On This Page
- How to Use This Guide
- What a Catering Company Is Actually Paying Right Now
- Collecting Event Details Up Front
- Ranking for Local Catering Searches
- Where AUANI Fits for a Catering Company Specifically
- Turning a One-Off Corporate Client Into a Repeat Client
- Every Guide in This Series
- Frequently Asked Questions
Catering Company is one of AUANI's real vendor categories, and it runs on a different order pattern than most food and drink vendors: fewer, larger orders, each tied to a specific event date, headcount, and delivery or setup arrangement rather than a walk-in or a same-day pickup. Marketplace commissions still cut into that order the same way they do anywhere else, and being findable for a local catering search matters just as much. This guide is the starting point for both.
How to Use This Guide
- Check the fee comparison for whatever a catering company is using today, or the master table if more than one applies.
- See where AUANI actually fits for a catering company specifically, tier by tier.
- Apply for the Free tier, at $0 a month, to see real numbers before committing to anything.
What a Catering Company Is Actually Paying Right Now
Third-party marketplace commissions run 15 to 30% depending on the platform and tier, and on an average catering order that can run into hundreds or thousands of dollars, that percentage translates into a much larger absolute dollar amount than it would on a single meal.
- AUANI vs. Owner.com: what "commission-free" really includes once the guest-side fee is counted.
- AUANI vs. Menufy: a flat managed fee with no free tier, compared honestly against one that has one.
- AUANI vs. DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub: the real commission math behind each marketplace, tier by tier.
- AUANI vs. ezCater: the 15% catering-specific marketplace commission, compared directly.
The master fee comparison table puts all eight platforms plus AUANI side by side in one table.
Collecting Event Details Up Front
A catering order needs a headcount, an event date, and delivery or setup requirements that a same-day order form was never built to ask for. Collecting all of it during checkout, rather than after, avoids the back-and-forth that otherwise happens once the order already came in incomplete.
The full breakdown is in How a Caterer Collects Event Details Through a Widget.
Ranking for Local Catering Searches
A "catering near me" search rewards the same signals as any other local search: review volume, profile completeness, and consistency, none of which require the largest catering operation in the area to win.
The full breakdown is in Ranking for "Catering Near Me" Searches That Matter.
Where AUANI Fits for a Catering Company Specifically
There is no setup fee on any tier, and setup can be handled either way: a catering company can configure its own menu and dashboard directly, or have AUANI's team build and configure the account instead.
| Plan | Price | Marketplace Fee | What's Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo, no setup fee | 10% | Pickup, dine-in, real courier delivery, loyalty, POS sync, exportable guest list, verified-order-only reviews |
| Monthly | $300/mo | 5% (3% at 2+ locations) | Everything in Free, plus a hosted website, a 0% direct ordering widget, the full Google visibility suite, and menu analytics |
| +Locations | +$100/mo per added location | 3% across the whole account at 2+ locations | Same feature set as Monthly, extended per location |
Turning a One-Off Corporate Client Into a Repeat Client
A catering company's most valuable client isn't the biggest single order, it's the office manager who books the same monthly team lunch, quarter after quarter, without a new sales conversation each time. That kind of repeat relationship depends on the caterer actually having a way to reach that client again, which is exactly what an exportable guest list, built from real completed orders rather than a follower count, is for.
Once a repeat corporate client is booking directly rather than through a marketplace listing, moving that relationship onto AUANI's Monthly tier and its 0% direct ordering widget means the caterer keeps the full order value on every future booking from that client, with no commission recurring on a relationship that's already been earned.
Every Guide in This Series
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Catering Company the same as the catering-available toggle other vendors can set?
No, Catering Company is its own dedicated vendor category, separate from `fo_catering_available`, which lets a non-catering vendor, like a bakery or restaurant, flag that it also takes catering inquiries.
Can a catering company still offer smaller, same-day orders?
Yes, the same account can run both event-based catering orders and smaller same-day orders side by side.
How does a caterer compete with larger operations on Google?
Through the same ranking signals available to any local business: review volume, profile completeness, and consistency, all independent of company size.
What is the cheapest way to start on AUANI?
The Free tier, at $0 a month with a 10% marketplace fee and no setup fee, covers pickup, dine-in, real courier delivery, loyalty, and POS sync.
When does the Monthly tier start making sense?
Once online sales grow enough that Monthly's lower 5% marketplace fee plus its $300 flat cost beats Free's 10% fee on the same volume, which happens at $6,000 in monthly marketplace sales specifically.
Does the exportable guest list track repeat corporate clients specifically?
It tracks every guest tied to a completed order, corporate or individual, so a caterer can identify which contacts are repeat bookers and reach them directly for future events.
Start with the event intake breakdown in How a Caterer Collects Event Details Through a Widget, the local search breakdown in Ranking for "Catering Near Me" Searches That Matter, the deposit policy breakdown in Collecting a Deposit Before a Catering Event Happens, the ezCater-specific fee breakdown in AUANI vs. ezCater, or see every platform fee at once in the master fee comparison table.