Catering Per-Head Quote

Guests, food per head, staff hours, rentals and travel in. A quote per head that protects your margin out.

Guests

Food & drink cost per head

Ingredients only, per guest.

Staff on the event

Hours each (incl. setup, teardown)

Loaded hourly rate

Wage plus payroll costs.

Rentals, disposables, linens

Travel, fuel, parking

Target margin

Caterers commonly aim for 30 to 40% before overhead.

Your quote total (optional)

Leave blank to use the recommended quote.

How this is calculated

Total cost = guests × food per head + staff × hours × rate + rentals + travel.

Recommended quote = total cost ÷ (1 − target margin). Per head = quote ÷ guests.

Margin here is before your office overhead and your own time. Add those as a fixed line if you want a true net.

Prices are before GST/HST. Add tax on top of the price shown, never inside your margin. Estimates, not advice.

Verdict

This quote makes money

Quote per head$45.10

$5,412.31 total · 35.0% margin

Conservative yearly leak$0

What quoting below your target margin gives away across 20 events a year, halved.

Field Pack

Wedding Quote Auditor

The printable worksheets, templates, and benchmarks behind this calculator. $79, one-time.

Keep it

Want this saved, with your real numbers?

A simple list of your events with vendor costs, your hours and profit per event. Saved on this device, free.

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