Built on restaurant accounting practice, organised by contract type. No published standard exists for catering, so this describes what it is modeled on rather than claiming a standard.

Download the catering chart

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What is different

Per-event margin dies when staffing is an overhead

Catering looks profitable in aggregate and loses money on specific events. The reason is almost always that event staffing and rentals were treated as overhead, so the wedding that needed twelve servers and a marquee costs the same on paper as the drop-off that needed none.

This chart puts Event Staffing, rentals and linen in cost of sales. Every event then carries what it actually consumed, and the difference between a profitable contract type and an unprofitable one shows up in the first month rather than the first year.

The chart

The full Catering chart of accounts

All 50 accounts, with the note that tells you what belongs in each one. This is the same file the download gives you, rendered here so you can read it without opening a spreadsheet.

Code	Account	Type	What belongs here
4000	Revenue	Income	Revenue by contract type, from drop-off through to full-service events.
4010	Event Catering	Income	Catering tied to a specific event booking rather than a standing account.
4020	Corporate Catering	Income	Catering billed to businesses, typically recurring office accounts.
4030	Drop-Off Catering	Income	Food delivered without staffing or service on site.
4040	Bar Service	Income	Bar revenue billed as a service, such as a hosted or cash bar at an event.
4050	Rentals & Staffing Billed	Income	Rental gear and staffing rebilled to the client.
4060	Service Charges	Income	Mandatory service charges added to a check or contract.
4070	Delivery Fees	Income	Fees charged to the guest for delivery, separate from the food itself.
5000	Cost of Sales	Cost of goods sold	Food, rental and staffing cost carried against the event that produced it.
5010	Food Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Food bought for resale, including produce, protein, dairy and dry goods.
5020	Beverage & Alcohol Purchases	Cost of goods sold	All drink stock bought for resale, alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
5030	Event Staff Labor	Cost of goods sold	Wages for staff hired to work a specific event.
5040	Kitchen Labor	Cost of goods sold	Back of house wages for the hours that produced the food sold.
5050	Tables, Linens & China Rental	Cost of goods sold	Tables, linen, china and glassware hired for an event.
5060	Disposables & Packaging	Cost of goods sold	Single-use packaging and disposables used to serve or ship an order.
5070	Delivery & Transport	Cost of goods sold	Third-party delivery and transport of goods you sold.
5080	Event Venue Rental	Cost of goods sold	Venue hire for an event you are producing elsewhere.
5090	Subcontracted Services	Cost of goods sold	Work subcontracted to another company and rebilled.
6000	Operating Expenses	Expense	Operating costs of running the business, below the gross profit line.
6010	Management & Office Salaries	Expense	Salaries for management and administration.
6020	Payroll Taxes & Benefits	Expense	Employer payroll taxes and the cost of employee benefits.
6030	Rent & Occupancy	Expense	Rent plus the occupancy costs that come with the building.
6040	Utilities	Expense	Electricity, gas, water and waste for the premises.
6050	Repairs & Maintenance	Expense	Repairs and upkeep of the building, plant and fixtures.
6060	Software & Subscriptions	Expense	Recurring software licences and subscriptions.
6070	Advertising & Marketing	Expense	Advertising spend and marketing programmes not tied to one event.
6080	Professional Fees	Expense	Accounting, legal and consulting fees.
6090	Business Insurance	Expense	General liability, property and business insurance.
6100	Card Processing Fees	Expense	Merchant fees on card payments taken from customers.
6110	Office & Supplies	Expense	Office consumables and general supplies.
6120	Telephone & Internet	Expense	Phone lines, mobile plans and internet connectivity.
6130	Travel	Expense	Agency travel not recharged to a client.
6140	Meals & Entertainment	Expense	Business meals and entertaining. Partially deductible, so keep it separate.
6150	Licenses & Permits	Expense	Operating licences and permits to trade.
6160	Dues & Memberships	Expense	Trade body memberships and professional dues.
6170	Training & Education	Expense	Staff training, certification and continuing education.
6180	Bank Fees	Expense	Account, wire and other charges levied by the bank.
6210	Commissary Kitchen Rent	Expense	Rent for shared or commissary kitchen space.
6220	Fleet Fuel & Maintenance	Expense	Fuel and servicing across the vehicle fleet.
6230	Linen & Laundry	Expense	Linen hire and laundry, in house or contracted.
6240	Catering Equipment & Smallwares	Expense	Chafers, trays and small catering equipment.
6250	Waste Removal	Expense	General waste, recycling, food waste and confidential shredding.
8000	Other Income	Other income	Income earned outside normal trading activity.
8010	Interest Income	Other income	Interest earned on operating and reserve balances.
8020	Grants & Incentives	Other income	Grant funding and government or utility incentives received.
8030	Vendor Rebates & Commissions	Other income	Rebates and commissions paid back to you by suppliers.
9000	Other Expenses	Other expense	Below the line costs that are not part of operations.
9010	Depreciation & Amortization	Other expense	Write-down of tangible assets and amortisation of intangibles.
9020	Interest Expense	Other expense	Interest on notes payable and long-term debt.
9030	Penalties & Late Fees	Other expense	Fines, penalties and late payment charges.

Questions

Catering chart of accounts questions

Should catering staff wages be cost of sales or an operating expense?

Cost of sales, where the staff were hired for a specific event. Their hours only exist because that contract did, so the contract should carry them. Keep salaried office and kitchen management in operating expenses, because those costs continue whether or not you book the event.

How do I handle equipment and linen rentals?

In cost of sales, against the event. Rentals vary enormously between a drop-off lunch and a plated dinner for three hundred, so treating them as overhead makes every event look identically profitable when they are not.

Should I separate drop-off catering from full service?

Yes. They are different businesses with different margins. Drop-off carries almost no labor and no rentals; full service carries both plus travel. This chart separates drop-off, corporate, event and private dining revenue for exactly that reason.

How should deposits be recorded?

A deposit is a liability until the event happens, not revenue. Recognise it when you deliver. Charts that book deposits straight to revenue make a busy booking season look like a profitable one and then leave a hole when the events are actually catered.

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