Beverages on consumption: quote the offer, then charge for what was used

When beverages are charged on consumption, the final bill is not known when you send the quote. Customers still need to see which drinks will be available and what each one costs. Your team also needs an estimate of what to supply.

Puree’s packages let you prepare those two views together: an on-consumption offer with unit prices for the customer, and estimated quantities for your team. After the event, replace the offer with normal beverage items for the quantities actually consumed.

Explain the arrangement before listing the drinks

Create a menu header called On-consumption beverages. Its optional default commentary can make the charging arrangement clear:

The following beverages will be available at your event and charged according to actual consumption at the unit prices shown below. Final charges will be confirmed after the event.

Then create a package named On-consumption beverage service with a $0 price per guest. An optional description such as “Beverages are charged after the event according to actual consumption” reinforces the arrangement.

The package is a way to organise the offer and plan the supply. Its zero price does not mean the drinks are free; it means the consumption charge has not yet been calculated.

Keep supply estimates available to your team

Add the wines, beers and other offered drinks as Fixed items, and assign the On-consumption beverages menu header to all of them. A separate rule header is unnecessary for this setup.

Set each item’s quantity type to per guest and enter your own estimate of what to supply, using the correct unit for the item. These estimates are for ordering and packing. They are not recommended drinking quantities or amounts the customer has agreed to purchase.

When you add the package to a quote for, say, 100 guests, Puree scales those estimates to the guest count. Your internal view retains the resulting quantities for event preparation and, where supplier links are configured, the external supplier-order workflow.

Show the unit price without charging the estimate

For every included beverage, turn Info only on and Show price on before adding the selection and saving the package.

An info-only item inside a package keeps its internal quantity but hides that quantity from the customer and contributes no item charge. Show price lets the customer see the unit price as reference information without adding the estimated supply to the total.

The customer’s quote therefore shows the service package, the beverage heading and explanatory copy, followed by the available drinks and their unit prices. Your internal estimates stay with your team.

This differs from a fixed-price beverage package, where the customer pays a set price per guest and individual drink prices are hidden. See Beverage packages: a clear customer offer and quantities for your team for that workflow.

After the event, add what was actually consumed

Once you have the consumption figures, edit the quote and remove the whole On-consumption beverage service package from it. The package’s included lines are removed too, leaving you ready to add the final charges.

Add each consumed beverage individually as a normal charged item, with Info only off. Enter the actual consumed quantity, check its unit price against the customer’s quoted price, and save.

These normal item lines now contribute to the quote total. Removing the package from this quote leaves the reusable package in your catalogue for future events.

Review the final quote and invoice

Check the updated quote against your consumption record before invoicing. If the quote is already linked to Xero and your account has a working connection with auto-sync enabled, saving queues an invoice update. Check the sync result and the invoice; payments or other invoice restrictions can prevent changes from going through.

For the full setup and completion steps, see Beverages Charged on Consumption. The guides to External Suppliers and Connecting with Xero explain the supplier and invoice workflows.