Catering Business Plan Template

If you are planning to start a catering company, you need to have a professional catering business plan. OGS Capital can help you with that; we have a team of professional business personnel and writers who work with us on a daily basis to ensure that clients get customized plans for their business. We strive to make sure that we deliver the final copy of the business plans for catering companies to the customer on time, and this has so far helped us to get referrals and returning customers.

Tips for Succeeding in Writing a Mobile Catering Business Plan

The quality of your catering company business plan will determine whether you will get capital from investors and financial institutions. Hence, it is important to make sure that every detail in the plan is factual and verifiable before presenting it to the investors or banks.

Here are four tips for writing a good business plan for your catering company.

• Carry out an intensive study to understand the hospitality industry
• Convey information about the firm in a professional, cohesive, conscious language
• Layout the various sections clearly using headings and sub-headings
• Proofread the catering business plan to ensure that it is free of any grammatical errors and typos

Adhering to these four tips will help you to come up with business plans for catering companies that you will not be afraid to present and defend when pitching the business idea to the financial institution. Let us proceed and discuss the primary benefits of having an expertly written small catering business plan.

Assist in Decision Making

Every decision that you make will have a positive or negative impact on your catering business. It is, therefore, important to make sure that you consider all the plausible direct and indirect effects that a resolution may have on the enterprise before implementing it to avert regrets.

A good catering company business plan will act as a blueprint that will guide you through the decision-making process. Our team will work hard to make sure that each recommendation made is right for your business. Without a catering company business plan, rest assured that you would be prone to making hasty decisions that could plunge your business in deep financial crisis.

Proper Management of Funds

Unknown to most people is that a catering company business plan does not aim to discuss the business idea only. It goes an extra mile to provide precise details of how the funds will be spent at every stage of the business growth. For instance, it describes the total amount of money that will be used to acquisition equipment. Hence, it will be instrumental in helping you manage your funds correctly. Note that it only takes one financial mistake to compromise the financial stability of the business.

Fosters Transparency and Management

Transparency and proper management are the two primary virtues that set professional catering companies from their counterparts. Poor or lack of transparency results in losses and unnecessary disagreements. All this information will be included in the plan to not only increase your chances of getting funding but also to help you make informed managerial decisions.

Facilitate Setting of Sales Targets

The marketing teams need to have sales goals that they want to achieve after a given duration. Without these goals, they will be operating in a void, and you will also not be able to monitor their performance.

Our marketing professionals will not only help you to come up with a marketing strategy but also provide ideas on how you should set sales targets and objectives.

If you are looking for professional business plans for catering companies that will enable you to enjoy these four benefits, get in touch with us by filling this form. One of our customer care business consultants will get in touch with you to discuss our services in details.

Catering business plan for starting your own building firm

Catering is a business in which you provide food to remote locations to serve people at parties, ceremonies, events, filming sites, and hospitals, etc. The service can sometimes also include the provision of furniture, tables, chairs, utensils, and crockery.

If you are a person who wants to start a business that holds minimum risks, takes a small team and a little investment, then catering is the right choice for you. Besides, another good thing about this business is that it starts yielding profits as soon as it is launched.

What you need to do is just ensure that you manage and market your business plans for catering companies properly. For that purpose, the first step to take is making a business plan for catering. If you need any help regarding how to start a catering business plan, you can have it from here. Here we are providing a business plan for a catering startup, Marlon Caterers.

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Executive Summary

2.1 The Business

Marlon Caterers will be a registered and licensed catering business in Atlanta. The business aims to help people celebrate their memorable events with an unforgettable dinner. Moreover, the business will also take care of the needs of patients in hospitals by offering them healthy and nutritious food according to their doctors’ advice.

The business will provide several types of catering such as buffet catering, sit-down catering, hospital catering, corporate catering, and more.

2.2 Management

Management is a very important factor in the catering business. It’s only through efficient management that you can ensure

• The quality of your servings is intact
• The food prepared fulfills the dietary and hygiene requirements of your clients
• The order is delivered and served timely and perfectly

To maintain a good reputation among your customers, you must know all the difficulties and risks you can encounter. The risks may include budget disruptions due to sudden cancellation of orders, or any small/ large mistake during the business operations.

