Busy Season Catering for Accounting Firms in Vancouver

Tax Season Is a Food Desert for Accountants

From January through April, Vancouver accounting firms run 60-80 hour weeks. Partners and senior associates eat at their desks. Junior staff survive on vending machines. The office kitchen fills with abandoned takeout containers, and nobody has time to organize a proper group order.

Firms spend serious money on overtime, but almost nothing on keeping those overtime workers fed. A Big Four manager once told us their team ordered Skip The Dishes individually every night during busy season, each person spending $25-35. For a 20-person team working late 4 nights a week, that is $8,000-11,200/month in uncoordinated food spending.

Structured Meal Programs Save Money and Time

A coordinated catering plan for the same 20-person team runs $14-18 per meal. That brings the monthly late-night dinner cost down to $4,480-5,760. Lunches add another $4,480-5,760 for the same team. Total: under $11,000/month for two meals a day versus $16,000+ with individual ordering. Use our Meal Stipend Calculator to calculate the right stipend for your firm.

Two-Meal Plans for Crunch Periods

Most accounting firms use a two-tier approach: daily lunches year-round (keeps team culture strong even in off-season), plus late-night dinners from mid-January through April 30. The dinner menu rotates through heavier, more satisfying options: rice bowls, pasta, hearty soups, and grilled proteins. These are meals designed to keep people productive until 10 PM, not put them to sleep.

Real Numbers from a Mid-Size Vancouver Firm

A 35-person firm on Burrard Street (let's call them "MBC Partners") rolled out our program in January 2026. Their data after 3 months:

• Individual food spending dropped from $31/person/night to $16/person/night (catered)
• Time spent ordering food fell from 15-20 minutes per person to zero
• Late-night productivity increased, per partner estimates, by about 30 minutes per person per night
• Staff satisfaction survey scores for "workplace support" jumped 22 points

At 35 people working late 4 nights/week for 16 weeks, the program cost $35,840 but saved roughly $52,000 in individual meal reimbursements plus an estimated $67,000 in recovered billable hours.

Beyond Tax Season

Smart firms keep the lunch program running year-round. Off-season, it becomes a team-building tool. On-season, it is survival infrastructure. The cost per person drops when you commit annually because we can lock in vendor rates and optimize delivery routes. See the Per-Meal Cost Comparison to compare seasonal vs. annual plans.