Catering Invoice Generator
Catering an event is billed around the headcount: a price per guest, the menu, staffing or a service charge, and usually a deposit taken when the date was booked. Enter the event and the guest count, list the menu and services, apply the deposit, and the builder below totals the balance due before the day. It runs in your browser and exports free as an image.
- How do I make a catering invoice?
- Enter your catering business and the client, note the event date and the final guest count, and add a line for the per-guest package, each additional menu item, and staffing or a service charge. Apply the deposit the client paid at booking so the invoice shows the remaining balance, set the date it is due — often before the event — and export it free as a PNG or a Pro PDF. Confirming the headcount and the balance in writing ahead of the day is what keeps a catering job running smoothly.
Filas adicionales opcionales impresas bajo el encabezado — p. ej. n.º de tienda, terminal, tipo de pedido.
Add your own total lines — a discount (use a negative amount), service charge, deposit or rounding. They fold into the total.
Bill an event around the headcount
A catering bill hangs on one number more than any other: the guest count. The per-head price times the headcount is the core of the invoice, with the menu, staffing, and any rentals layered on top, and a deposit taken at booking applied against the total. The builder below is built for that shape — you set the guest count and the per-guest price, add the extras, apply the deposit, and the preview totals the balance due before the day.
It runs entirely in your browser, so your client and event details stay on your device, and a complete invoice exports as a PNG for free. For a caterer booking events through the season, the Pro upgrade adds a watermark-free PDF and saves your business details across invoices. The arithmetic — headcount times rate, plus extras, plus tax, minus the deposit — is handled for you, so the balance the client sees is right the first time.
What a catering invoice includes
A catering invoice names your business and the client, states the event date and venue, and carries the guest count the pricing is built on. The lines show the per-guest package multiplied by the headcount, any additional menu items, and staffing or a service charge. Beneath them sit the deposit already paid, the subtotal, tax where it applies, and the balance due with the date it is expected — often shortly before the event. A unique invoice number ties it back to the booking.
Because a catering invoice is settled before the event rather than after, the headcount and the balance are the figures both sides confirm in advance, and having them in writing avoids a scramble on the day. The generator gives you fields for the event, the date, and the guest count, and a line for each charge, so the invoice doubles as the written confirmation of what was agreed. That clarity is what keeps a booking from unravelling into a last-minute negotiation.
Deposits and the final balance
Catering is usually secured with a deposit when the client books the date, with the balance due close to or before the event itself. On the final invoice, apply that deposit as an amount already paid so the total shows only what remains — the client should never have to work out the balance for themselves. Whether the deposit is refundable if the event is cancelled belongs in your booking agreement, not the invoice; the invoice just accounts for what has been paid and what is left.
Timing the balance matters as much as the amount. Many caterers set the final payment a set number of days before the event, so the money is in before the food is bought and the staff are booked. State that due date plainly on the invoice rather than leaving it as 'on the day', and the client knows exactly when to pay. Showing the deposit applied and the balance dated keeps the whole arrangement legible.
Service charges, gratuity, and tax
Caterers often add a service charge, a suggested gratuity, or both, and each is clearest as its own labelled line rather than folded into the per-head price. Keep a mandatory service charge separate from an optional gratuity, since a client reads them differently — one is part of the bill, the other is a choice. Listing them openly avoids the impression of a hidden fee, which is exactly the impression an events client remembers.
How these are taxed depends on where you operate: some places tax a mandatory service charge, treat gratuities differently, and tax food and drink at their own rates, so this is a check-your-local-rules matter rather than a fixed figure. When you know the rate that applies, enter it and the generator adds the tax as its own line; the sales tax calculator can confirm it first. Where a charge is not taxable, leave it out of the taxed lines and the total still adds up correctly.
Honest invoices for real events
A catering invoice should bill for an event you are genuinely catering, at the headcount and menu agreed. Because it is settled in advance and stands as the record of the booking, inflating the guest count, adding charges the client never agreed, or keeping a deposit that should be credited turns a planning tool into an unfair one. Every sample in the builder — the catering company, the client, the menu lines — is a generic placeholder to replace with the real booking.
Receipt Caker produces the invoice and does no more. It does not confirm the event, cater it, or calculate the tax you owe; it lays out and totals what you enter. Used honestly, the invoice is how a caterer confirms a booking and gets paid, and how both sides keep the same record of what was agreed — which is why keeping the headcount and charges accurate matters. Misrepresenting an event to a client or on your taxes is outside the scope of the tool.