Banquet Event Order 101 [FREE BEO TEMPLATES]
Have you heard the term “BEO” or “Banquet Event Order” before? If you are in Catering Sales or Event Planning for a hotel, restaurant or venue, the chances are high that you’ll be working with Banquet Event Orders a lot.
About This Guide
Hi I’m Bob Graham, the CEO of Event Temple, a modern software company that specializes in digital Banquet Event Orders and other useful sales and catering tools. In this short guide, I’m going to explain what BEOs are, who uses them, why they are important, how they are used and more.
By the end of the article, you should know everything you need to understand Banquet Event Orders.
Don’t Like Reading? Watch The Video Instead!
We also have some free Banquet Event Order Templates below!
Part 1 — Free Stuff!
Part 2 — Everything About BEOs
- Sample Banquet Event Order
- What Is Included in a BEO
- Standard BEO Layouts
- The Lifecycle of a BEO
- BEOs Made Easy
Part 1 — Free Stuff!
Download Free BEO Templates! Click Here:
Get Your Free Banquet Event Order Templates. Click The Link Below:
Download BEO Templates
Download Our Free BEO Templates(Google Docs + Microsoft Word Templates)
Part 2— Everything About BEOs
Who Uses BEOs (Banquet Event Orders):
Banquet Event Orders are used at most event venues including:
- Hotels
- Restaurants
- Conference/Convention Centers
- Wedding Venues
- And more!
Normally, BEOs are created by the Catering Sales Manager or Event Manager at the venue. They are then distributed to the entire team that needs to execute the event including setup teams, servers, kitchen staff A/V teams and more. Its’ the one central document used to get everyone on the same page about the event (literally).
What Are BEOs?
BEO’s are essentially a short document designed to get everyone at your venue on the same page about an upcoming event. Typically, the event is planned by the Catering and/or Events Department and when the event is finalized, a Banquet Event Order (BEO) is created. Banquet Event Orders (also called EO’s or Event Orders for short) are then printed off and distributed to everyone involved in preparing for the event. Typically this includes kitchen/catering staff, bar staff, A/V technicians, etc. BEO’s are designed to be a simple, easy to read document that gets everybody on the exact same page.
Other names for BEOs Include:
- Banquet Event Order
- EO
- Event Order
- Function Sheet
- Function Agenda
- Event Agenda
- Function Order
- Banquet Order
Sample Banquet Event Order:
What’s included in a Banquet Event Order?
Typically, BEO’s include the following information:
- Group name/Client name/Company
- Event Date
- Start time/end time
- Setup time
- Location(s)/Room(s) — The physical location of the event within your venue
- Client contact information (phone, email, etc)
- Catering Manager who booked the event (the main event contact for the venue)
- Food and Beverage order (including quantity and pricing)
- Audio/Visual needs of the client and specifics (quantity, description, etc)
- Decor — For example, the tables/chairs needed by the client (along with pricing and setup specs)
- All pricing (basically a full invoice with the cost of each item and totals)
- Finalized headcount for the event
- A contract — most BEO’s have a contract at the bottom and require a client and the venue’s signature
BEO Layout
Banquet Event Orders are easy to understand quickly even when you are working at different venues because they all typically follow the same format:
Top Of The BEO — The top of the BEO includes client contact information, the event date, location, start time, end time, etc.
Middle-Top Of The BEO — The middle-top of the BEO contains the food, beverage, decor and A/V order of the client, showing specifically what must be provided at the event
Middle-Bottom of BEO (Optional)— The middle-bottom of the BEO shows an invoice along with the pricing and quantity of each item ordered and the total. Sometimes, you will encounter a document that looks very similar to a BEO, however it doesn’t include pricing/invoice details. In that case they are more normally referred to as Kitchen Orders. In the majority of cases, BEO’s will have invoicing details like price, quantity, totals and subtotals at the middle to bottom of the BEO.
Botton Of The BEO — The bottom of the BEO includes the customer agreement/contract which they need to date and sign to “approve the BEO”. Before the BEO is approved it is generally referred to as a quote and/or proposal depending on which part of the world you are in. There is no difference generally between a Banquet Event Order and a Quote/Proposal except that a BEO must be signed by the client and by the Catering Sales Manager to be considered an official BEO.
The Lifecycle of A BEO
Normally a potential client will make contact with the Catering Sales Manager, requesting more information about pricing and availability for an event they are planning. The Catering Sales Manager will provide a quote, which is basically a rough Banquet Event Order which isn’t finalized yet. If the client is interested and their event date is available, the Catering Sales Manager may also place a hold for the client. At this point, the client has not officially booked, but the Catering Sales Manager has deemed them interested enough to block off their date from other bookings. Generally this means that a specific space and time slot is booked off for the potential client.
The potential client then reads over the proposal and requests any changes. Most changes are related to the room/location, start time, end time, event date, head count, food and beverage, A/V, room setup or pricing. After some back and forth negotiation and several quote revisions, the Catering Sales Manager and the potential client reach an agreement. This back and forth can take place over the phone or email. Often times, a potential client will also want to come in and take a tour of the venue in advance, which can also be part of the sales process. Once the client is happy with the quote, the Catering Sales Manager sends them a finalized version of it. The client signs the bottom of the quote and in that moment it becomes an official Banquet Event Order. Only when both parties have signed and finalized the quote does the quote officially become the BEO.
Once the client has booked, they normally place a deposit and/or put their credit card on file with the venue. Generally, they are required to do both to secure the booking. The Catering Sales Manager then goes about their job, responding to other client inquiries and planning upcoming events. Only when a client’s even is coming up in the next 20–60 days to BEO’s get printed and distributed. The purpose of printing and distributing the BEO is to put everyone involved in planning, setting up and executing the event on the same page — literally. The BEO gives everyone from the kitchen to the A/V technicians a quick overview of the event so that they can do their part in executing it flawlessly. If the Banquet Event Order is detailed, yet simple to read and understand, an experienced venue team should have no problem preparing for and executing the event.
BEOs Made Easy!
At Event Temple, we make creating quotes and turning them into Banquet Event Orders easy, using our cutting-edge venue management software. Once you have a chance to chat with the potential client, the next step is to send a quote. With Event Temple’s built-in menus and packages, you can easily create a branded and professional quote in seconds. You can make changes on the fly quickly and easily as well, updating your quote in a few simple clicks to save time on your back and forth with the client.
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