WhatsApp ordering for catering: from first enquiry to a booked event

Most catering orders start with a question, not a cart: "Can you do 80 people on the 14th, half of them vegetarian?" WhatsApp is where that question already arrives. Menuthere lets your WhatsApp number collect the brief for you. On the Pro plan (US$39 a month) a bot asks for the event date, guest count, venue and dietary needs inside WhatsApp, sends your catering menu as a PDF and saves the answers to your dashboard. Fixed party packages can be sold as pre-orders that need the notice you set (Lite and above). You pay 0% commission on every booking.

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Why catering doesn't fit a normal food cart

A takeaway order is fixed when the customer presses pay. A catering order is not. The guest count moves, the venue's kitchen rules matter, and the menu is often agreed over several messages. That's why a plain checkout loses catering business, and why a chat alone loses the details. We wrote about this in catering and party orders belong in a conversation, not a cart.

The set-up below uses both: WhatsApp for the conversation, and your Menuthere menu for anything with a fixed price.

A catering enquiry flow you can build

This is an example of a flow built with Menuthere's flow steps. Every step named here exists in the flow editor; the questions are yours to change.

Answers from the questionnaire appear under Responses in your dashboard, so the brief is in one place when you write the quote. The free catering quote maker turns it into a quote, and the catering invoice template covers the bill.

A keyword match is not case-sensitive, so "Catering" and "catering" both start the flow. If a message could start two flows, the more specific trigger wins: an exact keyword beats a "contains" match, which beats a first-message flow.

Hand fixed packages to your menu, not the chat

Not every catering job needs a quote. Platters, office lunch boxes and breakfast trays have set prices, and customers book them faster without waiting for a reply. Put them on your Menuthere menu with sizes for headcount and a prebooking notice (Lite and above), then let your WhatsApp flow send the Link button to that menu for small jobs. Keep the questionnaire for the events you have to quote.

How to build trays by headcount, delivery windows and minimum orders is covered in online ordering for catering. On the WhatsApp side, two things matter: a pre-booked order's date and time print in bold on the kitchen ticket, and an order update flow can tell the customer when their order is accepted and when it's on its way.

Following up over weeks, inside WhatsApp's rules

A wedding is booked months ahead. WhatsApp only lets a business send a normal message within 24 hours of the customer's last message. After that, only a template approved by Meta gets through.

• Write two or three templates once: a booking confirmation, a "final numbers please" reminder, and a "we're on our way" message. Meta usually reviews a template within about 24 hours.
• Pick the right category. Updates about an existing booking are utility. Promotions, such as your holiday menu, are marketing, the costliest category.
• Reply from the dashboard. The WhatsApp inbox shows every chat on your number with a countdown such as "5h left in 24h window", and a Template button once it has closed.
• Meta charges per message, by category and the customer's country, on your own WhatsApp Business account. Menuthere adds nothing.

Taking payment for catering

From the Lite plan you can take payment online through your own Stripe account (outside India), and the money goes straight to you. Cash and pay-later work on every plan. Menuthere has no deposit or part-payment option at checkout: an online order is paid in full. For a deposit on a large event, invoice it separately or agree it with the customer. Our guide on collecting a deposit for a custom order on WhatsApp covers the options.

Catering checklist

• One WhatsApp number for catering enquiries, connected on Pro
• An enquiry flow with a questionnaire and your menu PDF, tested with the Test button before you switch it on
• Fixed packages on your menu with prebooking notice (Lite and above), linked from the flow
• A booking-confirmation template and a reminder template approved by Meta
• Your quote and invoice templates ready (free tools above)
• Your catering link in your email signature, Google listing and Instagram bio

Plans for caterers

Lite and Pro have a 7-day free trial. A card is needed to start it, and nothing is charged until it ends. Comparing dedicated catering software? See our pages on Caterlord and CaterSoft, or the full catering ordering system.