[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":454},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-office-catering-budget-planning-guide":3,"blog-related-office-catering-budget-planning-guide":424},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"authorImage":6,"authorTitle":6,"body":7,"category":408,"date":409,"description":410,"extension":411,"featured":412,"image":413,"meta":414,"navigation":415,"path":416,"readTime":417,"seo":418,"stem":419,"tags":420,"__hash__":423},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Foffice-catering-budget-planning-guide.md","Planning an Office Catering Budget Finance Will Approve",null,{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":398},"minimark",[10,14,17,22,30,119,122,126,129,135,141,147,153,157,160,168,171,266,269,288,295,299,302,308,319,325,331,335,369,373,381],[11,12,13],"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.",[11,15,16],{},"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.",[18,19,21],"h2",{"id":20},"start-with-cost-per-head-not-total-spend","Start with cost per head, not total spend",[11,23,24,25,29],{},"Every defensible catering budget is built from one unit: ",[26,27,28],"strong",{},"cost per head per occasion",". London benchmarks by format:",[31,32,33,49],"table",{},[34,35,36],"thead",{},[37,38,39,43,46],"tr",{},[40,41,42],"th",{},"Format",[40,44,45],{},"Cost per head",[40,47,48],{},"Typical occasion",[50,51,52,64,75,86,97,108],"tbody",{},[37,53,54,58,61],{},[55,56,57],"td",{},"Breakfast (pastries, fruit, juice)",[55,59,60],{},"£6–£12",[55,62,63],{},"Early meetings, training days",[37,65,66,69,72],{},[55,67,68],{},"Working lunch (sandwich platters)",[55,70,71],{},"£10–£15",[55,73,74],{},"Internal meetings",[37,76,77,80,83],{},[55,78,79],{},"Individually boxed lunches",[55,81,82],{},"£12–£18",[55,84,85],{},"All-hands, client sessions, dietary-mixed groups",[37,87,88,91,94],{},[55,89,90],{},"Hot buffet",[55,92,93],{},"£15–£25",[55,95,96],{},"Team days, celebrations",[37,98,99,102,105],{},[55,100,101],{},"Premium catering (Ottolenghi, Sticks'n'Sushi tier)",[55,103,104],{},"£25–£45",[55,106,107],{},"Client entertainment, board lunches",[37,109,110,113,116],{},[55,111,112],{},"Office pop-up (live chef station, 50+ people)",[55,114,115],{},"£18–£30",[55,117,118],{},"Events, milestones",[11,120,121],{},"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.",[18,123,125],{"id":124},"the-hidden-costs-that-derail-estimates","The hidden costs that derail estimates",[11,127,128],{},"Food is usually only 80–90% of the real number. The rest hides in four places:",[11,130,131,134],{},[26,132,133],{},"Delivery fees."," Per-order fees range from £0 to £40+ across London providers depending on distance and order size. Ordit charges a flat £15 + VAT per group or catering delivery — flat rates make budgets predictable; percentage-based or distance-based fees do not.",[11,136,137,140],{},[26,138,139],{},"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.)",[11,142,143,146],{},[26,144,145],{},"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.",[11,148,149,152],{},[26,150,151],{},"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.",[18,154,156],{"id":155},"the-budget-framework","The budget framework",[11,158,159],{},"The calculation finance wants to see:",[161,162,163],"blockquote",{},[11,164,165],{},[26,166,167],{},"Annual budget = Σ (occasion type × frequency × average headcount × cost per head) + delivery + service fees",[11,169,170],{},"A worked example for a 120-person London office:",[31,172,173,186],{},[34,174,175],{},[37,176,177,180,183],{},[40,178,179],{},"Line",[40,181,182],{},"Calculation",[40,184,185],{},"Annual",[50,187,188,199,210,221,232,242,252],{},[37,189,190,193,196],{},[55,191,192],{},"Weekly team lunch (boxed)",[55,194,195],{},"48 weeks × 60 heads × £14",[55,197,198],{},"£40,320",[37,200,201,204,207],{},[55,202,203],{},"Monthly all-hands (hot buffet)",[55,205,206],{},"12 × 100 heads × £18",[55,208,209],{},"£21,600",[37,211,212,215,218],{},[55,213,214],{},"Client meetings (working lunch)",[55,216,217],{},"80 × 10 heads × £13",[55,219,220],{},"£10,400",[37,222,223,226,229],{},[55,224,225],{},"Quarterly social (pop-up)",[55,227,228],{},"4 × 110 heads × £25",[55,230,231],{},"£11,000",[37,233,234,237,239],{},[55,235,236],{},"Delivery (£15 + VAT × ~145 orders)",[55,238],{},[55,240,241],{},"£2,610",[37,243,244,247,249],{},[55,245,246],{},"Service fee (5% + VAT on food