Corporate · drinks reception, seminar, evening event
Wine for a corporate event: quantities, invoice, VAT
An 80-person corporate drinks reception over two and a half hours drinks about fifty bottles, rounded up to full cases. The calculator counts them by colour; the rest of the page answers the questions the purchasing department will ask next: invoice, VAT, payment terms, on-site delivery.
The numbers for your event
Set for 80 people, a two-and-a-half-hour standing buffet, 75% drinking wine: at corporate events, drivers and people going back to work count for more than children. For a seated seminar dinner, tick the meal.
What the purchasing department will ask
An invoice, not a till receipt
Invoice in the company's name, with VAT number, a delivery address separate from head office if needed, and a referenced purchase order when your procedure requires one.
Payment terms
Payment on receipt or at 30 days for identified businesses. No cheque to send before dispatch: that is for orders from private individuals.
On-site delivery
To the event venue, on the agreed date, with a contact on site. Six cases are delivered as parcels, forty on a pallet. No hidden charges when the invoice comes.
A quote within 48 hours
With named wines, vintages and prices excl. and incl. VAT, so it can be compared with others. No commitment.
VAT on wine for an event: recoverable or not
This is the question that changes the real cost by 20%. The general rule: VAT on alcoholic drinks is not deductible, except when they are consumed at a reception held in the company's interest. In practice, that covers the launch drinks, the seminar dinner, the annual party, drinks with clients, provided you can show the purpose of the event and keep the list of attendees. What is not covered: wine bought to be given away.
| Use | VAT deductible | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Drinks reception, seminar, annual party, launch | Yes | Reception in the company's interest, identifiable attendees, invoice in the company's name. |
| Gift to a client or an employee | No, unless | Deductible only if the gift does not exceed €73 incl. VAT per recipient per year, all gifts combined. |
| Bottles taken home by employees after the event | No | That is a gift, not a reception. Hence the point of a tight margin. |
A summary of the general rule, not tax advice. Your accountant decides on your case. For gifts, the client gifts page details the €73 threshold and how it is calculated.
How many bottles for a corporate drinks reception for 80 people?
About forty over two and a half hours, with 75% drinkers: two glasses in the first hour then one an hour, six glasses per bottle, 8% margin. Half sparkling, the rest white and rosé. A seated seminar dinner adds one bottle per two guests.
What wine budget per head for a corporate event?
€6–10 excl. VAT per person for a two-hour drinks reception with decent wines, €12–20 with champagne and good-level Bordeaux. The calculator's table gives three levels incl. VAT; take off 20% to read it excl. VAT if the VAT is recoverable on your event.
Can the caterer supply the wine instead of us?
Yes, and many do, with a mark-up on the purchase price. Buying the wine directly and having the caterer serve it generally costs 20 to 40% less on this item; some caterers then charge corkage. We also work directly with caterers, event by event.
How far in advance should you order?
Two weeks for a standard order delivered in mainland France, three to four weeks in November and December, when end-of-year gifts overload the carriers. The quote goes out within 48 working hours; the order is firm when the signed quote comes back.
Corporate organisers' mistakes
- Counting sign-ups, not attendees. At an internal event, 15 to 20% of those signed up don't come. Count the likely attendees, not the mailing list.
- Planning red for a standing reception. Without a plate, red doesn't get drunk and it stains carpets. Sparkling, white, rosé; the red waits for the seated dinner.
- Ordering generously “so as not to run out”. Unopened cases are not taken back, and bottles taken home by employees become gifts as far as VAT is concerned. The 8% margin is enough.
- Delivering to head office rather than the venue. Forty bottles don't go up well in a lift on a Friday at 5 pm. Have them delivered to the event venue, with a name and a phone number on site.
A different schedule, a seated dinner, a two-day seminar? The general calculator combines the moments freely. Numbers look right? Ask for a business quote. Two-hour after-work drinks for about forty colleagues? The after-work drinks page does the count, mostly in white. Ordering for the whole year? The company wine calendar puts the events end to end, with the deadlines.