A caterer is paid for one evening. Everything that decides the profit happens before it.

1. 01Sales

   Enquiries scattered across chats and calls

   What it looks like

   A bride's father rings on Tuesday, an office manager messages on Wednesday, a college sends a mail on Thursday. Each wants a menu, a rate and a date. The owner replies when the kitchen is quiet, and by then one has gone to someone else.

   What it costs you

   Example arithmetic: five lost wedding enquiries a season, each worth a ₹3 lakh event at a 15 percent margin, is ₹2.25 lakh of profit that never reached you.

   How Verity fixes it

   Each enquiry becomes a record with the date, venue, expected headcount, budget and an owner. Verity lists the ones with no reply or no follow-up after the tasting, and tells the person responsible. You still reply to the client.

   See the screen
2. 02Sales

   Quotes built from memory

   What it looks like

   The per-plate rate is quoted from the last similar wedding. Vegetable prices have moved since. The client adds a live counter and a dessert after the quote, and the rate is not revised.

   What it costs you

   Example arithmetic: a quote of ₹850 a plate for 500 guests is ₹4.25 lakh. If the food cost has moved ₹40 a plate since the rate was set, the event gives up ₹20,000 before any extra counter.

   How Verity fixes it

   Each menu item carries its latest cost per plate from your purchase rates. A quote is built from the menu and headcount, and a change in the menu or the cost shows the effect on margin before the rate is confirmed.

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3. 03Planning

   The headcount that changes on the last day

   What it looks like

   The booking says 600. The family confirms 520 on Thursday, then 580 on Saturday morning. Cooking, staff and counters were planned for one number and the event runs on another.

   What it costs you

   Example arithmetic: with food cost near ₹180 a plate, cooking for 650 when 560 eat leaves 90 plates, about ₹16,200 of food. A vendor blog puts the cost of one error on a 1,000-plate wedding at ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh.

   How Verity fixes it

   The event record holds the guaranteed count, each revision with its date, and who gave it. Quantity, staff and vehicle plans follow the current count, and a late change goes to the kitchen and the crew lead as a task.

   See the screen
4. 04Kitchen

   Cooking by feel, not by plate

   What it looks like

   The head cook knows how much dal goes in for 500 by hand. On a day with four events the same cook is in two places, and the dish for the second event is scaled from memory. One runs short at 9 pm, another is half returned.

   What it costs you

   Running short in the middle of a buffet loses the client's trust. Cooking too much loses food cost. Both come from unrecorded quantities.

   How Verity fixes it

   Each dish is a recipe with its quantity per plate, scaled to the headcount. The kitchen sheet shows raw quantities and cooking batches for the event, and the actual use is recorded afterwards so the next scaling is closer.

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5. 05Suppliers

   Buying for an event from the market, on the morning

   What it looks like

   Vegetables, meat, paneer and oil are bought the evening before. Prices move by the day. A second event the same morning competes for the same stock, and the purchase list is a photo of a handwritten page.

   What it costs you

   Rushed buying costs more per kilo, and over-buying ties up cash in produce that wilts. Rates paid are never compared with last time.

   How Verity fixes it

   The event's recipes generate one purchase list, combined across events on the same dates. Rates paid go on the supplier record, and Verity flags a rate that has moved past your limit and shows which menus it touches.

   See the screen
6. 06People

   Waiters and helpers who do not turn up

   What it looks like

   Fifty waiters and helpers are arranged by calling a contractor and a few regulars. Two ask for more money on the day. Six do not come. The head waiter does not know who is meant for which counter.

   What it costs you

   Trained supply is thin in this trade. A hospitality industry article, citing a Ministry of Tourism study, put trained manpower at about 9 percent of the requirement and attrition at 20 to 25 percent, in 2013. A short crew means slow service and unhappy clients.

   How Verity fixes it

   Each event has a crew list with roles, counters, call time and who confirmed. Verity keeps the pool of regulars with their roles, rates and past attendance, shows who is free, and builds a call list when someone drops out.

   See the screen
7. 07Scheduling

   Four events on one Saturday, one kitchen

   What it looks like

   In wedding season a Saturday has four bookings. Each wants the head cook, the best waiters and the big vessels. A clash is found on Friday night, when it is too late to say no.

