Function Sheet Template (CSV)

One document that gets kitchen, service, tech and client on the same page

You know the scene: the client added a vegan main over the phone, the kitchen never heard about it, service sets the table for 80 instead of 78, and the DJ is standing outside a locked door at 6 p.m. because nobody passed on the load-in time. This is exactly what a function sheet prevents. It is the one page on which everything lives that has to happen on event day: who, what, when, where, how much, and with which exception.

In the English-speaking world this document is called a banquet event order (BEO) or simply a function sheet. Hotels, caterers and event venues use it everywhere because it solves one simple truth: an event rarely fails because of a lack of skill – it almost always fails because of a lack of information. The function sheet is the single source of truth – the one binding reference that kitchen, service, tech, warehouse and client all pull the same numbers from.

This template is exactly that: an editable, downloadable document you fill out fresh for every event. It is not a calculator that spits out quantities – it is the structured shell into which all results, agreements and special cases flow.

What a function sheet is – and what it is not

A function sheet is the operational translation of the quote into a run-of-show. The quote answers "what does the event cost?" – the function sheet answers "how does it actually run?". These are not the same thing, and this is where most mistakes happen: teams keep working from the quote or an email thread instead of maintaining a dedicated run-of-show document.

What a function sheet (BEO) is not:

• It is not a quote or an invoice – prices don't have to be in it, the run-of-show does.
• It is not a contract – legal details stay in the contract.
• It is not a menu proposal – the courses are listed, but as a binding final state, not as options.

It is the document you hand to the sous-chef, the server and the technician, and they know without asking what to do.

Which blocks belong in a function sheet

A complete function sheet is built from clearly separated blocks. Mandatory components:

1. Key facts (the header)

• Event name and internal order number
• Date and day of the week
• Venue with address, room name, floor
• Guest count – planned and confirmed final number (with confirmation date)
• Occasion (wedding, corporate event, conference, gala dinner)
• Client contact with mobile number, reachable on the day itself
• Internal event lead – who carries responsibility on the day

2. Timeline / run-of-show

The core of the document. A chronological timeline from first load-in to final breakdown:

• Delivery and start of setup
• Staff arrival
• Doors / reception
• Welcome drinks, greeting, courses, speeches, program points
• Breakdown and departure

3. F&B (food & beverage) incl. allergies

• Full course sequence per course
• Beverage concept (flat rate, on consumption, corkage)
• Special diets by name: vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, lactose-free, halal, kosher
• Allergies on their own highlighted line – never buried in running text
• Quantities per item (this is where the buffet and beverage calculator results land)

4. Setup / floor plan

• Seating (banquet, theater, parliament, cocktail tables)
• Floor plan with table numbers and assignment
• Rental furniture, decoration, signage, cloakroom

5. Staff

• Number of service, kitchen, tech, dishwashing
• Shift times and meeting point
• Dress code
• Shift lead with phone number

6. Tech & extras

• Sound, light, stage, projector, microphones
• Power requirements, connections, generator
• Wi-Fi, special requests

7. Emergency / plan B

• Bad-weather variant for outdoor events
• Escalation chain and phone numbers
• Resupply plan if the guest count shifts

Example: an excerpt of a timeline

Here is what the timeline block looks like for a gala dinner with 120 guests:

| Time | What | Owner | |---|---|---| | 1:00 p.m. | Equipment delivery, start of setup | Logistics | | 3:00 p.m. | Service arrives (8 pax), briefing | Shift lead | | 4:30 p.m. | Table setting complete, tech check | Service / Tech | | 6:00 p.m. | Welcome drinks in the foyer (120 glasses sparkling, 2x non-alcoholic) | Service | | 6:45 p.m. | Doors to the hall, greeting by host | Event lead | | 7:00 p.m. | Course 1: amuse-bouche – 2 vegan portions table 7 | Kitchen | | 7:30 p.m. | Course 2: starter | Kitchen / Service | | 8:15 p.m. | CEO speech (approx. 10 min) | – | | 8:30 p.m. | Course 3: main – 1 gluten-free table 3, 3 vegetarian table 11 | Kitchen | | 10:00 p.m. | Dessert buffet opens | Service | | 11:30 p.m. | Bar until 1:00 a.m., then last orders | Service | | 1:30 a.m. | Breakdown begins | Whole team |

This excerpt shows the principle: every special diet and allergy is anchored directly in the run-of-show – at table and course level. Not in a footnote the sous-chef hunts for at 8:25 p.m.

Why it is the single source of truth

The moment more than one person works on an event, you need a binding reference. Without it you get competing truths: the kitchen calculates from the first email, service from yesterday's phone call, purchasing from the quote. Three versions, three guest counts, three failures.

The function sheet ends that. The rule applies: if it isn't in the function sheet, it doesn't happen. Changes run exclusively through the document – not by shout, WhatsApp or memory. As a result:

• every department pulls the same numbers,
• every change is traceable,
• and in a dispute there is one clear state everyone can refer to.

How to fill the function sheet from the calculators

The template is the shell – the numbers come from your calculation. Three free calculators give you the hard quantities you transfer straight into the blocks:

• Beverage quantity calculator → tells you how many bottles of sparkling wine, wine, water and how much beer you need. These numbers go into the F&B block and the shopping list.
• Buffet quantity calculator → gives you portions and kilograms per dish. Straight into the course sequence and quantity column.
• Staffing calculator → tells you how many service and kitchen staff you need for the guest count. Straight into the staff block with shift times.

The workflow is always the same: guest count is set → run the calculators → enter results into the function sheet → distribute to everyone involved. This is how you avoid the classic break between "roughly estimated" and "actually ordered".

Common mistakes – and how to avoid them

Outdated versions in circulation. By far the most expensive mistake: three versions of the function sheet are floating around and nobody knows which one applies. Fix: version number and date in the header, a single person as "owner" who maintains changes. Old versions get deleted, not kept "just in case".

Missing or buried allergies. Allergies never belong in running text or footnotes. They must sit at table and course level, visually highlighted. A forgotten nut allergy is not a cosmetic flaw – it is a safety risk.

No binding final count. "About 80" is not a guest count. Set a cut-off date in advance by which the binding final number is locked, and write it into the sheet with the confirmation date.

Timeline without owners. A run-of-show without names is a wish list. Every line needs someone who stands behind it.

Plan B missing entirely. For outdoor events without a bad-weather variant, the weather decides your day. Plan B belongs defined in advance, not improvised at 5 p.m.

Handover to the team

A perfect function sheet that nobody reads is worthless. The handover decides:

• Briefing before the shift starts – the shift lead walks through the timeline and all special cases out loud.
• Printed in the kitchen and at the service station – not only digital, because the phone is in your pocket while setting tables.
• Allergy excerpt separately to the kitchen, sorted by table.
• One clear question at the end of the briefing: "Is anything unclear on any point?" – clear it now, not at 7:30 p.m.

Tips from practice

• One sheet per event, one truth. No parallel documents.
• Write for the person who knows nothing about the client. If a stranger on the service team understands the sheet, it's good.
• Always state times as a range with buffer, never minute-perfect without reserve.
• Contact numbers in duplicate – client and internal lead, both reachable.
• Update it briefly after the event: what ran differently than planned? That is the basis for the next sheet for the same client.

If you want to manage function sheets not just as a single document but across all your events – with quantities, staff and timeline in one place and filled automatically from your key facts – the event software Univents maps exactly this run-of-show digitally; the beverage, buffet and staffing calculators linked here deliver the numbers that belong in every function sheet.