24 Aug creating your budget
when planning an event, the first few steps in the event planning process is to create a budget. a budget helps you keep control of all incoming and outgoing costs during the event and can also work as a checklist to help stay organised.
you may have software to do this online, but the most common way is to set up an event budget in excel. if you are creating your budget on excel it allows for flexibility on modifying the document for your understanding. you can include columns to allow for further descriptions on certain event specifics and show projected estimate costs.
the venue will usually be the biggest expense in your event budget. when receiving costs from the venue you want to make sure you have detailed everything included in the price such as any delegate packages, refreshments even service charges.
another section is staff, this will be staff days allowance working on the event, during pre-planning plus onsite. when detailing the allowance of staff, you will need to make allowances for staying onsite and general expenses.
creative is also an important part of your budget when looking at if any design or print work is needed for your event. when receiving these costs, they are usually detailed as the number of days spent on design work. adding this allows you to work with your client to agree a certain number of days for creative.
depending on the event brief, production will also be a section on your budget and will detail how much production is involved. you can include what is detailed in the production set-up, staffing and equipment. this allows you to break down quotes and see what is included.
when putting your budget together it is ideal to include a contingency amount, this allows for a buffer on event costs. when planning, sections are always added on, and this is ideal especially when working to a budget limit.
adding all these sections will build the framework to your budget template and you can add on further additional costs. your budget will be a working document throughout the planning process and will always be updated. this will include updating post event costs and final invoicing payments from the client, venue, and suppliers.
if you need help organising an event, get in touch today and email us at info@sevenevents.co.uk