Last reviewed: November 2026
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Printed from checkflow.io/templates/hospitality/banquet-event-order-checklist
This free banquet event order (BEO) checklist is for the events, catering or conference manager at a hotel or venue running one function, from a private dinner to a wedding or an awards night. One run is one function, counted back from the function date. It starts with the enquiry and a provisional hold, then the proposal, the contract and the deposit. Next the BEO is drafted: the timings, the menu and drinks, the allergens in every dish, the room set, AV, outside suppliers, staffing and billing. The client signs it, every later change is logged and reissued, and the final numbers and dietary list come in. The approver releases the final BEO before the BEO meeting with the kitchen, banqueting and front of house. The day itself, the final bill and a debrief close the run. A phase for off-site catering appears when the function is held away from the venue.
A banquet event order (BEO), also called a function sheet or event order, is the document a hotel or venue writes for each function so that every department works from the same instructions: what happens when, what is served to whom, how the room is set and what is charged. The client signs it, and every change after that is a new version. There is no legal form for it; each venue designs its own.
This checklist is the venue’s side of one function. An event planner choosing and booking a venue uses the Venue Booking Process Checklist, and the organiser’s whole event, from the budget to the follow-up, sits in the Event Planning Checklist. The kitchen’s standing allergen controls, which every function relies on, are in the Food Allergen Management Checklist.
Asks: is every department working from the same signed, current BEO?
When: from the enquiry, about 12 weeks out in the default timeline, to five weeks after the function.
Output: a signed BEO and change log, a released final version, a function run to it and a final bill.
Asks: which venue meets the brief, and is its contract safe to sign?
When: before the booking, from the requirements brief to the signed contract and the liaison that follows.
Output: a booked venue, in the Venue Booking Process Checklist.
Asks: does the kitchen know what is in every dish, and can staff answer any guest’s question?
When: all the time, and whenever a recipe or supplier changes.
Output: the allergen records, training and procedures each BEO draws on, in the Food Allergen Management Checklist.
Eight phases take one function from the first enquiry to the final bill. Due dates count back from the function date in working days, starting about 12 weeks out, and the final bill and debrief count forward from it. Phase 2 appears only when the function is held off-site. The approver’s release of the final BEO in Phase 5 holds the BEO meeting, the orders and the day until it is given.
Record the function on the first task: the client, the function date that every due date counts from, where it is held and the people who run it. A function held away from the venue adds the off-site phase.
Applies only when the first task says the function is off-site. The food is cooked in your kitchen or on site and served somewhere you do not run, so plan the facilities, the transport and any licence before you quote.
The contract sets the prices, the minimum numbers and the deadline for final numbers. The hold becomes a confirmed booking only when the signed contract and the deposit arrive.
The banquet event order (BEO) is the one document every department works from. Each task here fills one part of it, and the last one puts it together for the client.
The signed BEO is the version the venue works to. Every later change gets a new version, and the approver releases the final one once the numbers, the allergy meals and the payment are settled.
Once the final BEO is released, every department gets the same version and walks through it together. Orders, the rota and the kitchen’s plan follow the final numbers.
The room is set and checked against the BEO before the client arrives. Anything changed on the night is written down so the final bill and the debrief can use it.
The final bill starts from the BEO and the record of the night. The debrief turns what went wrong into changes for the next function.
A BEO has no fixed format, so the parts below are this checklist’s, not a standard. The table shows what each part records, the task that fills it in and the departments that work from it.
| Part of the BEO | What it records | Filled in by | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Header | Client, function, date, room, BEO number and version, the organiser’s contact and the guaranteed number | Phase 1, Phase 3 and the final numbers task | Every department |
| Timings | The running order from set-up to clear-down: arrivals, reception, courses, speeches, entertainment, bar close, carriages | Agree the running order and timings | Banqueting, kitchen, bar, AV |
| Menu and drinks | Courses and choices, canapés, staff and supplier meals, wines, the drinks package and bar arrangements | Choose the menu and drinks with the client | Kitchen, bar, banqueting |
| Dietary needs and allergens | The allergens in each dish, and each guest’s need with their name and table | Check the allergens in every dish; the final dietary list; plan each allergy meal | Kitchen, banqueting |
| Room set | Layout, table plan, stage, dance floor, bar and buffet positions, service routes and clear exits | Plan the room set and floor plan | Banqueting, housekeeping, security |
| AV, staging and power | Microphones, screens, lighting, staging, power for performers, and the technical check | Confirm AV, staging and power | AV team or supplier |
| Outside suppliers | Who arrives when, their power needs and the documents the venue asked for | Agree the outside suppliers’ arrangements | Front of house, security, banqueting |
| Staffing | Roles, numbers, sections and call times, and the duty manager | Plan the staffing; publish the rota | Department heads |
| Billing | The account, what the package includes, charges on consumption, service charge, tax and who approves extras | Set up the billing | Accounts, duty manager |
| Signatures and changes | The client’s signature, each change with its date, cost and new version | Get the BEO signed; log every change | Events manager, accounts |
Allergens in the UK. The Food Standards Agency’s guidance for England, Wales and Northern Ireland (updated 17 July 2026) says food businesses must tell customers if food contains any of the 14 allergens listed in food law. For food that is not prepacked, the information can be written on a menu or in an information pack, or given verbally with a clearly visible written notice saying how to ask, and the FSA’s advice is that written information supported by a conversation works best. At a buffet, it is given for each dish, not for the buffet as a whole. In Scotland, start from Food Standards Scotland’s guidance.
