Quotation Template for Singapore Banquets and Caterers

++ or nett: which way you are allowed to quote

IRAS requires GST-registered businesses to display and quote prices to the public inclusive of GST. Writing S$100 + GST is not acceptable, and a quote that says prices are subject to GST without showing the inclusive figure is also not acceptable. The penalty for getting price display wrong can reach S$5,000.

There is one exception that matters to banquets. Hotels and F&B establishments that impose a service charge may display prices without GST and service charge, provided they prominently state that prices are subject to GST and service charge. That is why a hotel can quote a wedding dinner at S$1,488++ per table.

The exception does not help a caterer or venue that does not charge a service charge, and IRAS says it does not apply to businesses that add a nominal service charge only to avoid showing inclusive prices. If you do not impose a genuine service charge, quote nett, GST-inclusive figures. The template has a switch for each case.

Wedding dinner quotation

Saturday Chinese wedding dinner for 30 tables of ten in a hotel ballroom, 19:00 to 23:00

• Prices shown ++ and subject to 10% service charge and 9% GST; nett totals printed alongside.
• Minimum 28 tables guaranteed; final numbers due two weeks before.
• Quotation valid until 31 December.

Getting the ++ arithmetic right

Service charge is added first, then GST is charged on the price plus the service charge. IRAS is explicit that GST applies to both. A table at S$1,488++ with 10% service charge becomes S$1,636.80 before GST and S$1,784.11 after it.

Couples compare quotes on the nett figure, so print it. The template shows the ++ price, the service charge, the GST and the nett price per table and in total, so nobody has to work it out on a phone at the tasting.

If you round, round the final nett figure per table and say you have done so. Rounding each component separately produces a total that does not match the invoice, which is the last thing you want to explain on the night.

Per-table pricing, minimum tables and what is included

Chinese wedding dinners are usually sold per table of ten, with a minimum number of tables for the ballroom. Malay and Indian weddings are often priced per guest, especially when the caterer serves a buffet at a void deck or community club. Corporate dinner-and-dance events are usually per guest with a fixed programme.

Whatever the unit, state the minimum, the date final numbers are due, and what happens if numbers drop. Hotels commonly hold the couple to the guaranteed tables and allow a small number of extra tables at the same rate.

Then list what the package includes, because this is what couples compare: the menu, free-flow soft drinks and beer, a wine or corkage arrangement, the champagne tower, the wedding cake, invitation cards, a room for the night, and car park coupons. If something is included only above a minimum, say so on the line.

• Menu and price per table or per guest, with minimum tables
• Beverage package and corkage terms
• Inclusions: cake, champagne tower, invitation cards, room, parking
• Service charge rate and whether ++ or nett pricing applies
• GST at 9% and the nett total per table and overall

What your quotation must show in Singapore

Deposits and when GST falls due

Most venues ask for a deposit to confirm the date and further payments before the wedding. For GST, IRAS separates two kinds of deposit. A security deposit held pending confirmation is not treated as payment until it is applied to the supply. A deposit that is part-payment for the booking is treated as payment when you receive it, even if it is refundable.

The time of supply for a payment received before the invoice is the date you receive it, so GST on a part-payment deposit belongs in the return for that period. Write on the quote which kind of deposit you are taking, and account for it consistently.

Halal, dietary and licensing notes worth putting on the quote

If you quote a halal menu, say who certifies it. MUIS issues certification to catering establishments and central kitchens under its Food Preparation Area scheme, and to restaurants under its Eating Establishment scheme. Couples and corporate organisers increasingly ask for the certificate before they sign.

Caterers need a food shop licence from the Singapore Food Agency, and licensed caterers cannot cook from home. Putting your licence number on the quote is a small detail that answers a question many corporate buyers now ask.

Changes after the quote is signed

Couples change things. They add two tables in the final month, swap the fish course for a vegetarian one at three tables, or ask for the room an hour earlier for the tea ceremony photographs. Each change should go back to the couple as a revised quotation with a new revision number, showing the new ++ price, service charge, GST and nett total.

Revisions matter because the tax invoice or receipt at the end has to match what was agreed. A string of WhatsApp messages is not a price agreement. A numbered revision that the couple has acknowledged is, and it is also what the banquet event order is built from.

Set a cut-off for free changes, typically two weeks before the event for menu items and a few days for headcount, and state any charge for later changes on the original quotation so nobody is surprised.

Mistakes that make a Singapore quote look careless

Quoting ++ when you do not charge a service charge is the most common, and it breaks the price display rules. Next is applying GST to the base price only and forgetting the service charge, which understates the total by about S$13 on a S$1,488 table.

The third is leaving the validity date off. Hotel banquet prices often change for the next calendar year, and a couple holding an old quote will expect the old price.

Quotation questions from Singapore