Catering company: plan the kitchen, calendar and cash

Choose an event promise the paid team can deliver

The model assumes drop-offs for 60 guests at $28.00 per guest and staffed buffets for 100 guests at $48.00. Prices exclude sales tax and do not include alcohol, a venue rental or a separate event-planning service. The customer hypothesis is recurring organizational lunches plus modest private events; no signed clients or measured booking conversion support those volumes yet.

The nominal mature request is 12 drop-offs and 8 staffed events per month before an assumed seasonal pattern. A shared-kitchen reservation, lead cook, paid owner and event crew deliver them. An accepted booking is a whole calendar event; the cancellation forecast uses expected event equivalents. The model declines bookings that exceed its kitchen, labor, owner, vehicle or prime-event limits. A forecast capacity limit is not a timed kitchen trial or proof of demand.

Start with a menu that shares prep components and holds well across loading, travel and service. Collect a date, venue access time, guest guarantee, dietary requirements and collection terms before committing staff or ingredients. A late headcount change can consume the remaining prep window even if the order still appears profitable per guest.

Confirm the licensing scope before choosing premises

The assumed premises is an existing DBPR-licensed shared commercial kitchen in Orlando, with reserved preparation time and separate storage. The independent caterer still needs its own license and opening inspection. The DBPR guidance distinguishes shared DBPR kitchens from FDACS or DOH premises; a listing calling itself a commissary does not establish the correct agency or approval for this menu. The actual kitchen license and access agreement remain unverified. DBPR scope

This is an off-premise event operation with one transport van. It excludes home preparation, public retail takeaway, a mobile vending truck, a built-out restaurant and an owned banquet hall. Census NAICS 722320 is broader: its single-event catering definition also includes banquet halls with catering staff. Use that boundary when comparing lending data or suppliers. Census definition

Read profit and obligations together

In the base case, Year 1 menu revenue is $436,301, net income before income tax is $555 and EBITDA is $18,971. The owner receives a modeled $4,500 monthly salary inside the costs. None of those amounts is a real industry average. Customers pay advances two months before events, while rental orders are prepaid and part of ingredient invoices is bought ahead.

The modeled bank balance stays positive, but the lowest balance after subtracting customer advance liabilities is only $8,886. That measure still has supplier and future operating commitments; it is not distributable owner cash. The lower-demand case reaches a funding gap of $423,015 within the horizon and has no recovery in 60 months. A larger cash reserve could postpone failure without repairing the underlying margin or booking shortfall.

Read the startup budget for purchases and scope, event economics for paid capacity, profitability for all three cash paths, and financing for documents and funding choices.

Use broad lending history with its denominator

The verified SBA snapshot contains 630 positive-amount loan records with disbursed statuses in approval FY2023–FY2025 under NAICS 722320: 203, 234 and 193 respectively. The status is observed at June 30, 2026. These records describe the whole industry, including formats outside this case; they are not unique borrowers, local demand, search activity or approval chances. Official data scope

Read the dedicated SBA industry profile for the broader category’s defined samples and downloadable aggregates. Explore the existing lending-data library and document checklist. The five guides are an educational case; the full business-plan example awaits owner generation.