The short answer
Get every order into one list, whatever channel it came from. Give each order a status. Lock the final details by a fixed date before the event. Print one sheet per event for the kitchen. Then review what went wrong after each busy week.
1. One list for every order
Orders arrive by email, phone, social media and in person. The rule is simple: an order does not exist until it is in the list. When someone phones, the order goes in while they are still on the line. A shared spreadsheet is enough to start.
2. A status for every order
Five statuses cover most catering businesses:
| New | The request arrived. Nobody has answered yet. |
| Quoted | You sent a price. Waiting for the client. |
| Confirmed | The client accepted. Deposit and final details pending. |
| Ready | Final guest count, diets and delivery details are locked. |
| Done | Delivered and invoiced. |
Look at the list every morning. Anything sitting in New is a customer waiting. Anything in Quoted for a week needs a follow-up.
3. Lock the details on a fixed date
Most last-minute chaos comes from details that kept changing. Set a deadline before every event for the final guest count, special diets and delivery details, and put it in your terms. After that date, changes are possible but priced.
4. One sheet per event for the kitchen
- Date, time, address and contact on site
- Final guest count
- Every dish with its quantity
- Special diets and allergies, by name if possible
- Equipment to pack and who brings it back
The kitchen should never have to open an email thread to find out what to cook.
5. Review after the busy weeks
Which orders came in incomplete? Which quotes did nobody follow up? Where did a detail get lost? Fix the step, not the person.
When the spreadsheet stops working
A spreadsheet works until several people take orders, or you have more orders than you can remember. The usual signs: two versions of the same order, a confirmed event missing from the list, a quote nobody remembers sending.
How CaterWay handles it
Orders from your website calculator land in one list with every detail filled in. You can add phone orders to the same list. Each order shows its status, the customer can accept online, and the calendar shows what is coming. You can print a packing list for the kitchen. See the features.
