First Catering Job.

[Egirl2214]

I am also looking to price my first catering job. I am making chocolates with caramel in side.

My Cost of ingrediants:

Peter's Burgundy Sweet Dark Chocolate, 10 lb.35.00 pkg.
Caramel, 5 lb. 18.75
Should I put the cost for the mold on here?--I did not think so but what do you think.

If you need more information post what you need and I will try to get the info for you.

What should I price the job at?
Please get back to me Asap! Thanks!

Egirl

[thetincook]

Are you just dropping the chocolates off? Do you have any employees? Are they renting any equipment from you? How much do you want to earn per hour? What are your fixed costs like?

The easy rule of thumb is Food Cost X 4. You can get into more detail is you want.

Don't bill the customer for the molds unless they are single use.

[mikex1337]

The easy rule of thumb is Food Cost X 4.

That's all that you charge? Where do you operate?

[Egirl2214]

okay. First, thank you for the responses. Yes I am just dropping them off. No, no employees. No they are not renting equipment. Fixed costs I'm going to eat - reusable molds.

I really don't have a clue what I am doing. Does the food cost x 4 include labor? MikeX what's your rule of thumb?

Thanks

Egirl

[thetincook]

Originally Posted by mikex1337

That's all that you charge? Where do you operate?

You're running a FC of less then 25%. Nice! I guess I'm biased by restaurant work were 25% is pretty kicking. Most of the catering I've done has been in-house/on-site.

It's just a rough guideline that I've seen thrown around at work and here at the boards.. It doesn't mean much if you don't take into account your other costs and the market.

E Girl:

There are a lot of ways you can set up your prices. A lot depends on what the market will bare.

Say you want to make 15% profit on the job, (This is a very simplified example)

Chocolate $35
Cararmel $18.75
Labor 5 hours@$15 $75
-----------------------------
Prime Cost $128.75
Kitchen Rental $40
Packaging $10
-----------------------------
Subtotal $178.75
5% Cushion $9
------------------------------
Subtotal $187.75
Desired Profit $33
-------------------------------
Selling Price $220.75


So we have a FC% of 24.3% a prime cost percentage of 58%. Since you are the only worker you'd be taking home $108 before any taxes. You also might need to collect sales tax in your locality.