Free template
Banquet event order template: a free BEO in Excel and PDF, with a filled example
A banquet event order (BEO) is the internal document that turns a signed event proposal into instructions for the venue team: schedule, room setup, food and beverage by service with quantities, bar, AV, staffing, billing and allergies. The kitchen, the floor and the AV team work from it on event day.
The short version: what goes on a BEO
A BEO carries eleven sections, in the order the team reads them on the day. They are the event header, contacts, timeline, room setup, food by service with quantities, beverages, AV, staffing, allergies, billing and signatures. It comes from the signed proposal: the proposal says what was sold, the BEO says who delivers it, when and where. In Joinways, event venue management software, the BEO is generated from the quote inside the event, then frozen and shared as a PDF or a link.
- One BEO per event, issued from the signed proposal: same headcount, same spaces, same services
- Quantities follow the guaranteed headcount, confirmed a few days out. The kitchen orders on that number
- Every line has an owner: kitchen, floor, bar, AV or vendor. A line nobody owns is a line nobody delivers
- Allergies sit next to their table numbers, not in an email thread
- Versioned: a working copy about ten days out, the final copy three to five days out, same recipients every time
Download the free BEO template
One Excel file with two tabs: a blank BEO ready to fill, and the corporate dinner example from this page. The PDF is the same document, ready to print. Replace the venue name, keep the sections.
- DownloadBEO template, Excel (.xlsx)
BEO template, Excel (.xlsx)
Two tabs: a blank BEO and the filled example below. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.
- DownloadBEO template, printable PDF
BEO template, printable PDF
The filled example, then a blank BEO to print. US Letter.
Free. No sign-up, no email address asked.
BEO example: a corporate dinner for 120
The final BEO a Chicago event space issues five days before Nexora's annual dinner. Names and figures are illustrative; the sections are the ones every BEO needs. The same example is on the first tab of the Excel file.
| Item | Detail | Qty | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event header | |||
| Event | Nexora annual dinner (corporate) | Venue: Mia Turner | |
| Date and hours | Thursday, November 12, 2026. Guests 6:30 PM to midnight. Venue access 2:00 PM to 1:30 AM | ||
| Signed proposal | Proposal #P-2026-0412, signed October 1, 2026 | ||
| Guaranteed headcount | 120 guests, confirmed November 5. Kitchen and floor set for 125 | 120 | |
| Spaces | Main Hall (seated dinner), Terrace (cocktail hour) | 2 | |
| Contacts | |||
| Client lead on site | Sarah Chen, Head of People, Nexora. Decides on the day | Client | |
| Venue coordinator | Mia Turner, event manager. Owns this BEO | Venue | |
| Kitchen | Executive chef. Confirms the allergy list at the 5:30 PM briefing | Kitchen | |
| Vendors | Florist (arrives 3:00 PM), DJ (arrives 5:00 PM) | Venue coordinator | |
| Timeline | |||
| 2:00 PM | Venue access. Tables, linens, AV build | Floor captain, AV | |
| 3:00 PM | Florist delivery, 12 centerpieces | Florist | |
| 5:30 PM | Staff briefing: timeline, table plan, allergies | Venue coordinator | |
| 6:30 PM | Doors open. Cocktail hour on the Terrace | Floor captain, bar | |
| 7:30 PM | Guests seated in the Main Hall | Floor captain | |
| 7:45 PM | Welcome speech, 5 min (Sarah Chen) | AV: mic 1 | |
| 8:00 PM | First course served | Kitchen, floor | |
| 8:40 PM | Main course served | Kitchen, floor | |
| 9:30 PM | Dessert and coffee | Kitchen, floor | |
| 9:45 PM | Award presentation and toast, 10 min | AV: slides, mic 2 | |
| 10:00 PM | DJ set until midnight | DJ | |
| 11:15 PM | Last call. Bar closes 11:30 PM | Bar | |
| 12:00 AM | Music off, house lights up, guests leave | Venue coordinator | |
| 12:15 AM | Damage walk-through with the client lead | Venue coordinator | |
| 1:30 AM | Teardown done, vendors out, doors locked | Floor captain | |
| Room setup | |||
| Main Hall | 12 rounds of 10 (60-inch), black linens, stage with lectern, 16 x 16 ft dance floor | 12 tables | Floor captain |
| Terrace | 8 high-top cocktail tables, heaters on at 6:00 PM | 8 | Floor captain |
| Welcome table | At the entrance. Name badges supplied by the client | 1 | Client |
| Rain plan | If rain after 4:00 PM, cocktail hour moves to the Main Hall foyer | Venue coordinator | |
| Food, by service | |||
| Cocktail hour, 6:30 PM | Passed hors d'oeuvres, 6 pieces per guest: tuna tartare, short rib slider, burrata crostini (V), mushroom arancini (V) | 720 pcs | Kitchen |
| First course, 8:00 PM | Roasted beet salad, goat cheese, candied pecans | 120 | Kitchen |
| Main course, 8:40 PM | Beef tenderloin, potato gratin, green beans | 108 | Kitchen |
| Main course, vegetarian | Wild mushroom risotto | 12 | Kitchen |
| Dessert, 9:30 PM | Chocolate torte, raspberries. Coffee and tea service | 120 | Kitchen |