   What it costs you

   A double-booked cook, kitchen or crew lead means a lower quality event or a lost one. Saying yes to the fifth enquiry without capacity risks the other four.

   How Verity fixes it

   Events sit on one calendar with kitchen capacity, head cooks and crew leads marked per day. Verity shows a clash when a booking would push a day beyond what you can serve, before the date is confirmed.

   See the screen
8. 08Logistics

   Vans, vessels and chafing dishes that do not come back

   What it looks like

   A van leaves with counters, gas, vessels and 600 plates. Two venues in one evening. After the event, 40 plates, a chafing dish and a ladle are missing, and nobody knows which venue they stayed at.

   What it costs you

   Example arithmetic: a few missing items a week at an average of ₹800 each is about ₹60,000 over a season, plus the cost of an emergency hire.

   How Verity fixes it

   Each event has a loading list with counts out and counts back. Verity records the vehicle and driver, shows what did not return, and ties the shortfall to the event so it can be recovered or written off.

   See the screen
9. 09Food safety

   Food travels for hours before it is served

   What it looks like

   The food is cooked at the base kitchen at 3 pm and served at a venue 40 km away at 8 pm. Hot food rides in open vessels. There is no time or temperature written down.

   What it costs you

   One bad plate at a wedding can mean sick guests, a police complaint and a lost reputation. Hot food is generally expected to stay above 60 degrees C and cold food below 5 degrees C, and cooked food should not sit between them for more than two hours.

   How Verity fixes it

   Each dispatch records the cooking time, loading time, vehicle and temperature at departure and arrival, as a short checklist signed by the driver and the kitchen lead. The record exists if the client or an officer asks.

   See the screen
10. 10Money

    Advances, balances and extras nobody matched

    What it looks like

    An advance of ₹1.2 lakh was taken in cash and a further ₹60,000 by transfer. After the event the client adds a late-night snack and extra plates. The balance is sent in two instalments, one forgotten.

    What it costs you

    Example arithmetic: a ₹4.25 lakh event with 20 extra plates at ₹850 is ₹17,000 that is only collected if somebody wrote the extras down on the night.

    How Verity fixes it

    The event record holds the quote, each payment received, extras added on the day and the balance. Verity shows balances by age and reminds the owner to chase, with the details at hand. You still speak to the client.

    See the screen
11. 11Money

    Suppliers and contract labour paid in cash, with no trail

    What it looks like

    The vegetable supplier is paid in cash after each event. The contractor for waiters asks for the day's money in the evening. A decorator subcontract is settled in a handshake. At year end the accountant cannot match payments to events.

    What it costs you

    You cannot see the true cost of any event, and an arguing supplier cannot be answered with a record.

    How Verity fixes it

    Supplier bills and labour payments are recorded against the event, with the rate, quantity and who approved. Verity shows what each event cost in food, labour, transport and subcontracts, and what is still owed to each supplier.

    See the screen
12. 12Kitchen

    Leftover food and returned plates

    What it looks like

    At midnight there are 15 trays of rice and curry left, and nowhere to send them. At another event a family has asked to take food home. Nobody records what was cooked and what was left.

    What it costs you

    India wastes 78 to 80 million tonnes of food a year according to UNEP's 2024 index as reported in 2026, and extravagant weddings and banquets are named as a driver. For a caterer, every leftover tray is food cost with no sale.

    How Verity fixes it

    The quantity cooked and the quantity left are recorded per dish at the end of each event. Verity compares them across events and clients, so the next cooking plan is trimmed where leftovers keep repeating.

    See the screen
13. 13Customers

    Jain, allergy and special menu notes that get lost

    What it looks like

    A family said on the first call that a group of forty is Jain and two guests have a nut allergy. The note is in the owner's phone. On the day, the kitchen does not know.

    What it costs you

    A mistake in front of a thousand guests is the most expensive kind. An allergic reaction can mean harm to a guest and a legal matter.

    How Verity fixes it

    Dietary and special-request notes sit on the event record and appear on the kitchen sheet and the counter plan for that event, with who took the request. Verity creates a check task for the counter lead before the event.