Before starting a catering business, you should study many catering business startup plans and then prepare a set up catering business plan for your business.

2.3 Customers

Our target customers belong to various niches. They will include the residential community, business organizations, film studios, government institutions, and hospitals.

2.4 Target of the Company

In this how to start a catering company sample business plans for catering companies we are enlisting the business targets set by Marlon Caterers.

• To reduce our customer acquisition cost by 20% by the end of five years
• To keep our customer churn rate below 5% throughout our service years
• To achieve a net profit margin of $22k per month by the end of the third year

Company Summary

3.1 Company Owner

Marlon Redford will be the owner of Marlon Caterers. Marlon has acquired a degree in Business Administration from McDonough School of Business. Marlon has been serving on a managerial post in New York’s top luxury wedding planner company, Colin Cowie for four years. But a few months back, he decided to quit the job and start his own business.

3.2 Why the Business is being started

Marlon always wanted to have a career in which he could utilize his creative ideas to serve his community. He loved food and had an interest in cooking as well. So he decided to make a small team and start a business plans for catering companies.

3.3 How the Business will be started

The first step before starting a catering business is creating a description of catering business plan. Your catering company business plan should cover all aspects such as startup expenses, market analysis, sales strategy, personnel plan, and an extensive financial plan for your business.

In this catering company business plan example, we have listed the business strategy created by Marlon Caterers. Marlon devised his start a catering company business plan himself as he had adequate knowledge to do so. If you don’t know how to write a business plans for catering companies, you should either take help from this sample business plan for catering service. Or you should hire a professional person.

Bank/SBA Business Plan

Document for raising debt funding from financial institutions to meet the expectations of the banks, SBA, and government agencies.

Marlon will rent a facility in Atlanta to set up his office there and keep the inventory. He will purchase luxurious crockery, flatware, tableware, chairs, tables, and sofas to host high-end events. To serve the other categories of target customers, inventory that comes in reasonable rates will also be acquired.

Besides, Marlon will hire the general staff, chefs, waiters, and some supervisors to help him run the business.

The start-up requirements, start-up expenses, total assets, funding, liabilities, planned investment, and other parameters for the successful launch of the business are given below.

Start-up Expenses
Legal	$251,000
Consultants	$0
Insurance	$30,000
Rent	$28,000
Research and Development	$25,000
Expensed Equipment	$57,000
Signs	$5,400
TOTAL START-UP EXPENSES	$396,400
Start-up Assets	$317,500
Cash Required	$348,000
Start-up Inventory	$55,000
Other Current Assets	$211,000
Long-term Assets	$227,000
TOTAL ASSETS	$1,158,500
Total Requirements	$1,554,900
START-UP FUNDING
Start-up Expenses to Fund	$396,400
Start-up Assets to Fund	$1,158,500
TOTAL FUNDING REQUIRED	$1,554,900
Assets
Non-cash Assets from Start-up	$1,531,000
Cash Requirements from Start-up	$364,000
Additional Cash Raised	$54,000
Cash Balance on Starting Date	$32,000
TOTAL ASSETS	$1,981,000
Liabilities and Capital
Liabilities	$28,000
Current Borrowing	$0
Long-term Liabilities	$0
Accounts Payable (Outstanding Bills)	$46,000
Other Current Liabilities (interest-free)	$0
TOTAL LIABILITIES	$74,000
Capital
Planned Investment	$1,554,900
Investor 1	$0
Investor 2	$0
Other	$0
Additional Investment Requirement	$0
TOTAL PLANNED INVESTMENT	$1,554,900
Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses)	$352,100
TOTAL CAPITAL	$1,907,000
TOTAL CAPITAL AND LIABILITIES	$1,981,000
Total Funding	$1,554,900

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Services

Before you start a business plans for catering companies, you must identify the services you can provide under the catering domain. Including your services in your business plan about catering, can help you in acquiring the right licenses, required inventory, and relevant staff.

