How to Price a Catering Quotation in India: Per-Plate Cost, Margin and GST, Step by Step
Mahipal, Founder, CaterCaptain · Oct 19, 2026 · 14 min read
The Idea Behind CaterCaptain
Most software for caterers is built far from any actual kitchen - global products that assume drop-off catering and card payments, or generic restaurant POS stretched over an industry it doesn't understand. We took the opposite bet: build deep for one place first. Here's the reasoning, openly.
A catering quotation is five numbers: material cost per plate, everything else per plate, margin, GST, and the advance. Most caterers get the first number from memory and the last four from habit, which is why the margin on a 500-plate wedding is discovered weeks after the event, if at all. This guide builds a quotation the other way: from per-plate norms up to the rate the client sees, with a complete worked example for a 500-guest Gujarati wedding dinner in Ahmedabad, and the GST rule explained so you charge the right rate and can defend it.
The example uses typical norms and October 2026 Ahmedabad wholesale prices. Your norms will differ; the method does not. There is a downloadable quotation template at the end.
Step 1 - Material cost per plate, from norms
Start with how much of each raw material one plate consumes, not with a recipe that serves four. A norm is grams or millilitres per plate for each material in each dish. Multiply by the guest count, apply the current purchase price, and you have the material cost before anyone has cooked anything.
The example menu: a standard Gujarati wedding dinner for 500 guests - two sabjis (one paneer, one seasonal), dal, kadhi, rice, rotli and puri, farsan (dhokla and a fried item), one sweet (mohanthal), salad and chaas, papad and pickle. The table below shows the main materials; a real plan has 40–60 lines.
| Material | Norm per plate | Quantity for 500 | Price (₹/kg or L, Ahmedabad wholesale Oct 2026, approx.) | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paneer | 40 g | 20 kg | 380 | 7,600 |
| Seasonal vegetables (mixed) | 120 g | 60 kg | 45 | 2,700 |
| Toor dal | 25 g | 12.5 kg | 150 | 1,875 |
| Curd (for kadhi and chaas) | 90 ml | 45 L | 70 | 3,150 |
| Besan (kadhi, dhokla, farsan) | 35 g | 17.5 kg | 95 | 1,663 |
| Basmati rice | 50 g | 25 kg | 110 | 2,750 |
| Wheat flour (rotli, puri) | 70 g | 35 kg | 42 | 1,470 |
| Oil (frying and cooking) | 35 ml | 17.5 L | 135 | 2,363 |
| Ghee (sweet, dal, rotli) | 18 g | 9 kg | 620 | 5,580 |
| Sugar | 30 g | 15 kg | 44 | 660 |
| Onion, tomato, potato | 90 g | 45 kg | 32 | 1,440 |
| Spices, salt, masala paste | - | lump sum | - | 3,200 |
| Milk (sweet, chaas) | 60 ml | 30 L | 58 | 1,740 |
| Dry fruit, garnish | 6 g | 3 kg | 850 | 2,550 |
| Papad, pickle, salad vegetables | - | lump sum | - | 1,900 |
| Disposables, water bottles | - | per plate ₹9 | - | 4,500 |
| Material total | ₹45,141 |
Material cost per plate = ₹45,141 ÷ 500 = ₹90.28, call it ₹91. Two habits make this number trustworthy over time. First, record the purchase price every time you buy, so the norms are priced at this month's rate, not last season's. Second, after the event, record what came back; if 500 plates were planned and 4 kg of paneer returned, the real norm was 32 g, not 40 g, and your next quotation is tighter. A caterer who does this for one season usually finds 8–15% of material was over-ordered. On this event that is ₹3,600–6,800 of margin that was being left in the godown.
Step 2 - Labour, transport, equipment and overhead per plate
Material is usually 40–55% of the plate cost at this budget tier; the rest is people, movement and the business itself. Each of these should be a line on the plan, not a guess folded into the rate.
| Cost line | Basis for 500 guests | Amount | Per plate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooks and helpers | 2 head cooks × ₹1,500, 6 helpers × ₹700 | 7,200 | 14.40 |
| Service staff (waiters, counter) | 18 × ₹600 | 10,800 | 21.60 |
| Cleaning and washing | 4 × ₹500 | 2,000 | 4.00 |
| Labour contractor commission (if used) | 10% of labour | 2,000 | 4.00 |
| Transport | 1 tempo HQ → venue → HQ, driver, fuel | 3,500 | 7.00 |
| Gas | 4 commercial cylinders at ₹1,900 | 7,600 | 15.20 |
| Crockery, utensils, counters (own stock, depreciation and washing) | ₹12 per plate | 6,000 | 12.00 |
| Decoration, counter boards, name plates | lump sum | 2,500 | 5.00 |
| Wastage and contingency | 3% of material | 1,354 | 2.71 |
| Overhead share (rent, salaries, software, phone, CA) | ₹8 per plate at 20 events a month | 4,000 | 8.00 |
| Non-material total | ₹46,954 | ₹93.91 |
All-in cost per plate = ₹91 (material) + ₹94 (everything else) = ₹185. Notice that labour and gas together cost more than paneer and ghee together. Caterers who track only material and quote on "material × 2" are guessing the larger half of the cost.
