How to use this calculator
- Enter or choose guests.
- Enter or choose food cost per guest.
- Enter or choose drinks cost per guest.
- Enter or choose service staff.
- Enter or choose hours per staff member.
- The total catering budget updates as you type. Use Copy result or Share to keep it.
Method
Subtotal = Guests × (Food + Drinks per guest) + Staff × Hours × Rate + Fixed + Service% × (Food + Drinks); Total = Subtotal × (1 + Tax% ÷ 100)
- Food, Drinks per guest
- per-head costs
- Fixed
- venue hire, equipment and other costs that do not depend on guest numbers
- Service%
- service charge applied to food and drinks
- Tax%
- tax applied to everything
Worked example
- Food 100 × 22 = 2,200; drinks 100 × 8 = 800; staff 6 × 6 × 20 = 720; fixed 1,500.
- Service 10% × 3,000 = 300, so the subtotal is 5,520.
- Tax 5% × 5,520 = 276; total 5,796, or 57.96 per guest.
Catering 100 guests comes to 5,796 including service and tax, about 57.96 per guest.
What the result means
Fixed costs fall per guest as numbers rise, so a smaller event costs more per head. Keep a contingency of your own on top for late guest-count changes.
Assumptions and limits
- Service charge applies to food and drinks only; tax applies to the whole bill.
- Some places tax food, drinks and service differently; adjust the rate or split the calculation if so.
Questions
Is the service charge the same as a tip?
Not always. A service charge is set by the caterer and may not go to staff; check your contract before adding a separate tip.