4.98 Google rating

For restaurants, caterers, food trucks and event venues

CRM for Restaurants and Catering

BaseCloud keeps every catering inquiry and private event on one record, from the first call to the final balance. Quotes go out from your menu price list and deposits are paid online. A week before each event, the customer is asked for the final guest count.

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Restaurant server taking a group booking, with catering inquiries and events tracked in BaseCloud CRM

Catering inquiries answered during service

Example workflowA 120-guest wedding, from inquiry to final balance

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Every catering inquiry is a quote race. The caterer who replies first gets the booking.

Inquiries for weddings and office lunches arrive by phone, email, WhatsApp and the website form, usually in the middle of service. The quote waits until the kitchen closes and the guest count lives in a text thread. The deposit reminder depends on someone remembering it. After the event, nobody asks the customer to book again.

What BaseCloud CRM solves

What a restaurant and catering CRM should fix

  • Every catering and event inquiry logged with the date and guest count
  • Quotes built from your menu price list and sent the same day
  • Deposits paid online, with the balance tracked until the event
  • Dietary needs and final guest counts saved on the customer record
  • Confirmations and reminders sent before every event on schedule
  • Corporate and repeat customers invited back to book again
Jonathan Gaerlan of Southern Gentlemen Catering, video testimonial

A caterer on BaseCloud

“It has changed my life. I have so much more time.”

Jonathan GaerlanOwner, Southern Gentlemen Catering
Watch Southern Gentlemen Catering's story

How it works

From the first inquiry to the next booking

Four jobs a restaurant or catering team handles every week, set up once in BaseCloud.

Every inquiry answered and logged

Website forms, Facebook lead ads, calls, emails and WhatsApp messages land on one customer record with the event details in fields. The right person on your team gets the inquiry straight away.

  • Customer Type, Next Event Date, Usual Guest Count and Dietary Needs captured on the form
  • Missed calls get an instant text and a call-back task
  • Inquiries assigned by event type or by round robin
Automation workflow builder in BaseCloud CRM with run counts and connected steps

AI receptionist

An AI receptionist that takes event inquiries during the dinner rush

When the team is busy in service or the kitchen has closed for the night, the AI receptionist answers. It takes catering and private event inquiries with the date and guest count, then books a tasting or a call-back on your team's calendars while the caller is on the line. The caller gets a text with the booking.

  • Answers after hours, or whenever nobody in the ring group picks up
  • Greets known customers by first name and remembers their past calls, emails and texts
  • Confirms who is calling before it shares anything about a booking
  • Takes messages as call-back notes in the right person's Inbox
  • Puts callers through to your manager or events team, checking first that they are free

See the AI receptionist

AI Voice step in a call flow set to book appointments on a team member's calendar, with 60-minute appointments and a booking text

What you get

Built for catering sales and events

The BaseCloud features a restaurant or catering business uses every day, in hospitality terms.

  • Catering quotes and deposit invoices

    Quote from a price book of per-guest and per-hour items. Deposits are paid online by card, and part payments are recorded until the balance is paid.

  • An Events table on every customer

    Event date, event type, guests, venue and total for every booking, with dietary needs and the usual guest count on the customer.

  • Calls answered during service

    The AI receptionist answers when the team is busy or closed and books a tasting or call-back on your calendars.

  • WhatsApp with hosts and planners

    Send quotes and booking confirmations on WhatsApp Business and keep every reply on the customer's record.

  • Reminders timed to each event

    Date Triggers send the final guest count request a week out and a booking reminder the day before, from the event date on the customer.

  • An events dashboard from day one

    See events in the next 30 days, open quotes, unpaid invoices and revenue by month on the Restaurants & Catering dashboard.

Ready from your first sign-in

Set up for your industry in one click

The first time you sign in, you pick your industry and BaseCloud sets up your account in its words: your pipeline, client fields, Clients list columns, a table for what you track on each client, email and text templates signed with your business name, and an industry dashboard first in Reports.

Your Restaurants & Catering setup

Your pipeline

  1. New Inquiry
  2. Quote Sent
  3. Booked
  4. Repeat Customer
  5. Lost
  • Table: Events (Event Date, Event Type, Guests, Venue, Total)
  • A price book of typical services, switched on
  • Industries that bill their clients get a price book filled with typical services and prices, switched on
  • Six or seven realistic sample clients, at least one in every status, so the dashboard shows real numbers from minute one
  • One click on Remove sample data clears the samples and keeps the setup, and your first real invoice is numbered 1
  • Rename or change anything in Settings, or ask Claude or ChatGPT connected to BaseCloud to reshape it

The BaseCloud difference

Built in, not bolted on

Calling, texting, WhatsApp, email, quoting, accounting, e-signature and automation are part of BaseCloud, not add-ons from other vendors. One login, one client record, and no connectors to keep alive between separate subscriptions.

  • Phone system
  • SMS
  • WhatsApp
  • Gmail / Microsoft 365
  • Workflow automation
  • Quotes & invoices
  • Accounting
  • E-signature

Restaurants & Catering on BaseCloud

One wedding inquiry, from first call to final balance

This is an example of how a catering company can set up BaseCloud for private events. Every step is a standard workflow you can change.

