Catering quotation format: what to put in, and the five things caterers leave out
A catering quotation does two jobs. It wins the order, and it settles the argument three weeks later about why the bill is higher than the quote. Most quotations do the first job and not the second, because they are a menu with a price at the bottom. Here is the format that does both.
The sections, in order
1. Who, what, when, where. Customer name and phone. Event name (Sharma wedding reception). Date and serving time. Venue with address. Your business name, address, GSTIN and phone at the top. A quotation number and date, so the customer and you are talking about the same version when it changes.
2. Per event, if there is more than one. A wedding order is three or four events: haldi lunch, sangeet dinner, wedding dinner, next-morning breakfast. Each needs its own guest count, time and menu, and usually its own rate. A single line “wedding, 500 guests, ₹350 per plate” is where the trouble starts, because the sangeet was 300 and the breakfast 150.
3. The menu, per event, by course. Starters, main course, breads, rice, desserts, beverages. Item names in the language the customer reads; if the family reads Hindi or Marathi, print it that way. Mark veg and non-veg. State what is not included (live counters, imported ingredients, bar service) so it cannot be assumed.
4. Guest count and rate. Expected guests per event, veg and non-veg separately if the rates differ, rate per plate for each, and the amount. Then the rule for the final count (below).
5. Services included. Serving staff (how many), crockery, counters and chafing dishes, decor on the food counters, transport, cleaning. If the customer is arranging any of these, say so. Priced into the plate or listed separately; either way, written.
6. Totals. Food amount + services + any extras, subtotal, GST, total.
7. Payment terms. Advance to confirm (amount and date), second instalment if any, balance due (usually before or on the day), accepted modes, your bank or UPI details.
8. Terms. The five below, in plain words, short.
9. Validity and acceptance. Quote valid until a date (material prices move). A line for the customer’s signature or a WhatsApp “confirmed” with the advance.
The five things caterers leave out
Guest count cut-off. “Final guest count to be confirmed 48 hours before the event. Plates are billed on the confirmed count or the plates actually served, whichever is higher.” Without this line, the customer who said 500, served 580 and pays for 500 has a point: you never told them.
Extra plates. “Plates beyond the confirmed count are charged at the same per-plate rate.” Say it, because the alternative is an argument about whether the extra 80 were “just a few more”.
Advance and cancellation. How much advance confirms the booking; what is refunded if they cancel 30 days out, 7 days out, 2 days out. A wedding date is held against other orders; the advance is what you keep when it is cancelled.
What happens to leftovers. Some customers expect the leftover food packed and sent home; some caterers charge for packing. Decide and write it. It is a ten-minute fight at midnight otherwise.
GST. Whether your rate is inclusive or exclusive of GST, and at what rate. Check the current rate for your registration with your accountant; the point here is only that the quotation says one or the other.
A layout that works on WhatsApp
Most quotations are read on a phone. Keep it to two pages: page one has sections 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7, the numbers; page two has the menus and the terms. Logo and business details at the top of page one, GSTIN under them. Numbers right-aligned in a table, not in sentences. Your bank details once, at the bottom of page one, so the advance can be paid from the same screen.
From quotation to bill
The quotation becomes the bill with three edits: the confirmed guest count replaces the expected one, extras are added as lines, advances received are subtracted to show the balance. If those three things live in the same place as the quotation, the bill is a button. If the quotation was a Word file, the bill is a second Word file, and the two disagree in the ways the customer notices.
Neviscater prints the quotation and the menu PDF from the event (guest counts, rates and menus per event; services and expenses on the order; your logo, language and report style), sends them on WhatsApp in your business name, and turns the same order into the bill with advances, balance and receipts. The terms above are yours to write; a custom PDF template carries them on every quotation.