Free catering invoice template: fill it in, then download Word or PDF

Catering invoice example

The template opens with this one filled in. Grandview Hall is billing the Whitfield and Nakamura wedding on October 17 for 120 guests in the Garden Room:

Tax is left at 0 here because the rate and what it covers depend on your state. Put in your own and tick the lines it applies to. The balance falls due seven days out and the final count fourteen, both written into the payment terms.

What to include on a catering invoice

• The header. Your business name and contact details, a tax ID if you have one, a unique invoice number that follows the last one, and the issue and due dates.
• The client. Name, company, billing address, email and phone.
• The event. Name, date, service start and end, the final guest count, the venue address and who the crew asks for on the day.
• The charges. Menu packages or dishes per guest or per item, drinks with alcohol separate from soft drinks, staff by the hour, rentals such as linens, chafing dishes and tents, then delivery, permits and other fees.
• The math. Subtotal, service charge, gratuity and tax, the total, deposits taken off, and the balance due.
• The terms. When the balance is due, how to pay, late fees and the cancellation policy.

How to make a catering invoice, step by step

1. Number it. Give it the next number in your sequence and the issue date.
2. Add both parties. Your business details, then the client's name, billing address and email.
3. Describe the event. Date, service hours, venue and the final guest count.
4. List every charge. Food per guest, drinks, staff by the hour, rentals and fees, each with a quantity and rate.
5. Do the math. Subtotal, service charge, gratuity and tax, then take off the deposit to show the balance.
6. State the terms. The due date, how to pay, and the late fee and cancellation policy from your contract.
7. Send it as a PDF or Word file and keep a copy with the event.

Deposits and the final balance

The deposit holds the date and pays for early prep, so it comes when the contract is signed. The final invoice is built on the confirmed guest count, not the estimate in the proposal, and shows what has already been paid. If the count moves after that, send a revised invoice rather than settling the difference on the night. The guest count change checklist lists who else needs the new number, and the free catering food calculator works out the food for it.

The free BEO template carries the final count, the menu and the timings the kitchen cooks to, so the invoice and the BEO show the same number.

If the terms are not written down yet, the free catering contract template sets the deposit, the final count date and the cancellation steps that this invoice bills against.

Service charge, gratuity and tax

A service charge is a fee you set and keep; a gratuity is a tip for the staff. Label them separately and state both in the proposal, because a client who finds an unexplained 20 percent on the final bill will query the whole invoice. Sales tax rules for food, alcohol, rentals and service charges differ from state to state, so this template taxes nothing until you tick a line, and it never taxes the gratuity. Check your state's department of revenue for the rate.

Catering invoice template in Word, PDF or Excel

Download Word for an editable .docx of the invoice you filled in; it opens in Word, Google Docs and Pages. Blank Word template gives you an empty one with ruled lines. Print or save PDF sends a clean one-page invoice, and the CSV opens in Excel or Google Sheets if your bookkeeper wants the lines.

Quote, proposal and invoice

The quote is the number, the proposal is the plan (menus, staffing, the order of service), and the invoice is the bill once the client has agreed. If you are still at the proposal stage, the event proposal template covers what goes in one, and venue rental agreement clauses covers the deposit and cancellation terms the invoice should repeat.

Invoicing weddings, corporate events and private parties

For a wedding, add the planner as a contact, list any special requests, and put added services on their own lines so the couple can see what changed since the proposal. Corporate clients care about meal types, the guest count and how it can be adjusted, and staff or AV; leave room for their purchase order number in the notes. A private party usually needs only the menu, staff and the balance.

Send it and get paid in MyVenueHQ

A template is fine for one event. When invoices are weekly, MyVenueHQ keeps the invoice on the event with the proposal, contract and BEO, so the guest count is typed once. Deposit and balance sit on one invoice, the client pays by card into your own Stripe, Square or PayPal account, and the event shows paid the moment they do. Invoices, floor plans and BEOs are all on the free plan; contracts with e-signature are on the Venue plan, $49 a month with a 14-day trial.

Add this catering invoice template to your website

Venues, planners and wedding blogs can put it on their own site for free. Paste this where you want it; it works in WordPress, Squarespace, Wix and plain HTML. Nothing is tracked about your visitors beyond page views.