Example workflow

A couple planning a 120-guest wedding reception in June

The couple fills in your website form on a Sunday evening, after the kitchen has closed. Here is how the inquiry becomes a booked event.

  1. 1. Inquiry in

    The form creates the customer as New Inquiry, with the wedding date and 120 guests in fields. The events manager gets a note to call on Monday morning.

  2. 2. Quote sent

    The manager builds the quote from the price book with a plated dinner, bar service, event staff hours and a celebration cake. It goes out with the Catering Quote email.

  3. 3. Followed up

    The couple goes quiet for three days. A workflow sends a friendly text and gives the manager a call task.

  4. 4. Deposit paid

    The couple accepts and pays the event deposit online by card. The status moves to Booked and the Booking Confirmed email goes out.

  5. 5. Guest count confirmed

    A week before the wedding, the Final Guest Count text goes out. The couple replies with 124 guests and two vegan meals, and the reply lands on their record.

  6. 6. Balance and thank-you

    The pay page shows the balance due, and the couple pays the rest online. The day after the wedding, a thank-you text goes out and a review request follows.

The team spends its time cooking and hosting. Quotes, deposits, guest counts and thank-yous follow every booking on schedule.

In their words

Client stories

Video testimonial: Client Testimonial: LawnPro

Video

Client Testimonial: LawnPro

LawnPro, a South African lawn care franchisor, uses BaseCloud as its franchise CRM and now closes 80 to 90% of the enquiries it gets.

Video testimonial: Client Testimonial: KPC Brokers

Video

Client Testimonial: KPC Brokers

KPC Brokers grew from one user to nine on BaseCloud CRM, with every email, call and WhatsApp in one place and renewals done in a fraction of the time.

Video testimonial: Client Testimonial: Kriel Care

Video

Client Testimonial: Kriel Care

Kriel Care Specialists went from WhatsApps and a notebook to BaseCloud CRM, and now win families by being the first to call back.

Video testimonial: Client Testimonial: Cloud ITS

Video

Client Testimonial: Cloud ITS

IT support provider Cloud ITS shares customers with BaseCloud and calls it the place to be to modernise a business and get qualified leads.

We pride ourselves on 5-Star Service

4.98 Google rating

Read our reviews on Google

Moving to BaseCloud was the best decision we could have made. The onboarding process was very professional. … It is comforting knowing you have a team of professional, knowledgeable people at your disposal.

Pieter vd WaltPosted on Google

Excellent service, professional team. The best I ever worked with.

Sandra ViljoenPosted on Google

Very professional and helpful. They consistently go out of their way to assist wherever needed. I would highly recommend them.

Annelien BouillonPosted on Google

Very knowledgeable team that understands our market.

Alan FritzPosted on Google

Thank you BaseCloud for … helping me get up to speed with your platform so that we could help our client fully integrate with your CRM.

Julian WesselooPosted on Google

Great team and very knowledgeable. Patient, but they keep their fingers on the pulse. Highly recommend.

The Capital DistilleryPosted on Google

Thank you to the incredible BaseCloud team for all your hard work and support.

Belinda VD MerwePosted on Google

Brilliant company!

Pieter KoelewynPosted on Google

FAQ

Restaurant and catering CRM questions

Does BaseCloud work with our POS and reservation system?
Yes. BaseCloud connects to POS and reservation systems through automation workflows, webhooks and the API. Catering and private event sales run in BaseCloud, with the inquiry, quote, deposit, calls, texts and WhatsApp messages on one customer record.
How fast can we get started?
Pick Restaurants & Catering when you first sign in, and BaseCloud sets up your pipeline from New Inquiry to Repeat Customer, the Events table, customer fields for dietary needs and guest counts, quote and confirmation templates, a filled price book and an events dashboard. Sample customers show how it all works, and one click on Remove sample data clears them and keeps your setup.
Can customers pay a deposit online?
Yes. Send a deposit invoice from the price book with an online payment link, and customers pay by card through Stripe or Paystack. Part payments are recorded against the balance, and the pay page shows what is still due, so the customer pays the rest online before the event.
Can the AI receptionist take bookings when we're busy?
Yes. The AI receptionist answers after hours or when nobody picks up, then books a tasting or call-back on your team's calendars while the caller is on the line. The caller gets a text with the booking, and the call is logged on the customer with its note.
Can we text and WhatsApp customers from the restaurant number?
Yes. Two-way texts go out from your business numbers and replies land on the customer. WhatsApp Business is built in for quotes and booking confirmations, and for US numbers BaseCloud registers your 10DLC brand and campaign for you.
How do we keep track of dietary needs and guest counts?
Dietary needs and the usual guest count sit in fields on each customer, and every event has its own row with its guest count. A week before the event date, a workflow texts the customer for the final guest count and any dietary needs, and the reply lands on their record.

Every inquiry answered. Every event booked.

Tell us how your team handles catering inquiries and private events today, and we'll show you that setup in BaseCloud.

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See it for yourself

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