In this template of a catering business plan we are enlisting the services provided by Marlon Caterers.

We’ll offer on-premise and off-premise catering in the following categories.

• Plated Sit-down catering

In this catering, our waiters will lay out the food on individual tables. So, the guests will have to eat whatever is laid out on the plates for them.

• Buffet Catering

In this type of serving we will serve the dishes and food in one place. The guests will have to prepare their plates themselves according to their needs and wants.

• Cocktail Reception

Our wedding or party dinner will be preceded by a cocktail hour. Our cocktail servings will include Manhattan cocktail, Daiquiri, Margarita, Bloody Mary, Mojito, and Hurricane.

• Snacks & Drinks For Production Sets

We will supply food, snacks, and drinks to film studios, production sets, and shooting sites located near us. As the film crew works on a particular site on a weekly or monthly basis, so we’ll offer them various weekly and monthly packages.

• Hospital Catering

We’ll offer fresh, healthy, and nutritious foods to hospitals for patients. Our nutrient-rich meals will help them recover fast.

Marketing Analysis of Catering Business

If you are starting a business plan for catering companies, you should focus on doing accurate marketing analysis. Through market research, you can identify local trends and expectations. Besides, you can also select the most suitable location to launch your startup.

5.1 Market Trends

The demand for the catering business has been high in the last few years. Due to a boost in average household income, more people had started utilizing private catering services to hold events. However, there is a slight problem these days. Due to the coronavirus pandemic mass gatherings aren’t allowed. So, your business might suffer a loss in the initial phases if you only provide catering for wedding ceremonies and parties. Marlon found the solution to this problem as he decided to offer hospital and film catering too.

Overall, business is surely profitable. According to First Research, catering industries in the U.S. make up above $11 billion in revenue on annual basis. More than 12000 catering industries are running in the U.S. Moreover, Statista also reports that the market size of this business has reached $12 billion in 2020.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

Before you think how to write a business plan for a catering business, you should consider who will be your customers. Knowing your customers will enable you to devise customer-oriented pricing and sales strategy.

In this sample of business plans for catering companies, we have listed the market segmentation done by Marlon Caterers.

The detailed marketing segmentation of our target audience is as follows:

Business Plan for Investors

5.1.1 Residential Community

The biggest consumer of our services will be the residents of Atlanta. They are expected to avail of our catering services whenever they host birthday or anniversary parties, gatherings, wedding ceremonies, etc.

5.1.2 Corporates & Film Producers

The second category includes business organizations that will need our catering for their business meetups, events, and parties. They are also expected to contact us for arranging just a cocktail party as that contains light refreshments and drinks to boost the energy level of workers.

Moreover, film studios that happen to shoot in Atlanta will also be needing our services. This group usually spent weeks and months on a particular site and thus need catering service continuously for days. So to compel them to hire us, we’ll offer them various weekly and monthly packages.

5.1.3 Hospitals

The last category of our target customers include hospitals based in Atlanta. They are expected to contact us for making nutritious and healthy plated foods for patients.

Market Analysis
Potential Customers	Growth	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	CAGR
Residential Community	34%	34,000	35,000	38,000	40,000	43,000	10.00%
Corporates & Film Producers	39%	37,000	38,000	39,000	40,000	41,000	10.00%
Hospitals	27%	26,000	27,000	28,000	30,000	31,000	11.00%
Total	100%	97,000	100,000	105,000	110,000	115,000	10%

5.3 Business Target

Our business plans for catering companies targets to be achieved within a specified time are listed below

• To achieve a net profit margin of $22k per month by the end of the third year
• To maintain an average rating above 4.75 on our website
• To reduce our customer acquisition cost by 20% by the end of five years
• To keep our customer churn rate below 5% throughout our service years

5.4 Product Pricing

Our prices are almost within the same range as that of our competitors. However, we’ll be offering several discounts on our initial stage to attract as many customers as possible.