    See the screen
14. 14Compliance

    Licences, medical certificates and training with no dates

    What it looks like

    The FSSAI certificate hangs in the office. Nobody is sure when the cooks' medical fitness certificates run out, whether the kitchen supervisor's training is current, or whether the venue needs a temporary permit for a large event.

    What it costs you

    A corporate or hotel client may ask for the papers before signing. A notice or a stopped event is a larger loss than the fine.

    How Verity fixes it

    The licence, each food handler's medical fitness certificate and each supervisor's training certificate are records with an expiry date and an owner. A renewal is a task weeks before the date.

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15. 15Relationships

    Corporate and recurring orders handled like one-offs

    What it looks like

    An office wants lunches for forty, five days a week. A school wants monthly events. The same menu and rate are re-quoted every time, the invoice is made by hand, and the billing date slips.

    What it costs you

    Recurring work is the steadiest cash a caterer has, and it is lost when a late invoice or a missed delivery makes the client look elsewhere.

    How Verity fixes it

    A recurring order is a schedule with its menu, headcount, rate and billing day. Each delivery becomes a task for the kitchen and crew, and delivered counts feed the invoice record.

    See the screen
16. 16Owner

    No clear picture of what each event earned

    What it looks like

    The season ends. You are tired and cash is in the account, but you cannot say which events, clients or menus made money. The profit appears in the accountant's statement three months later.

    What it costs you

    Without a margin per event nothing can be priced better, and the same loss-making kinds of event are accepted again.

    How Verity fixes it

    Each event shows its revenue, food, labour, transport, subcontract and leftover cost, and what remains. Every morning, Verity lists the events that need a decision, each with an owner.

    See the screen

Illustrative screens with sample data. Layouts, fields, names and terms are set up around how your catering business works.

1. Week 1

   Discovery and mapping

   What we do

   Spend a morning at the base kitchen and an event day with your crew. Watch how an enquiry becomes a quote, how the kitchen is told the count, how the van is loaded and how the event is paid, and note which leaks matter most.

   What we need from you

   Two to three hours of yours and your head cook's. A few recent quotes, purchase lists and crew lists, and your menu with rates.

   What you have at the end

   A written map of your catering business: the menus and recipes, the supplier list, the crew pool, the vehicles and utensils, the licences, and the first leaks we will close.

2. Weeks 2 to 3

   Configuration

   What we do

   Set up your menus and recipes per plate, supplier list, crew roles and rates, vehicles, loading lists, licences, and the approval rules for quotes and extras, and build the seven screens around your own terms.

   What we need from you

   Check the setup with your head cook and your manager. Tell us where a recipe or rule is wrong.

   What you have at the end

   A working Verity with your real menus, crew, vehicles and rules, ready for your data.

3. Weeks 3 to 4

   Migration and training

   What we do

   Bring in your client list, upcoming bookings, supplier rates, crew pool and licence details from the notebooks, chats and sheets you use. Train the kitchen, crew leads and drivers on a live event.

   What we need from you

   Your booking diary and client numbers in whatever form they exist, and a list of your crew. One hour with each role.

   What you have at the end

   Your clients, bookings and suppliers inside Verity, and a team that has used it through an event.

4. After go-live

   Operations partnership

   What we do

   Stay on after launch. Review the first events with you, tune quantities and limits, and handle changes when you add a menu, a vehicle, a kitchen or a city.

   What we need from you

   A short review after the first month of events.

   What you have at the end

   A system that keeps matching how the catering runs, with someone responsible for it.

• Owner

  Which events make money, and what is owed?

  Margin per event, balances by age, quotes waiting, capacity by day and licence dates.

• Operations manager

  What needs sorting this week?

  Headcount changes, crew gaps, purchase lists, clashes between events, approvals and vehicles.

• Head cook

  What do I cook, how much, and when?

  Kitchen sheets scaled to the current count, dietary notes, the purchase list and leftover entries.

• Crew lead

  Who is working my event and where?

  Crew list by role and counter, call times, the loading list, dispatch checks and the replacement call list.

• Accountant

  What was sold, bought and owed?

  Quotes, invoices and payments per event, supplier bills matched to receipts and crew payments.