Allergens in the US. The FDA lists nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame, which the FASTER Act added from 1 January 2023. The FDA Food Code, a model that state and local health departments adopt in their own time, asks the permit holder to give written notification of major food allergens that are ingredients in unpackaged food (3-602.12(C) in the 2026 edition). Check the edition your health department enforces.
Off-site catering. In England, keeping food that needs chilling above 8°C, or hot food for service below 63°C, is an offence under the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, subject to the exceptions and defences they set out. The 2026 Food Code model sets 5°C (41°F) or below and 57°C (135°F) or above (3-501.16). In England and Wales, selling alcohol at a location whose licence does not cover it can be done under a Temporary Event Notice: an individual gives it to the council at least 10 clear working days before the event, with copies to the police and environmental health unless it is given online, and the event must have fewer than 500 people at all times, including staff.
The BEO is written once, signed by the client and reissued with a new version number after every change, with the change log on the task. The released version goes to every department and earlier copies are withdrawn, so each task on the checklist shows who owns it and when it is due.
The head chef records the allergens in every dish in a matrix for the menu before the BEO goes to the client. When the final dietary list shows a guest with a food allergy, a task appears for the head chef to plan each meal by name and table. An off-site function adds the location, transport and licence tasks. Conditional rules do the work.
The approver releases the final BEO once the numbers, changes, allergy meals and payment are settled. That approval step holds the BEO meeting, the orders and the day until it is given, and Not released shows the task to put things right.
CheckFlow does not write menus, cost functions or take payments. The events manager, the kitchen and finance do that. It keeps every step of each function on one checklist, with a named owner and a due date, so the events team can see what is late across every function on the Reports Grid and nothing waits on someone’s memory.
Keep the kitchen’s allergen controls up to date with the Food Allergen Management Checklist, build the food safety plan for off-site work with the HACCP Food Safety Checklist, and run the bar each day with the Bar Opening & Closing Checklist.
Describe the process in a sentence and the AI checklist generator drafts the phases and tasks for you.
A banquet event order, or BEO, is a venue’s written instructions for one function: the timings, the menu and drinks, dietary needs and allergies, the room set, AV, outside suppliers, staffing and billing. The client checks and signs it, and the kitchen, banqueting, bar and front of house all work from the same copy. Some venues call it a function sheet or an event order. This checklist builds the BEO task by task, records the signature and logs every change.
Enough for each department to do its part without asking: the client, function, date, room, BEO number and version; the running order; the menu and drinks; the allergens in each dish and each guest’s dietary need with name and table; the room set and floor plan; AV and staging; outside suppliers and their arrival times; staffing; and the billing, including what is charged on consumption and who approves extras. The table on this page lists each part and the task that fills it in.
The client signs it once they have checked every line, which confirms the arrangements and the charges. This checklist asks for the signature about 18 working days before the function, after the draft goes out, and keeps the signed copy on the task. A change after that is logged and the BEO reissued with a new version number; changes that cost money are accepted by the client in writing. The venue’s approver then releases the final version to the departments.
The contract is the agreement: the date, room, prices, minimum numbers, deposit, payment terms, the deadline for final numbers and the cancellation charges. The BEO is the working order that sets out how the function will run, line by line, for the people delivering it. The two should agree, and a change on the BEO that changes the price is agreed in writing. In this checklist the contract comes in Phase 3, and the BEO is drafted in Phase 4.
The events team walks through each function’s BEO with the kitchen, banqueting, bar and front of house before the day: timings, final numbers, allergy meals, the room set, suppliers and anything unusual. Questions are answered there rather than on the night. In this checklist the meeting comes after the approver releases the final BEO and every department has the same version, about three working days before the function, and the questions and answers are recorded on the task.
By the deadline in the function contract, which should also say what is charged if fewer guests come than the final, or guaranteed, number. Agree both before the client signs. This checklist allows seven working days before the function, with the final dietary and allergy list due at the same time; if your contract sets another deadline, change the task’s due date. The guaranteed number then drives the food order, the rota and the final bill.
Know what is in every dish, so staff can answer any guest, and plan each declared allergy before the day. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, food businesses must give information on the 14 allergens listed in food law; at a buffet, for each dish. In the US, sesame is the ninth major food allergen. In this checklist the head chef records the allergens in the menu, the client returns names and tables with the final numbers, and a task appears to plan each allergy meal from order to table.
The kitchen leaves its own premises. Visit the location first: power, water, handwashing, access and where food will be finished. Plan how chilled and hot food travels and is kept at a safe temperature, check that your registration or permit covers catering there, and confirm the licence for any alcohol, which in England and Wales may mean a Temporary Event Notice. In this checklist, choosing off-site on the first task adds those steps and a temperature check on arrival.
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