Setting up a corporate catering account: invoices and standing orders

A corporate catering account sounds like something with a login and a portal. With most caterers it is really a page of details, and the office that keeps that page ready can order lunch for forty people in two minutes. Here is what goes on that page, why each line is there, and how to set one up with any caterer, including how it works with us, where every order is placed and paid in our online store.

The short answer: a corporate catering account is a standing file with your caterer that holds three things: who to talk to (an orderer, a receiver and an accounting contact), what to deliver (a default headcount, filling split, sides and dietary notes) and how to bill it (one invoice per delivery or per month, with your PO or cost-center number on it). Set it up once and every later order is just a date and a number.

Offices in Richardson, Plano, Frisco and the rest of north Dallas order from us month after month, and the ones that order smoothly all keep the same few details in one place. With Maggie’s, that file lives on your side: there is no account to open, every order goes through our online store, and what you keep is the default order, the delivery details and the people to call.

What a corporate catering account actually holds

Every caterer keeps some version of this, whether they call it an account, a client profile, or “the folder.” The point is that nobody should have to rediscover the suite number or the gluten-free count every time. Here is what belongs in that file, whoever your caterer is.

If your caterer does not ask for most of these, offer them anyway. A good kitchen will be glad to have them written down instead of reconstructed from old emails.

The three contacts, and why one is never enough

The mistake I see most is one person holding the whole account in their head. Then that person is on vacation on Tamale Day and the driver is calling a phone in a drawer.

The orderer

This is the person who can commit the company: they place the order, change the headcount, and approve a bigger order for a training day. Usually the office manager or an executive assistant. Put their mobile in the file, because confirmations go by email but a last-minute question goes by text or a call.

The receiver

Whoever is physically at the building when the delivery arrives. Sometimes it is the same person as the orderer, but in a bigger office it should be the front desk or a second name. The driver calls from the lot; if that call goes to voicemail, lunch waits in the car. A second number fixes almost all of that.

The accounting contact

Someone in accounts payable, or the shared inbox they use. This is the person who will ask for a W-9, an itemized invoice, and a PO number on every line, and who will pay faster if all of that is already right the first time. I wrote a whole piece on what accounting wants from a caterer in office catering receipts, invoices and W-9s, and it is worth sending to whoever does yours.

Invoices: one per delivery, or one per month

The billing rhythm is the part of a corporate catering account that saves the most time, and it is the part offices forget to ask about. Most caterers can do either of these, and you should pick deliberately.

• One invoice per delivery is the default. Each lunch gets its own itemized invoice, sent the same day or the next. Simple, and easy to match to a single PO. Best for offices that order occasionally, or where each department pays for its own lunch.
• One invoice per month is what many caterers offer for recurring deliveries. Every delivery in the month appears as a line, with the date, the headcount and the total, and accounting pays once. Best for offices with a standing order, because it turns twelve small payments into one.

Whichever you choose, tell your caterer up front what has to appear on the invoice. Common asks are a PO number, a cost center, the delivery date, the number of people served, and a per-person figure for the expense report. With Maggie’s it works differently: each order is paid online in our store when you place it, so there is no invoice to wait for, and the order confirmation is the record you keep for accounting. The per-person figure is easy too: a dozen is $60 and a half dozen $30, so two tamales per person works out to $10 a head. The prices are on the menu page, and they are the same for a first order and a fiftieth.

Ask, too, how the caterer wants to be paid: card, ACH, a check. With us it is one way for everyone: online, in our store, at checkout, with the delivery fee shown before you pay.

Standing orders: what “same as usual” should mean

A standing order is the reason to have an account at all. It means a date on the calendar, a default order, and a rule for changes. Here is how to set one up, and how it works when you order from us.

1. Pick the rhythm. Monthly is the most common, often the first or last Friday. Some offices do every other week. A few do a weekly Tamale Day for a warehouse or clinic crew. My guide to starting a monthly office Tamale Day covers how to pick a day people will remember.
2. Set the default. Headcount, two tamales per person, the pork-and-chicken split, and whatever plates and drinks the office supplies. For a first month I suggest an even split; after two months you will know whether your office leans red or green, and you adjust.
3. Agree on the change rule. This is the important line. With our online store, the rule is yours: the office manager checks the real headcount a few days before, then places that month’s order with the date ahead. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day. Only confirmed orders will be delivered as requested.
4. Agree on how to skip. The office is closed, half the team is at a conference. Because every month is its own order, skipping is simply not placing one that month. No drama.

