Banquet event order (BEO) template

Who this template is for

Sales or catering writes a BEO. Operations (the banquet office, the kitchen, the captains and the setup crew) runs from it. This layout is written for the second group: it puts the lines that change staffing, prep and setup near the top and leaves out everything that belongs in a contract. Use it if you are building a first template, checking the one you have, or teaching the form.

The blank template

Pricing stays in your sales system. This layout covers what the floor and kitchen run from.

A filled-in example

Fictional event at a fictional hotel. No real client, venue or guest.

Legend: V vegetarian. GF made without gluten-containing ingredients.

How to fill in each section so operations can run from it

Header. Put the revision date or version next to the order number, in the same place on every order. It is the first thing the floor checks against the copy on the wall.

Times. Give all four: setup, start, end and strike. Setup is when the room can be set, start is when guests arrive or the function begins, end is when it is over, and strike is when the room must be clear for the next function. Each of them drives a different crew's call.

Counts. Put expected, guaranteed and set side by side, and write down when the guarantee is due. Expected is the sales estimate. The guarantee is the number the client commits to by the cut-off, and the kitchen and the crew work from it. Set is the seats put out, which can be a little over the guarantee. In the example, 190 expected, 180 guaranteed and 186 set tell the floor everything in one line. See the guaranteed guest count.

Room. The setup style and whether a diagram is attached. A diagram saves a phone call at 1:55 pm.

Service. Service style moves the crew more than any other line. Write the style, the number of courses, and whether wine is poured at the table. A cocktail hour changes the bartender count too.

Menu. One line per dish with its dietary codes. Write the allergens as "to be confirmed with the kitchen" until someone has checked them, so nobody prints or posts an allergen line nobody has verified.

Bars. The number of bars and the hours each one runs matter more than the total guest count. Hosted, cash and consumption tell the bartenders how the bar is settled; the prices stay in your sales system.

Special meals and VIP. Counts and needs, and the number of VIP or head tables. A VIP table often needs more hands.

AV, vendors and notes. Arrival times for outside vendors and anything the floor can't guess.

Why the revision date matters

A BEO changes after it is distributed: the guarantee moves, a room swaps, a bar is added. Everyone on the floor needs to know which copy is current. A revision date on every page lets the captain compare the paper in their hand with the latest one in seconds. When a BEO changes, compare it with the one you already printed, and tell only the people on that event. Handling a BEO change covers how.

From the BEO to the crew

Once the BEO is complete, the crew follows from it. At 180 guests, a plated dinner starts at 9 servers (180 divided by 20), with 12 if wine is poured at the table (180 divided by 16, rounded up). On the Team plan, Hotelwright works these numbers out for every event. See how many servers per guest. To go from the paper to the week's schedule, read how operations reads a BEO and how to staff banquets from the BEO.