Catering software is a vital asset to businesses that cater both large and small events. While much of catering involves cooking food for customers, banquet software can help organize the business side your operations. Catering software solutions help businesses track scheduling, invoicing, record organization, ingredients and menus. Many catering software titles are appropriate for both large and small catering services.

Online catering software is available through a variety of sources, and there are both paid and free versions available. Most software for catering programs are easy to use, but you can find many training solutions if you need help. If you want to learn more, check out catering software education and training resources that include:

1. Tutorials for catering software, free and paid versions.

2. Training classes to learn how to use all the features of the program.

3. Online classes and educational materials from manufacturers and distributors.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn to use catering planning software with training classes

To get the most out of a catering software program, you should learn how to utilize all its features. This can include scheduling events, creating different menus, and organizing customer information. Some manufacturers offer classroom training or on-site training to help businesses customize the program for their needs.

I recommend: Caterease offers training classes as part of a regional training program and also offers web-based training. The company also offers a "Tip of the Week" archive that features common user questions. Caterware offers an on-site, two-day training program for customers of its catering software.

Use online materials to educate yourself and employees about catering business software

If on-site training is not convenient for your business, many catering software companies also offer online training for their programs. Online training provides the same type of information you'd get in person, but in an easy-to-use web interface. You can also utilize these resources when training new hires later on.

I recommend: ReServe Interactive provides advanced training webinars for those who use its web-based catering software. Topics range from creating reports to employee management. Total Party Planner, a program developed by Computica, offers online video training and live training sessions for its customers.

Explore banquet and catering software tutorials to learn your program

Online written or video tutorials are another way businesses can learn how to use catering software. These tutorials cover basic and advanced features of the program, and are easily accessible through a manufacturer's website. Most are free and can be used alone or as part of an in-house training program.

I recommend: WinEASI provides an interactive tutorial for its catering software, accessible with its 30 day free trial download. ChefTec provides an interactive online tutorial that teaches users to execute many functions of its catering software program.

Organize the many facets of your catering business with catering management software. It is imperative to keep track of dates, times, schedules, and deliveries when in the catering business and catering business software can improve your efficiency by having all the data easily accessible in one location.

Catering software offers quite a few benefits, including enabling more than one person to access information to see if all details for an event have been addressed. Software for catering businesses also:

1. Allows all scheduling to be done online in real time, as opposed to a calendar maintained by one central person;

2. Keeps all event details in one central banquet software database instead of having different people using various tools; and

3. Makes event management easier to coordinate.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Sample food catering software before buying

It always pays to shop around, and if you can try any catering planning software packages to see what options are available it will give you valuable insight. All software will have similarities, but it's the differences which will matter most. Find what works for you and your business, keeping in mind that demos generally don't have all options activated.

I recommend: CATERWARE offers catering and event management software designed by caterers and software leaders to provide a total solution for those in the catering business. Catering Solutions Online is online catering software which can be customized for your needs.

Schedule budget savings with catering software, free downloads or free trials

The features you require in any catering software solutions depend on the size of your catering business and the number of events you book each year. A small operation might not need online accessibility because the events will be local.

I recommend: Total Party Planner offers a risk free trial of the company's catering software and banquet software packages. The Arizona Barbeque Association has a free BBQ catering worksheet for download. Use the catering management free software comparison directory at Capterra to search for features and get vendor contact information.

Plan the best events with banquet management software

Increase your personal efficiency with software that can prompt you to address even the smallest of details, print task lists and send reminders of items still left to be done. Imagine the time you can save by having contracts, financial reports and customer correspondence available with a few simple keystrokes or mouse clicks.

I recommend: ReServe Interactive offers event management software which tracks everything from the initial booking to the final seating arrangements and all tasks in between. Request a free CD from Event Solutions for their Banquet-Tracker software to see if it fits your banquet management needs.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Cater on a full- or part-time basis and tailor your business schedule and menu to your experience. If you enjoy the food service industry, meeting new people, and always having a new experience, catering may be an enjoyable career path to pursue, and food catering software can help you consolidate your resources and simplify your business.

You want to know more than cooking terms when dealing with the business end of the catering industry. You also want to know catering software key terms so you can manipulate data and track inventory and expenses.

Learning catering software key terms saves time and money as you use programs designed to aid you in the business part of catering. Knowing these terms also helps you consult with other professionals in the industry.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Unit conversion

Many catering software programs offer unit conversion. This term refers to the algebraic transformation of a specific value that a single unit represents to an equal value of a different unit.

I recommend: View an online example of an online cooking unit converter at Asknumbers.com.

Inventory items

Inventory items are items in a stock supply. Lists of these items help business owners know what ingredients and materials they have on hand and what they need to purchase.

I recommend: Restaurant Management Solutions offers software that works with many facets of inventory management. It automatically updates pricing for inventory items, categorizes and offers reports on inventory items.

Invoice

This is another term for a bill given by one who offers services to one who pays for the services rendered. Most catering software programs provide a template for your invoicing needs.

I recommend: Scribd provides a sample of a catering invoice.

Recipe costing

Determining the costs of ingredients in a recipe compared to other recipes and ingredients helps business owners cut expenses. Many catering software programs sum up the values in recipe costing and create charts for easy comparison.

I recommend: View examples of template used for recipe costing at RestaurantOwner.com, providing more information on the importance of knowing your costs.

Nutrition information

This term refers to weights and serving sizes of macro nutrients and other product components. It covers natural and synthetic ingredients in a recipe.

I recommend: Plonka Interactive offers its Food Service Software, which is a handy tool for caterers working with customers who want details on nutritional information for food offerings. You can see a picture of the nutritional label provided by the software to the side of the product description.

Sub recipe

Sub recipes are components for other recipes. For example, a recipe for white sauce is a sub-recipe for another recipe called spaghetti in white sauce.

I recommend: Advanced Analytical offers a visual image demonstrating how its software offers sub recipes for those in the food and catering business. It runs software using Excel spreadsheets.