A management report for a caterer answers a specific question with the data already entered in your orders, your events and your invoices: how much did you sell, to whom, at what price per guest, and who still owes you money. People used to talk about ERP or business intelligence; for a caterer, it comes down to ten numbers to look at every week. Here they are, with what each one tells you and the report that gives it.
1. Sales by period
Revenue for the week, the month and the year, compared with the same period last year. It is the first screen to open on Monday morning. Without a comparison, a good November hides a bad January.
2. Sales by channel
Events, online ordering, counter, recurring contracts (schools, residences, daycares). A caterer who does not separate their channels does not know which one is growing or which one takes the most time per dollar sold.
3. Sales by event category
Weddings, corporate receptions, boxed lunches, cocktail parties. This breakdown tells you where to focus your sales efforts next year and which menus to rework.
4. Order velocity
The number of new orders and newly confirmed events per week. It is the earliest indicator: it drops several weeks before sales do.
5. Proposal conversion rate
Proposals sent, proposals accepted. A 40% rate with a high average order value is sometimes worth more than a 70% rate achieved by lowering prices. Track both together.
6. Average price per guest
Sales divided by the number of guests served, by event category. If this price stalls while your food costs rise, your margin melts away without anyone noticing. The price per guest calculator gives the formula.
7. Food cost
The share of ingredients in the selling price, as a percentage. The usual target is around 30%; the exact number depends on your offering. It is calculated from your recipe cards and your supplier purchase orders.
8. Collections and pending deposits
The money actually received this week, and the deposits not received on confirmed events. A confirmed event without a deposit is a risk, not a sale.
9. Accounts aging
Unpaid invoices, sorted at 30, 60 and 90 days. Payment reminders are decided here, not in the email inbox. A statement of account sent at 30 days avoids most follow-ups at 90 days.
10. Deliveries and events of the week
The volume to produce and deliver in the next seven days, by day and by site. It is the report used to plan the kitchen and the staff, and to spot an overloaded day before it arrives.
Why a spreadsheet is no longer enough
These ten numbers exist in any catering business. The problem is getting them without re-entering data: when the proposal, the order, the production and the invoice live in separate tools, each report takes an evening of Excel and arrives too late to act on.
Software that keeps everything in a single database produces these reports from the data already entered. In Caterer Manager, the Reports and KPIs module offers more than 160 reports and documents, including 60 Excel exports, three dashboards (events, operations, performance) customizable per user, the BEO report, export to Google Drive and OneDrive, and custom reports in the Entreprise plan.
Where to start
Choose three numbers, not ten: sales by period, order velocity and accounts aging. Look at them every Monday for a month. Then add the average price per guest and the conversion rate. The other five will come once the first ones have become a habit.
