Banquet event order template: a free function sheet in Word
By Bruno Melani, founder of Gaplessly · · 4 min read
The short answer
A banquet event order, or BEO, is the document a venue writes for each function so the kitchen, bar and floor all work from the same details: date, room, guest numbers, timings, set-up, menu, dietaries, drinks, staffing and charges.
Many Australian venues call it a function sheet.
Gaplessly's free function sheet template is a two-page Word file you can type into and print.
One function. One sheet for every section.
Free Word template · two A4 pages
Type over the shaded parts, delete what the function does not need, and print a copy each for the kitchen, the bar and the floor. Free, no sign-up.
What goes on a banquet event order
The template has a shaded blank for each of these, in the order the team reads them on the day:
- The function, the date, the room, a function number and a version, so nobody works from an old copy.
- The client, and the person in charge on the day if that is someone else.
- Guest numbers: expected, guaranteed, the date final numbers are due and how many seats to set.
- A timeline from bump in to bump out, with a name against each step.
- Room layout, tables and linen, equipment, and what the client is bringing.
- Food by course with quantities and the time each one goes out, then dietary requirements and allergies by guest or table.
- Drinks: the package, bar tab or cash bar, any limit, the closing time and who can extend it.
- Staffing with start and finish times, the charges and payments, your notes, and a line for both sides to sign.
Expected, guaranteed and set numbers
Three numbers on a function sheet look alike and do different jobs. The expected number is what the client thinks will come. The guaranteed number is what they agree to pay for, which you agree with them by a set date. The set number is how many places the floor team lays, and many venues set a few above the guarantee for late additions.
Write the rule for changing them in your function terms, and put the due date on the sheet so the kitchen can see when its order is final.
How to use a function sheet
- Start it when the client confirms, even if half of it is still blank.
- Change the version number and date on every update, and collect the old copies.
- Go through it at the pre-service briefing, section by section, with the kitchen and bar in the room.
- Keep dietaries and allergies on the sheet the kitchen actually cooks from, not only in an email to the manager.
- File the signed copy with the invoice, so any later question about what was agreed has an answer.
Getting from enquiry to function sheet
Gaplessly does not write the function sheet for you, so this file is still the document your team works from. What it handles is the part before it. When a party is bigger than your online limit, the booking form takes an enquiry instead of turning them away. You hold the tables in the same thread so nobody else can book them, then confirm without retyping the guest's details. Enquiries are included from Venue Growth up, with no commission and no fee per cover.