Best Restaurant Catering Software: Top 10 Best Software for Catering

Catering is the service of providing food and food services for large-scale events. Catering businesses work in event planning to provide proper menu items for their customers. Catering software helps catering companies streamline their processes in a variety of ways. For example, point-of-sale (POS) systems can make it easier for restaurants to manage orders and payments. Similarly, inventory management systems can help restaurants track their stock levels and ensure that they have the ingredients and supplies they need to fulfill orders. Also, event planning and scheduling software can help restaurants plan and organize catering events.

Overall, catering software helps restaurants improve their efficiency and manage their operations more effectively — so it’s important to find the right fit for your restaurant.

Top Restaurant Catering Software Options

1. Toast Catering and Events

2. Foodstorm

3. Tripleseat

4. FlexCatering

5. infor Sales & Catering

6. iVvy Venue Management

7. Caterease

8. Better Cater

9. Total Party Planner

10. Curate

Choosing the best restaurant catering software

Before you dive into the pros and cons of each restaurant catering software, it’s good to consider what catering solutions your business will need. Use this checklist to get an idea of what kind of catering management software is right for your restaurant.

Checklist:

• Menu management and development
• Procurement of ingredients and supplies
• Storage and transportation
• Food preparation and presentation
• Staffing and staff scheduling
• Equipment
• Invoicing and invoice templates
• Online ordering
• Booking process
• POS/payment processing
• Reporting and insights
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Event calendar
• Payroll

Read about these 10 different software options to determine the best catering software for you and your catering services.

1. Toast Catering and Events

Catering and events made simple. Toast Catering and Events allows you to manage every step of your restaurant with Toast, from planning to execution.

Pros of Toast Catering and Events

1. Collect relevant guest information online to create custom BEOs, quotes, and estimates.
2. Turn an event BEO into an invoice your guests can easily pay online or on the POS.
3. Manage everything with one system – from preparing and packing catering orders to tracking sales and revenue.

Cons of Toast Catering and Events

1. Available for Toast customers only

Price of Toast Catering and Events

Toast Catering and Events is available to existing Toast customers for $100 per month. Toast customers can learn more and add Catering and Events here. 

2. Foodstorm

Foodstorm by Instacart is an all-in-one catering software that offers management solutions for all different types of catering. This cloud-based solution offers everything a catering system might need from customer marketing tools to payment invoicing.

Pros of Foodstorm

1. Users report good customer service

2. There are efficient training options

3. Mobile options are available

Cons of Foodstorm

1. More expensive than other options

2. Customers report that mobile apps can be difficult to use

3. Reporting is less customizable

Price of Foodstorm

Foodstorm costs $500/month.

3. Tripleseat

Tripleseat is an easy-to-use sales and event management platform for restaurants, hotels, and unique/special venues that aims to increase your bookings and remove the stress of the planning process.

Pros of Tripleseat

1. User-friendly software

2. Good customer service options

Cons of Tripleseat

1. The setup can be time-consuming and some features are a bit complicated for the average user

Price of Tripleseat

A Tripleseat pricing quote is available upon request on their website

4. FlexCatering

Flexcatering is an all-in-one catering management platform that is well-known in the industry for its user-friendly online ordering capabilities.

Pros of FlexCatering

1. One of the best user functionalities of all catering software

2. E-commerce website option can increase profitability

Cons of FlexCatering

1. The software is web-based and does not offer a downloadable version

2. They can be a bit pricey, depending on your budget

Price of FlexCatering

FlexCatering starts at $220/month

5. Infor Sales & Catering

Infor Sales & Catering is a cloud-based venue management platform that helps catering companies with everything from event booking to follow-up analyses.

Pros of Infor Sales & Catering

1. Offers an easy setup for new users

Cons of Infor Sales & Catering

1. Not always the most user-friendly

2. Poor implementation of menus to fit to BEO

Price of Infor Sales & Catering

Those interested in Infor Sales & Catering can request a quote on their website

6. iVvy Venue Management

iVvy Venue Management is a cloud-based management system for all catering companies from small businesses to large ones. The easy interface allows you to report on inquiries & bookings easily from anywhere while also providing transparency across the entire process.

Pros of iVvy Venue Management

1. Mobile and desktop versions are available

2. User-friendly interface and good customer support

Cons of iVvy Venue Management

1. Some of the invoicing features are complicated and difficult to use

Price of iVvy Venue Management

Request a pricing quote by visiting iVvy Venue Management's website

7. Caterease

Caterease is a popular catering and event management software. This platform makes event catering easier with its customizable settings and strong customer service.

Pros of Caterease

1. Available via desktop, on-premise, and mobile app

Cons of Caterease

1. User navigation can be complicated

2. It can be time-consuming to set up

Price of Caterease

Pricing starts at $85/month

8. Better Cater

Better Cater is an easy-to-use catering software that helps you manage events, create automatic packing lists, and generate reports.

Pros of Better Cater

1. Very user-friendly software

2. Features a calendar function that makes it easy to see upcoming events

Cons of Better Cater

1. Software is web-based (no downloadable version)

2. Reporting can be less robust than others

Price of Better Cater

Pricing starts at $69/month

9. Total Party Planner

Total Party Planner is designed to help catering businesses easily transition from manual documents and spreadsheets into one single organized system.

Pros of Total Party Planner

1. Simple integration when switching systems

2. Mobile options available

Cons of Total Party Planner

1. Users report that it can be difficult to set up

Price of Total Party Planner

Total Party Planner starts at $65/month

10. Curate

Curate is a platform for full-service caterers that automates proposals for clients that enables them to sign and pay right from the proposal.

Pros of Curate

1. User-friendly software

2. Users report that they find the proposals to be more attractive and professional than others

Cons of Curate

1. Some users report that the software occasionally runs slow and pictures can sometimes get cut off

Price of Curate

Pricing for Curate starts at $150/month

What’s best for your specific workflow?

It’s important that you choose the best catering software for your specific business. Most of these software options offer free demos so you can use their platform in real-time. From corporate catering to wedding planning, your event management software should streamline your processes to make your job easier on-site. To choose which one is best for your restaurant, consider the checklist we provided above to get your top priorities organized.

Remember, the goal of catering software is to make a caterer’s life easier — not to complicate it more. 

If you'd like to learn more about Toast Catering and Events, you can request a Toast demo here. Already a Toast customer and want to take advantage of Toast Catering and Events? Click here to start using it today.

Related Restaurant Catering Resources

• How to Build a Catering Menu for Your Restaurant
• How to Run a Catering Business
• How Toast Invoicing Has Improved Catering and Event Operations for Luna Bakery and Cafe
• 15 Unique Catering Business Ideas and Concepts
• How to Open a Catering Business
• 10 Licenses and Permits Needed to Start a Catering Business
• How To Write a Catering Business Plan
• How Your Restaurant Can Offer Holiday Catering
• How to Use Invoicing for Your Catering Business