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Caterer Agreement

The terms that apply to catering businesses listing on AlfaCaters, including listings, fees, payouts, food safety and cancellations.

Last updated: 1 October 2026

1. About this agreement

This Caterer Agreement applies to every business that lists on AlfaCaters (“you”, the “Caterer”). It forms part of our Terms of Service, which also apply to you. By submitting your storefront for review, you agree to this agreement on behalf of your business.

2. Who can list

  • You must be at least 18 and authorised to act for the business you list.
  • You must be legally allowed to provide catering services where you operate and hold any licences, permits or registrations your business needs.
  • All information in your listing and onboarding must be true, accurate and kept up to date.

3. Verification

Before your storefront goes live, our team reviews:

  • Required: a copy of the ID or passport of the owner or authorised person, and a bank confirmation letter for the payout account.
  • Optional: business registration documents.
  • Recommended: a certificate of acceptability for food premises. If approved, your storefront shows a Food safety certified badge and appears in the food safety search filter.

We may ask for more information, and we may decline or remove a listing at our discretion, for example where documents cannot be verified. The “Verified” badge confirms identity and bank details only, and you must not suggest it means more than that.

You are solely responsible for the food and services you provide, including:

  • Complying with all food safety and hygiene laws, including the Regulations Governing General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises (R638 of 2018), and holding a certificate of acceptability wherever the law requires one.
  • Safe sourcing, storage, preparation, transport, holding temperatures and serving of food.
  • Accurately describing ingredients, allergens and dietary claims (such as halaal, kosher, vegetarian or vegan), and only making claims you can support.
  • Acting on allergy and dietary information the customer gives you.
  • The conduct, training and safety of your staff.
  • Your own tax obligations, including VAT if you are registered.

We strongly recommend that you hold appropriate public liability insurance.

5. Your listing and prices

  • Your prices must be the full price for what is described, including VAT if applicable. Travel fees are calculated from the distance bands you set.
  • You must honour the price, package contents and cancellation policy shown at the time of booking.
  • Photos must be your own work, or images you have the right to use, and must fairly represent your food.
  • You grant us a licence, free of charge and not exclusive to us, to display your listing content on the Platform and to use it to promote AlfaCaters.

6. Accepting bookings

  • Keep your working days, notice period, capacity and blocked dates up to date so customers only see dates you can deliver.
  • Respond to booking requests within 48 hours, or by noon on the day before the event if that is sooner. If that leaves you less than 4 hours, you have 4 hours instead, a deadline that would fall between 22:00 and 07:00 moves to 09:00 the next morning, and no request stays open after the event day. The deadline is shown on each request. Requests not answered in time expire.
  • With Instant Book, bookings within your availability and capacity are confirmed without your approval.
  • Use booking chat for all booking communication, so there is a clear record if a dispute arises.

7. Fees

  • AlfaCaters charges a commission on completed bookings. Customers do not pay a separate booking fee.
  • The commission includes payment processing costs, so you see a single deduction per booking.
  • Founding caterers pay 0% commission during our pilot. We will tell you the standard commission rate, and the date it starts, at least 30 days in advance.
  • Any future change to the commission rate is notified at least 30 days in advance and does not apply to bookings already confirmed.

8. Payouts

  • Customer payments are collected through our payment provider and held for the customer’s protection.
  • Money is released to your payout account in stages, as each part of a booking can no longer be refunded under its cancellation policy, less our commission. The remainder is released 48 hours after the event if no issue has been reported.
  • To protect customers, we may keep a rolling reserve of up to 10% of released funds for up to 90 days, and we may require newer caterers to wait until after the event before receiving funds.
  • We may hold payouts linked to an open dispute until it is resolved, and may offset refunds owed to customers against future payouts.
  • You are responsible for making sure your payout details are correct.

9. If you cancel a booking

Cancelling a confirmed booking seriously harms the customer’s event, so:

  • The customer always receives a full refund.
  • We may recover any amount already released to you for that booking, including from future payouts.
  • Cancellations affect your ranking in search, and repeated cancellations may lead to suspension or removal.
  • If you must cancel because of a genuine emergency, tell the customer and us immediately so we can help find a replacement.

10. Disputes

If a customer reports a problem, you must respond through the Platform within the time we give you. We will review the evidence from both sides and decide on any refund or adjustment from the funds we hold. We aim to be fair to both parties, and our decision does not affect any legal rights either of you has.

11. Keeping bookings on AlfaCaters

You must not ask or encourage customers you met through AlfaCaters to book or pay outside the Platform, for 12 months after you first connect with them. Doing so may lead to removal from the Platform.

12. Reviews

Customers may review completed bookings. You may reply publicly to reviews in a professional manner. You must not offer incentives for positive reviews, or pressure customers to change or remove them.

13. Suspension and termination

You may close your caterer account at any time after completing or cancelling your confirmed bookings in line with this agreement. We may suspend or remove your listing if you break this agreement, put customers at risk, receive serious or repeated complaints, or if your verification documents become invalid.

14. Liability and indemnity

You are an independent business, not an employee, agent or partner of AlfaCaters. To the extent permitted by law, you indemnify AlfaCaters against claims arising from your food, services, staff or breach of this agreement, including claims about illness, injury or property damage.

15. Contact

Questions about this agreement: caterers@alfacaters.com