Catering event management software, built around the event
An event is not a calendar entry. It is a menu, a guest count that keeps moving, a prep list, a crew, a van, a load-in time and a client who emails at ten at night. This keeps all of it on one record, so changing the guest count changes the prep list, the shopping list and the invoice instead of just the number.
What lives on an event
- The brief — date, venue, guest count, service style, dietary needs, and the conversation it came from.
- The menu — costed from your recipes, with the margin visible.
- The BEO and the client-facing documents — generated from the above, not retyped.
- A task list — built for this event, assigned, with the prep that has to happen the day before.
- The crew — who is on, who replied, who has not.
- The stock — what the event consumes, pulled against inventory, with a shopping list for what is short.
- The route — delivery and load-in order when you are running more than one that day.
- The money — deposit, balance, what is paid, what is overdue.
Why one record matters more than it sounds
The expensive catering mistakes are almost never a missing feature. They are a number that changed in one place and not the other: the guest count went from 90 to 115 in an email, the kitchen prepped for 90, and the invoice went out for 90. Keeping the event as one object rather than seven linked records is the whole point.
The pipeline view
Events sit in stages — enquiry, quoted, confirmed, in production, delivered, invoiced — and quotes that have gone quiet get flagged rather than forgotten. Most lost catering work is not lost to a competitor, it is lost to a follow-up nobody sent. There is a piece on exactly that.
Staffing and shifts
Shifts go out, replies come back, and an event that is short-staffed says so before the morning of. Staff documents — certifications, licences, right-to-work — are tracked with expiry dates, so one lapses in a notification rather than in an inspection.
Where we are thinner than the old guard
Multi-venue bookings with room-tied rentals, staggered service across several spaces, and deeply customised permission structures are where platforms with twenty or thirty years of configuration depth still win. If that is your operation, read the Total Party Planner comparison before the trial rather than after.
Price
Starter is $99/mo for one seat and Pro is $149/mo for three. Every feature is on both plans — they differ on seats, storage and how much AI you get each month. Extra seats are $15/mo. The 14-day free trial takes no credit card. See pricing.
Questions people ask
Does it generate BEOs?
Yes, from the event record — menu, counts, timings, service notes — along with the client-facing proposal and contract.
Can it handle several events on the same day?
Yes, including the delivery and load-in order. That is what the routing is for.
What happens when the guest count changes?
Change it on the event and the menu cost, prep list, shopping list and invoice follow. That single behaviour is most of why the event is one record instead of several.
Does it do staff scheduling?
Shifts, replies and short-staffed warnings, plus expiry tracking on staff documents and certifications. There is a longer guide in the blog.
Is it enough for a multi-venue operation?
Often not. Room-tied rentals, staggered multi-space service and granular permissions are where Caterease and Total Party Planner still have more depth, and we would rather tell you that now.
Ten minutes gets a real event in — your menu, your prices, a quote you could send. The 14-day trial takes no credit card.