BEO HQ vs Total Party Planner
Total Party Planner is a long-running catering management suite priced per user with a setup fee; BEO HQ is a focused document generator at a flat monthly rate with no processor requirement.
Total Party Planner has been serving caterers for a long time and has the depth that comes with it: event management, menu and recipe handling, staffing, reporting, and a customer base that stays put. If you want a full catering management system from a company that knows the industry, it is a credible choice and its pricing is published, which is more than several competitors manage.
Two things are worth understanding before you commit. First, the cost stacks: Nibble is $119 a month for one user, Feast is $299 for two, and Delicacy is $429 for three, with additional users at $25 a month each and a $299 one-time setup fee. Second, payment processing is not optional in the way you might expect. TPP Pay is included in the base pricing, and clients who do not adopt it face a $200 monthly fee. BEO HQ is $19 or $39 flat and takes no position on how you collect money.
| Feature | BEO HQ | Total Party Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $19 to $39 | $119 to $429 |
| Users included | 1 on Starter, multiple on Pro | 1, 2, or 3 by tier |
| Additional users | Included on Pro ($39) | $25 per month each |
| Setup fee | None | $299 one time |
| Payment processor | Bring your own, no requirement | TPP Pay, or a $200 monthly fee |
| Free tier | 1 watermarked BEO + 1 invoice | No free tier or trial |
| Try before you talk to sales | Yes, ungated BEO builder | Live demo with the TPP team |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days on first subscription | 30 days |
| Annual discount | About 2 months free | 10% off |
| BEO generation | Core feature, free ungated builder | Yes |
| Recipes and food costing | Not included | Yes |
| Staffing and scheduling | Staffing on the BEO only | Yes |
| Best for | Caterers who need documents | Established operations wanting one suite |
Choose Total Party Planner if...
- You want a full catering management suite rather than a document tool, and you will use the recipe, costing, and staffing modules.
- You are happy to run payments through TPP Pay and want that integrated with your event records.
- You have the budget for $119 to $429 a month plus setup, and a team that will make use of the extra seats.
- You value a long-established vendor with deep catering-specific experience and hands-on onboarding.
Choose BEO HQ if...
- Documents are the bottleneck: BEOs, proposals, contracts, invoices, and quotes from one event record.
- You already have a payment processor you like and do not want software dictating that choice.
- You want to evaluate the output today rather than book a demo, and to skip a setup fee entirely.
- A flat $19 to $39 fits your business better than a per-user tier structure.
The real cost math
Total Party Planner publishes three tiers: Nibble at $119 a month including one user, Feast at $299 including two, and Delicacy at $429 including three. Additional users are $25 a month each, and there is a $299 one-time setup fee across the tiers. Annual billing takes 10% off, and there is an optional $500 data entry package plus a $10 a month custom lead capture form.
So a two-person shop on Feast is $299 a month plus $299 up front, which is roughly $3,887 in the first year before add-ons. BEO HQ Pro is $39 a month or $390 a year with multiple users included and no setup fee. That is a real gap, and it should be, because these tools are not doing the same amount. The question is whether the extra capability is capability you will use.
The payment processing requirement
This is the detail worth reading carefully before signing. TPP Pay is included in the base pricing, and clients who forgo adopting it face a $200 monthly fee according to Total Party Planner's own pricing page. In practice that means the processor decision comes bundled with the software decision.
For some operators that is fine or even convenient: one system, one reconciliation, one support line. For others it is a real constraint, particularly if you have negotiated rates elsewhere or your accountant is set up around an existing processor. BEO HQ takes no cut of your payments and has no preferred processor. You send the invoice and collect however you already collect, which is either a feature or a missing integration depending on how you like to work.
No free tier, and what that costs you
Total Party Planner does not offer a free trial. Instead you book a live demo where a member of their team walks you through the product, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. That is a legitimate model, especially for software that benefits from being shown, but it does mean you cannot quietly evaluate the output against your own event on a Tuesday evening.
BEO HQ's BEO builder is ungated on the landing page: no account, no card, no call. You can put a real upcoming event through it and export a real PDF in a few minutes, then decide. The free tier covers one watermarked BEO and one invoice after that. If you are the kind of buyer who wants to try before talking to anyone, that difference matters more than any feature comparison.
Is BEO HQ a good Total Party Planner alternative?
For the document half, yes, and at a fraction of the cost. If your realistic use of TPP is producing event orders, proposals, contracts, and invoices, and the recipe costing and staffing modules go untouched, you are paying suite prices for a document generator.
For the full suite, no. BEO HQ has no recipe costing, no staff scheduling, and no integrated payments. If those are load-bearing in your operation, switching would take capability away. As with the other suites, a middle path exists: keep the heavier system for back-office work if you need it, and use a faster tool for the client-facing documents.
No setup fee, no processor requirement
Build a real banquet event order on the landing page without an account or a demo. Starter is $19 per month, and you collect payments however you already do.