93 charge to staff or other expenses, so do not count it as automatic additional profit. Include the applicable cost and tax treatment in your actual job budget.

The modeled total per guest is $39.8034824, displayed as $39.80. The example covers 100 guests, the stated menu, loaded labor allowances, rentals, transport, allocated overhead, and the separate charge and tax assumptions. It includes no bar service or optional tip.

6. Put the assumptions in the proposal

• Name the menu and portion plan. State the guaranteed guest count and the deadline for changes.

• List setup, service and cleanup times, who supplies equipment, and what transport is included.

• Show the base amount, each charge, the tax basis and the final quoted total. State the rounding rule.

• Explain changes, extra guests and cancellation terms. The calculator exports pricing information; it does not manage contracts or bookings.

Use the food cost percentage guide to keep a dish's ingredient ratio separate from actual inventory-based food cost.

Check the food costs when supplier prices change

DishCost tracks recipe ingredient costs and updates dependent dishes when you change an ingredient price. Its public sample menu lets you try that without an account. Keep event labor, contracts, taxes and the rest of this quote in your job budget.