[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":457},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-office-catering-budget-planning-guide":3,"blog-related-office-catering-budget-planning-guide":426},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"authorImage":7,"authorTitle":8,"body":9,"category":410,"date":411,"description":412,"extension":413,"featured":414,"image":415,"meta":416,"navigation":417,"path":418,"readTime":419,"seo":420,"stem":421,"tags":422,"updated":7,"__hash__":425},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Foffice-catering-budget-planning-guide.md","Planning an Office Catering Budget Finance Will Approve","Bianca Duarte",null,"Content Marketing, Ordit",{"type":10,"value":11,"toc":400},"minimark",[12,16,19,24,32,121,124,128,131,137,143,149,155,159,162,170,173,268,271,290,297,301,304,310,321,327,333,337,371,375,383],[13,14,15],"p",{},"Most office catering budgets fail at the approval stage for the same reason: they arrive as a single number with no workings. Finance does not reject catering — finance rejects estimates it cannot interrogate.",[13,17,18],{},"This guide builds an office catering budget the way a finance team wants to read it: cost-per-head benchmarks for London, the hidden costs that wreck naive estimates, a calculation framework, and the controls that keep actual spend tracking the plan. Numbers throughout are London 2026 rates.",[20,21,23],"h2",{"id":22},"start-with-cost-per-head-not-total-spend","Start with cost per head, not total spend",[13,25,26,27,31],{},"Every defensible catering budget is built from one unit: ",[28,29,30],"strong",{},"cost per head per occasion",". London benchmarks by format:",[33,34,35,51],"table",{},[36,37,38],"thead",{},[39,40,41,45,48],"tr",{},[42,43,44],"th",{},"Format",[42,46,47],{},"Cost per head",[42,49,50],{},"Typical occasion",[52,53,54,66,77,88,99,110],"tbody",{},[39,55,56,60,63],{},[57,58,59],"td",{},"Breakfast (pastries, fruit, juice)",[57,61,62],{},"£6–£12",[57,64,65],{},"Early meetings, training days",[39,67,68,71,74],{},[57,69,70],{},"Working lunch (sandwich platters)",[57,72,73],{},"£10–£15",[57,75,76],{},"Internal meetings",[39,78,79,82,85],{},[57,80,81],{},"Individually boxed lunches",[57,83,84],{},"£12–£18",[57,86,87],{},"All-hands, client sessions, dietary-mixed groups",[39,89,90,93,96],{},[57,91,92],{},"Hot buffet",[57,94,95],{},"£15–£25",[57,97,98],{},"Team days, celebrations",[39,100,101,104,107],{},[57,102,103],{},"Premium catering (Ottolenghi, Sticks'n'Sushi tier)",[57,105,106],{},"£25–£45",[57,108,109],{},"Client entertainment, board lunches",[39,111,112,115,118],{},[57,113,114],{},"Office pop-up (live chef station, 50+ people)",[57,116,117],{},"£18–£30",[57,119,120],{},"Events, milestones",[13,122,123],{},"Two calibration notes. First, individually boxed meals cost slightly more per head than shared platters but waste far less — platters are routinely over-ordered by 20% \"to be safe\", which erases the saving. Second, dietary coverage is built into the boxed format; with platters it means ordering parallel options, which compounds the over-ordering.",[20,125,127],{"id":126},"the-hidden-costs-that-derail-estimates","The hidden costs that derail estimates",[13,129,130],{},"Food is usually only 80–90% of the real number. The rest hides in four places:",[13,132,133,136],{},[28,134,135],{},"Delivery fees."," Per-order fees range from £0 to £40+ across London providers depending on distance and order size. Ordit charges £15 + VAT per group-order delivery and a flat £15 including VAT per catering order — flat rates make budgets predictable; percentage-based or distance-based fees do not.",[13,138,139,142],{},[28,140,141],{},"Service fees and commissions."," Platforms charge somewhere between 5% and 15% on spend. Ask for the number in writing and put it in the budget line. (Ordit's is 5% + VAT on monthly spend, and £0 in months with no orders.)",[13,144,145,148],{},[28,146,147],{},"Admin time."," The invisible line. An office manager spending three hours a week collecting orders, chasing dietary requirements, and reconciling receipts costs £3,000–£5,000 a year in salary time. Consolidating to one platform with one invoice moves this line close to zero — and it is a real saving finance will recognise, because they process the invoices.",[13,150,151,154],{},[28,152,153],{},"Waste."," Over-ordering on shared