| Service style | Plated, served table by table, 8 servers | Floor captain | |
| Beverages | |||
| Hosted bar | 6:30 PM to 11:30 PM: beer, wine, two signature cocktails, soft drinks. No shots | 120 guests | Bar |
| Wine with dinner | One white, one red, poured at the table. Included in the bar package | Floor captain | |
| Toast | Sparkling wine poured at 9:40 PM. Sparkling cider for alcohol-free guests | 120 glasses | Bar |
| AV and technical | |||
| Sound | House PA, 2 wireless handheld mics, 1 lectern mic | 3 mics | AV technician |
| Screen | Projector and 10 ft screen behind the stage. Client slides on USB by 5:00 PM | 1 | AV technician |
| Lighting | Dimmed to 40% at 7:30 PM. Spot on the lectern for speeches | AV technician | |
| DJ | Plays through the house PA. Sound limit from 11:00 PM (house rules) | DJ | |
| Staffing | |||
| Servers | 8 servers, 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM | 8 | Floor captain |
| Bartenders | 3 bartenders, 6:00 PM to midnight | 3 | Bar lead |
| AV technician | 1 technician, 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM | 1 | Venue coordinator |
| Venue coordinator | On site 2:00 PM to close | 1 | |
| Allergies and dietary notes | |||
| Vegetarian | 12 guests, tables 3, 7 and 11 (client table plan) | 12 | Kitchen |
| Nut allergy | 2 guests, table 4. Salad without pecans. Dessert checked by the chef | 2 | Kitchen |
| Gluten-free | 3 guests, tables 2 and 9. GF bread and dessert | 3 | Kitchen |
| Billing | |||
| Proposal total | $38,485.10 incl. 22% service charge and sales tax (signed proposal) | Venue | |
| Deposit | 30% ($11,545.53) paid October 2, 2026 | ||
| Balance | Due November 2, 2026. Adjusted to the final headcount | Client | |
| Changes on the day | Billed at proposal prices on the final invoice. Client lead signs the addition on site | Venue coordinator | |
| Invoice to | Nexora accounts payable. PO number required on the invoice | ||
| Signatures | |||
| Client | Sarah Chen, Nexora. Approved November 6, 2026 | ||
| Venue | Mia Turner, Riverside Hall. Issued November 6, 2026 | ||
| Sent to | Kitchen, floor captain, bar, AV, client lead. DJ gets the timeline only | ||
Prices stay on the signed proposal. Many venues leave the billing section out of the copy sent to vendors.
The sections of a BEO, one by one
Read in the order the team uses them on event day. Each section lists what it must carry and what most often goes missing when the BEO is retyped from the proposal.
- 01
Event header and contacts
BEO number and version, event name, date, guest hours and access hours, the signed proposal it comes from, the guaranteed headcount and the spaces. Then the people who decide on the day: the client's lead, the venue coordinator, the kitchen and each vendor. What goes missing: the version number, which is how the kitchen ends up working from last week's copy.
- 02
Timeline
One line per moment, with a clock time and an owner: access, deliveries, staff briefing, doors, seating, each course, speeches, entertainment, last call, end, walk-through and teardown. What goes missing: the service time of each course. It is what the kitchen needs, and it is the line the client moves most often.
- 03
Room setup
Per space: table count and shape, linens, stage and lectern, dance floor, welcome table, cocktail tables, and the rain plan for any outdoor space. What goes missing: the rain plan, written as a time and a place, so nobody has to decide it at 5 PM in the rain.
- 04
Food, by service, with quantities
One line per service with its time, the menu and the quantity: pieces per guest for the reception, covers per course, the vegetarian count on its own line. Add the service style and the number of servers. What goes missing: the quantity per line. A menu with no numbers is a menu the kitchen has to guess.
- 05
Beverages
The bar format and its hours, what is poured and what is not, wine with dinner, the toast, and the alcohol-free options. What goes missing: the bar closing time, which drives both the staffing and the invoice.
- 06
AV and staffing
Microphones by count, screen and projector, lighting cues, the DJ or band and the sound limit. Then staffing by role, with start and end times: servers, bartenders, AV technician, coordinator. What goes missing: the end time of each shift, which is where overtime appears on the invoice.
- 07
Allergies and dietary notes
Each dietary need with its count and its table numbers, and what the kitchen changes on each course. What goes missing: the table number. A kitchen that knows two guests have a nut allergy, but not where they sit, cannot plate for them.
- 08
Billing and signatures
The proposal total, the deposit received, the balance due date, how changes on the day are billed and who signs them, and who receives the invoice. Then the client's approval, the venue's issue date and the distribution list. What goes missing: the rule for changes on the day, which is how an extra hour of bar becomes a dispute.
