What is a BEO (banquet event order)?
Updated September 15, 2026.
A BEO, or banquet event order, is the document a restaurant, hotel, club or venue writes for one private event, setting out everything the house has agreed to deliver — the date, the room, the times, the guest count, the menu, the drinks, the setup and the charges — so the kitchen, the floor and the office work from the same page.
Some houses call it an event order, an event sheet or a function sheet. The name matters less than the rule behind it: if it is not on the BEO, nobody has promised it, and if it is on the BEO, somebody is cooking it.
- A BEO is the instruction sheet for one event: what, when, where, for how many, and at what price.
- The contract binds the terms. The BEO describes the event. The invoice asks for money.
- It is drafted after booking and revised until the final count is in.
- The kitchen copy drops the prices and puts the count and the allergies at the top.
- The client signs to confirm it; the house issues it to every department.
- Two common sources of BEO trouble: two versions in circulation, and an allergy buried in the notes.
What does a BEO contain?
Everything someone will need on the day without asking the person who booked it. A full banquet event order runs to these sections, top to bottom:
| Section | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Header | Event name, host and day-of contact, date, the manager who booked it |
| Room and times | Room, access, guest arrival, each service time, room clear |
| Guest count | Expected count, guaranteed count and its deadline |
| Menu | Every course and dish, service style, timing of each course |
| Beverage | Bar or wine package, wines by course, how drinks are charged |
| Dietary needs | Each allergy and restriction, with a count and a seat or name |
| Setup | Table layout, linen, place cards, audio-visual, décor |
| Staffing | Captain, servers, bartenders, sommelier |
| Outside vendors | Florist, music, rentals, with arrival and load-in times |
| Charges | Price per guest, minimum, service charge, tax, deposit, balance |
| Signatures | The client's and the house's, with dates |
Two counts belong on every BEO, labelled. The expected count is the number the host hopes for; the guaranteed count is the number they commit to pay for. The kitchen cooks to the guarantee once it is given, and a BEO that shows one number without saying which it is will be read both ways.
What is the difference between a BEO, a contract and an invoice?
Three documents, three jobs. They share a date and a guest count, and that is where the confusion starts.
| Document | What it does | When | Who signs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract | Binds the terms: date, room, minimum, deposit, guarantee deadline, cancellation | At booking | The client and the house |
| BEO | Describes the event in working detail, for the people who deliver it | After booking; revised until the final count | The client confirms it; the house issues it |
| Invoice | Asks for money: a deposit, a payment on the schedule, the final bill | Deposits before; the final bill on the night or after | Nobody signs it; it gets paid |
The contract is the promise between two parties. The BEO is the house’s instruction to itself about how to keep that promise. The invoice is the bill. Many event contracts say the signed BEO forms part of the agreement, which is why a client’s signature on the BEO matters: it is the record of what was ordered if the evening is ever disputed.
Why does the kitchen get a different copy of the BEO?
Because the kitchen copy is read at speed, on the pass, by people holding pans. It carries what the line cooks to and nothing it does not. Many houses print at least two versions of the same order.
| Copy | Keeps | Drops |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen | The count to cook to, the menu by course, fire times, allergies at the top | Every price, the deposit, the balance, the client's billing details |
| Front of house | Timeline, setup, wines by course, staffing, allergy seats, the day-of contact | Billing detail the floor does not need |
| Office and client | Everything, charges included | Internal notes, on the client’s copy |
No prices on the kitchen copy
The line has no use for the price per guest, the deposit or the balance, and the kitchen copy is often taped where anyone walking through can read it. Take the money off. Never write a card number on any copy of a BEO.
Allergies flagged, not buried
An allergy belongs at the top of the kitchen copy, in its own block: what it is, how many guests, and which seat or name, so the plate goes to the right person. A shellfish allergy written in the notes at the foot of page two is an allergy the kitchen will find at the table. The front-of-house copy carries the same seats, because the server delivering the plate is the last check.
Who signs a BEO, and when?
The client signs to confirm the menu, the count and the times. The house issues the BEO, usually under the name of the manager who booked it, and many houses have the chef read and initial the menu before it reaches the client. The order of events for a typical private event:
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| At booking | The contract is signed and the deposit taken |
| Weeks out | The menu is chosen; the chef reads it; the BEO is drafted |
| One to two weeks out | The client reviews and signs the BEO |
| Guarantee deadline | The client gives the final count; the BEO is revised and dated |
| After the deadline | The final BEO goes to every department; old copies come down |
| The day | The kitchen copy on the pass; the front-of-house copy with the captain |
| After | The final bill, on the guarantee or the actual count, whichever is greater |
The guarantee deadline is set by the contract, and many houses put it two or three days before the event. After it, a smaller party usually still pays for the guarantee, a larger one needs the house’s agreement, and every change goes out as a revised BEO with the date of the revision on it. On a contracted event, the host’s e-signature usually sits on the contract; for how a private page can carry that signature without a login, see the host’s private page.
What are the most common BEO mistakes?
- Two versions in circulation. The kitchen cooks from Tuesday’s BEO while the floor sets from Thursday’s. Date every revision and pull the old copies.
