How to plan a client dinner

To plan a client dinner, pick a restaurant that is quiet enough to talk in and convenient for the client, ask the client about dietary needs and their company's gift rules, arrange payment with the restaurant before anyone sits down, and decide in advance who sits where and who from your side says what. Afterward, write down who attended and why while you still remember, keep the itemized receipt, and follow up within a day or two.

This guide covers the decisions in order, from the invitation to the expense report, with a planning timeline at the end.

Decide what the dinner is for

A client dinner has a purpose even when nobody says it out loud: thanking a long-standing client, getting to know a new one, smoothing over a hard quarter, or meeting the people behind a deal before it closes. Write the purpose down in one sentence before you book. It decides the guest list, the restaurant and how much business talk is appropriate.

Keep the group small enough for one conversation. Our guidance: four to eight people around one table. Past eight, a long table splits into two or three separate dinners, and the people at the far end don't talk to the client at all. If the guest list is bigger than that, a private room with two round tables and a host at each works better than one long row.

Match seniority roughly. If the client is bringing a vice president, someone at a similar level from your side should attend.

Choose the restaurant

Pick a place near the client's office or hotel, not yours. Then check it for the things that make or break a business dinner:

• Noise. Visit or call at the same day and hour you plan to book. A room that's loud at 8 p.m. on a Friday can be fine at 6:30 on a Tuesday.
• A private room or a corner table. Ask for a round or square table if possible, so everyone can hear each other.
• A menu with range. Several vegetarian dishes and a kitchen that handles allergies without fuss.
• Pace. A tasting menu takes three hours; make sure your guests want that. Most client dinners are better at around two hours.
• Price that matches the relationship. A restaurant far more expensive than the client would choose can read as showing off, and some clients aren't allowed to accept it (see below).

Book one to two weeks ahead for a weeknight, more in December when holiday parties take every private room. Those lead times are our guidance; in large cities, popular places book further out.

Ask the client two questions

When you invite the client, ask about dietary needs ("Is there anything you don't eat, or a cuisine you'd rather avoid?"). Our guide to handling dietary restrictions at team events covers how to pass allergy information to a kitchen.

Then ask whether their company has rules about business meals. Many companies cap what employees may accept. Government employees often have strict limits: under the federal executive branch rules in 5 CFR 2635.204, a federal employee may generally accept unsolicited gifts worth $20 or less per occasion, and no more than $50 a year from one source, and the definition of a gift includes meals. State and local governments have their own rules. If your client works for a government agency, ask their ethics office before you book. Asking is normal and saves an awkward moment at the end of the meal.

Settle who pays before you arrive

Whoever invites, pays. Make that clear in the invitation ("We'd like to take you to dinner") and then remove the bill from the evening entirely:

• Call the restaurant ahead and give your card, or arrive 10 minutes early and hand it to the host.
• Ask them to add the standard tip, or tell them what tip to add, so nothing needs signing at the table.
• Ask the server not to bring the check to the table.

If the client reaches for the bill anyway, a simple "It's taken care of, thank you for coming" is enough.

Know your own company's policy before you order. Many companies set a per-person limit for client meals and require the names of everyone present. Find out whether alcohol is reimbursable and whether there's a cap on wine.

Plan the seating

Seating is the one thing you can control that changes how the conversation goes. Our guidance:

• Seat the most senior client in the best seat: facing into the room, not toward the kitchen door or a wall.
• Put your most senior person beside or across from them, not at the far end.
• Alternate your people and the client's people, so nobody from your side ends up talking only to colleagues.
• Seat the person who knows the client best where they can bring others into the conversation.

Tell your team the seating plan before you arrive, and walk in a few minutes early so you can guide people to their seats without it looking staged.

Run the evening

Brief your own team in advance: the purpose, what the client is dealing with right now, and topics to avoid. Agree who will raise business, if anyone, and when. A common pattern is to keep business out of the conversation until after the main course and then keep it short.

Keep alcohol modest on your side, and never push it on guests. Offer non-alcoholic options without comment. If you plan anything after dinner, such as a drink at a bar or a show, make it clearly optional.

End on time. "We know you have an early start tomorrow" is a gracious way to close the evening at the two-hour mark.

Expenses and taxes: the basics

This section is general information for US businesses, not tax advice. Rules change and depend on your situation, so ask your accountant how they apply to you.

According to IRS Publication 463 (for 2025 returns), a business generally can deduct 50% of the cost of a business meal with a client if the meal isn't lavish or extravagant, you or your employee are present, and the food and drinks are provided to you or a business associate (a current or prospective customer, client, supplier, employee, agent, partner or professional advisor). The cost includes taxes and tips. Entertainment such as concert or game tickets is generally not deductible at all, which is one reason to keep the dinner and any outing afterward on separate bills.

Recordkeeping matters as much as the rule. Publication 463 asks you to be able to show the amount, the date, the place, the business purpose and the business relationship of the people at the meal, and to keep documentary evidence such as receipts for expenses of $75 or more. In practice: keep the itemized receipt (not just the card slip) and write the names, companies and purpose on it or in your expense tool the same night.

A gift you give the client at dinner has its own limit: Publication 463 caps the deduction for business gifts at $25 per recipient per year.

Follow up within two days

The next day or the day after, send a short note. Thank them for their time, mention something specific from the conversation, and include anything you promised to send. If there's a business next step, name it in one line.

Hi [Name], thank you for joining us at [Restaurant] last night. It was good to hear about [specific thing they mentioned], and I've attached the [item] I mentioned. I'll send over [next step] by [day]. Thanks again, [Your name]

Then do the internal follow-up: submit the expense with the attendee list and purpose, and write down a few things you learned about the client for whoever hosts them next.

Planning timeline

Our guidance for a weeknight dinner of four to eight people:

When	What
2 to 3 weeks out	Set the purpose and guest list; check your company's meal policy
2 weeks out	Invite the client; ask about dietary needs and their gift rules
1 to 2 weeks out	Book the restaurant; ask for a quiet table or private room
3 days out	Confirm the booking and headcount; give the restaurant your card and dietary notes
Day before	Brief your team on purpose, seating and topics
Evening of	Arrive 10 to 15 minutes early; settle the bill with the host
Same night	Note attendees and purpose with the itemized receipt
Within 2 days	Send the follow-up; file the expense

Where TeamOutings fits

TeamOutings is built for internal planning, so it fits the side of a client dinner that happens inside your company. You can set the dinner up as an outing for the people on your team who are attending, with the restaurant, time and cost per person, and use the outing's chat to agree on seating and who covers which topics. It doesn't send calendar invitations or collect dietary needs, so invite the client and ask about food directly.

For dinners with your own team rather than clients, see how to plan a team dinner, and for drinks-based gatherings the guide to after-work socials.