Technology

Toast launches catering, events platform

August 2, 2023

Toast, an all-in-one technology platform built for restaurants, is debuting Toast Catering & Events, a product fully integrated with the Toast point-of-sale to help restaurants manage large catering orders and event planning. The platform supports customizable banquet event orders, fulfillment tools and lead management functionality. It also pairs with Toast Invoicing, a digital invoicing tool that launched last year to provide even deeper support for the multiple lines of service many restaurants are running today, according to COO and co-Founder Aman Narang.

"As restaurants look to diversify revenue streams, catering and events are top of mind as attractive growth areas," he said in a company press release. "However, an additional service model can mean taking on managing multiple systems that often operate in silos. With Toast Catering & Events, we brought the entire catering and event order management lifecycle — from invoicing to inventory management and accounting — into the Toast platform. By fully integrating the solution into our platform, restaurant owners and operators can not only save time but also better position themselves to build a successful, smoothly operating business."

According to Toast's 2022 Voice of the Restaurant Industry survey, restaurants on average are managing seven service models, including catering, of which two-thirds of restaurant owners said made up a portion of their sales.

"Toast Catering & Events has integrated our events into our POS seamlessly and even prints the prep tickets at a scheduled time so it is very 'hands-off,'" Emily Sands, private event sales director at Elicit Brewing, said in the release. "My favorite piece of the system so far is the integration with my calendar. It makes it easy to keep my staff in the loop on what's going on and what's coming soon."