[anniesue]

Hello! I'm new to this, so hopefully I'm posting in the right forum, but here goes...

About a year ago I started doing dessert catering from my home. I was just asked to bid on a dessert reception for 400 people that will include all mini desserts (i.e., cookies, mini cupcakes, creme puffs, lemon bars, etc.) I have no idea where to begin with this bid! Any suggestions or ideas for me? Should I charge per person?

Thanks for any feedback!

[PeteMcCracken]

FIRST! Figure out ALL your costs, supplies, labor help, rentals, anything else you can think of.

SECOND: add on how much you want to "put in your pocket".

Now you have the absolute MINIMUM you need to charge to cover your "fee" and your "costs".

Remember, if you charge $/person ALWAYS specify the minimum number of persons! Same if you charge $/piece, specify the minimum number of pieces.

For me, I charge a lump sum for the job, that way if the head count goes down I don't "lose money" and if the head count goes up, I'm not expected to provide the extra food.

Of course, experience has taught me to figure on at least 10% extra, and I build that into the costs so I don't "lose money"!

Once you KNOW your costs, including your fee, you can calculate an equivalent $/person (based on projected head count) or $/piece (based on the expected number of pieces) and then compare that to your competition. If you're low, raise your price, if you're high, sell food quality, service capacity, or "bite the bullet" and accept less for your work.