Generate a BEO and plan your run of show

Plan your run of show

The run of show is the timeline of what happens on event day - setup, doors, service, breakdown. Open an event and click Run of show, then add an entry with a time, what happens, and an optional note. There's no assignee field on a run-of-show entry - it's a schedule, not a staffing list. Check off each entry as Mark done once it happens.

Create the BEO

Open the event and find the BEO (Banquet Event Order) panel - the document the kitchen and floor crew run the event from. Click Create BEO to start a draft. While it's a draft, add kitchen notes and service notes and click Save notes. Delete BEO removes the whole thing if you started it by mistake; that button stays available even after you finalize.

A BEO pulls together everything Catertoo already knows about the event:

• Event summary - date, time window, guest count, status, client, and venue.
• Timeline & schedule - the run-of-show entries you planned above.
• Menu - line items from the event's accepted proposal (it shows "No menu finalized yet" until a proposal is accepted).
• Staffing - assigned staff, their position, and shift times.
• Equipment & rentals - equipment lines on the event.
• Notes & special instructions - your kitchen and service notes.

Finalize and download

When the BEO is ready, click Finalize BEO. This assigns it a BEO number and locks it - you can no longer edit the kitchen or service notes directly. Once finalized, download it as a PDF in three versions: Full copy (everything), Kitchen copy (the menu and kitchen notes, no equipment or service notes), and Service copy (equipment and service notes, no menu or kitchen notes). Each is a straight download, not a print preview.

If something changes after you finalize - staffing, the proposal, equipment - click Re-finalize to refresh the BEO from the event's current data under the same BEO number.

Good to know

• You can create and even finalize a BEO before a proposal is accepted; the Menu section will just be empty until then.
• Kitchen and service notes can only be edited while the BEO is a draft. Re-finalizing refreshes everything else but keeps the notes as they were.
• Creating, editing, finalizing, and downloading a BEO are all blocked until you finish setting up your business.
• If a confirmed event is coming up soon with no run-of-show entries, Catertoo flags it on the event's readiness checks so it doesn't get missed.

What's next?

• Book an event and assign staff before you build a BEO.
• See your schedule on the calendar for a wider view of your bookings.