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How much to charge for catering

There’s no single right price. It depends on your costs, your hours and your area. Here’s how to work out a catering price that covers your costs and pays you, with a quick check you can fill in now.

Updated

Your local catering plan

The cost categories for catering are already listed — every amount is blank, so you fill in local quotes and your own estimates. Nothing here assumes how much demand there is where you are.

  1. 1. Tell us what it will cost — per sale, per month and to start. Guesses are fine; you’ll mark them.
  2. 2. See what to charge — the price that covers costs, the price that pays you, and how it compares with competitors.
  3. 3. Change any cost and watch the price move — then see the sales and the real cash it takes to start.
  4. 4. Get a decision report — a plain-English verdict, what has to be true, a stress test, your first year month by month, and checkpoints for the first 90 days.

About 15 minutes for the full check. Guesses are fine: you can firm them up later.

Your numbers stay on this device — nothing you enter is sent anywhere. Your plan is kept in this browser as you go, so you can come back to it; choose Forget to remove it, for example on a shared computer.

GoProOffice is owned by GHL Financial Services, which offers business formation, tax planning and bookkeeping. The Business Idea Check is free and works the same whether or not you ever ask us for help.

Got a minute?

Quick price check: catering

Six numbers, an instant first answer. Rough guesses are fine.

Blank = we’ll suggest one

Supplies, materials, travel

Rent, insurance, software, phone

Add a few more numbers

Enter your cost per sale, monthly costs, what you need to take home, and your hours.

Your numbers carry over. The full check adds startup cash, the ramp-up, the market and a stress test.

What each engagement has to cover

A price that only matches what others charge can still lose money. Start from your own costs. For a catering business, each engagement carries:

  • Food cost per event
  • Event staff pay
  • Rentals (tables, linens, equipment)
  • Transport per event
  • Card and payment fees, as a share of the price

Then a share of the costs you pay every month, however much you sell:

  • Kitchen, commissary or space rental
  • Permits and inspections (yearly ÷ 12)
  • Liability insurance
  • Point-of-sale and payment software
  • Ongoing marketing
  • Bookkeeping and tax preparation
  • Equipment repairs and maintenance

And two things most first prices leave out: your own pay, and money set aside for income and self-employment tax on the profit.

Three prices worth knowing

  1. The price that covers costs. Monthly costs shared across your expected engagements, plus the cost of each engagement, grossed up for card fees. Below it, every month loses money.
  2. The price that pays you. The same, with your pay before tax added to the monthly costs. This is the real minimum if the business is your income.
  3. A recommended price. The price that pays you plus a profit cushion for slow months, repairs and growth.

The quick check above works out all three from your numbers. The pricing calculator shows each step of the formula.

Check your price against your area

Prices vary a lot by town, so we don’t publish averages. Collect real ones instead: ask three or more local businesses for a quote the way a customer would, and note what each includes. Then answer these:

  • What do local competitors charge? Ask for quotes the way a customer would.
  • How long does each engagement take you, including travel and preparation?
  • How many engagements can you deliver in a week at a quality you’re proud of?

If the price that pays you is above everyone you found, that’s worth knowing before you start. Lower a cost, sell more each month, or offer something customers will pay more for.

Pricing mistakes to avoid

  • Catering generally requires a licensed commercial kitchen, not a home kitchen.
  • Quoting every engagement the same when some take far longer. Price by size or difficulty, and set a minimum.
  • Not counting travel and preparation time in the hours for each engagement.

Next steps

General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. See our disclaimer.