Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for caterers.
A checklist built from how caterers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Event booking with menu versions
- Per-plate costing
- Quotation and advance tracking
- Quantity and purchase planning
- Staff and vessel calendar
- Vessels out and back
- Corporate meal contracts
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For the order desk
- For head cooks
- For site supervisors
- For accounts assistants
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Events by date, with counts and approved menus
- Cost per plate against the rate quoted
- Purchase list for the week, across all events
- Staff and vessel bookings, with clashes marked
- Hire items out and not yet returned
- Advances received and balances outstanding
- Contract invoices and tax summary for the month
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Accounting package export
- SMS
- Mobile wallets and payment gateways
- Google Calendar
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- How do we stop the kitchen cooking an old menu?
- Can it work out quantities for a thousand plates?
- Can the supervisor record extra plates at the hall?
- What does it cost?
- Does it track vessels and hired items?
- Does it work with our accounting package?
- Can running bookings and advances be moved in?
- Will it run on a phone in the kitchen?
- Who owns our menus, recipes and client records?
- Is this too big for ten weddings a season?
- How soon can the order desk start on it?
- What does a caterer need to have ready?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Menu versions are mixed up
- The real cost per plate is unknown
- Extra plates do not reach the bill
- Staff and vessel bookings clash
- Hired vessels do not come back
Prefer to talk it through? See the caterers page.