Quote within the hour. Confirm before the next caterer responds.

Common questions

• How fast can we actually get a quote out the door?
  Openevent turns an enquiry into a branded, link-based offer with deposit collection in minutes, the AI drafts the reply with the right package attached, you approve, the client clicks, pays the deposit, and the date is held. The same offer converts to invoice in one click, so you never re-key anything.
• Can we see margin per event, not just revenue?
  Yes. Every event in Openevent shows revenue, food cost, staff cost (kitchen and FOH separately, with documented hours) and net margin. You also get reports on margin per event type, staff cost ratio and repeat-client rate, so you know which jobs are actually worth taking.
• Do the kitchen and the FOH team see different things?
  Yes. Run-of-show templates split into a kitchen view (menu, allergens, prep times, pass schedule) and an FOH view (floor plan notes, service flow, guest details). The Crew App on each phone shows only the slice that person needs for their shift.
• How do dietary requirements and allergens travel from booking to the kitchen?
  Allergen and dietary notes captured on the enquiry form attach to the guest list, flow into the run sheet, and appear in the Crew App as a dedicated dietary list on the shift. Nothing is re-keyed between sales and kitchen, which is where most incidents originate.
• Can we plan shifts for kitchen and FOH separately, with their own pay rates and overtime?
  Yes. Each event has per-event shift planning with separate kitchen and FOH blocks, documented hours, individual rates (employees and subcontracted staff side by side) and overtime tracking. Labor cost rolls straight into the event's margin report.
• How does Openevent handle deposits, cancellations and last-minute headcount changes?
  Link-based offers collect a deposit at signature with your cancellation terms attached. If the headcount moves before your cut-off, the offer and invoice update together and the deposit is automatically credited against the final balance, so you never overcharge or under-bill.
• Can we bill the venue and the end client separately on the same event?
  Yes, Openevent supports separate invoices on a single event (for example bar to the venue, food and staff to the corporate client), each with its own payment terms, deposit and PDF. Payment fees are a flat 1%* on what's processed through Openevent; Stripe fees are separate.
• Will the AI replies sound like us, or like a chatbot?
  The AI drafts using your own packages, your tone and your pricing, and nothing goes out until you press send. It's a writing assistant that attaches the right menu and proposal in seconds, not an autopilot. For high-value enquiries you can switch it off entirely.
• Can we run several events on the same day at different locations?
  Yes. Each event keeps its own calendar slot, run sheet, staff and equipment, so multiple jobs on the same day at different addresses stay clear and separate, and the shared calendar shows your whole day at a glance, who's where, and what's still unstaffed.
• Can we reuse our standard packages and menus instead of quoting from scratch?
  Yes. Save your packages and menus as templates, then drop the right one into an offer and adjust it per client, so a quote that used to take an afternoon goes out in minutes without losing your standard pricing.