Coffee Cart Event Quote Calculator — Flat Fee vs Percentage

Which event deal pays your coffee cart the most?

Enter your cart's pace, prices and costs, the crowd you expect, and what the host is offering. You get net profit and break-even drinks for a booking fee, a share of sales and a prepaid drink guarantee, net per hour including setup, and a table of what a smaller or bigger crowd does to each deal.

Calculated in this browser tab. No account, no upload. The example numbers are made up.

1. Your cart and the event

Service hours at the event

Drinks per hour the cart can serve

Drinks you expect guests to buy

Average price per drink ($)

Drink cost: milk, beans, cup ($)

Card fee (%)

People working the cart

Hourly pay per person ($)

Setup, drive and teardown hours per person

Fuel and generator ($)

Event or health permit paid by you ($)

2. The three deals

Set the terms the host is offering. Leave a deal at its defaults if it is not on the table; compare the others.

Booking fee the host pays you ($), you keep sales

Share of sales you pay the host (%)

Drinks the host prepays

Price per prepaid drink ($)

Change the numbers or load the example, then click Compare the deals.

Result

Deal	Drinks	Sales	Host pays you	You pay host	Net	Net/hour	Break-even drinks

Net if the crowd is smaller or bigger than expected

Crowd	Booking fee	Share of sales	Prepaid drinks

How the numbers work, and what they leave out

Fixed cost = people × hourly pay × (service hours + setup hours) + fuel + permit. You pay it whatever the crowd does.
Drinks served = the crowd you expect, capped at drinks per hour × service hours.
Net = sales + what the host pays you − what you pay the host − card fees − drink cost − fixed cost. Prepaid drinks are paid for even if nobody drinks them and count against your capacity.
Break-even drinks = the smallest crowd at which net reaches zero, up to your cart's capacity.
Not modelled: tips, equipment purchase or depreciation, sales tax, multi-day events, weather, and repeat bookings that come from a good first event.

Common questions

What should a coffee cart charge for an event?

Work from your cost, not the crowd: labour for every hour including setup and teardown, travel, permit, card fees and drink cost. Then compare what each offer on the table pays at the crowd you expect. A flat booking fee protects you from a thin crowd; a share of sales rewards a big one.

Is a flat fee or a percentage of sales better for a coffee cart?

It depends on crowd size. At a small crowd a flat fee or a guaranteed number of prepaid drinks usually wins because your fixed cost is covered before the first cup. At a large crowd keeping sales and paying a percentage can win, up to the point your cart runs out of capacity. Enter the crowd and the tool shows where each deal wins.

How many drinks do I need to sell to break even at an event?

Fixed event cost divided by what each drink leaves after drink cost, card fees and any host share. The tool finds the exact number of drinks for each deal and tells you when a deal never breaks even inside your cart's hourly capacity.

What is a prepaid or guaranteed drink deal?

The host (a company, wedding or venue) pays for a minimum number of drinks up front at an agreed price each, whether or not guests drink them. You keep sales above the guarantee. It turns a gamble on foot traffic into a known number.

Do I count setup and drive time?

Yes. Staff are paid for loading, driving, setting up and tearing down, and the host never sees those hours. The tool counts them per person so your hourly figure is honest.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything is calculated in your browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. There are no accounts.

Is this financial advice?

No. It is arithmetic on numbers you enter. Prices, permits and tax treatment vary by place; check with your local authority and a tax adviser.