formats, no-shows at headcount-based events, and \"just in case\" buffers typically run 10–15% of food spend. Individually ordered or boxed formats cut this to low single digits because the order matches actual attendees.",[20,156,158],{"id":157},"the-budget-framework","The budget framework",[13,160,161],{},"The calculation finance wants to see:",[163,164,165],"blockquote",{},[13,166,167],{},[28,168,169],{},"Annual budget = Σ (occasion type × frequency × average headcount × cost per head) + delivery + service fees",[13,171,172],{},"A worked example for a 120-person London office:",[33,174,175,188],{},[36,176,177],{},[39,178,179,182,185],{},[42,180,181],{},"Line",[42,183,184],{},"Calculation",[42,186,187],{},"Annual",[52,189,190,201,212,223,234,244,254],{},[39,191,192,195,198],{},[57,193,194],{},"Weekly team lunch (boxed)",[57,196,197],{},"48 weeks × 60 heads × £14",[57,199,200],{},"£40,320",[39,202,203,206,209],{},[57,204,205],{},"Monthly all-hands (hot buffet)",[57,207,208],{},"12 × 100 heads × £18",[57,210,211],{},"£21,600",[39,213,214,217,220],{},[57,215,216],{},"Client meetings (working lunch)",[57,218,219],{},"80 × 10 heads × £13",[57,221,222],{},"£10,400",[39,224,225,228,231],{},[57,226,227],{},"Quarterly social (pop-up)",[57,229,230],{},"4 × 110 heads × £25",[57,232,233],{},"£11,000",[39,235,236,239,241],{},[57,237,238],{},"Delivery (£15 + VAT × ~145 orders)",[57,240],{},[57,242,243],{},"£2,610",[39,245,246,249,251],{},[57,247,248],{},"Service fee (5% + VAT on food spend)",[57,250],{},[57,252,253],{},"£5,010",[39,255,256,261,263],{},[57,257,258],{},[28,259,260],{},"Total",[57,262],{},[57,264,265],{},[28,266,267],{},"£90,940",[13,269,270],{},"Round to £92,000, present the table, and the conversation changes from \"why so much?\" to \"which lines move?\". That is the conversation you want — it means finance is editing the plan, not rejecting it.",[13,272,273,274,278,279,284,285,289],{},"Note what this budget is ",[275,276,277],"em",{},"not",": a daily individual meal benefit. That is a separate programme with its own (larger) budget and its own tax treatment — covered in the ",[280,281,283],"a",{"href":282},"\u002Fblog\u002Femployee-meal-programmes-uk-complete-guide","employee meal programmes guide"," and the ",[280,286,288],{"href":287},"\u002Fblog\u002Femployee-meal-benefits-tax-guide-uk","meal benefits tax guide",". Keeping the two budgets separate is itself a credibility signal with finance.",[13,291,292],{},[293,294],"img",{"alt":295,"src":296},"A catered buffet spread at an office event","\u002Fimages\u002Fphotos\u002Fcatering-buffet.jpg",[20,298,300],{"id":299},"what-finance-actually-checks","What finance actually checks",[13,302,303],{},"Having sat on both sides of these approvals, the questions are predictable. Build the answers in:",[13,305,306,309],{},[28,307,308],{},"\"What does this replace?\""," If catering replaces expensed client lunches at restaurants (£40–£80 per head) or an underused canteen contract, show the offset. Catering budgets that consolidate scattered spend often net out cheaper than the status quo — but only if the scattered spend is quantified. Pull twelve months of food-related expense claims; the total surprises most teams.",[13,311,312,315,316,320],{},[28,313,314],{},"\"How is spend controlled in-month?\""," The honest answer with ad-hoc ordering is \"it is not — we find out at month end.\" The better answer: per-event budgets set in the platform, spend visible in real time in the Admin Portal, and ",[280,317,319],{"href":318},"\u002Ffinance-operations","expense codes"," captured at checkout so orders land against the right cost centre without a claim form.",[13,322,323,326],{},[28,324,325],{},"\"What is the per-head trend?\""," Track cost per head per occasion type quarterly. It is the metric that catches drift — headcount creep at events, format inflation, the £14 lunch becoming £19.",[13,328,329,332],{},[28,330,331],{},"\"Who can spend?