What should be optional in a catering proposal?

In this template: Canapés on arrival ($18.00 USD per guest), Wine pairing ($26.00 USD per guest), Tableware and linen hire ($480.00 USD). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.

How much to charge for catering

Updated September 19, 2026. Example prices in US dollars from the catering proposal template.

Short answer: Price catering as one fixed line (three-course dinner at $95.00 USD) with a starting total of $7,260.00 USD, then 3 optional lines (canapés on arrival, wine pairing, tableware and linen hire) the client can switch on, and quantities the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.

A worked example for caterers: the pricing lines from our catering proposal, what is fixed, what the client can switch on, and how to present it so the total gets accepted rather than negotiated.

The example pricing

Line	Example price	How it is sold
Three-course dinnerPer guest, cooked on site and served	$95.00 USD per guest	IncludedClient picks 30 to 120
Canapés on arrivalPer guest, four pieces	$18.00 USD per guest	Optional, on by defaultClient picks 0 to 120
Wine pairingPer guest, a glass with each course	$26.00 USD per guest	Optional, off by defaultClient picks 0 to 120
Tableware and linen hirePlates, glassware, cutlery, linen, delivered and collected	$480.00 USD	Optional, on by default

Starting total with the defaults on: $7,260.00 USD, before the client chooses among 3 optional lines, with 3 quantities the client sets within your limits. Example prices in US dollars; the template works in 16 currencies and every number is yours to change.

How to present it

Personal services are chosen on feel. A warm opening paragraph and a clear list of what the day, the term or the month includes do more than a discount ever will.

Price the package, then the countable extras: guests, sessions, hours, dishes. A client who moves a quantity and sees the total settle has already decided.

Put the cancellation and rescheduling terms on the same page as the price, in plain words. Signed together, they are far easier to hold to later.

Questions people ask

How much should I charge for catering?: Price catering as one fixed line (three-course dinner at $95.00 USD) with a starting total of $7,260.00 USD, then 3 optional lines (canapés on arrival, wine pairing, tableware and linen hire) the client can switch on, and quantities the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.
What should be optional in a catering proposal?: In this template: Canapés on arrival ($18.00 USD per guest), Wine pairing ($26.00 USD per guest), Tableware and linen hire ($480.00 USD). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.
How do I present catering pricing so it gets accepted?: Personal services are chosen on feel. A warm opening paragraph and a clear list of what the day, the term or the month includes do more than a discount ever will.

Why this structure gets accepted

One fixed line the client can say yes to. Three-course dinner is priced as a whole, so the conversation is about the result, not the hours.
Options on the page, not in follow-up emails. Canapés on arrival, Wine pairing, Tableware and linen hire sit next to the base price with a switch. People choose what they can see.
The total moves as they choose. On a Quote and Sign page the client toggles lines and sets quantities, watches the total update, and signs with their name. What they chose becomes part of the signed record.

Put it in front of a client

Open this pricing as a real proposal, change the words and numbers, and send the link. Your client reads it on their phone, adjusts the options, and accepts with one tap. Both of you get the signed PDF.

Try it in the editor, no account See the catering proposal template