Marketing Strategy

Sales strategy is also an important component of a catering business plan proposal. Through this, you can reach your qualified customers and make them comprehend that you are better than all your competitors. To give you an idea of what to include in sales strategy, we are providing the sales strategy of Marlon Caterers in this example of marketing plan for a catering business.

6.1 Competitive Analysis

Our biggest competitive advantage lies in our customer service. We are highly customer-oriented and are always willing to go the extra mile to satisfy our customers. Secondly, we have developed a user-friendly mobile app that will allow our customers to

• Make online bookings
• Choose venue
• Select dishes from our menu

Third, we provide on-premise catering in which we prepare the food on site. This will be a competitive edge for us as just two to three competitors are offering it.

6.2 Sales Strategy

• We will offer a 35% discount on our services for the first month of the launch
• We will develop an SEO website to show our business in the top results on searches
• We will establish a strong social media presence
• We will advertise ourselves through Google Local ads service, local magazines, and newspapers

6.3 Sales Monthly

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6.4 Sales Yearly

6.5 Sales Forecast

Sales Forecast
Unit Sales	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Sit-down Catering/ Buffet Catering	42,000	44,520	47,191
Cocktail Reception	29,000	30,740	32,584
Snacks For Film Production Sites	28,000	29,680	31,461
Hospital Catering	30,000	31,800	33,708
TOTAL UNIT SALES	129,000	136,740	144,944
Unit Prices	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Sit-down Catering/ Buffet Catering	$56.00	$64.96	$75.35
Cocktail Reception	$52.00	$60.32	$69.97
Snacks For Film Production Sites	$42.00	$48.72	$56.52
Hospital Catering	$39.00	$45.24	$52.48
Sales
Sit-down Catering/ Buffet Catering	$2,352,000.00	$2,892,019.20	$3,556,026.81
Cocktail Reception	$1,508,000.00	$1,854,236.80	$2,279,969.57
Snacks For Film Production Sites	$1,176,000.00	$1,446,009.60	$1,778,013.40
Hospital Catering	$1,170,000.00	$1,438,632.00	$1,768,941.91
TOTAL SALES	$6,206,000.00	$7,630,897.60	$9,382,951.69
Direct Unit Costs	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Sit-down Catering/ Buffet Catering	$54.00	$60.00	$71.00
Cocktail Reception	$47.00	$57.00	$65.00
Snacks For Film Production Sites	$38.00	$45.00	$51.00
Hospital Catering	$36.00	$41.00	$47.00
Direct Cost of Sales
Sit-down Catering/ Buffet Catering	$2,268,000.00	$2,671,200.00	$3,350,575.20
Cocktail Reception	$1,363,000.00	$1,752,180.00	$2,117,986.00
Snacks For Film Production Sites	$1,064,000.00	$1,335,600.00	$1,604,500.80
Hospital Catering	$1,080,000.00	$1,303,800.00	$1,584,276.00
Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales	$5,775,000.00	$7,062,780.00	$8,657,338.00

Personnel plan

While writing business plans for catering companies you should also create a list of your required employees along with their job responsibilities.

7.1 Company Staff

Marlon will manage the business himself. However, he will hire the following people

• 1 Quality Manager to ensure the quality of service by active supervision
• 1 Inventory Manager to manage and maintain the merchandise
• 1 Accountant to maintain financial records
• 2 Sales Executives to market and to discover new ventures
• 5 Catering Assistants/ Catering Chefs to prepare the food
• 4 Waiters to serve the guests
• 2 General Assistants to bring ingredients daily
• 1 Web Developer
• 2 Drivers to provide transport
• 1 Front Desk Officer to act as a receptionist

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

Personnel Plan
	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Quality Manager	$13,000	$14,300	$15,730
Inventory Manager	$12,000	$13,200	$14,520
Accountant	$10,000	$11,000	$12,100
Sales Executives	$18,000	$19,800	$21,780
Catering Chefs	$48,000	$52,800	$58,080
Waiters	$24,000	$26,400	$29,040
General Assistants	$15,000	$16,500	$18,150
Drivers	$13,000	$14,300	$15,730
Front Desk Officer	$7,000	$7,700	$8,470
Web Developer	$8,000	$8,800	$9,680
Total Salaries	$168,000	$184,800	$203,280

Financial Plan

As you make a catering business plan, you should also start analyzing your finances. Crafting a financial plan is an absolute need for a business as it maps the ways to minimize or even avoid loss. A good financial plan comprises a strategy to cover startup expenses with earned profits. Moreover, it also proposes a systematic approach to managing employees’ salaries, cost of business operations, and costs to cater for unexpected events.