The overhead line is the one most often left out. Take your fixed monthly costs (godown rent, permanent staff, vehicle EMI, software, accountant, phone) and divide by the plates you serve in an average month. In season it may be ₹5 a plate; in the off-season, ₹20. Using a yearly average keeps your off-season quotations honest.
Step 3 - Margin, rounding and the rate
Margin is set on cost, not on the rate. At ₹185 all-in cost, a 25% margin on cost gives ₹231.25; a 30% margin gives ₹240.50. Gujarat wedding caterers at this menu tier typically work between 20% and 35% depending on season and relationship, so ₹240 is a reasonable anchor.
Round to a number the client can repeat. ₹240.50 becomes ₹245 per plate, and the extra ₹4.50 is your buffer for the 20 guests who turn up uninvited. The quotation then reads:
| Guests | 500 |
|---|---|
| Rate per plate | ₹245 |
| Food and service | ₹1,22,500 |
| Cost (from Steps 1 and 2) | ₹92,095 |
| Planned gross margin | ₹30,405 (24.8% of revenue, 33% on cost) |
When the client negotiates, negotiate the plate, not the margin. A client who wants ₹225 is asking you to give up ₹10,000 of a ₹30,000 margin. The alternatives that keep the margin intact: drop the dry fruit garnish and one farsan (₹6–8 a plate), move from basmati to a good non-basmati rice (₹2 a plate), or confirm 450 guests instead of 500 and charge extra plates at ₹260 on the day. A quotation built from norms lets you see in a minute which concession costs what; one built from memory cannot.
Add extras below the plate rate, never inside it: live counters (₹25–60 a plate each), a second service (breakfast at ₹85–120), venue charges passed through, and any item the client supplies themselves (deduct the norm cost, not a round number).
Step 4 - GST on catering: 5% or 18%
Catering falls under SAC 9963 (996334 for outdoor catering). Since the GST Council's October 2019 change, the rate depends on where the service is supplied, and the September 2025 rate rationalisation left this structure in place:
| Situation | GST rate | Input tax credit |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor catering at a venue that is not "specified premises" - most weddings, farmhouses, community halls, homes, open grounds | 5% | Not available |
| Catering at specified premises - a hotel where any room's declared tariff is ₹7,500 or more per night | 18% | Available |
| Catering bundled with venue rental by the same supplier (a composite supply) | 18% | Available |
| Canteen or mess under a regular contract (institutional, corporate, school) | 5% | Not available |
For a standalone caterer serving a wedding at a party plot, the rate is 5% and you cannot claim ITC on your purchases, which is why your material prices above are GST-inclusive. If you cater inside a five-star hotel's banquet, the rate is 18% with ITC; the hotel will usually tell you. If you are unsure, ask your CA for the specific venue; the cost of charging 5% where 18% applies is the 13% difference out of your own margin.
On the quotation: show GST as a separate line with the rate and the SAC code. CaterCaptain and most quotation tools let you show or hide GST depending on whether the client is a business that cares about the breakup or a family that wants one number; either way the invoice must show it. State your GSTIN and whether the client's GSTIN is needed for a B2B invoice.
Registration: GST registration is mandatory for service providers above ₹20 lakh annual turnover (₹10 lakh in special-category states). Most event caterers cross that in a single season. The composition scheme for services (6%) is available up to ₹50 lakh turnover but blocks ITC and interstate supply; discuss with your CA whether it suits you.
Step 5 - What the quotation document must contain
A quotation is a contract draft. Everything that later turns into an argument should be on it.
- Your business name, address, GSTIN, FSSAI licence number, phone and WhatsApp.
- Client name, event name, date(s), venue, service (breakfast / lunch / dinner), service timings.
- Guest count the price is based on, and the rate for additional plates on the day.
- Menu, dish by dish, with portion notes where they matter ("2 pieces mohanthal per plate").
- Rate per plate, extras as separate lines, discounts, round-off, GST line with rate and SAC, grand total.
- Advance: a percentage (commonly 25–50%) with the due date, the balance due date (on the day or within 7 days), and bank/UPI details.
- Final guest count confirmation deadline (48–72 hours before) and what happens to the price if the count drops below the quoted number.
- What is included (crockery, counters, service staff, transport within the city) and what is not (venue charges, electricity, water, decoration beyond counters).
- Cancellation terms and validity of the quotation (typically 7–15 days, because material prices move).
- Quotation number, date and version, so a revised quotation replaces the earlier one unambiguously.
