Getting Your Restaurant Onto Catering Platforms Like ezCater

A catering listing can put your restaurant in front of someone ordering a group meal. Before applying, we would work out what your team can prepare, how it will travel, and who will handle the order from acceptance to handoff. A tray that looks simple on a menu still needs ingredients, packaging, space, and a reliable delivery plan.

ezCater publishes requirements for its own marketplace. Use them as a specific starting point, then check another catering platform's rules separately if you consider one. Prepare the operation and menu before treating a new listing as ready for orders.

How do I apply to ezCater and get the listing ready?

Review ezCater's restaurant requirements, submit its interest form, and complete onboarding if your location is approved.

The current requirements call for a physical storefront that prepares food at the listed location, an established web presence with at least six months of online reviews, and a rating of at least 3.5 on Yelp and/or Google. The menu must suit group orders and drop-off catering, and pricing must meet ezCater's equal-price guarantee. An application does not guarantee approval.

After approval, ezCater creates the marketplace listing and Partner Portal account. Its onboarding process includes menu setup, access for your team, and operational settings. In the Portal, you configure hours, lead times, capacity, closures, and notifications before going live.

ezCater recommends several Portal users with order alerts turned on, so we would name one catering lead and a backup. Give both people a clear responsibility for checking incoming orders and passing confirmed details to the kitchen. Ask the onboarding team to resolve any missing menu or delivery information before the listing accepts orders.

What should I put on the catering menu?

List the group meals your kitchen can reliably produce, with clear portions, choices, packaging, and included items.

Build each offering from an actual preparation plan. Decide whether it is sold per person, by the tray, or as a package. Write how many people the portion serves and what arrives in each order. Keep optional drinks, desserts, and utensils clear so the buyer does not have to infer them from a photo.

We would begin with a focused set of dishes your team knows well. Prepare a sample order and check the portions against the description. Count containers, labels, serving tools, and bags. Record which choices the customer must make and which substitutions require a conversation.

ezCater accepts menus supplied as a spreadsheet, website link, or branded PDF for transcription. Review the resulting listing before launch. Compare every package and modifier with the version the kitchen approved, rather than assuming the submitted file and the public menu are identical.

What photos does ezCater require for menu items?

Use clear horizontal photos of your own food, at least 1200 x 800 pixels, that accurately show what the listed item includes.

The current help page accepts JPG or PNG files and asks for bright, sharp images with room for cropping. It excludes people, text, graphics, watermarks, collages, AI images, and stock photography. We would keep hands out of the frame as well. Avoid added logos; small logos on packaging or labels are the exception.

For an item photo, we would show that one listed dish or complete package. If the package includes a main, side, and dessert, photograph that actual combination. Leave out a drink sold separately. Match the portion and packaging the buyer receives, rather than showing a small plated serving for a large tray.

A banner has a different job: ezCater suggests an overhead spread of several popular items. Keep that wider image separate from individual item photos. Name your files after the menu items so the photo team can pair them correctly.

How do ezCater pricing and restaurant fees work?

The published standard marketplace commission is 15%, and a separate payment transaction fee is 2.99%, with different calculation bases and additional costs possible.

ezCater's current fee page says commission applies to the meal subtotal plus your customer-facing delivery fee, excluding tax and voluntary tips. It notes a different treatment of delivery commission for Automatic and Configured Dispatch orders. The transaction fee applies to the meal subtotal, delivery fee, and tax, excluding voluntary tips.

There are no signup or recurring monthly partner fees on that page. Optional marketing programs and Dispatch delivery can add costs; Dispatch is listed at a $30 minimum for orders up to $300, or 10% of the subtotal above that. Check those selections and your agreement before using the standard rates in a forecast. We would ask for a worked payout example for the delivery arrangement you intend to use.

Do not assume you can simply raise ezCater prices to cover commission. Its equal-price guarantee requires menu prices and fees to match the lowest charged for substantially similar offerings on your own website or other online channels for that location. Cost a catering package that meets that requirement before listing it.

How do I set lead times and order minimums?

Set them from the preparation, staffing, and delivery work needed for a real catering order, then confirm the settings during onboarding.

Lead time is the notice the kitchen needs before an order. Include ingredient purchasing, preparation, cooling or holding where relevant, packing, and delivery handoff in your planning. ezCater recommends starting with 12 to 24 hours and lowering it only once your team is comfortable. Decide who checks orders received outside service hours. A promise that depends on someone noticing an unmonitored notification is not ready to publish.

An order minimum should reflect the smallest job you can sensibly prepare and fulfill. Work through that smallest order using food, packaging, labor, and channel costs. If some dishes need more notice, ezCater lets you set a longer lead time for those items. Ask ezCater to confirm how your minimum is displayed before launch.

Also decide catering hours, delivery coverage, pickup arrangements, holiday closures, and a realistic capacity. ezCater's onboarding documentation provides controls for lead times, closures, and daily capacity. We would review those settings after a staffing change or a large booking so ordinary service and catering remain manageable together.

How do I keep the catering menu matching the POS?

Keep an approved catering menu reference and verify each change in the POS, kitchen instructions, and marketplace listing.

Create a catering item record with its name, portion, price, included components, required choices, packaging, and availability. Distinguish a catering tray from the single meal sold during ordinary service. Matching means the same catering offering carries the same approved details, not that every menu must contain identical products.

Ask your POS or integration provider which fields actually sync in your setup. ezCater's help center describes menu changes as requests sent through the Partner Portal or by email, with simple changes usually taking about 2 business days, so plan updates ahead. Assign responsibility for the fields that require manual updates, including serving sizes and photos. When an ingredient or portion changes, check the description and picture alongside the price.

Before launch, walk a sample order through the team's process. Confirm the quantity the kitchen would prepare, the packaging it would use, the choices on the order, and the person arranging handoff. After an update, reopen the listing and compare it with the approved reference. Keep a dated correction list until the remaining issues are resolved.

Delvixo can help prepare the catering menu, photo checklist, and setup routine around your restaurant's capacity. We can work through it with your team at a pace that suits you.