Build a catering quote in minutes, with the cost already calculated
Create detailed catering quotes straight from your recipe library. MenuCost works out the full event cost, estimated profit, deposit amount, and price per guest automatically, as you build.
WHY THIS MATTERS
A catering quote without a cost calculation is a guess with a number on it
Every catering job is different, a different client, a different headcount, a different menu. Most businesses quote from experience: a per-head estimate built up over time, adjusted by gut feel on the day. The trouble is, experience-based pricing stops being accurate the moment ingredient prices change, staff costs shift, or a client asks for something you don't usually serve.
MenuCost's catering quotes tab gives every event its own cost-based quote. Select menu items from your recipe library, enter the quantities, add any delivery, setup, or staff charges, and MenuCost builds the quote summary as you go. By the time you send a price to the client, you already know the estimated cost, the estimated profit, and the price per guest. The quote is built on numbers, not instinct.
Example: A restaurant quotes a corporate event for 10 guests, with two menu items (saffron basmati rice and manthi chicken), plus delivery, setup, staff, and equipment charges. MenuCost works out the menu item total (SAR 1,125), adds the extra charges (SAR 80), and shows a total quote value of SAR 1,205, with an estimated profit of SAR 976.23 and a price per guest of SAR 120.50. The client accepts.
Catering quote management builds the quote from your recipe costs, so the price you give a client is one that covers your costs and delivers the margin your business actually needs.
HOW IT WORKS
Five things Catering Quote Management does for you
Fill in the event details
Enter the client name, event name, email, phone, venue, event date, guest count, and quote validity date. These details populate the quote document and give you a full record for every job, searchable and filterable from the catering quotes tab.
Add menu items from your recipe library
Pick items straight from your costed recipe library. Set the price per serving and the quantity for each one. MenuCost works out the line total for each item and shows a running subtotal as you build. You can mark an item as modified if the version served differs from the standard recipe.
Add additional charges
Enter any job-specific charges, delivery, setup, staff, and equipment rental. These get added to the menu item subtotal to give you the full event total. Each charge field stands on its own, so you only include what applies to that job.
Set deposit terms and payment conditions
Enter a deposit percentage, and the quote works out the deposit amount from the total on its own. Add payment terms (say, 50% deposit, 50% on delivery), notes for the client, and your terms and conditions. Everything for a complete, professional quote sits in one place.
Quote Summary updates in real time
The quote summary panel on the right shows the full financial picture while you build it: menu item total, extra charges, subtotal, total, deposit amount, estimated cost, estimated profit, and price per guest. Every number updates the moment you change anything in the form. You see the profit before you ever commit to a price.
REAL EXAMPLE
What a costed catering quote looks like
Every quote tracked in one place with its quote number, client, event name, date, guest count, and current status. Filter by all quotes, open, accepted, or draft. Create a new quote in seconds.
Each quote row shows the quote number, client, event name, date, guest count, and a status badge. Edit, duplicate, or delete any quote from the action icons. The status dropdown moves a quote from draft to pending to accepted as the job progresses.
WHAT YOU GET
What changes when catering is quoted from cost
- Know the profit before you send a price. The quote summary shows estimated cost and estimated profit while you build. The price you give the client is one you've already checked, not one you're hoping works out.
- All job details in one record. Client, event, venue, date, guest count, menu, charges, deposit, and notes, all stored in the quote. No separate spreadsheets, no lost WhatsApp thread about what was agreed.
- Headcount changes handled in seconds. A client moves from 10 guests to 15. Update the item quantities, and the totals, deposit, and price per guest all recalculate right away.
- A clear picture of your catering pipeline. Total quotes, win rate, and open quotes, all visible from the catering quotes tab. Know at a glance what's in the pipeline and how well your quotes are converting.
QUESTIONS
You need a recipe in your library before you can add it to a catering quote, since the quote pulls its cost from that recipe. If something isn't costed yet, add it as a recipe first. Once it's in the library, it's available for any quote. This keeps your catering costs accurate instead of relying on estimates typed in per job.
Each item in a catering quote has its own quantity field. A corporate breakfast might need 60 croissants, 40 lattes, and 60 fruit tarts, you set each quantity separately. MenuCost works out the cost for each item on its own and adds them into the total event cost.
It comes from the true cost per serving of each recipe in the quote, which includes ingredients, labour, packaging, and overhead, multiplied by the quantity. It reflects what the event will actually cost to produce, based on your costed recipes. Estimated profit is the total quote value minus this estimated cost.
It uses the full cost per serving from each recipe, which includes all four layers: ingredients, packaging, labour, and overhead. The overhead per serving is already built into the recipe cost, so when you multiply by quantity in a catering quote, overhead is included in every line.
The catering quotes are built as internal costing and pricing tools, they show item-level costs and margins you wouldn't want a client to see. What you take from the quote is the final price, which you then put into your own client proposal, invoice, or order form. The quote tells you what to charge, how you present that to the client is up to you.
Quote catering orders with the cost already done
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