One price was entered wrong, and every recipe with fries or mash was costed 16 times too high. Tallyfork reads your purchases line by line, costs every recipe from them, and asks when a price looks wrong.
Opening to a few caterers first. No fee per user. Import the spreadsheet you use today.
| Item | Qty | Price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken thighs, 10 lb cs | 6 | 2.39/lb | 143.40 |
| Potatoes, russet, 50 lb | 2 | 13.44/lb | 84.00 |
| Feta, 5 lb tub | 2 | 4.10/lb | 41.00 |
| Butter, unsalted, 36 lb cs | 1 | 3.05/lb | 109.80 |
| Heavy cream, half gallon | 6 | 7.45 ea | 44.70 |
| Broccolini, 18 lb cs | 2 | 3.20/lb | 115.20 |
Check this price. $84.00 for two 50 lb sacks is $0.84 a pound, not $13.44. Tallyfork will use $0.84.
Tallyfork started as the back office of a working restaurant and catering group. When we put purchases, recipes and costs in one place, the spreadsheet’s mistakes showed up at once.
Numbers from our own books in August 2026, before and after the cleanup. Your kitchen will have different ones.
Three steps, in the order your week already runs. Each step uses the numbers from the one before, so you type nothing twice.
Enter what you paid, the way you bought it: $36 for a 50 lb sack. Add the yield after trim. Tallyfork converts lb, qt, cups and each, through sub-recipes, to a cost per portion.
| Whole milk | 1 gal | $4.29 |
| Butter, unsalted | 8 oz | $2.44 |
| All-purpose flour | 1 cup | $0.21 |
| Nutmeg | ½ tsp | $0.06 |
| Per quart | $1.75 |
Build the menu from your recipes and set a target food cost. Move the guest count or the price and see the food cost before the quote goes out.
Try it. The shopping list in step 3 follows the guest count.
| Family-style menu | Cost / cover |
|---|---|
| Herb-roasted chicken thighs | $4.12 |
| Lemon orzo with feta | $1.36 |
| Charred broccolini | $1.18 |
| Focaccia and whipped butter | $0.84 |
| Passed appetizers, 3 pieces | $2.95 |
A confirmed event becomes one shopping list per supplier, in the units you buy, and a prep list per station. After the event, compare what you quoted with what you spent.
| Need | Order |
|---|---|
| Chicken thighs 54.7 lb | 6 cases × 10 lb |
| Broccolini 30.9 lb | 2 cases × 18 lb |
| Feta 8.8 lb | 2 tubs × 5 lb |
When a price or a conversion is missing, Tallyfork says so, shows the path through your sub-recipes, and links to the fix. It never shows $0 and lets you quote on it.
Buy by the case, cook by the cup. Give an ingredient its density or the weight of one piece, and Tallyfork converts across weight, volume and count.
| 2 cups honey | 1.5 lb | $6.87 |
| 3 each lemons | 10.5 oz | $0.84 |
Every price is kept with its supplier and date. When butter goes up, you see the recipes and menus it moved before you quote the next event.
| Butter, unsalted, Sysco | +18% |
| Béchamel, per qt | $1.66 to $1.75 |
| Lasagna menu, per guest | 31.2% to 33.1% |
Import ingredients and recipes from CSV or Excel, and export them whenever you want. Each account’s data is kept apart from every other account.
| recipes-2026.xlsx | 212 rows |
| Imported | 184 ingredients, 61 recipes |
| Needs a price | 9 ingredients |
A caterer also has to quote the event, buy for it and check the margin afterward.
| Spreadsheet | Food-cost calculators | Tallyfork | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per portion with sub-recipes and yield | If the formulas hold | Yes | Yes |
| Converts lb, cups and each with density | By hand | Yes | Yes, and says what is missing |
| Quotes per event and per guest | A separate file | No | Yes, with online acceptance |
| Prep lists and shopping lists from confirmed events | No | No | Yes |
| Quoted vs. actual margin per event | No | No | Yes |
A flat monthly price for your whole team. No contract, cancel any time. Every plan starts with 14 days free and no card.
| Feature | Starter$29a month | Pro$79a month | Team$149a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingredients, suppliers and price history | Included | Included | Included |
| Recipes, sub-recipes and scaling | Included | Included | Included |
| Spreadsheet import | Included | Included | Included |
| Events and quotes with online acceptance | No | Included | Included |
| Prep lists and shopping lists | No | Included | Included |
| Quoted vs. actual margin per event | No | Included | Included |
| Several locations and API access | No | No | Included |
| Users | As many as you need | As many as you need | As many as you need |
| Join the waitlist | Join the waitlist | Join the waitlist |
Pro is the plan for caterers. Starter fits a kitchen that only wants its recipe costs right.
Most of the time goes into prices, not the software. Import your ingredient list, enter what you paid for the items on one menu, and you will see its cost per guest the same day. Tallyfork lists what is still missing.
No. Enter purchases the way you buy them (lb, cases, gallons, each) and recipes the way you cook them (cups, tbsp, quarts). Tallyfork converts, and asks for a density or a piece weight only when it needs one.
Yes. Sales can read costs and build quotes. Only owners, managers and kitchen roles can change ingredients, suppliers and recipes.
Enter the new price with its supplier. Tallyfork keeps the history, updates every recipe and menu that uses it, and shows which ones moved past your target food cost.
No. You pay monthly and can cancel from your account at any time. You can export your ingredients and recipes whenever you want.
No. Every plan includes as many users as your team needs.
Import your recipe spreadsheet, fix what is missing, and see your cost per guest before the next quote goes out.
We're opening to a few caterers first. Already have an account? Log in