To give you an idea of how a financial plan should look like, we are giving here the financial plan of Marlon Caterers.

8.1 Important Assumptions

General Assumptions
	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Plan Month	1	2	3
Current Interest Rate	8.13%	8.18%	8.25%
Long-term Interest Rate	8.30%	8.39%	8.46%
Tax Rate	23.05%	24.67%	25.90%
Other	0	0	0

8.2 Brake-even Analysis

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Brake-Even Analysis
Monthly Units Break-even	5360
Monthly Revenue Break-even	$134,800
Assumptions:
Average Per-Unit Revenue	$239.00
Average Per-Unit Variable Cost	$0.64
Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost	$162,300

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

Pro Forma Profit And Loss
	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Sales	$6,206,000	$7,630,898	$9,382,952
Direct Cost of Sales	$5,775,000	$7,062,780	$8,657,338
Other	$0	$0	$0
TOTAL COST OF SALES	$5,775,000	$7,062,780	$8,657,338
Gross Margin	$431,000	$568,118	$725,614
Gross Margin %	6.94%	7.44%	7.73%
Expenses
Payroll	$168,000	$184,800	$203,280
Sales and Marketing and Other Expenses	$130,000	$132,000	$135,000
Depreciation	$2,200	$2,280	$2,350
Leased Equipment	$0	$0	$0
Utilities	$3,200	$3,300	$3,400
Insurance	$1,700	$1,800	$1,900
Rent	$3,300	$3,400	$3,510
Payroll Taxes	$37,000	$38,000	$40,000
Other	$0	$0	$0
Total Operating Expenses	$345,400	$365,580	$389,440
Profit Before Interest and Taxes	$85,600	$202,538	$336,174
EBITDA	$85,600	$202,538	$336,174
Interest Expense	$0	$0	$0
Taxes Incurred	$17,120	$40,508	$67,235
Net Profit	$68,480	$162,030	$268,939
Net Profit/Sales	1.10%	2.12%	2.87%

8.3.1 Profit Monthly

8.3.2 Profit Yearly

8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

Pro Forma Cash Flow
Cash Received	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Cash from Operations
Cash Sales	$56,000	$60,480	$65,318
Cash from Receivables	$17,000	$18,360	$19,829
SUBTOTAL CASH FROM OPERATIONS	$73,000	$79,570	$85,936
Additional Cash Received
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received	$0	$0	$0
New Current Borrowing	$0	$0	$0
New Other Liabilities (interest-free)	$0	$0	$0
New Long-term Liabilities	$0	$0	$0
Sales of Other Current Assets	$0	$0	$0
Sales of Long-term Assets	$0	$0	$0
New Investment Received	$0	$0	$0
SUBTOTAL CASH RECEIVED	$73,000	$79,000	$86,000
Expenditures	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Expenditures from Operations
Cash Spending	$35,000	$37,000	$39,000
Bill Payments	$19,000	$19,600	$20,000
SUBTOTAL SPENT ON OPERATIONS	$56,000	$57,300	$61,000
Additional Cash Spent
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out	$0	$0	$0
Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing	$0	$0	$0
Other Liabilities Principal Repayment	$0	$0	$0
Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment	$0	$0	$0
Purchase Other Current Assets	$0	$0	$0
Purchase Long-term Assets	$0	$0	$0
Dividends	$0	$0	$0
SUBTOTAL CASH SPENT	$57,000	$61,560	$66,485
Net Cash Flow	$14,000	$15,000	$16,000
Cash Balance	$24,000	$25,400	$27,800

