Catering Proposal Template for Corporate Clients
For the moment after the tasting: a proposal that repeats the buyer's needs back, prices the month as well as the lunch, and sets terms for a standing order.
This catering proposal template does one job: it turns an office that liked your tasting into a standing lunch order. It covers the cover note, what you heard from the buyer, recommended packages, a four-week menu rotation, pricing, logistics, standing-order terms and next steps. The "About" section is optional, so the whole thing stays short enough to forward. It's part of our restaurant catering revenue guide.
How to use this template
- Cover note. Send the proposal within a day of the tasting or call, while the food is still fresh in their mind. Name the occasion they mentioned and sum up the offer in one line. Fill in the "valid until" date, so you have a reason to follow up.
- About your restaurant (optional). A few lines at most, and delete it if the buyer already knows you. The buyer isn't choosing a chef; they're choosing someone who won't make them look bad at the next meeting. Only name clients who have agreed to be named.
- What we heard. Write the buyer's own words in the left column and your answer in the right. It shows you listened, and it gives the buyer a ready-made summary to forward to whoever approves the spend. For food allergies, promise a kitchen review and a written answer, not an accommodation: your kitchen manager decides what you can do once they know the allergen and the dishes.
- Recommended packages. Three or four, priced per person, each with a minimum. Pull them from your corporate catering menu template, and set the prices from your food cost with the catering pricing calculator. Fill in the dietary options only after your kitchen has checked them, then say which package you recommend.
- Menu rotation. A standing lunch can go stale even when the food is good. A rotation shows you've planned for the tenth order, not just the first.
- Pricing. Show the per-person prices, every fee and an estimated monthly total. The monthly figure is the number the buyer's manager will ask about.
- Service and logistics. Spell out the arrival window, labeling, how allergy requests are handled, serveware and who to call. Every line here answers a worry the buyer has but may not say out loud.
- Standing-order terms. Fill in each cutoff and notice period, including the one for new food allergies. These keep a recurring order on schedule and give your kitchen time to review changes.
- Next steps. Number them, put a date on each, and offer two ways to say yes: a signature or a reply.
Worked example: Say an office of 20 orders a boxed lunch twice a month at $18 a person. Each order is $360 in food, so the monthly line reads $720 before delivery, any service charge and tax. Over a year that's 24 orders and $8,640 in food sales from one account, booked ahead on days you can staff for. That's sales, not profit: food, labor, packaging and delivery come out of it. These are example numbers, not a recommended price.
Tips that win the order
- Propose the schedule they already have. If the team meets every other Thursday, propose every other Thursday. Matching their rhythm is easier to approve than asking them to invent a new one.
- Make the standing order the easy path. A standing headcount, a clear change cutoff and one monthly invoice mean the buyer does less work than ordering one lunch at a time.
- Send the paperwork before they ask. Accounts payable may want a W-9 or a vendor form before paying a new vendor. Offer both in the proposal, so the first invoice doesn't stall.
- Give them one person. A named contact with a direct line is worth more to an office manager than another paragraph about your food.
- Keep it short. Aim for something a buyer can read in five minutes and forward without editing.
- Follow up two days later. If there's no reply, send a short check-in with one question. Our catering follow-up email templates include that email, and the catering quote template covers one-off orders that come in alongside the standing one.
For the whole path from first contact to standing order, including the outreach sequence and the tasting, read how to get corporate catering clients.
Where do the offices come from?
A proposal only helps once there's an office to send it to. Kutlerri.ai's Catering Sales Agent finds catering-fit businesses within 30 miles of your restaurant, names the person who places the order and runs the outreach by email, calls and texts, with Kutlerri's own sales team behind it. It also drafts quotes, and you approve every one. RASA, a fast-casual brand with five locations in the DC, Maryland and Virginia area, closed $450K in new catering revenue in 10 months with the Catering Sales Agent, with no new hires; that's one customer's result, not a typical outcome.
FAQ
What should a catering proposal include?
A short cover note, a summary of what the client told you, three or four recommended packages with per-person prices, pricing for every fee, delivery and setup details, the terms, and clear next steps with a place to sign. For a recurring office order, add a menu rotation and standing-order terms. A few lines about your restaurant are optional; leave them out if the buyer already knows you.
How is a catering proposal different from a catering quote?
A quote prices one specific order: a date, a headcount and a menu. A proposal pitches an arrangement, such as a team lunch every other week, and sets out the packages, pricing, logistics and terms that will apply to every order under it. Once the proposal is accepted, each order can be confirmed with a short quote or order form.
How do you price a recurring corporate catering order?
Price it per person, because office buyers budget by headcount, and build each price from your food cost. State the minimum, the delivery fee and any service charge, then show an estimated monthly total. If you offer a standing-order price, tie it to the agreed schedule and a change cutoff.
Should a catering proposal promise allergy accommodations?
No. Promise a process instead: the buyer tells you the allergen and the meals affected, your kitchen manager reviews the request against recipes and preparation, and you confirm in writing what you can and can't do before the order. Packing a meal separately doesn't by itself prevent cross-contact, so don't describe any meal as allergen-free.
What paperwork do companies ask a new catering vendor for?
Often a W-9 and the company's own vendor setup form, so accounts payable can pay you. Some also ask for a certificate of insurance or a PO number on every invoice. Offering these in the proposal keeps the first payment from stalling.