The office that inspired most of this ordered the same way for months, and one of their reviewers said that everyone there looks forward to tamale day. That is the goal: a lunch the team counts on, that costs the office manager about thirty seconds a month.

Dietary notes and the details that keep people safe

An account is the right place to write down the things that should never have to be repeated. Our tamales are made with gluten-free corn masa, and the chicken tamales use chicken breast in a tomatillo salsa, but the kitchen is not a certified gluten-free facility. For an office with a celiac colleague, that goes in your file so whoever orders knows it every time. Same for the person who cannot do spice: order them chicken in green salsa, the milder of our two tamales.

The FAQ page covers what is and is not in the food, and you can call or text (469) 888-8398 with a specific question. What I do not want is for the answer to live only in one email from months ago. Write it into the account, and it travels with every order.

Multiple locations and multiple approvers

Bigger companies sometimes need one account that feeds two or three offices. That works, with one adjustment: each location gets its own receiver and its own delivery notes, while the orderer and the accounting contact stay shared. The invoice can be one document with a section per site, or one per site, whichever matches how your cost centers work. I wrote about the logistics of the same-day version in catering the same lunch to several offices on the same day, and the account structure is the same whether the deliveries are on one day or spread across the month.

If a manager needs to approve spending above a certain size, put that on file too. With our store, the orderer can build the order, check the total at checkout with the approver, and then pay, so a training day for eighty does not stall in someone’s inbox.

Setting it up: what to send in one email

You do not need a meeting. With most caterers, send a single message with the nine lines from the table above, and ask two questions: what has to be on the invoice for accounting, and what the change rule is for headcount. With us there is no email to send: keep the lines in your own file, and from then on each month’s order in our online store is a date and a number. If you would rather start with a one-off lunch and grow into a standing order, the step-by-step guide to ordering for a company meeting is the place to start.

Ready to set up your office account?

If your office is in Allen, McKinney, Fairview, Frisco, The Colony, Plano, Murphy, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson or Far North Dallas, write your file with the lines above, then place your first order in our online store: chicken in green salsa or pork in red salsa, by the half dozen or dozen, delivery to your office on the date you pick, paid online. Repeat it each month with the real headcount. One file on your side, one checkout each month, tamales at the door on the day you picked. Order online, and if you have a question first, call or text (469) 888-8398.

Frequently asked questions

How do I set up a corporate catering account?

Email your caterer three contacts (who orders, who receives, who pays), a default order (headcount, fillings, sides, dietary notes) and your delivery details, then ask what must appear on the invoice and how headcount changes should be sent. With Maggie’s there is no account to open: keep those details in your own file and place each order in our online store, where you pick the date, choose delivery and pay online.

Can I get one monthly invoice for recurring office catering?

Many caterers offer one invoice per month that lists every delivery with its date, headcount and total, so accounting pays once; others invoice each delivery so each lunch matches a single purchase order. With Maggie’s, each order is paid online in our store when you place it, so there is no invoice to wait for; keep each order confirmation for accounting.

What is a catering standing order?

A standing order is a delivery that repeats on a set rhythm, most often monthly, with a default headcount and menu already on file. With many caterers you only get in touch to change the number or skip a month. With us, the office manager places each month’s order in our online store with the date ahead and the real headcount. Either way it saves the office manager from re-ordering from scratch and gives the team a lunch they can count on.

What does accounting need from a caterer?

Usually a W-9, an itemized invoice with the delivery date and the number of people served, and any purchase order or cost-center number your company uses. Some also want a per-person cost for expense reports. Ask for all of it on the first invoice, and have it noted in the account, so every later invoice arrives in the format that gets paid fastest.

Can one catering account cover several office locations?

Yes. Keep one ordering contact and one accounting contact, and give each site its own receiver, delivery notes and default headcount. The invoice can be one document with a section for each location, or one per site, depending on how your cost centers work. Deliveries can land on the same day or on different days in the month.

How do I change the headcount on a standing catering order?

With most caterers, text or email the new number before the agreed cutoff for that delivery, and it becomes the count for that day only; the default stays on file. With us, you simply order the real number in our online store for that date. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day, so place a big order early.