What is catering management software?

Catering management software is a specialized software platform designed to streamline and enhance catering businesses’ operations. It typically includes features for order and menu management, event planning and invoicing .

Is CRM a type of catering management software?

Strictly speaking, CRM and catering management are two distinct types of software. However, some CRMs have all the functionality catering companies need to organize and streamline their entire operations.

Can catering companies use event management software?

While many specialist catering and event management tools have overlapping capabilities, it’s best to prioritize software that fits your needs. The best user-friendly CRMs can support both events and catering companies. However, you may need to use third-party apps or integrations to manage online ordering, event booking and staffing.

Should I choose cloud-based or on-premise software?

Consider your business size, budget and IT infrastructure when making this decision. Cloud-based catering management tools (also described as “web-based”) offer flexibility, accessibility and scalability, making them suitable for businesses with varying requirements. On-premise (or “on-site”) software provides more control over data but may require higher initial investments and maintenance.

Which types of small businesses benefit from catering management systems?

Catering management software is beneficial for any kind of business involved in catering services, including: Corporate catering companies Venue management firms Event planners Restaurants Restaurant and catering suppliers Hotels

Catering management software

Catering management software helps catering and other hospitality businesses organize their sales, marketing and customer support efforts.

Collect and organize client data with web forms, workflow automations and plenty of integrations.

Pipedrive gives structure to your catering business, allowing you to increase productivity, deliver better customer experiences and grow profits.

Full access. No credit card required.

What to look for in catering management software

Here are some essential features your catering management software should provide:

Document tracking. See when clients interact with catering contracts, menu proposals and other important documents with smart document management.
Workflow automation. Simplify lead generation and catering management processes to reduce service delays with workflow automation.
Integrations. Combine workflows to build your ideal catering management solution with marketplace integrations.
Project management. Plan menus, manage event calendars and measure success with project management capabilities.
Email marketing. Find new contracts and keep existing clients engaged with email marketing software.

Pipedrive’s catering management software features

Customize your dashboard

Track the sales performance metrics most relevant to your catering operation with customizable dashboards

Forecast revenue

Monitor key metrics, improve resourcing and secure your food service company’s future with accurate revenue estimates

Stay productive on the move

Plan your day, access contact data and stay on top of bookings from anywhere with a CRM mobile app

Engage your audience via email

Delight event planners and other leads with engaging email marketing templates

Secure client data

Keep client data private and safe with permission settings, two-factor authentication and more

Import data from other tools

Gain an overview of order activity for different menu items to spot trends and streamline inventory management

Organize sales leads and never miss an opportunity

Maintaining a healthy sales pipeline means tracking many deals at once.

Good catering management software gives you complete visibility over your leads, including their buying cycle stage and how likely they are to convert.

Pipedrive allows you to set up real-time activity automations to ensure reps have the best shot at winning new contracts.

Learn more about Pipedrive’s lead management software.

Eliminate busywork with workflow automations

Repetitive administrative tasks slow catering services down and distract customer-facing teams from delivering thoughtful customer experiences.

Workflow automation eliminates mundane sales and marketing work like scheduling phone calls, qualifying leads and notifying colleagues of event status changes.

Create more time for high-priority tasks with Pipedrive’s automation features.

Find and retain clients with targeted email marketing

Building a loyal customer base means treating buyers as individuals, not just numbers.

A CRM tool with integrated email marketing lets you segment your audience. Reach out to leads and customers with tailored marketing campaign messages based on their location, buyer journey stage, previous interactions and more.

Find, convert and retain catering customers with content crafted with ease in Pipedrive’s email marketing software add-on.

Build the best catering software for your business

Working with a rigid management system that doesn’t fit your processes can cause delays, client frustration and canceled bookings.

Adding third-party apps and integrations to your customer relationship management (CRM) tool enables you to build a software solution that better caters to your needs.

Connect Pipedrive to email clients, event planners, payment processing tools and more to create your ideal management platform.

Learn more about Pipedrive’s CRM integrations.

Over 500+ integrations

Expand the capabilities of Pipedrive with hundreds of apps and integrations

See all apps and extensions

Supercharge your sales pipeline with the LeadBooster add-on

LeadBooster is a four-piece toolkit that makes it easy for catering companies to find, track and nurture new leads in Pipedrive.

Prospector: Discover high-quality outbound leads from a database of more than 400 million profiles.
Chatbot: Engage buyers around the clock and automatically route leads to sales reps.
Live Chat: Get notified when leads need attention and deliver great customer experiences at pivotal moments.
Web Forms: Capture and store new leads with ease using customizable web forms.

Learn more about the LeadBooster add-on

How Pipedrive helped The BlackTies increase revenue by 120%

Sydney-based magicians The BlackTies provide top-notch events but struggled to keep up with lead generation and customer management.

Pipedrive’s intuitive pipeline view, custom fields and automations helped the performers capture leads, turn them into customers and manage event details. As a result, revenue increased 120% in one year.

“Having it all in a pipeline and having each deal move from left to right makes everything extremely clear. The pipelines and deal stages give us clarity in terms of how our potential bookings are going, as well as how our confirmed bookings are going.”

Read the case study