Let me ask you a simple question:
“Are your catering prices built to pad your profits... or accidentally sabotage them?”
Because here’s the hard truth: you can have the busiest catering calendar in your market, but if your pricing isn’t dialed in, you’ll be running in place - tired, broke, and wondering why your bank account doesn’t match your effort.
The secret? Strategic pricing and menu psychology.
It’s not just about what you charge. It’s about how you present your pricing so it feels like a deal to customers, while ensuring every order actually pays you what you’re worth. CaterZen gives you the tools to make this happen - from built-in upsells and proposals to reporting and kitchen controls.
Today, I want to show you how to use CaterZen’s catering software to flip the script - to engineer smarter pricing, protect your margins, and actually make money from the chaos we call catering.
Let’s get into it.
1. Sell More Without Lifting a Finger: Forced Upsells That Work
Inside CaterZen, you can create forced-choice upsells in your online ordering system. Want to add a dessert? Here’s the prompt. Need drinks? Got options. Don’t want them? Click “No Thanks.”
That’s right. We force a yes or no — because if you’re not offering drinks, desserts, upgraded sides, you’re leaving money (and profit) on the table.
For example, Pasta Pantry has been using CaterZen’s upsell feature to increase margins by offering proteins and desserts as add-ons during online ordering. These are high-margin items that not only improve ticket size but also create a consistent, professional ordering experience.
Bonus: shifting orders online doesn’t just boost check average - it reduces labor costs too. Every online order saves your team 10+ minutes of phone time, avoids costly miscommunications, and frees up staff to do what matters most - like actually making the food.
And here’s the exciting part: CaterZen is working on automated upsell prompts via text message. Using AI and simple rules (“you ordered this, but didn’t order that”), customers will get personalized prompts to add profitable items.
Translation? Even more upsells, with less work - and zero awkward sales pitches.
2. Proposals That Sell Themselves (and Then Some)
Proposals are more than price lists - they’re sales tools. With CaterZen, you can build professional, branded proposals that include:
- Cover graphics
- Testimonials
- FAQs
- Food photos that drive cravings and upsells
When your proposal looks polished, you don’t just win more events - you also make it easier to sell higher-margin items like desserts, upgraded packages, and premium sides. A strong proposal removes the friction for clients to say “yes” to profitable add-ons.
Case in point: Big Dan’s BBQ used CaterZen’s proposals to streamline communication, reduce errors, and present a more professional front to their clients. That improved customer trust - and made it easier to upsell and maximize margins.
3. Kitchen Control = Margin Control
Margins disappear fast when your kitchen over-preps or guesses wrong.
CaterZen includes food prep and production reports for every order - so your team knows exactly what to make, down to the ounce. Less waste. Tighter control. Better margins.
Jennisa from Backyard Catering? Her team prints out every prep ticket and plasters them on the kitchen wall. It keeps chaos in check, even on those “20 orders in two hours” kinda days.
You can also take control of your prep by using Custom Menu Time Rules. Want your holiday menu only available the two weeks before Christmas? Done. Want to offer breakfast pickup only from 6–10 a.m. on weekdays? You got it.
This not only keeps your menu tight, but also helps protect labor and food costs by limiting availability of special items to only when they make sense.
4. Accounts Receivable You Can Actually Control
Waiting on checks? Chasing payments?
CaterZen makes invoicing easy - with online payment links, auto-reminders, and tracking baked in.
That means:
- You get paid faster
- You spend less time chasing money
- You can offer terms only to high-value clients
Less drama. More control. Higher margins.
5. Know Your Niche, Own Your Margins
Want to price smarter? Start with who you’re selling to.
With CaterZen’s CRM tools, you can tag and group clients by niche - churches, schools, offices - and then send them offers that match what they value.
Schools want reliability. Offices want presentation. Price accordingly.
6. Know Your Numbers: Reports That Reveal Profit Leaks
Let’s talk reporting - because you can’t fix what you can’t see.
CaterZen’s reporting suite gives you visibility into:
- Sales by Item: Know which menu items move the most and which ones might be eating your profit
- Profitability by Client or Order: See which events and customers are actually worth it
- Delivery Payroll Reports: Catch high driver costs before they chew through your margin
These aren’t just “nice to have” - they’re your margin safety net.
Want to know where to raise prices? Trim offerings? Promote more profitable packages? The data is sitting there, ready to help you make smarter decisions.
Final Thoughts: It’s Time to Think Like a CFO
If you’re not engineering margin into every order, you're just busy… not profitable.
CaterZen isn’t just a catering tool. It’s a profit tool.
You want to make real money in catering? Then:
- Price smart
- Upsell often
- Control your production
- Track your numbers
- Target the right customers
- And use every tool in your arsenal
You do all that, and trust me - you’ll master your margins, build your bank account, and maybe even take a vacation without freaking out.
(Imagine that.)
Want to See This in Action?
👉 Already a CaterZen client? Book a free training session and we’ll show you how to unlock CaterZen’s profitability tools - from upsell automation to reporting - so you can fine-tune your pricing and maximize your margins.
👉 New to CaterZen? Start your free trial or book a “Non-Demo” Demo - no pressure, no sales pitch. Just a peek behind the curtain at how CaterZen helps caterers engineer smarter pricing and protect their profits.
Let us show you how to price for profit — without needing an MBA or a crystal ball.