- An allergy in the notes. Dietary needs belong in their own block at the top of the kitchen copy, with seats or names.
- Prices on the kitchen copy. Or worse, a card number in the margin of a sheet taped to the walk-in.
- No times. “Dinner at seven” is not a timeline. Give each course, the toast and the florist’s delivery a time.
- An unlabelled count. The floor sets for 26 expected, the kitchen cooks for 24 guaranteed, and nobody knows which is right.
- A menu sold before the kitchen saw it. A dish that works for eight may not work for eighty on a night the line is full.
- Vague drinks. “Wine with dinner” needs the wines, the pour and how it is charged: per person, per bottle or on consumption.
- Changes by phone. A host adds four guests on a call, and nobody sends a revised BEO for them to sign.
A BEO example: a 24-guest wine dinner
A short banquet event order for a private wine dinner. The house, the event and every number are invented.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| House and room | Wrenfield House (invented), the Cellar Room |
| Event | Autumn wine dinner, private host |
| Date | Thursday, October 22, 2026 |
| Times | Host access 6:00 pm · guests 6:30 · seated 7:00 · dessert 9:15 · room clear 10:30 |
| Count | Expected 26 · guaranteed 24, given Tuesday, October 20 |
| Service | Plated, four courses, wines poured by course |
| Reception | Gougères; oysters, mignonette · NV sparkling |
| First | Roasted beets, crème fraîche, rye · Sancerre |
| Second | Halibut, brown butter, leeks · Chablis |
| Main | Duck breast, cherries, celery root · red Burgundy |
| Dessert | Pear tart, crème anglaise · Sauternes |
| Dietary | Seat 7: shellfish allergy, no oysters · Seat 15: vegetarian, squash for the duck |
| Setup | One long table of 24, white linen, unscented candles, place cards |
| Staff | Captain, three servers, sommelier |
| Vendor | Florist, low arrangements, delivered 4:00 pm |
| Program | Host's toast at 8:00, before the main |
| Charges | Dinner $145 and wine pairing $85 per guest: 24 × $230 = $5,520, plus 22% service and tax |
| Payment | Deposit $1,500 received · balance on the night |
| Signed | Host, with date · events manager, with date |
The kitchen copy of the same order keeps the room, the times, the guaranteed 24 at the top, the menu by course and the two dietary lines by seat. It drops the charges and payment rows entirely. The front-of-house copy keeps the wines, the setup, the toast and the florist, and the same two seats.
How Banquette handles the BEO
In Banquette, each party has a printable event order built from its live record: the menu, the count to cook to, outside vendors with their load-in times, the notes, the money from the standing agreement, and who to call. It carries a running header and footer on every page, and anything that could not be read prints as unknown rather than as a guess. The printed kitchen sheet for a day lists each party’s menu, the count to cook to and every guest dietary note, with ruled lines for the kitchen’s own hand.
A party’s menu becomes sellable only when two different chefs have signed it, and changing any course voids their signatures; see the two-chef menu signatures. A house can attach a photo or scan of its own paper BEO beside the generated order, though Banquette does not read it. What it does not do yet: number or version the BEO, or ask the host to approve one. The whole of it is on BEOs and kitchen sheets in Banquette.
Questions about BEOs
What does BEO stand for?
Banquet event order. It is the document a restaurant, hotel, club or venue writes for one private event, setting out what the house has agreed to deliver: the date, the room, the times, the guest count, the menu, the drinks, the setup and the charges.
Is a BEO the same as a contract?
No. The contract binds the terms of the booking, such as the minimum, the deposit and the cancellation policy. The BEO describes the event itself in working detail. Many contracts say the signed BEO forms part of the agreement, so a client’s signature on it matters.
Who writes the BEO?
Usually the sales or events manager who booked the event. Many houses have the chef read the menu before the BEO goes to the client, so the kitchen is never committed to something it cannot cook for that count on that night.
When is a BEO final?
At the guarantee deadline, when the client gives the final count. Many houses set it two or three days before the event. Any change after that goes out as a revised, dated BEO, and the old copies come down.
Should prices appear on the kitchen copy of a BEO?
No. The kitchen needs the count, the menu, the times and the allergies. Prices, deposits and billing details add nothing on the line, and the kitchen copy is often posted where anyone can read it.
What is a guaranteed count?
The number of guests the client commits to pay for, given by the deadline in the contract. The house cooks and sets for that number, and usually bills the guarantee or the actual attendance, whichever is greater.
What is the difference between a BEO and a kitchen sheet?
The BEO covers one event, for everyone who works it. A kitchen sheet is the kitchen’s working page, often covering every event on a day: the counts, the dishes, the fire times and the allergies, taken from the BEOs.
Does Banquette produce BEOs?
Yes. Each party has a printable event order built from its live record, and the printed kitchen sheet lists each party’s menu, the count to cook to and every guest dietary note. Banquette does not yet number or version its BEOs, or ask the host to approve one.
The event order and the print-first kitchen sheet, built from the live book.
A party’s menu becomes sellable only when two different chefs have signed it.
Inquiries, event contracts, BEOs and the kitchen sheet, on one book.
Private events and banquets across the rooms of one property.