Cenvi vs Toast Catering & Events, for caterers, restaurants and banquet halls
Pricing and fees re-checked against each provider’s public pricing page.
Price catering the way you actually sell it, on your own processor, month to month.
Cenvi runs the event sheet, catering pricing with guest-count tiers and combos, contracts, deposits and scheduled balances. From $49 on your own Stripe account, month to month. At $249 it answers your phone too.
See your numbers on Cenvi in 15 min. The catering marketplace math lives on a separate page.
Toast catering vs Cenvi.
Same events, same paperwork. Below: what each one costs, and what each one does.
- Catering and private events are real revenue, not a favor
- You are paying monthly for software that has never brought you a booking
- Calls go to voicemail during service
The bill side by side
Monthly cost before you sell anything.
Entry price, side by side
Both do event sheets, estimates, signatures and deposits. Toast adds a register you cannot drop and their card processing.
Toast Point of Sale + Catering & Events
$69 register plus $100 catering, on Toast Payments
Starter
Paperwork, packages, contracts, deposits and payments. Month to month, on your own Stripe account.
Price, compared
Toast's catering piece requires an active register, and every plan runs on Toast Payments. The 24/7 phone and text line is on Concierge. Cenvi rows highlighted.
| Tier | Monthly | What it runs |
|---|---|---|
| Toast Starter Kit | $0/mo + 3.09%-3.69% + $0.15 | Single terminal POS with the processing rate marked up to cover the missing software fee. Catering module not included. |
| Toast Point of Sale | $69/mo per terminal | POS, online ordering, basic reporting, branded website. Per terminal. Catering still costs extra. |
| Toast Catering & Events | +$100/mo | Event sheets, event calendar, lead forms, estimates with e-signature, invoices, deposits. Cannot be purchased without an active Toast POS account, so the real floor is $169/mo. |
| Cenvi StarterLowest price | $49/mo | Booking calendar, packages, catering pricing with guest-count tiers and combos, contracts, deposits and payments, double-booking protection |
| Cenvi ProMost operators | $99/mo | Everything in Starter, plus unlimited calendars and invoices, dine-in floor plan and reservations, client email and analytics |
| Cenvi ConciergeFull system | $249/mo | Everything in Pro, plus the 24/7 Front Desk phone and text line that quotes and books, and multi-location rollup |
Toast figures reflect Toast's published plan pricing and the widely reported $100/mo list price for the Catering & Events module, checked September 2026. The module requires an active Toast POS account, so the floor for a caterer is $169/mo before processing. Toast plans run on Toast Payments only, on terms commonly quoted at one to three years that auto-renew, with an early termination fee equal to the remaining software fees. Cenvi Starter is $49/mo month to month on your own Stripe account. Statements about what the Catering & Events module does not include, specifically availability management, in-app guest messaging and email templates, reflect published third-party product analysis and Toast's own support documentation as of September 2026. Toast product capabilities change; check their current documentation before you decide.
Feature by feature
Both print the sheet your kitchen works from. Everything below is where they part ways.
| What changes | Toast Catering & Events | Cenvi |
|---|---|---|
| Running catering | ||
| Event sheets, estimates, signatures, depositsThe core event paperwork. | Yes | Yes, from Starter |
| Catering pricing (guest counts, combos)Per-person and per-platter rates, guest-count tiers, nested options, combos. | Restaurant menu items, sizes, and modifiers | Yes, from Starter |
| Availability managementStops you selling the same room or date twice. | Not built for it, double bookings possible | Yes, with Google Calendar sync |
| Contracts with conditional clausesClauses appear only when the booking calls for them. | One template per event type | Yes, with change orders and versioning |
| Client messagingReplying to a question on the booking itself. | Not included | Yes |
| Payment remindersChasing an unpaid balance. | Not included | Yes, on milestone invoices |
| Ticketing for your own eventsThe platform fee is carried by the ticket buyer, not taken out of your payout. | Not included | Yes, and you keep 100% of the price you set |
| Mobile appWhat you can do from your phone mid-service. | View events only, cannot add a lead | Full workflow on mobile |
| Answering the phone | ||
| Answers your phone and texts, 24/7Picks up, quotes your real prices, and books dates that are open. | Nothing like it, at any tier | Yes, on Concierge |
| Guest-facing lead captureWhat happens when someone reaches out. | A web form | A booking form on your own storefront. Phone and text on Concierge. |
| Money | ||
| Cost to get startedBefore the platform has done anything for you. | $169/mo | Free, or $49/mo |
| Contract termWhat leaving early costs. | One to three years, renews, early exit fee | Month to month |
| Choice of payment processorWhether you can shop your rate. | Toast Payments only | Your own Stripe account |
| Card-not-present processingThe rate that applies to deposits and invoices paid online, which is most catering money. | 3.5% + $0.15, 3.89% + $0.15 on Amex | Stripe's published rate, not marked up by Cenvi |
| Milestone booking paymentsDeposit, midway, and final payments scheduled across the event lifecycle. | Deposit then balance. Fully-paid invoices cannot be edited. | Milestone payments scheduled across the booking |
| Commission on your catering ordersNeither platform takes a cut of the clients you bring yourself. | None | 0% on your own bookings on any paid plan |
| Everything else | ||
| Restaurant POS, kitchen display, payrollRunning the dining room itself. | Yes | Keep the register you have |
| Works beyond restaurantsOne system for banquet halls, photographers, decorators, and the vendor partners you work with. | Restaurants and food service only | Every event category and vendor partners |
| Multi-location and fleet dashboardSeveral kitchens or halls under one login. | Custom plans | Yes, on Concierge |
| Concierge setup and migrationSomeone moves your existing events, menus, and templates over for you. | Paid onboarding, quoted per install | Yes, 48-hour build guarantee, in writing |
| Support promise, in writingA committed response time and a named human, not just a queue that is open. | 24/7 US-based support queue | 1-hour business-hours response, named human, in writing |
What you get
Side by side.
Lead forms, estimates with a signature, invoices and deposits, bolted to a register you already run. $169/mo once you count that register, on their processing, on a renewing term.
Starter $49: event sheets, catering pricing with guest-count tiers and combos, contracts, deposits and scheduled balances, and no selling the same room twice. Pro $99: the dining room too, with a floor plan, reservations and pacing. Concierge $249: a line that answers day and night, quotes your prices and books open dates. Keep your register. Month to month, on your own Stripe.
Set up in an afternoon.
Calendar, packages, contracts and deposits, live today. Keep your register. Start free, no card.
Or see how Cenvi works for caterers →
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Cenvi vs Toast Catering & Events
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