Food and events run on headcounts. A caterer scales a menu to the guest list, a baker scales a dough to the order, a bartender works out how much to stock, and an event planner turns all of it into one budget the client signs. This calculator for caterers, bakers and event planners keeps the guest count and the recipe at the top of the note and the money at the bottom.
Each example shows the answers Notes Calculator gives. Choose Open in Notes Calculator to open one in the web app and use your own numbers.
Scale a dough with baker’s percentages
Bakers write water, salt and yeast as a percentage of the flour. Scale the flour to the order, and the other ingredients follow from it.
| Note | Result |
|---|---|
| // the recipe makes 12 rolls from 500 g of flour | |
| scale = 40 / 12 | 3.33 |
| flour = 500 g * scale | 1,666.67 g |
| Water at 72%: flour * 72% | 1,200 g |
| Salt at 2%: flour * 2% | 33.33 g |
| flour to lb | 3.67 lb |
Cost and price per head
Add the food cost per guest to fixed costs such as staff and rentals, divide by the guest count for the cost per head, and set a price per head that leaves the margin you want.
| Note | Result |
|---|---|
| guests = 120 | 120 |
| food per guest = 14 USD | $14 |
| staff = 900 USD | $900 |
| rentals = 650 USD | $650 |
| cost per head = (guests * food per guest + staff + rentals) / guests | $26.92 |
| Price per head for a 30% margin: cost per head / (1 - 30%) | $38.45 |
Dividing by (1 - 30%) gives a 30% margin on the price, which is not the same as adding 30% to the cost. The profit margin guide explains why.
Drinks for the bar
Estimate the drinks per guest, multiply by the pour, and convert to bottles. The same note works for a wedding bar or a batch of punch.
| Note | Result |
|---|---|
| guests = 120 | 120 |
| drinks each = 2 | 2 |
| pour = 1.5 fl oz | 1.50 fl oz |
| spirits = guests * drinks each * pour | 360 fl oz |
| spirits to liters | 10.65 L |
| Bottles of 750 ml: spirits / 750 ml rounded up | 15 |
An event budget with service and tax
Event planners total the vendors, add the caterer’s service charge, and put tax on top. A 30% deposit is one more line.
| Note | Result |
|---|---|
| catering = 120 * 85 USD | $10,200 |
| service charge = catering * 18% | $1,836 |
| venue = 6,500 USD | $6,500 |
| flowers = 1,800 USD | $1,800 |
| music = 2,400 USD | $2,400 |
| budget = catering + service charge + venue + flowers + music | $22,736 |
| invoice = budget + 8% | $24,554.88 |
| Deposit: 30% of invoice | $7,366.46 |
For a personal or household budget rather than an event, the budget calculator guide uses the same approach, and the tip calculator guide covers splitting a tip pool after the event.
Start free at app.notescalculator.com, or see what Lifetime adds if you want one note per event or recipe, synced across your devices.