Too Small To Need Us? Why Micro and Small Caterers Are Exactly Who We Built This For

August is peak season. You’re out most weekends, the diary is full of weddings, festivals and private parties, and by the time you get home there’s barely time to eat, let alone think about paperwork. If you’re running a one, two or three person catering operation, legal support probably feels like something for bigger businesses. It isn’t. It’s actually you who needs it most.

Bigger caterers can absorb a bad debt or a messy dispute. A micro or small operation usually can’t. One client who refuses to pay a £2,000 invoice, or one wedding that ends in a complaint because the terms were never written down, can be the difference between a good month and a genuinely difficult one.

Why micro caterers are the most exposed, not the least

We hear the same thing a lot: “we’re too small for a solicitor, that’s for the big companies.” It’s the opposite. Larger businesses usually have finance teams chasing invoices and standard contracts drafted years ago. Sole traders and small teams are often working from a WhatsApp conversation, a deposit paid by bank transfer, and a verbal understanding of what was agreed. That works fine until it doesn’t.

The businesses we see get caught out most often are exactly this size: one van, a handful of regular staff, no admin support, and an owner who is doing the cooking, the quoting and the invoicing all at once. Nobody has time to draft proper terms, and nobody thinks they’ll need them until a client stops answering the phone after an event.

What we actually help with

We work with catering businesses on the legal side of running the business, not the food side. That means:

Commercial contracts and agreements – supplier agreements, subcontractor arrangements, and event contracts that actually protect you if something goes wrong on the day.

Terms and conditions – the document that decides whether you get paid for a cancelled booking, a reduced guest count, or a client who simply changes their mind three days before the event.

Debt recovery – getting you paid when a client won’t pay on time, or won’t pay at all.

Dispute support – help responding to a complaint or a difficult client situation before it turns into something bigger.

Wills and Lasting Power of Attorney – because running the business is one thing, but making sure your family and your business are protected if something happens to you is another. We can help you get this in place too

Debt recovery: how it actually works

Unpaid invoices are the single biggest issue we see from smaller caterers. A client disputes the bill after the event, or simply goes quiet. Chasing this yourself by email rarely works, and taking a client to court without the right paperwork is a slow and often frustrating process.

Our debt recovery service starts with a Letter Before Action, a formal legal letter that puts the debtor on notice and, in a lot of cases, is enough on its own to get you paid. LBAs are £150 to £250, plus a success fee of 10% on amounts recovered under £5,000, or 5% on amounts over £5,000. You only pay the percentage fee if we actually recover the money.

If the letter doesn’t work, we can assist in preparing your court claim. Catering debts are usually small enough to go through the small claims track, and most of our clients act as litigants in person rather than paying for a solicitor to run the whole case. We can assist in drafting the claim so it’s properly pleaded and gives you the best chance in front of a judge, without the cost of full representation. Court claim drafting runs from £195 to £1,495 depending on the value of the claim.

PAYG: for when you just need an answer

Not every business is ready for a monthly retainer, and that’s fine. Our PAYG package gives you three hours of legal advice, banked and usable over six months, for £595. That covers quick questions about a difficult client, or help reviewing a short email or letter, guidance on handling situations and deciding a practical strategy for you.  It’s the right option if your legal needs are occasional rather than constant.

Essential support: ongoing cover for £495 a month

For businesses who want to stop firefighting and actually have someone in their corner, our Essential support plan is £495 a month. It’s built for exactly the kind of catering business we’ve described above: no in-house legal knowledge, a steady stream of contracts and client queries, and a genuine need for quick answers rather than a full law firm bill every time something comes up.

At this level you get ongoing access to advice as issues arise, so you’re not starting from scratch every time something goes wrong, along with priority turnaround and preferential rates on drafting work like contracts, terms and letters that fall outside the plan. If you want the exact scope confirmed in writing for your business before you commit, just ask; we’ll set it out clearly so there’s no guesswork.

The real question to ask yourself

If a client cancelled a £3,000 booking tomorrow and refused to pay the deposit, would your current terms actually get you that money back? If you honestly don’t know, that’s the gap we close.

Not sure where to start?

That’s exactly what the free consultation is for. As an NCASS member, you’re entitled to a free 30-minute legal telephone consultation with us, no obligation, just a straightforward conversation about where your business is exposed and what would actually help.

Get in touch and let’s make sure you’re ready before you need to be.

📨 [email protected]

Or call your nearest office:

☎ 0118 321 4188 (Berkshire & Home Counties)

☎ 01260 212414 (Cheshire & Northwest)

☎ 01843 808021(Kent & Southeast)