What goes on a banquet event order, an example you can copy, when to lock it, and how it fits with the contract and invoice.
By Rob Bruni, founder of OpsEdge Hospitality, twenty years running restaurants, bars, clubs and resorts. Updated November 2026.
A banquet event order, or BEO, is the one page that tells every department what the client bought and what has to happen, in order, on the day. The kitchen cooks from it, the bar stocks from it, the captain staffs and sets from it, and accounting bills from it. This guide covers what belongs on a BEO, gives you an example you can copy, and shows when to issue it, when to lock it and how it fits with the contract and the invoice.
The contract is the promise to the client. The BEO is the instruction to your team. If a detail is not on the BEO, assume it will not happen, because the person setting the room at 2 p.m. was not on the sales call.
| Who reads it | What they need from it |
|---|---|
| Chef and kitchen | Final count, menu, dietary and allergen notes, service style and the time each course fires |
| Bar | Bar package, hours, signature drinks, number of bars, who is paying |
| Banquet captain | Timeline, floor plan, staffing, linen, place settings, vendor arrivals |
| Setup and facilities | Room, tables and chairs, AV, power, load in and load out times |
| Accounting | Prices, minimum, service charge, tax, deposits paid and balance due |
Copy this layout and change the details. Keep it to one page for the floor and attach the floor plan and any vendor list behind it.
BEO # 2027-0142 Event: Harper Rehearsal Dinner Date: Friday, May 14, 2027
Room: Garden Room Event manager: [name] Day of contact: [name, mobile]
Counts: Expected 60. Guaranteed 56 (given May 11). Set for 58.
Timeline: 3:00 florist load in. 4:00 staff call. 5:30 doors and bar opens. 6:15 guests seated. 6:30 first course. 7:00 entrees. 7:45 toasts. 8:00 dessert. 9:30 bar closes. 10:00 guests depart. 10:30 load out complete.
Menu: Plated. First course: little gem salad. Entrees: short rib (31), roasted chicken (18), mushroom risotto (7). Dessert: lemon tart.
Dietary: Table 3 seat 2 gluten free. Table 5 seat 6 shellfish allergy. Table 7 seat 1 vegan (risotto, no butter or cheese).
Bar: Four hour beer, wine and signature cocktail package. One bar, two bartenders. Wine poured with entrees. Host pays, no cash bar.
Setup: 7 rounds of 8 and 1 head table of 2. Ivory linen, navy napkins. Gift table at entry. One wireless microphone and house music.
Staffing: 1 captain, 5 servers, 2 bartenders, 3 kitchen.
Billing: 56 guests at [price] per guest, [service charge] and [tax]. Deposit received [amount]. Balance due [date].
Approved by: [client signature and date] Issued by: [manager, date, version 3]
In the Catering BEO Template and Contract Kit, you enter the event once and the BEO, proposal, quote, contract, order form and invoice fill themselves in.
See the BEO Template and Contract Kit Banquet function sheetDates vary by operation, but a BEO should move through the same four stages. Put your own deadlines in the contract so the client knows them from the start.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| At booking | Draft BEO created from the signed contract with the date, room, estimated count and package |
| Detail meeting | Menu, bar, timeline, setup and vendors confirmed, and the client signs the BEO |
| Guarantee deadline | Final count and entree counts due, commonly several business days before the event. After this the count can go up if you can handle it, but the bill does not go down |
| BEO meeting | Chef, bar, captain and setup walk through every event for the coming week, and the final version is distributed |
Number every version and date it. When a change comes in after distribution, reissue the whole BEO with the change marked, and collect the old copies. Two versions in the building is how the kitchen ends up plating for 56 while the room is set for 64.
| Document | Who it is for | What it settles |
|---|---|---|
| Proposal or quote | Client | What you are offering and the estimated price |
| Catering contract | Client and business | Date, minimums, deposit schedule, guarantee deadline, cancellation terms, liability |
| BEO | Your team, signed by the client | Exactly what happens and when |
| Catering invoice | Client and accounting | Final charges, deposits applied and the balance |
The numbers must match across all four. The invoice should be built from the final BEO, not retyped from memory after the event. For how to price the package in the first place, see the private events and catering pricing guide. A contract is a legal document, so have an attorney in your state review your terms before you use them.
For the bar side of event planning, the event bar calculator estimates kegs, wine and liquor for a guest count.
Five free calculators turn these guides into results in a few minutes: prime cost, food cost, labor cost, break-even and pour cost. Each one shows the gap to the benchmark for your concept in dollars a year. No signup.
Open the free calculators See the benchmarksBEO stands for banquet event order. It is the internal document that lists everything about one event (counts, timeline, menu, bar, room setup, staffing and billing) so every department works from the same instructions.
An event header, client contacts, expected and guaranteed counts, a timeline with clock times, the menu by course, dietary and allergen notes by seat, the bar package, room setup, AV, staffing, billing details and signature lines for the client and the manager.
The contract is the legal agreement with the client: date, minimums, deposits, guarantee deadline and cancellation terms. The BEO is the operating instruction for your team. The client signs both, and the details on the BEO must stay inside what the contract allows.
After the client gives the guaranteed count, which most operations require several business days before the event. The final version is then reviewed at a weekly BEO meeting and distributed to the kitchen, bar, captain and setup team.
The chef, the bar lead, the banquet captain, the setup team, the manager on duty and accounting. The client should sign and keep a copy too.
Yes. Any event with a set menu, a count and a timeline benefits from one, including a private dining room booking for 12. A shorter version with the count, menu, allergies, timeline and billing is enough for small parties.
