Does this checklist calculate a quote?

No. It prepares a bounded input record; the Catering Quote & Margin Planner owns contingency, margin, rounding and outputs.

Should a default food-cost percentage be used?

No. Enter the business’s own reconciled costs and quantities; this guide supplies no benchmark.

Name the event, quote version, service format and confirmed-versus-estimated guest-count basis. (not complete)
Record menu and portion responsibility without inserting an industry portion default. (not complete)
Record preparation, on-site, setup, travel and pack-down hours on one event basis. (not complete)
List delivery, equipment, rentals and third-party costs with an owner for each responsibility. (not complete)
State included and excluded indirect tax, inclusions, exclusions, contingency input and change trigger. (not complete)
Stop if a binding quantity, responsibility, cost basis or approval is missing; otherwise obtain peer or client confirmation before calculation. (not complete)

Printable catering quote readiness record
Field	Recorded basis	Readiness check
Event and guests	60 confirmed attendees; one service format	Ready if the change trigger is documented
Labour	12 preparation hours; 10 on-site hours	Ready when roles and included time are named
Logistics	One delivery/setup window; named rental lines	Stop while equipment responsibility is unresolved
Basis	Neutral currency; one event; tax included or excluded explicitly	Never mix bases silently

Every row must keep the same declared currency, unit, period and indirect-tax basis unless the row explicitly marks a boundary change.

The record changes status only when the missing equipment responsibility is resolved. It deliberately does not calculate a selling price.

Illustrative user-entered scenario, not a benchmark or recommendation
Case or record	Inputs and arithmetic	Interpretation
Incomplete record	60 guests, labour and delivery recorded; equipment owner missing	STOP — resolve responsibility and cost inclusion
Completed record	Same record with rental owner, basis, exclusions and change trigger confirmed	READY FOR PLANNER — calculate only in the registered tool

Catering Quote & Margin Planner
Build a quote from portions, labour, logistics, contingency and margin
Catering Event Profitability Planner
Test catering event profit after food, staffing, logistics, waste and venue constraints

Does this checklist calculate a quote?: No. It prepares a bounded input record; the Catering Quote & Margin Planner owns contingency, margin, rounding and outputs.
Should a default food-cost percentage be used?: No. Enter the business’s own reconciled costs and quantities; this guide supplies no benchmark.

Catering Event Details and Quote Sheet — University of Alabama: Corroborates separating event-detail capture from calculation; not a universal contract.
Catering quote cost checklist — Catermonkey: Industry corroboration only; no percentage or default is adopted.