The finished quotation, as the client sees it
Quotation Q-2026-11-042 · 15 Oct 2026 · valid 10 days
Shah–Patel wedding dinner · Saturday 13 December 2026 · Silver Palace party plot, Bopal · service 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
| Line | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|
| Dinner, standard Gujarati menu (menu attached), 500 guests × ₹245 | 1,22,500 |
| Live chaat counter, 500 guests × ₹35 | 17,500 |
| Extra plates on the day, if any, at ₹260 per plate | as billed |
| Discount (relationship) | −2,500 |
| Subtotal | 1,37,500 |
| GST 5% (SAC 996334, outdoor catering, no ITC) | 6,875 |
| Round-off | +0 |
| Grand total | ₹1,44,375 |
| Advance 40% on confirmation, due 25 Oct 2026 | 57,750 |
| Balance on the day of the event | 86,625 |
Included: all food and service as per menu, service staff, crockery and counters, transport within Ahmedabad. Not included: venue charges, electricity and water, decoration beyond counter boards. Final guest count to be confirmed by 10 December; below 450 plates the per-plate rate is revised.
Behind that document, the caterer's own plan says: cost ₹92,095 + chaat counter cost ₹9,800 = ₹1,01,895; revenue before GST ₹1,37,500; planned margin ₹35,605 (25.9%). That number is what the owner should see before signing, and what the event's actual P&L is measured against afterwards.
Seven mistakes that cost caterers the margin
- 1. Quoting from last season's material prices. Ghee and oil moved 10–20% in twelve months; a norms-based plan priced at today's rate catches it.
- 2. Ignoring returns. If 4 kg of paneer comes back and nobody records it, next time you buy 20 kg again.
- 3. Leaving overhead out. The godown rent and the permanent staff are paid by every plate whether or not the quotation says so.
- 4. Negotiating the margin instead of the plate. Give a cheaper menu, not a cheaper rate for the same menu.
- 5. Charging 5% where 18% applies. The venue decides the rate; confirm it for hotel banquets.
- 6. No deadline for the final count. A count that drops from 500 to 380 two days before the event leaves you with material for 120 plates nobody pays for.
- 7. Quotations in Word with no version number. The client holds the first version; you remember the third.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate per plate cost for catering?
Add material cost per plate (each raw material's norm in grams per plate × today's purchase price, summed across the menu) to non-material cost per plate (cooks, service staff, gas, transport, crockery, contingency and a share of monthly overhead, each divided by the guest count). For a standard Gujarati wedding dinner in Ahmedabad in October 2026 that comes to roughly ₹91 material plus ₹94 other, about ₹185 all-in, before margin.
What is a good profit margin for catering in India?
Mid-tier event caterers in Gujarat typically plan 20–35% margin on cost, which is 17–26% of revenue, and realise less when material is over-ordered or guest counts drop. Premium menus carry higher margins; institutional contracts carry lower ones with more volume.
What is the GST rate on catering services?
Outdoor catering at ordinary venues (party plots, farmhouses, community halls, homes) is 5% without input tax credit. Catering at specified premises - hotels where any room's declared tariff is ₹7,500 or more - and catering bundled with venue rental is 18% with input tax credit. The SAC code is 9963 (996334 for outdoor catering).
Should GST be shown on a catering quotation?
Yes, as a separate line with the rate and SAC code, so the client sees the pre-tax rate and the tax. Some caterers show a single GST-inclusive rate to family clients; the invoice must still show the breakup.
How much advance should a caterer take?
Commonly 25–50% on confirmation, with the balance on the event day or within 7 days. The advance should at least cover material purchase for the event, so that a cancellation does not leave you holding stock.
What should be included in a catering quotation format?
Business details with GSTIN and FSSAI, client and event details, guest count and extra-plate rate, dish-wise menu, per-plate rate, extras, discount, GST line, grand total, advance and balance terms, final-count deadline, inclusions and exclusions, validity and a quotation number.
Can software calculate the catering quotation for me?
Yes. Catering software that stores per-plate norms can produce the material cost, labour plan and quotation from the guest count and menu in a few minutes, and compare the planned margin with the actual after the event. CaterCaptain does this; Jucas and BuildMenu produce quotations from menus and packages; DineOpen does per-plate costing from recipes.
Sources and template
- GST rate structure for restaurant and outdoor catering services: IncorpX, GST on restaurant and food services 2026; Disytax, GST for catering business 2026; Busy, GST on catering services. Confirm the rate for any specific venue with your CA; the notifications are CBIC 20/2019-Central Tax (Rate) and the September 2025 rate schedule.
- Material prices: Ahmedabad wholesale, October 2026, approximate; replace with your own purchase register.
- Norms: typical Gujarati wedding dinner norms used in CaterCaptain pilot plans; your chef's table will differ.
Download the quotation template (PDF and Excel). The Excel version has the Step 1 and Step 2 tables with formulas so you can enter your own norms, prices and guest count. Excel (.xlsx) · PDF
About the author: Mahipal is the founder of CaterCaptain, catering operations software built in Ahmedabad that turns per-plate norms into material plans, dispatch lists and GST quotations. See how quotations work in CaterCaptain or start for ₹999 for the first month.