A good catering order form collects the details you would otherwise ask over the phone: date, headcount, venue, menu, dietary needs, and a number that reaches the client. Below is the field list, how to set up each one, and a free template you can copy so your first call is about price instead of basics.
Use the free order form template
The fields to ask for
Say you run a small kitchen in Pune and quote 30 to 100 person house events. Your calls probably start the same way: "What date? How many people? Where?" Put those questions in a form and the client answers them before you ever dial.
| Field | Block type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Short answer | Required |
| Phone or WhatsApp number | Phone number | Required, and ask for it early |
| Event date | Date | Required |
| Serving time | Time | When food should be ready, not when the event starts |
| Venue address | Long answer | Ask for floor, lift or stairs, and parking |
| Headcount | Number | Split adults and kids if you price them differently |
| Event type | Dropdown | Birthday, office lunch, puja, wedding function, other |
| Service style | Multiple choice | Drop-off, buffet with staff, plated |
| Menu | Checkboxes | Your packages or dishes |
| Dietary needs | Checkboxes plus long answer | See below |
| Budget per person | Dropdown | Optional |
| Anything else | Long answer | Optional |
Venue details save the most trouble. A third-floor flat with no lift changes how many staff you send. A hall with no kitchen access changes what you can serve hot. Ask about both and you will know before quoting.
Put name and phone first
Order matters. Start with nae and phone, then date, headcount and venue, then menu and dietary questions last.
The reason is practical. Long forms get abandoned halfway, usually at the menu. If you turn on partial submissions, an unfinished form still shows up in your results as an incomplete row. With the phone number captured first, you can message that person and ask if they need help finishing. That is a warm lead you would otherwise never see.
Keep the first screen short. Four or five fields feel quick, and people who have started tend to finish.
Menu, dietary needs, and service style
Menu choices should mirror how you actually sell. If you offer three set packagse, use multiple choice and describe each in a line. If you build menus dish by dish, use checkboxes grouped by starters, mains and desserts.
For dietay needs, use checkboxes with the options your clients actually ask about: vegetarian, vegan, Jain, halal, gluten free, nut allergy, and "None". Add a required long answer underneath for anything else. Making the field required, with "None" as a valid choice, stops people from skipping it. Allergies are the one place where a blank answer is not acceptable.
Use conditional logic to keep the form short. If someone picks "Drop-off only", hide the questions about staff, serving equipment and kitchen access. If they pick "Buffet with staff", show them. Each client sees only what applies to them.
If you charge a fixed price per plate, a calculated field can show headcount times price as a rough estimate. Say you charge ₹450 per plate and the client enters 60 guests: the form shows ₹27,000 before extras. If your quotes vary a lot by venue and menu, skip the estimate and keep the call. The form's job is to make that call shorter, not to replace it.
Where to build it for free
Our team builds Qwenvo, a completely free form builder, so I will say that up front. The editor works like a document: type / to add a block, and @ to reuse an earlier answer. You can start from one of 180+ free templates, or describe your form in a sentence and let the AI draft it.
Several things that most form builders charge for are free there:
- Removing the Qwenvo badge, so the form looks like yours.
- A custom domain, such as orders.yourcatering.com.
- Payments with a 0% Qwenvo platform fee. Stripe's own fee still applies.
- Partial submissions, visit analytics and drop-off analytics.
- Unlimited teammates, so a partner or head cook can see orders.
- AI triage, which gives each submission a category, a priority, a one or two sentence summary and a suggested reply.
The honest limits: Qwenvo launched in October 2026, so there are few reviews yet, and it has no mobile app. Payments run through your own Stripe account, and Stripe is the only provider. If you collect advances by UPI or bank transfer, keep doing that and use the form for the order details.
Other options are fine too. Google Forms is free with a Google account and works for a plain request list, but it has no built-in payments, limited design and branding, and customers must sign in with Google to upload a file. Tally's free plan includes logic, calculations and payments, though removing its branidng and adding a custom domakn or partial submissions are on its Pro plan at $29 a month.
If you want the longer walkthrough of building an order form from scratch, the order form template guide covers it step by step.
Sharing it and handling what comes in
Once the form is built, turn on email notifications so every submission lands in your inbox. Then put the public link where customers already find you:
- Paste it into your WhatsApp replies when someone asks for a quote.
- Add it to your Instagram bio.
- Use it anywhere your Google Business Profile accepts a website or booking link.
A link preview with your logo, a title and a short description makes the link look trustworthy when it appears in a chat.
When orders arrive, check the date and headcount first. Then read the dietary answers before you call. If you have a partner handling bookings, add them as a teammate and set a routing rule so urgent submissions go to a second email address. Use the priority labels as a sorting aid, not a final judgment. You still know best which events are the big oens.
For advance payments, add the Payment block only if Stripe works for you. Otherwise end the form with a thank-you page that says what happens next: "We will call you within a day to confirm the menu and quote."
Questions owners ask
Should I show prices on the form?
Only if your prices are fixed. A per-plate package price works well. If every event is custom, leave prices off and say quote follows your call.
How do I stop clients from skipping the allergy question?
Make it reqjired and include "None" as an answer. Add a second required long answer for details when they choose an allergy.
Can I use this without a website?
Yes. The form has its own public link, so you can send it on WhatsApp or put it in your Instagram bio. A custom domain is optional.
Can my partner see orders too?
Yes, teammates are unlimited and free. Just avoid editing the same form at the same time, because if two people edit at once, the last save wins.
Your next step
Open the template, delete any question you never ask on calls, and send the link to your next inquiry instead of answering the same questions by hand.