Comparison

The Total Party Planner alternative for caterers & event venues

Univents brings bookings, kitchen, staff and finances into one system. Here is how Total Party Planner compares head-to-head.

7-day free trial · no credit card · live in minutes

What is Total Party Planner?

Total Party Planner is a US catering software built since 1997 by caterer John Cohen, bundling proposals, invoicing, BEOs, recipe costing and inventory for caterers from solo operators up to stadium and university catering teams.

Built consistently from a working caterer's own operations, with a deep focus on recipe costing, inventory and function sheets, plus a single-user entry point from USD 119/month instead of a costly enterprise minimum.

Feature comparison

Univents vs Total Party Planner in detail

FeatureUnivents21/22Total Party Planner13/22
Sales & enquiries
Online booking pagesIncludedPartial
Inquiry managementIncludedIncluded
Mail inbox (AI-read)IncludedIncluded
Customer portal (EventHub)IncludedIncluded
Quotes, contracts & finance
Quotes & invoicesIncludedIncluded
Contracts with templatesIncludedIncluded
Digital signatureIncludedIncluded
Online paymentsPartial1Included
GDPR & DACH invoicingIncludedNot included
Event operations
Kitchen & productionIncludedIncluded
Staff & shiftsIncludedPartial
Function sheets (auto)IncludedIncluded
Stock & inventoryIncludedIncluded
Event planning & calendarIncludedIncluded
Floor plan & seating plannerIncludedNot included
AI & automation
AI assistantIncludedNot included
AutomationsIncluded–Not specified
Reports & analyticsIncludedIncluded
Multi-languagePartial2Not included
AI operates the whole app by chatIncludedNot included
AI builds a quote from a PDFIncludedNot included
Platform & integrations
Open API & MCP interfaceIncluded–Not specified
IncludedPartialNot included–Not specified
  • 1Online payments run through the built-in Stripe integration.
  • 2Interface in German and English; multilingual finance documents from the Growth plan.

Why teams choose Univents

1

Univents runs the whole event in one platform: inquiry, client portal, quote, function sheet (BEO), kitchen production, staff shifts and invoice with Stripe payment links all work from the same bookings.

2

Univents ships a native booking page/webshop, a floor plan/seating planner and an AI assistant — at Total Party Planner, online ordering is a separate add-on, a seating tool is missing entirely per user reviews, and AI features are not documented.

3

Univents covers staff and shift planning with a connected staff app including time tracking — per user feedback, Total Party Planner offers only basic staff scheduling without a dedicated check-in/check-out function.

Pricing compared

Univents

7-day free trial, no credit card. Then from €55/month for quotes or from €299/month for the full platform — fair and transparent.

Total Party Planner

Tiered by user count: Nibble (1 user) USD 119/month, Feast (2 users) USD 299/month, Delicacy (3 users) USD 429/month, plus USD 25/month per additional user and a USD 299 one-time setup fee; online ordering is a separate paid add-on, no free trial, instead a free live demo with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Geared to the US market.

FAQ: Univents vs Total Party Planner

Is Total Party Planner a good Univents alternative?

Total Party Planner is a very focused US catering software built by a working caterer, with strong recipe costing and a flexible single-user tier — a good choice for small to mid-sized US caterers. Univents is the better fit if you also need a floor plan and seating planner, staff scheduling with an employee app and an AI assistant in the same platform as your BEOs and invoices.

Does Total Party Planner cover kitchen production and inventory?

Yes — per the vendor and user reviews, Total Party Planner covers kitchen and menu management, BEOs, recipe costing and inventory tracking. Univents also covers kitchen production and packing lists and adds an interactive kitchen board.

What does Total Party Planner cost compared to Univents?

Total Party Planner starts at USD 119/month for one user and rises to USD 299 or 429/month depending on user count, plus a USD 299 setup fee. Univents publishes its pricing and offers a self-service trial.

Switching from Total Party Planner? We handle your data import — free of charge.

We move over your customers, products, events and quotes. No data loss, no double work.

Ready to get started?

Try Univents for free and see how simple event management can be.

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