\""," Named bookers with per-person or per-event limits beats an open account. Platforms with admin controls make this a setting; email-and-invoice caterers make it a hope.",[20,334,336],{"id":335},"five-ways-to-cut-the-budget-without-anyone-noticing","Five ways to cut the budget without anyone noticing",[338,339,340,347,353,359,365],"ol",{},[341,342,343,346],"li",{},[28,344,345],{},"Switch shared platters to individually boxed meals"," for recurring occasions — the ~20% over-order buffer disappears.",[341,348,349,352],{},[28,350,351],{},"Make headcount confirmation a 24-hour rule"," for events. No-shows are the purest form of waste.",[341,354,355,358],{},[28,356,357],{},"Set budgets by occasion type"," in the platform rather than approving each order — £14 for team lunches, £25 for client sessions. Control without friction.",[341,360,361,364],{},[28,362,363],{},"Consolidate providers."," Every additional caterer is a separate invoice, a separate reconciliation, and a separate negotiation. One platform with 300+ restaurants gives the variety without the vendor sprawl.",[341,366,367,370],{},[28,368,369],{},"Use click & collect where it fits"," — employees pick up from nearby restaurants and the delivery fee disappears entirely.",[20,372,374],{"id":373},"making-the-case-in-one-page","Making the case in one page",[13,376,377,378,382],{},"The approval memo that works has four parts: the framework table above; the offset analysis (what scattered spend this consolidates); the control story (real-time visibility, expense codes, one monthly invoice with 30-day terms); and the per-head benchmarks as an appendix. With transparent pricing — and providers who publish their fees, which ",[280,379,381],{"href":380},"\u002Fpricing","not all do"," — there are no unknowns left to challenge.",[13,384,385,386,284,390,394,395,399],{},"For the operational side — formats, lead times, choosing between providers — see the ",[280,387,389],{"href":388},"\u002Fblog\u002Foffice-catering-london-complete-guide","complete guide to office catering in London",[280,391,393],{"href":392},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-choose-office-catering-company-london","12-point provider checklist",". For how Ordit handles catering end to end, from boxed lunches to pop-ups for 50+ people, see ",[280,396,398],{"href":397},"\u002Fcatering","Office Catering",".",{"title":401,"searchDepth":402,"depth":402,"links":403},"",2,[404,405,406,407,408,409],{"id":22,"depth":402,"text":23},{"id":126,"depth":402,"text":127},{"id":157,"depth":402,"text":158},{"id":299,"depth":402,"text":300},{"id":335,"depth":402,"text":336},{"id":373,"depth":402,"text":374},"Cost & Finance","2026-06-09","How to plan an office catering budget: London cost-per-head benchmarks, the hidden costs that derail estimates, and a framework finance teams sign off.","md",false,"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fcatering-boxes-spread.webp",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Foffice-catering-budget-planning-guide",8,{"title":5,"description":412},"blog\u002Foffice-catering-budget-planning-guide",[398,423,424],"Cost Control","Expense Management","s4bYMlXE-u0126EZURUreRy0Sqief4XmIfsplRhYPV4",[427,436,447],{"path":428,"stem":429,"title":430,"description":431,"image":432,"tags":433,"date":435,"readTime":419},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmeasure-roi-employee-meal-programme","blog\u002Fmeasure-roi-employee-meal-programme","How to Measure the ROI of an Employee Meal Programme","A measurement framework finance will accept: the four metrics that matter, the baselines to capture before launch, and the vendor numbers to ignore.","\u002Fimages\u002Fphotos\u002Fadmin-portal.jpg",[423,434,424],"Meal Programmes","2026-08-16",{"path":437,"stem":438,"title":439,"description":440,"image":441,"tags":442,"date":445,"readTime":446},"\u002Fblog\u002Fallergen-labelling-office-catering-uk","blog\u002Fallergen-labelling-office-catering-uk","Allergen Rules for Office Catering: What UK Employers Need to Get Right","Natasha's Law, the 14 allergens and the FSA's 2025 written-information guidance, explained for the person who actually orders the office lunch.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fwrap-platter-box.webp",[443,444,398],"Food Safety","Tax & Compliance","2026-08-11",9,{"path":388,"stem":448,"title":449,"description":450,"image":451,"tags":452,"date":455,"readTime":456},"blog\u002Foffice-catering-london-complete-guide","Office Catering in London — The Complete Guide","Every office catering option in London compared: types, pricing by area, how to choose a provider, and why platforms are replacing traditional caterers.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fbreakfast-catering-spread.webp",[398,453,454],"London","Provider Comparison","2026-06-12",12,1788174178834]