spend)",[55,248],{},[55,250,251],{},"£5,010",[37,253,254,259,261],{},[55,255,256],{},[26,257,258],{},"Total",[55,260],{},[55,262,263],{},[26,264,265],{},"£90,940",[11,267,268],{},"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.",[11,270,271,272,276,277,282,283,287],{},"Note what this budget is ",[273,274,275],"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 ",[278,279,281],"a",{"href":280},"\u002Fblog\u002Femployee-meal-programmes-uk-complete-guide","employee meal programmes guide"," and the ",[278,284,286],{"href":285},"\u002Fblog\u002Femployee-meal-benefits-tax-guide-uk","meal benefits tax guide",". Keeping the two budgets separate is itself a credibility signal with finance.",[11,289,290],{},[291,292],"img",{"alt":293,"src":294},"A catered buffet spread at an office event","\u002Fimages\u002Fphotos\u002Fcatering-buffet.jpg",[18,296,298],{"id":297},"what-finance-actually-checks","What finance actually checks",[11,300,301],{},"Having sat on both sides of these approvals, the questions are predictable. Build the answers in:",[11,303,304,307],{},[26,305,306],{},"\"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.",[11,309,310,313,314,318],{},[26,311,312],{},"\"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 ",[278,315,317],{"href":316},"\u002Ffinance-operations","expense codes"," captured at checkout so every order lands against the right cost centre automatically.",[11,320,321,324],{},[26,322,323],{},"\"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.",[11,326,327,330],{},[26,328,329],{},"\"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.",[18,332,334],{"id":333},"five-ways-to-cut-the-budget-without-anyone-noticing","Five ways to cut the budget without anyone noticing",[336,337,338,345,351,357,363],"ol",{},[339,340,341,344],"li",{},[26,342,343],{},"Switch shared platters to individually boxed meals"," for recurring occasions — the ~20% over-order buffer disappears.",[339,346,347,350],{},[26,348,349],{},"Make headcount confirmation a 24-hour rule"," for events. No-shows are the purest form of waste.",[339,352,353,356],{},[26,354,355],{},"Set per-head caps by occasion type"," in the platform rather than approving each order — £14 for team lunches, £25 for client sessions. Control without friction.",[339,358,359,362],{},[26,360,361],{},"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.",[339,364,365,368],{},[26,366,367],{},"Use click & collect where it fits"," — employees pick up from nearby restaurants and the delivery fee disappears entirely.",[18,370,372],{"id":371},"making-the-case-in-one-page","Making the case in one page",[11,374,375,376,380],{},"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 ",[278,377,379],{"href":378},"\u002Fpricing","not all do"," — there are no unknowns left to challenge.",[11,382,383,384,282,388,392,393,397],{},"For the operational side — formats, lead times, choosing between providers — see the ",[278,385,387],{"href":386},"\u002Fblog\u002Foffice-catering-london-complete-guide","complete guide to office catering in London",[278,389,391],{"href":390},"\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 ",[278,394,396],{"href":395},"\u002Fcatering","Office Catering",".",{"title":399,"searchDepth":400,"depth":400,"links":401},"",2,[402,403,404,405,406,407],{"id":20,"depth":400,"text":21},{"id":124,"depth":400,"text":125},{"id":155,"depth":400,"text":156},{"id":297,"depth":400,"text":298},{"id":333,"depth":400,"text":334},{"id":371,"depth":400,"text":372},"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\u002Fbusiness-profile.jpg",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Foffice-catering-budget-planning-guide",8,{"title":5,"description":410},"blog\u002Foffice-catering-budget-planning-guide",[396,421,422],"Cost Control","Expense Management","bLfTUARZ64ThAaQNRxWOiUYwBC2ipM5BzNo9tcyTbv0",[425,434,444],{"path":426,"stem":427,"title":428,"description":429,"image":430,"tags":431,"date":433,"readTime":417},"\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",[421,432,422],"Meal Programmes","2026-08-16",{"path":435,"stem":436,"title":437,"description":438,"image":294,"tags":439,"date":442,"readTime":443},"\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.",[440,441,396],"Food Safety","Tax & Compliance","2026-08-11",9,{"path":386,"stem":445,"title":446,"description":447,"image":448,"tags":449,"date":452,"readTime":453},"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\u002Fgroup-lunch-ordering.jpg",[396,450,451],"London","Provider Comparison","2026-06-12",12,1787926238005]