Posted by Carl Jones on August 16, 1998 at 15:42:04 :
In Reply to: Re: New Catering Business How to Charge? posted by Allison on August 10, 1998 at 20:06:43 :
That is the toughest question. What to charge.
First, look at you competition.... what are they charging, how do they charge?
Look at your costs...... I charge separately for each area...
food, staff, rentals, supplies, a 15% catering service charge....
Just make sure you KNOW ALL your costs, dont miss any! I vary how I charge based upon
the size of the party, whether I have any serious competition for the event bid
etc....
At the very least, figure your food cost and multiply by 4, to arrive at a price...
this will give you a place to start....
I usually double or triple the food cost, same with labor.....I add a very small mark up to
rentals and then charge 15% on top of everything.... I even contacted my competitors and showed them
how I charge... The last thing I need is some idiot to undercharge for their services
and make us look like we are over charging..
bottom line is that i charge what i need to motivate me to cater the event and not
just sit at home, if you get my point...