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

Pro Forma Balance Sheet
Assets	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Current Assets
Cash	$279,000	$312,480	$343,728
Accounts Receivable	$25,000	$28,000	$31,472
Inventory	$5,300	$5,936	$6,678
Other Current Assets	$1,000	$1,000	$1,000
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS	$294,000	$329,280	$370,111
Long-term Assets
Long-term Assets	$10,000	$10,000	$10,000
Accumulated Depreciation	$18,700	$20,944	$23,562
TOTAL LONG-TERM ASSETS	$23,000	$25,760	$28,980
TOTAL ASSETS	$293,000	$328,160	$369,180
Liabilities and Capital	Year 4	Year 5	Year 6
Current Liabilities
Accounts Payable	$18,000	$20,160	$22,660
Current Borrowing	$0	$0	$0
Other Current Liabilities	$0	$0	$0
SUBTOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES	$13,400	$15,008	$16,869
Long-term Liabilities	$0	$0	$0
TOTAL LIABILITIES	$13,800	$15,456	$17,373
Paid-in Capital	$30,000	$30,000	$30,000
Retained Earnings	$56,300	$61,367	$67,504
Earnings	$195,000	$212,550	$233,805
TOTAL CAPITAL	$275,000	$299,750	$329,725
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND CAPITAL	$288,800	$328,160	$369,180
Net Worth	$268,000	$292,120	$321,332

8.6 Business Ratios

Ratio Analysis
	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	INDUSTRY PROFILE
Sales Growth	7.31%	8.10%	8.97%	3.00%
Percent of Total Assets
Accounts Receivable	9.35%	10.36%	11.48%	9.80%
Inventory	5.38%	5.96%	6.60%	9.90%
Other Current Assets	2.43%	2.69%	2.98%	2.40%
Total Current Assets	150.00%	152.00%	152.00%	158.00%
Long-term Assets	11.98%	12.07%	12.10%	12.00%
TOTAL ASSETS	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
Current Liabilities	4.66%	4.70%	4.74%	4.34%
Long-term Liabilities	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Total Liabilities	7.31%	7.37%	7.44%	7.38%
NET WORTH	102.03%	102.85%	103.79%	110.00%
Percent of Sales
Sales	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
Gross Margin	93.90%	96.44%	99.14%	99.00%
Selling, General & Administrative Expenses	93.20%	95.72%	98.40%	97.80%
Advertising Expenses	1.60%	1.64%	1.69%	1.40%
Profit Before Interest and Taxes	42.00%	43.13%	44.34%	33.90%
Main Ratios
Current	35	37	38.75	32
Quick	33	36	36.9	33
Total Debt to Total Assets	0.22%	0.18%	0.17%	0.40%
Pre-tax Return on Net Worth	76.00%	76.40%	77.12%	75.00%
Pre-tax Return on Assets	92.18%	96.79%	101.63%	111.30%
Additional Ratios	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Net Profit Margin	33.40%	34.44%	35.50%	N.A.
Return on Equity	55.20%	56.91%	58.68%	N.A.
Activity Ratios
Accounts Receivable Turnover	7.7	7.8	7.9	N.A.
Collection Days	100	100	100	N.A.
Inventory Turnover	32	33.6	35.28	N.A.
Accounts Payable Turnover	16.3	16.4	16.6	N.A.
Payment Days	27	27	27	N.A.
Total Asset Turnover	2.5	2.6	2.7	N.A.
Debt Ratios
Debt to Net Worth	-0.03	-0.04	-0.04	N.A.
Current Liab. to Liab.	1	1	1	N.A.
Liquidity Ratios
Net Working Capital	$237,650	$250,958	$265,012	N.A.
Interest Coverage	0	0	0	N.A.
Additional Ratios
Assets to Sales	0.85	0.87	0.89	N.A.
Current Debt/Total Assets	1%	1%	0%	N.A.
Acid Test	28	29.1	30.5	N.A.
Sales/Net Worth	2.1	2.2	2.4	N.A.
Dividend Payout	0	0	0	N.A.

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