Jacked UP BBQ
Babbling Farker
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2008
- Location
- Forker River, NJ
Aren't there any friends of yours in the area that have catering insurance and a company and you can do it under their name??? Just to cover your arse.
thanks for the ideas.. wow, sure am glad I found this place..
I think 8 hours is still to short... You've got loading, transporting, cooking, and then cleaning...
I'm assuming that you would need to at least partially cook the bigger cuts... That too adds time (and costs)
I agree with Ray to a point (I'm thinking two days to your three). I do agree that you don't want them to get the meat... You could end up with chuck roasts & pork loins when you ask for Brisket & Butts...
BD, hit the nail on the head.... Figure out what you should charge and then work backwords based on friendship....
I think 8 hours is still to short... You've got loading, transporting, cooking, and then cleaning...
I understand that, but based on the conversation at the time he was using a flat rate...I suggested 8 hrs as the minimum, I expect he would charge for as many hours as he works
....
A number of my customers want a flat rate... How much, I'll write you a check kind of thing... There are others that want to go hourly plus expenses... For them I do more of a Time and Materials not to exceed thing...
ok.. step one, I have my insurance guy looking into personal chef insurance. First quote I got was $590 for 1,000,000 liability and he is writing up a policy. thanks strikeagle!
Now I check Boh to get my trailer certified. Going down next week during spring break. does anyone know if a portable handwash sink would fit the bill for the forth sinlk? or does it have to be mounted? I already have the SS 3 bay, and thats all Im missing.
My goal is it give my prospects and clients the best service and food available at the best dollar value possible. For me, accurate estimates and billing clarity are, in fact, part of providing the highest quality service available.
IME most clients want flat rate, or at least a firm estimate of what an event is going to cost. "Time and materials" billing does not give that sort of firm estimate.
I use a "fee plus" formula for billing. I give the client a firm cost for my services, and a "not to exceed" estimate on the cost of food. With 'Fee Plus' the client knows exactly how much they are paying for my services. They retain the freedom to choose the quality of menu that fits their tastes and needs. And, they can choose to upgrade the menu quality without worry about me skimping on quality in other areas to fit a preset budget. Many clients ASSUME that a 'catering service' will use a certain quality of ingredient. (Most people falsely seem to presume that a catered affair will use average quality ingredients, but not the best available.) Yet, that same client may want to ensure use a certain grade of food for their event. "Fee Plus" lets that happen without any concern that there's some sort of overpayment going on since the client gets the actual grocery bill, so they KNOW how much that Prime Beef REALLY cost.
Some Personal Chefs use an all inclusive formula for their pricing, but I don't like that method. Here's why I don't. With fixed pricing, I'm stuck with the original estimate. If there is a market shift in actual food costs, I have to find a way to adjust my costs elsewhere to keep within budget, or I end up eating the additional cost. (Often, I book events MONTHS in advance, so fluctuating ingredient prices can bite me in this way.) IMHO this is not fair to the client or to me. I would much rather my client be assured of the quality they are getting, without concern that I'm cutting corners on food quality just to stay in budget.
One last note on the two billing systems. Fee Plus service is just that; a SERVICE. And, is treated as such by the tax laws in most states. As a service company, in CA, I do NOT have to charge sales tax on the price of my service to the client. They ONLY pay tax on the grocery items that would normally be taxable in my state. The same can NOT be said for the all inclusive billing option. Since there is no way to separate out the service cost vs. the cost of food and materials, legally tax must be charged for the ENTIRE FEE billed in an all inclusive system. In my county of CA, that would cost the client an additional $200-$300 for the event we've been discussing in this thread, and no one gets any benefit from those additional dollars paid.
If I cook the food on my own property and deliver it to another site Im covered under my home owners policy.
But as far as this job goes, what I did NOT realize is that there is another graduation party going on that weekend.
Its my daughters. Shes graduating too. Oops. :redface:
It just came up while we were discussing the job, so she hasn't decided what or when her party is, but that may be a show stopper.
Thanks for that little bit there Bull. That is how I have been doing my under the table gigs, cooking at home and delivering. I need to see if my Homeowner's policy covers me on that...