The catering business launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 48 steps in 8 phases, 23 of them specific to a catering business. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan48 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
A catering business sells food and service for events, typically priced per head.
Typical for one unit is $150,000 to $1,600,000 a year; the owner keeps 17 to 23% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of all new U.S. employer businesses are still operating after five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: because is low, building is very accessible, but relationships and reputation take time. Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
With no storefront to build, a caterer’s opening budget is the van, the gear that keeps food safe from kitchen to buffet, and the paperwork.
The itemized cost to open10 lines
- Van (lease drive-off), wrap & title: $4,000 to $12,000Leasing is the default; buying a used cargo van runs about $15,000 to $35,000 and a new one about $43,500 to $58,000
- Insulated carriers, chafers, beverage dispensers & holding: $1,500 to $24,500Economy chafers start near $30; induction-ready roll-tops run about $600
- Hand-wash station, tables, reach-in & work tables: $1,000 to $15,500
- Kitchen & serving smallwares: $3,000 to $8,000
- Tablet & card reader: $400 to $800
- Opening supplies (fuel, disposables, staples): $1,000 to $4,000
- Commissary deposit: $1,800 to $3,600
- Permits, food handler cards, insurance & legal: $2,000 to $11,000
- Website, photos & launch marketing: $1,000 to $5,000
- Initial working capital: $8,000 to $30,000Food and staff for the first events before deposits build up, plus a reserve for slow months
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed4 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to 10 yr · up to $5M · 75-85% government-guaranteed)Funds equipment, a vehicle, working capital, or the purchase of an existing caterer.
- SBA microloan (Up to $50,000)Small loans through nonprofit intermediary lenders, sized for a caterer’s opening budget, often with business coaching attached.
- Vehicle and equipment financing (Secured by the van or equipment · 3-5 yr terms common)Lease or finance the van and larger equipment, secured by the assets themselves, so cash stays free for the first events.
- Seller financing (Often 10-25% of price · 3-5 yr)Common when buying a caterer.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/5Open
The territory and the vehiclea week or two
A caterer doesn’t need retail foot traffic; it needs reliable commercial kitchen access, a workable service radius, and a market with enough events.
What decides it for this business: reliable commercial kitchen access, strong event market nearby, corporate & recurring demand, manageable service radius, venue & planner relationships.
Mobile businesses still answer to city rules: where the vehicle can be kept overnight, whether you can run the business from home, and what the state licenses.
The van or truck is the shop. Price it, outfit it, insure it, and brand it before the first job. The quotes go into the loan application.
Most health departments require a licensed kitchen where a food truck preps, stores and cleans. The agreement is part of the permit application.
Commercial auto for the vehicle, for the work. Customers and any lender will ask for the certificate.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the vehicle and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
The lender funds against the quotes and the insurance; the money goes to the vendors and the build.
After:
- 06Not started0/10Open
Permits and the vehicletwo to four weeks
A caterer cooks in a licensed kitchen and serves at other people’s venues, so it needs food-safety permits for both the kitchen and the event, plus vehicle and sometimes alcohol licensing.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:With the money in hand: the vehicle, the , the branding, and the state inspection most cities require before it can work.
After:Register your or corporation and obtain a city or county business license.
State registration to collect tax on catered food; in many states service charges and rentals billed with the food are taxable too.
Most health departments require caterers to cook in a permitted commercial kitchen and hold a permit tied to it; home kitchens generally cannot be used for catering.
A signed agreement with the licensed kitchen you cook in, often with your permit application.
Some jurisdictions require a permit for each off-site or public event, or for serving at outdoor festivals.
Serving or selling alcohol needs a state caterer’s liquor license or permit, or the client must hire a licensed bar service.
Register the van to the business and carry commercial auto coverage; personal auto policies usually exclude business use.
The health department inspects the truck and the commissary agreement, then issues the mobile food permit.
After: ,
- 07Not started0/10Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
Catering software builds a quote from your menu and per-head pricing, turns it into a contract and an event order (the run sheet with headcount, timing, and...
Take a deposit to hold the date and the balance before the event, by card or bank transfer, with automatic reminders.
Client deposits, event payments, and supplier bills arrive in lumps.
Track food and against each event, not just each month, so you can see which events and menus actually make money.
Event staff work irregular shifts across many dates.
, commercial auto for the van, workers’ comp, and liquor liability if you serve alcohol.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Event days: Final prep, load-in, on-site setup and service, breakdown, and... Daily / weekly: Respond to inquiries, build quotes, plan menus, order food, schedule... Monthly: Reconcile per-event margins, review the , pursue recurring...
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/6Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
Underpricing events; Event-day ; A lumpy calendar.
Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Register as an employer and carry workers’ comp before the first payday.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
Caterers sell to owner-operators, other caterers, and restaurant groups adding an events arm.