Catch weight pricing is how distributors sell products whose weight varies from piece to piece, such as beef striploins, whole fish, salmon fillets and cheese wheels. The customer orders a number of pieces or cases, you set a price per pound, and the final charge is the actual net weight you packed multiplied by that price. Done well, every customer pays for exactly what they received. Done carelessly, it gives away money on every heavy piece or sends customers invoices they did not expect.
What catch weight is
A fixed-weight product always weighs the same: a 25 lb case of Roma tomatoes, a case of 24 romaine hearts, a gallon of fryer oil. You sell it by the unit, at a price per unit.
A catch-weight product, also called variable weight or random weight, has a typical weight, but every piece comes out different. Two striploins from the same box might weigh 11.3 lb and 13.1 lb. Charging the same price for both would overcharge one customer and undercharge the other, so you price per pound and “catch” the real weight at the scale when you pack.
| Fixed-weight item | Catch-weight item | |
|---|---|---|
| Example | Romaine hearts, case of 24 | Beef striploin, about 12 lb |
| How the customer orders | By the case | By the piece or case |
| How it is priced | Per case | Per lb |
| What the order shows | An exact total | An estimate, marked “~” |
| When the price is final | When the order is placed | When the line is weighed and packed |
| What the packer records | The count | The count and the net weight |
| What the invoice shows | Quantity × price per case | Actual weight × price per lb |
Which products are sold by catch weight
- Meat. Whole-muscle cuts such as striploins, ribeyes, tenderloins, pork loins and briskets; whole birds and parts sold by the case; lamb racks.
- Seafood. Whole fish; sides and fillets of salmon, halibut or cod; lobster and crab sold by weight.
- Cheese and deli. Wheels, wedges and blocks cut to order; whole hams, turkey breasts and salami.
- Some produce. Items sold by the piece or bin and billed by the pound, such as watermelons or large squash, and bulk items packed to an approximate weight.
A simple test is whether two units of the same product can differ in weight by enough money that either you or the customer would care. If they can, sell it by catch weight.
How to price a catch-weight product
Set a price per pound (or in metric, if that is how you sell) and store an average piece weight next to it. The price per pound is what you charge. The average weight is used only to give the customer an estimate and to check the packer’s numbers.
Setting the average piece weight
Use your own packing records rather than a supplier’s spec sheet. Take the last 20 or 30 pieces you packed, add up their weights and divide. If the average drifts with the season or the supplier, update it. An average set too low makes every invoice look higher than the customer expected. Set too high, it makes your estimates look inflated.
Per-piece price or per-pound price
Some distributors avoid catch weight by charging a flat price per piece. That works only when pieces are very consistent, such as steaks portion-cut to a fixed weight. For whole cuts the spread is too wide. A flat price loses money on every heavy piece, and customers soon learn to ask for the big ones.
Quoting an estimate the customer understands
When the customer orders, show an estimate and say plainly that it is one. Mark it with “~” or the word “about”, show the price per pound beside it, and add one line explaining that the final charge follows the actual weight.
Worked example
Beef striploin, $13.90 per lb, usual piece about 12 lb.
- Ordered: 1 piece, about 12 lb. Estimate: ~$166.80 (12 × $13.90).
- Packed: the scale shows 12.4 lb net. Charge: $172.36 (12.4 × $13.90).
The customer saw ~$166.80 when ordering and pays $172.36, which is $5.56 more, because they received 0.4 lb more beef.
Customers accept catch weight readily when it is explained once and shown the same way every time. What they dislike is a surprise. If a piece comes out far from the estimate, tell them before the delivery rather than on the invoice.
Some customers prefer to order by weight, as in “20 lb of salmon fillets”. Agree how you will fill those orders, usually with whole pieces as close to the requested weight as you can get, and say so on the order.
Packing and recording the weight
Catch weight is won or lost at the packing table. For each catch-weight line:
- Weigh on a scale that is legal for trade. In most states, a scale used to sell by weight has to be approved for commercial use and is inspected by the state or local weights and measures office. Check your own state’s rules.
- Take off the tare. The weight you charge for is the net weight of the product, without the box, tray, bag or ice. Either zero the scale with the empty container on it, or subtract a known tare weight. A 12.9 lb reading on a tray that weighs 0.5 lb is 12.4 lb of beef.
- Record the weight on the order line right away, exactly as the scale shows it. Weights written on a scrap of cardboard and typed in later get lost or swapped.
- For lines with several pieces, record the total net weight of the line, or each piece if the customer wants piece weights on the labels.
- Compare it with the estimate. A weight far outside the usual range is either a mistake, such as a wrong digit or a tare not taken off, or a piece the customer should hear about.
The same applies to ice and glaze on seafood. They are not product, so weigh net of them.
Invoicing by actual weight
A catch-weight invoice line should show four things: how many pieces, the actual net weight, the price per pound, and the amount (weight × price). For example:
| Item | Pieces | Net weight | Price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef striploin, Choice | 2 | 24.60 lb | $13.90/lb | $341.94 |
| Atlantic salmon fillet | 4 | 10.30 lb | $11.25/lb | $115.88 |
Bill from the actual weight, never from the estimate. Round once, at the end, to the cent. Multiply the full recorded weight by the price and round the result. The salmon line above comes to $115.875 before rounding, so it is billed at $115.88.
If your accounting system can only bill by unit, make the pound the unit (24.60 lb at $13.90) instead of billing 2 pieces at an adjusted piece price. That keeps the price per pound visible to the customer, and makes the invoice easy to check against the delivery.
Returns, refusals and short pieces
Catch weight makes returns a little harder, because the piece that comes back has its own weight. There are two fair ways to handle it.
- Credit the actual weight of what came back, if you can weigh it or the piece carries a label with its weight.
- Pro-rate when you cannot. If two striploins were packed at 24.6 lb in total and the customer refuses one at the door, credit half the line: 12.3 lb, or $170.97 at $13.90 per lb.
Whichever you choose, write it down and apply it the same way every time. Drivers should record what was refused and why (quality, temperature, wrong item), so the credit is settled the same day instead of argued about at the end of the month.
Common catch-weight mistakes
- Billing the estimate. Charging ~$166.80 for every striploin because it is easier gives away money on each heavy piece and overcharges on each light one.
- Forgetting the tare. A 0.5 lb tray left on the scale is 0.5 lb billed that the customer never received. At $13.90 per lb that is $6.95 a piece, and customers who weigh their deliveries will notice.
- Rounding the weight. Writing 12 when the scale says 12.9 gives away $12.51 on one striploin. Record what the scale shows and round only the money.
- Not telling the customer. A chef who budgeted ~$166.80 and is billed $185 without a word will call. A short note when a piece runs heavy avoids that call.
- A stale average. If the estimate is always well under the final charge, customers stop trusting it. Recalculate the average every few months.
- Weights typed in from memory. Record the weight at the scale, on the order, as the line is packed.
Catch weight in Supligo
In Supligo you set a price per pound, or in metric, and the usual piece weight. Customers order by the piece or case and see the estimate marked “~”, with a note that the charge follows the weight. Whoever packs types in the weight from the scale; Supligo does not connect to scales. A weight more than 25% away from what was expected needs a person to confirm it. The order’s total follows the packed weight, and the customer is emailed only if something differs. If a customer refuses all or part of a line at the door, the driver records it and the weight is pro-rated.
Supligo builds an order summary from what was delivered. It does not issue invoices, so you keep billing from your own system as you do today. More in pick and pack by weight.