The final count changes, and everything downstream changes with it.
A catering job is a proposal, a deposit, a count that moves twice, and an invoice nobody sent. Muley works all four so the cooking stays the part you think about.
An operation with an events coordinator has somebody chasing the count and somebody costing the menu. You are prepping, driving, serving, and doing the coordinator's job in the gaps.
The proposal for next month gets written after the load-out, and the deposit for the event after that gets chased whenever you next open a laptop. Meanwhile the count for Saturday changed on Wednesday and nobody re-costed it.
Where the week actually goes
The final count moves and the order you already placed no longer matches the event you are cooking for.
Everyday admin →The deposit for the following month was never chased, and you are holding a date for somebody who has not committed.
Getting paid →The rentals go back, the invoice does not go out, and it will be a week before anyone remembers it.
Getting paid →What Muley carries here
The same six piles as every other trade, in the order they hurt in yours.
A proposal is a menu, a per-person number, staffing, and rentals assembled by hand, and a moving final count invalidates all four.
- Draft the proposal from the inquiry, menu, and headcount
- Follow up on the proposal that never came back
- Confirm the final count and the load-in time with the venue
The deposit holds the date and the balance comes due at load-out, which is the moment you are least able to invoice anyone.
- Chase the deposit before the date is held
- Invoice the balance once the event is served
- Nudge the corporate client paying on their own cycle
A final count that moved changes the purveyor order, and the order went in before the count moved.
- Reorder against the event calendar, not the shelf
- Track what your purveyors are charging month to month
- Log deliveries against the event they belong to
Food cost per event is the number that says whether a job was worth doing, and it is buried in a month of grocery runs.
- Categorize purveyor invoices and grocery runs
- Compute cost and profit per event
- Track mileage and delivery costs to the venue
A guest at an event you catered is your next client, and the only thing that reaches them is a review they never got asked to write.
- Send the review request after the event is served
- Reach the corporate client whose last event was last year
- Re-open holiday party booking before the calendar fills
is what the average small business is owed in unpaid invoices.
Intuit QuickBooks, 2025
- The menu and what you will cook
- Dietary and allergen decisions
- Which events you take on a given weekend
- The relationship with the couple or the client
Muley drafts and tees it up; you send it. The one exception is the review-request text after a completed job, which you switch on and set up yourself.
- An event inquiry form
- A proposal document template
- A purveyor account
- A shared event calendar
- A spreadsheet of counts
Muley works the pile these leave behind.
Questions
Can Muley draft a catering proposal?
Muley drafts the proposal from the inquiry, the menu, and the headcount, and hands it to you to price and adjust. Menu and per-person pricing are judgements about your kitchen and your margins, and Muley does not make them. What it removes is assembling the same document by hand every time.
What happens when a final count changes?
Muley works from the count you give it, so an updated count updates the invoice and the reorder that follow from it. The re-costing decision stays yours. A count that moves after the order is placed is the single most common reason a catering job loses money quietly.
Does Muley handle staffing and rentals?
Muley tracks rentals and purveyor orders against the event they belong to, and drafts the supplier emails for you to send. It does not schedule or hire staff. Who works an event, and whether you have enough hands for it, stays a decision you make.
How much does Muley cost?
Muley has three plans. Free is $0 per month. Owner is $29 per month, or $23 per month billed annually. Business is $59 per month, or $49 per month billed annually. Every plan unlocks the whole app with no cap on customers or jobs. Full detail: https://muley.ai/pricing
Does Muley send messages to my customers on its own?
One, and only one: the review-request text that goes out after a completed job, which you switch on and set up before it sends anything. Every other customer message — quotes, follow-ups, replies — is drafted by Muley for you to review and send yourself. The conversation with your customer stays yours, because the personal relationship is what wins local business.
More at the full FAQ.