67% of catering businesses fail within their first three years, primarily due to margin miscalculations. Catering contracts carry unique costs that don't exist in restaurant service: transport logistics, on-site setup, and additional staffing requirements. Understanding how to price a 200-person event correctly separates profitable caterers from those who struggle.
Gather all costs for 200 people
Catering costs break down per person, not per plate. You've got three main buckets: ingredients, staff, and logistics.
💡 Example: Business lunch for 200 people
Menu: sandwiches, soup, salad per person €12.50 incl. VAT
- Ingredients: €4.50 per person
- Staff (3 chefs + 2 servers): €480
- Transport + materials: €150
Total costs: €4.50 × 200 + €480 + €150 = €1,530
Calculate your selling price excluding VAT
Catering falls under 9% VAT. Your menu price usually appears with VAT included on quotes, but margin calculations always work excluding VAT.
- Formula: Selling price excl. VAT = Selling price incl. VAT ÷ 1.09
- €12.50 incl. VAT = €11.47 excl. VAT per person
- 200 people × €11.47 = €2,294 total revenue excl. VAT
Calculate your margin
Margin represents the gap between revenue and costs, shown as a percentage of revenue.
💡 Margin calculation:
- Revenue excl. VAT: €2,294
- Total costs: €1,530
- Profit: €2,294 - €1,530 = €764
Margin: (€764 ÷ €2,294) × 100 = 33.3%
Check your food cost separately
Beyond total margin, you should examine food cost independently. That's purely the ingredient portion.
- Food cost: (€4.50 ÷ €11.47) × 100 = 39.2%
- For catering, 35-45% food cost is standard
- Higher than restaurant operations because you've got extra packaging and logistics
⚠️ Watch out:
Don't overlook hidden costs: disposable tableware, napkins, on-site dishwashing, staff travel time. These small expenses can rapidly erode your margin.
Minimum margin for catering
Catering carries more risk than restaurant service. Clients can cancel last-minute, but you've already purchased ingredients and scheduled staff.
- Standard catering margin: 25-35% minimum
- Below 25%: insufficient buffer for unexpected costs
- Above 40%: likely too expensive for the market
💡 Break-even check:
If 10% of your guests cancel last-minute:
- You lose 20 × €11.47 = €229 in revenue
- But ingredients (20 × €4.50 = €90) you can often still use
- Net loss: €139
Your margin of €764 should absorb this hit.
Digital support for margin calculation
Many caterers rely on Excel, but that becomes unwieldy with multiple menus and varying group sizes. From analyzing actual purchasing data across different restaurant types, caterers who use dedicated systems track margins more accurately and spot profit leaks faster. A food cost calculator like KitchenNmbrs helps you run different scenarios quickly and monitor your margin per contract.
How do you calculate the margin on a catering contract? (step by step)
Add up all costs per person
Calculate ingredients, staff, and logistics together. Don't forget: transport, materials, disposable tableware, and staff travel time.
Calculate revenue excluding VAT
Divide your menu price by 1.09 (for 9% VAT) and multiply by number of people. This is your actual revenue.
Calculate margin
Subtract total costs from revenue excl. VAT. Divide by revenue and multiply by 100 for percentage. Aim for a minimum of 25%.
✨ Pro tip
Run margin calculations on 15 different guest counts (from 50 to 500 people) for your signature menu within the next 30 days. This creates a pricing matrix that lets you quote instantly and confidently.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a good margin for catering?
A healthy margin for catering runs between 25-35%. Below 25%, you don't have enough buffer for unexpected costs or last-minute changes. Above 40% often prices you out of competitive bids.
How do I convert staff costs to cost per person?
Add up total staff costs including wages and travel time, then divide by guest count. For 200 people with €480 in staff costs, that's €2.40 per person.
Is my food cost higher for catering than in a restaurant?
Yes, absolutely. Catering involves extra packaging costs and less opportunity to repurpose leftovers. Food costs of 35-45% are normal for catering operations, compared to 28-35% in restaurants.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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