Quote expiry rules that fit your catering business
By Andrew Hemphill · 16 September 2026
A customer receiving a quote for an event next week should see a deadline that makes sense for that event. A fixed 30-day expiry on its own can leave the quote showing a date after the catering has already happened.
Puree’s account settings let you combine a usual response period with a deadline before the event. You choose the rules for your business, and the earliest expiry date wins.
Two settings that work together
Open Settings → Account Details → Quote expiry.
Quote expiry date sets the usual deadline. Choose a number of days, or On the event date.
Expire no later than sets how many days before the event you need the quote to expire. It shortens the usual response period whenever the event is too close to allow the full period. You set it separately for each order type, because a drop-off and a fully staffed event rarely need the same notice.
The screenshot shows 30 days combined with 1 day for delivery orders and 5 days for staffed events. Customers have up to 30 days to respond, provided the deadline still clears their event by the margin that order type needs. That pairing is a sensible starting point for most caterers: a drop-off can be confirmed the day before, while a staffed event needs the best part of a week to roster staff and place supplier orders.
The response period starts when the quote is created or its automatic expiry is recalculated. Emailing an existing quote does not reset its saved deadline.
What happens with a last-minute order?
Suppose you issue a quote on 1 October for a staffed event on 7 October:
- A 30-day response period gives 31 October.
- A five-day event cutoff gives 2 October.
- The quote expires on 2 October, because that is the earlier date.
The same order as a delivery, with its one-day cutoff, would run to 6 October. That difference is the point of setting the cutoff per order type: the delivery customer keeps almost a week of thinking time that the staffed event cannot afford to give away.
The rules adapt as the event gets closer:
| Time until the event | Delivery order, one-day cutoff | Staffed event, five-day cutoff |
|---|---|---|
| 40 days | 30 days to accept | 30 days to accept |
| 10 days | 9 days to accept | 5 days to accept |
| 5 days | 4 days to accept | Expires at the end of today |
| 2 days | 1 day to accept | The cutoff has passed; staff choose a manual date |
| Tomorrow | Expires at the end of today | The cutoff has passed; staff choose a manual date |
You do not need a separate short-notice rule for these examples. The event cutoff already reduces the available response time.
Online orders and quotes created from enquiries use today if the automatic cutoff has passed, keeping them open through the end of the day. A duplicate with a past calculated deadline starts with the usual number of days from today; update its event date before sending it.
Choose the cutoff for your business
Set each order type to the notice that type of work actually needs. 1 day for delivery orders and 5 days for staffed events suits most caterers, and it is worth starting there and adjusting from experience rather than applying one number to everything.
Work backwards from your own deadlines. A staffed event is usually governed by when you have to confirm casual staff and place supplier orders. A delivery is usually governed by your kitchen’s prep run. Customer collection often needs less notice again, and venue hire may need far more if the room has to be held.
If you accept confirmations on the event day, enter 0. Leaving the field blank switches the event cutoff off. With a fixed response period, this can leave a saved expiry date after the event, although customers still cannot accept once the event day has passed.
Choosing On the event date does not override the cutoff. With an event ten days away and a five-day cutoff, the quote expires in five days. Equally, a usual three-day expiry still wins when the event cutoff is further away.
Give an expired quote more time
Open the quote and choose Re-open quote. Review the proposed expiry date, or enter one, then confirm to return the quote to pending.
In account settings, choose whether Puree should Suggest a date using these rules or Require staff to choose a date. Suggestions are calculated from the reopening date using your current rules. Staff must choose a valid date if the suggestion would already be in the past.
Reopening does not allow a customer to accept after the event day. If the event has moved, update its date as well.
Keeping the suggested reopening date leaves the quote on automatic rules. Choosing a different date, or requiring staff to enter one, makes the expiry manual.
Your saved quotes stay as they are
Changing the account rules does not alter expiry dates already saved on quotes. Staff can choose a manual expiry for an individual quote, and that choice is preserved when its event date changes.
New accounts start with 30 days and a cutoff of 0 on every order type, so automatic expiry is no later than the event date. Existing accounts keep the cutoff they already had, copied to every order type, and may have none until one is entered. Changing a quote’s order type recalculates its automatic expiry using that type’s cutoff.
Before sending or reopening a quote, check that its saved deadline gives the customer enough time to respond and your team enough time to prepare. The quote remains valid through the end of that date in your account time zone.
For the full settings reference and reopening steps, see Quote Expiry Dates.