Catering Business Calculator
Enter events, guest numbers, pricing and your cost base.
Monthly profit
β
Enter values above
Monthly revenue
β
Monthly food cost
β
Monthly staff cost
β
Annual profit
β
Profit margin
β
Worked example
With the default inputs shown below, this calculator returns the following results:
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Events per month | 12 |
| Average guests per event | 60 |
| Price per guest ($) | 28 |
| Food cost per guest ($) | 9 |
| Staff cost per event ($) | 350 |
| Monthly fixed costs ($) | 8000 |
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly profit | $1,480 |
| Monthly revenue | $20,160 |
| Monthly food cost | $6,480 |
| Monthly staff cost | $4,200 |
| Annual profit | $17,760 |
| Profit margin | 7.34% |
Values shown are produced by this page in your browser; change any input to update them.
How to use the Catering Business Calculator
- Events per month β default 12
- Average guests per event β default 60
- Price per guest ($) β default 28
- Food cost per guest ($) β default 9
- Staff cost per event ($) β default 350
- Monthly fixed costs ($) β default 8000
- Press Calculate to update the results instantly.
Frequently asked questions
Around 28β35% of revenue for food, leaving room for labour, transport and overhead. Above 40% there is usually very little margin left at typical event prices.
Yes β add them to the fixed costs field, or to the staff cost per event if they scale with each booking. Van fuel, chafing dishes and hire charges are easy to forget.
A small owner-operated caterer often handles 8β15 events a month, depending on size. Larger weddings reduce the count but raise the revenue per event substantially.