Free Excel template
Free RSVP and headcount tracker template
For anyone organizing a banquet, team dinner, school gala, reunion or party who needs a real headcount for the caterer and the venue. Enter each invited party, their reply and meal choices; the template counts confirmed and pending guests, works out the tables you need, totals each meal, estimates catering cost and flags replies that do not add up.
Preview and try it
This is the template's sheet, calculated by the same engine as the Cellwise app. Change any number to see the formulas react before you download.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Event RSVP and headcount tracker | ||||||||
| 2 | Seats per table | 8 | |||||||
| 3 | Cost per adult meal | 42 | |||||||
| 4 | Cost per kid meal | 18 | |||||||
| 5 | |||||||||
| 6 | Party | Invited | RSVP | Adults | Kids | Chicken | Salmon | Vegetarian | Check |
| 7 | The Garcia family | 4 | Yes | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | OK |
| 8 | Dana and Chris Webb | 2 | Yes | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | OK |
| 9 | Hannah Lowe | 2 | Yes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | OK |
| 10 | The Okoro family | 5 | Pending | ||||||
| 11 | Mike Sullivan | 1 | No | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Priya and Raj Menon | 2 | Yes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | OK |
| 13 | The Bauer family | 4 | Yes | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | OK |
| 14 | Tess Morgan | 2 | Pending | ||||||
| 15 | Leah and Sam Cohen | 2 | Yes | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | OK |
| 16 | Grandma Rose | 1 | Yes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | OK |
| 17 | The Nguyen family | 3 | Yes | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | OK |
| 18 | Owen Price | 2 | No | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 19 | Coach Bill Harris | 2 | Yes | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | OK |
| 20 | The Kowalski family | 5 | Yes | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | OK |
How the formulas work
Confirmed guests with SUMIF
Adds adults and kids only on rows where the RSVP is Yes. Count people, not invitations: a family of four that replies Yes for three counts as three. In the sample, 32 guests are confirmed out of 46 invited, and 9 more are still pending.
Plan for the worst case
Pending guests (C30) are everyone in a party that has not replied, counted at the number invited. Confirmed plus pending is the most people who could turn up. Give the caterer the confirmed number on their deadline, but book the room for the higher figure until the last replies come in.
Tables needed with ROUNDUP
Guests divided by seats per table, always rounded up, because 4.9 tables means you need 5. ROUND would give the wrong answer whenever the fraction is under .5. C34 shows the empty seats at the last table, useful for fitting in a late reply.
Catch replies that do not add up
For Yes replies, the check makes sure a party has not added extra guests and that the adult meal choices add up to the number of adults (kids get the kids' meal in this template). Row 36 counts the problem rows: every message starts with M, so COUNTIF with "M*" finds them all and ignores OK.
Make it yours
- Use a drop-down for the RSVP column so the formulas always see the exact words: select C7:C24, then Data > Data Validation > List, and type Yes,No,Pending.
- Highlight rows waiting on a reply: select A7:I24, then Home > Conditional Formatting > New Rule > Use a formula, enter =$C7="Pending" and choose a yellow fill.
- For assigned seating, add a Table column, then count seats per table with
=SUMIF(table_column,1,adults)+SUMIF(table_column,1,kids)to check no table is over capacity. - Change the meal names in F6:H6 to match your menu. If you have more than three choices, insert a column before Check and add it to the meal check formula.
FAQ
How do I track RSVPs in Excel?
Put each invited party on a row with the number invited, their reply and how many are coming. Then SUMIF the attending columns where the reply is Yes, and SUMIF the invited column where the reply is Pending to see who might still come.
How do I work out how many tables I need?
Divide the headcount by the seats per table and round up: =ROUNDUP(guests/8,0). Always round up, because a fraction of a table still needs a whole table.
Should I count pending guests in the catering number?
Caterers usually want a final confirmed number by a set date. Use the confirmed figure for the order, and the worst-case figure (confirmed plus pending) for the room and chairs until replies are in. Follow up with pending parties before the caterer deadline.
Functions used
IFPicks a result from a testSUMAdds numbersCOUNTIFCounts cells that matchCOUNTACounts non-empty cellsSUMIFAdds cells that matchROUNDUPRounds away from zero
Related guides
- How to sum if a cell contains text in Excel
- How to round to the nearest 5, 10 or 100 in Excel
- Excel IF statement with multiple conditions
- How to count cells with text in Excel
More free templates
- Expense report templateFor employees who need to claim back business costs, and for the managers and bookkeepers who check those claims.Free .xlsx
- Purchase order templateFor small businesses, office managers and buyers who send purchase orders to suppliers and want to track what actually arrives.Free .xlsx
- Accounts receivable aging report templateFor owners, bookkeepers and credit controllers who invoice customers on terms and need to see who owes what and for how long.Free .xlsx
- Weekly employee shift schedule templateFor managers of shops, cafes, restaurants and small teams who build the rota in a spreadsheet.Free .xlsx
Updated