The Minimum Booking Value: How to Stop Wasting Time on Tiny Jobs

That £200 booking for a 20-person party? After fuel, food costs, and your time, you're making about £40. You could've spent that Saturday with your family instead. Here's how to set a minimum booking value that protects your time and your profit—without sounding like you're too good for small events.

Why Every Mobile Vendor Needs a Minimum Booking Value

Let's be honest: not every booking is worth taking. When you're a mobile vendor—whether you're serving wood-fired pizzas at weddings or pouring craft cocktails at corporate events—your time is your most valuable asset. And unlike a bricks-and-mortar business, every job comes with hidden costs that eat into your profit.

A minimum booking value isn't about being greedy or turning away customers. It's about running a sustainable business that allows you to deliver excellent service, maintain your equipment, and still have a life outside of work.

The True Cost of a Small Booking

Before we talk numbers, let's break down what actually goes into every booking:

• Travel time and fuel: That 45-minute drive each way isn't free. At £0.45 per mile plus your time, a 60-mile round trip costs you roughly £50-70.
• Setup and pack-down: Most vendors spend 1-2 hours setting up and another hour packing down. That's 3 hours of work before you've served a single customer.
• Food and consumable costs: Even with perfect portion control, food costs typically run 25-35% of revenue.
• Wear and tear: Every event puts miles on your vehicle and hours on your equipment. Budget £20-50 per event for maintenance reserves.
• Admin time: Emails, quotes, contracts, invoicing—easily 1-2 hours per booking.

Add it all up, and that "quick little job" has cost you £150-200 before you've made a penny of profit.

How to Calculate Your Minimum Booking Value

Your minimum should cover your fixed costs per event plus a reasonable profit margin. Here's a simple formula:

Step 1: Calculate Your Fixed Event Costs

Work out your average costs that apply regardless of guest count:

• Average fuel cost per event: £40
• Setup/pack-down time (valued at your hourly rate): £75
• Admin time: £30
• Equipment wear allocation: £25
• Insurance allocation per event: £15

Fixed costs total: £185

Step 2: Add Your Minimum Acceptable Profit

What's the least amount of profit that makes a day's work worthwhile? For most vendors, this is £150-300 depending on the day of the week and how busy your calendar is.

Step 3: Factor in Variable Costs

If your food costs run at 30%, you need to gross enough to cover that margin. Using our example: (£185 + £200 profit) ÷ 0.70 = £550 minimum.

Typical Minimum Booking Values for UK Mobile Vendors

Based on conversations with hundreds of mobile vendors, here's what the market typically looks like:

Weekday Events

• Food trucks and catering: £400-600
• Mobile bars: £450-700
• Pizza vans: £350-550
• Coffee and dessert vendors: £300-450

Weekend Events

• Food trucks and catering: £600-1,000
• Mobile bars: £700-1,200
• Pizza vans: £550-850
• Coffee and dessert vendors: £450-650

Peak season (May-September) and premium dates like bank holiday weekends often command minimums 20-30% higher still.

How to Communicate Your Minimum Professionally

The way you present your minimum booking value makes all the difference between sounding premium and sounding difficult. Here are phrases that work:

• "Our minimum spend starts at £600 for weekend events" — Clear, confident, no apology needed.
• "To ensure we can deliver our full service experience, we have a minimum booking value of £500" — Frames it as quality assurance.
• "For events of this size, we'd recommend our package starting at £550, which includes..." — Shifts focus to value delivered.

Never say "I'm sorry, but..." or "Unfortunately, we can't..." You're not doing anything wrong by having business standards.

What to Do With Enquiries Below Your Minimum

You'll get enquiries that fall short of your minimum. Here's how to handle them professionally:

Option 1: Offer a Scaled-Down Package

"Our minimum spend is £600, but for that we can offer you 3 hours of service with our full menu selection. Would that work for your event?"

Option 2: Refer to Another Vendor

Build relationships with smaller or newer vendors who'd appreciate the referral. You'll earn goodwill, and they may return the favour when they're overbooked.

Option 3: Offer Off-Peak Pricing

"We can't quite reach that budget for a Saturday, but if you're flexible on dates, we have availability on Thursday evening at a reduced minimum of £400."

Option 4: Politely Decline

Sometimes the answer is simply no. A brief, professional response costs you nothing: "Thanks so much for thinking of us. Unfortunately, this one's a bit below our minimum for weekend events, but I hope you find someone brilliant for your party."

When to Make Exceptions

Rules exist to serve you, not the other way round. Consider bending your minimum for:

• Portfolio-building events: A styled shoot at a stunning venue might be worth the reduced rate for the photos you'll get.
• Repeat customers: Your best corporate client wants a small team lunch? Keep the relationship healthy.
• Quiet periods: January bookings at a lower minimum beat no bookings at all.
• Local events with minimal travel: An event 10 minutes from home has much lower fixed costs.

The key is making conscious decisions rather than reactive ones. Know your minimum, and when you go below it, know exactly why.

The Bottom Line

Setting a minimum booking value isn't about turning people away—it's about making sure every event you take on is genuinely worth your time. When you're not exhausted from chasing tiny jobs, you show up better for the clients who value what you do.

Start by calculating your true costs, set a minimum that makes sense for your business, and communicate it with confidence. The clients who baulk at your minimum were never going to be your best customers anyway.