What belongs on a BEO, and what does not
The check before issuing the BEO: what is always there, what is added when relevant, and what belongs on another document.
| Section | Always on the BEO | Add when relevant | Never on the BEO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Header and contacts | BEO number and version, date, hours, guaranteed headcount, spaces, the client lead's mobile | Proposal number, PO number, the planner's contact | The client's sales history and past prices |
| Timeline | A clock time and an owner for every moment the venue delivers | The client's program blocks, speaker names and durations | Minute-by-minute technical cues, which belong on the run of show |
| Food and beverages | Menu per service, quantity per line, service times, bar hours | Plating notes, wine names, the reception piece list | Unit prices and your food cost |
| Setup, AV and staffing | Tables and layout per space, AV list, staff count per role with shift times | A floor plan attached, the rain plan, vendor arrival slots | Vendor rates and commissions |
| Allergies and billing | Allergies with table numbers, deposit status, the rule for changes on the day | The proposal total, the invoicing contact | Other clients' prices, discount negotiations |
Running an event from the BEO
Venues whose events run to plan do not write longer BEOs. They issue one, from the proposal, with a version number, and brief the team from it.
Brief from the BEO, not from memory: at the staff briefing, each owner reads their section aloud. A line nobody claims at the briefing is a line that will not happen
Put the numbers on the page: covers per course, pieces per guest, staff per shift. The kitchen cannot order from adjectives
Keep one document and two copies: the team copy with billing, the vendor copy with only their lines
What to check before issuing the BEO
- Headcount, spaces and services match the signed proposal
- Every food line has a quantity and a service time, and every line has an owner
- Allergies carry table numbers, and the version number is on the page
A BEO only works in one version
With two versions in circulation, the kitchen and the floor work from different numbers. The BEO comes from what was signed, changes are made once in the document, and the version everyone holds is the current one. That is what the BEO in Joinways is built around.
The BEO is retyped from the proposal, and it is out of date by Thursday
Most venues build the BEO in Word or Excel from the signed proposal, three email threads and the coordinator's notes. The headcount on the BEO is last week's, the vegetarian count lives in an email, and the kitchen, the floor and the DJ each hold a different printout.
- Headcount, spaces and menu are retyped from the proposal, so the two disagree the day the client changes one of them
- The menu is there, the number of covers per course is not
- Allergies live in an email thread, not next to a table number on the sheet the kitchen reads
- Three versions in circulation: the kitchen works from Monday's, the floor from Wednesday's
- Vendors get the full sheet, prices included, because there is no clean way to send only their lines
The BEO is generated from the quote, inside the event
In Joinways the BEO lives in the event, next to the emails and the quote. It is drafted from the quote: schedule, quantities, setup, catering and technical notes. You check it, add the staff and the contacts, then freeze a version. The team is notified, any later change is flagged, and the BEO is shared as a PDF or a link.
Related product pages: Reports
- Drafted from the quote: services, quantities, times and spaces are there before anyone types
- Contacts, staff by role, and one schedule per day for multi-day events
- Freeze a version: the team is notified, and a change after the freeze is flagged
- Shared as a PDF for the team or a public link for vendors, with no prices on it
What a BEO generated from the quote changes
What the BEO in Joinways is built to change. Judge it on your own events during the free trial.
From the proposal
Headcount, spaces, services and quantities come from the quote. The BEO starts complete instead of starting blank.
For the whole team
A frozen version, a notification when it is issued, a flag when it changes afterwards. Nobody works from Monday's printout.
For vendors
The DJ and the florist read their lines through a link, with no prices and no client history.
Figures are illustrative: they describe what a structured process is designed to make possible, not measured Joinways customer results. Actual results vary by venue.
A corporate dinner for 120, from signed proposal to final BEO
Starting point
A Chicago event space signs Nexora's annual dinner six weeks out: 120 guests, cocktail hour on the terrace, a plated dinner in the main hall, a DJ. Until now the coordinator retyped the BEO in Word the week of the event.
What the coordinator does
She opens the event in Joinways and generates the BEO from the signed quote: spaces, courses, bar hours, staff and AV lines are already there. She adds the service time per course, the 12 vegetarian covers, the allergy tables and the rain plan. Then she names the staff and freezes version 1, ten days out.
What it looks like
In this scenario, when the client confirms 120 guests and moves the award to 9:45 PM, she updates the BEO once and freezes version 2. The kitchen, the floor and the bar are notified, and the DJ's link shows the new time.
Event coordinator
Illustrative scenario: event space
Illustrative scenario based on typical venue outcomes, not an actual named customer.
The same sections, different events
A corporate dinner
Cocktail hour, three plated courses, two speeches, a DJ. The BEO carries the service time and cover count per course, the vegetarian count and the allergy tables.
A two-day offsite
Meeting room setup, breaks, lunches and a dinner, over two days. One schedule per day, with room flips and break times per day rather than one averaged sheet.
A wedding
Ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, cake, late-night snack. The couple's planner owns the program; the venue owns setup, service, close and teardown, on one BEO.
Frequently asked questions about the banquet event order
What is a banquet event order (BEO)?
Who writes the BEO, and who signs it?
What is the difference between a BEO, a proposal and a run of show?
When should the BEO be sent?
Is a BEO the same as a function sheet?
What should a BEO include?
Can I download a BEO template for Excel or Google Sheets?
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