Buyers Guide
Catering Software
Table of Contents
- What is Catering Software?
- What are the key features of Catering Software ?
- What are the types of Catering Software?
- What are the benefits of Catering Software?
- How much does Catering Software cost?
- How to Choose Catering Software?
Key Trends in the Catering Software Market?
What is catering software?
Catering software (often called catering management or sales & catering software) supports the full lifecycle of catering jobs: capturing leads, building proposals and BEOs, planning menus and production, scheduling staff, coordinating logistics, and handling payments. It centralizes event details, guest counts, menu selections, pricing, and timelines so teams can deliver consistent events with less manual coordination and spreadsheet work.
What are the key features of Catering Software
Typical catering platforms include:
- Event and booking management: Calendars, event templates, availability checks, booking wizards, and banquet event orders (BEOs).
- Menu, recipe, and costing: Custom menus, dynamic pricing by head/season, portion and allergen tracking, and automatic food cost and profit calculations.
- Order, production, and logistics: Order management, prep and cooking reports, packing/delivery runsheets, routing, and rental/equipment tracking.
- CRM and proposals: Lead tracking, quotes, proposals, and contract generation with e‑signatures, and follow-up reminders.
- Staff and scheduling: Staff assignments, shift scheduling, task lists, and communication tools for FOH/BOH teams.
Billing, payments, and reporting: Invoicing, deposits, integrated card processing, recurring billing, and dashboards for revenue, margins, and event performance.
Types of catering software
Vendors generally fall into several categories:
- All‑in‑one catering management suites: End‑to‑end tools covering sales, menus, production, logistics, and billing (e.g., Caterease, Total Party Planner, FoodStorm, Sprwt’s catering tier).
- Restaurant‑plus‑catering solutions: Restaurant platforms with dedicated catering modules or workflows, such as Square for Restaurants with catering features.
- Sales & catering / venue systems: Focus on group sales, event booking, BEOs, and proposals for hotels, venues, and banqueting (e.g., STS Cloud Sales & Catering).
Lightweight catering tools for small operators: Simpler systems emphasizing online ordering, menus, delivery scheduling, and basic costing for small caterers and meal-prep businesses.
What are the benefits of Catering Software?
Adopting catering software typically delivers:
- Higher efficiency and fewer errors by automating proposals, BEOs, prep lists, and invoices, reducing manual data entry and miscommunication.
- Better profitability through accurate recipe/menu costing, portion control, and visibility into margins by event or menu item.
- Improved customer experience and sales with faster, more professional proposals, online ordering, and clear communication around changes and payments.
Stronger coordination across sales, kitchen, and operations via centralized event data, real-time updates, and team collaboration tools.
How much does Catering Software cost?
Pricing is usually subscription-based and varies by scope, users, and features:
- Entry-level catering tools for small businesses often start around 50–80 USD per month for a base plan with one user and core features.
- Mid-range all‑in‑one catering suites typically run from about 150–300 USD per month, sometimes with unlimited users or a small included user pack and per‑additional‑user fees around 20–30 USD per month.
- Higher-tier or specialized plans (e.g., advanced online ordering + proposals, detailed reporting, dedicated onboarding) can be 200–400+ USD per month, occasionally plus a transaction or platform fee (e.g., 1.5%).
Illustrative pricing table
| Segment / example plan | Indicative monthly pricing model | Typical inclusions at that level | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small caterer plan (Better Cater-style) | ~57–70 USD/month; extra users ~25 USD/user/month. | Core booking, menus, basic costing, simple event management. | |
| All‑in‑one SMB catering suite (TPP-style) | Tiered plans with 1–3 included users; extra users ~25 USD/user/month; surcharge if own payments used. | Full event, menu, costing, reporting, integrated payments. | |
| Sales & catering for venues (STS Cloud-type) | From ~159 USD/month, often unlimited users account-wide. | Group sales, proposals, BEOs, pipeline tracking, basic integrations. | |
| Advanced catering/meal-prep tier (Sprwt) | Around 250 USD/month plus ~1.5% platform/transaction fee. | Online ordering, proposals, fulfillment reports, advanced automation. | |
How to choose catering software
Catering businesses usually:
- Define their model and volume (corporate vs social, off‑premise vs venue, meal prep vs events) and prioritize must‑have workflows like detailed BEOs, online ordering, or route planning.
- Map current processes across sales, menu planning, kitchen production, logistics, and accounting, then shortlist systems that integrate with POS, accounting, and payment gateways already in use.
- Evaluate usability for sales teams and kitchen/ops staff, mobile access, template flexibility (menus, proposals, BEOs), and reporting depth.
Compare pricing and contracts, focus on onboarding and support quality, and run a trial using real events and menus to validate fit and data accuracy.
Market size and key trends
Catering software sits within the broader restaurant and food & beverage software markets, which are growing quickly; one report estimates restaurant management software at about 5.79 billion USD in 2024, projected to reach 14.70 billion USD by 2030 at a 17.4% CAGR, with strong adoption of cloud tools for table/delivery and event operations. Wider food and beverage industry software is also set to grow steadily through 2030, driven by demand for digital inventory tracking, quality monitoring, and analytics.
Key trends affecting catering software include:
- Shift to cloud and mobile-first tools that support remote quoting, mobile BEO access, and on-site event management.
- Deeper online ordering, self-service portals, and integrated payments, enabling clients to build orders, sign contracts, and pay deposits online.
- Advanced menu and costing engines with dynamic pricing, allergen and dietary tracking, and ingredient-level inventory control.
- Increasing use of automation and integrations (CRM, marketing, accounting, delivery logistics) to reduce admin and support data-driven growth for small and mid-size caterers.