To launch your successful event, you need to allocate resources to all the different areas of event management. Your event budget gives you the guidelines to prioritize your expenses and determine how you will organize the different areas of your event. The event budget will outline all the different expenses you need to account for so you can see how your resources are used.
Creating an event budget, however, can be a challenge for those new to creating complicated project financial plans. We will walk you through, step-by-step, what you need to know about creating a budget, templates you can use, and examples for consideration to use in your budget planning.
Let’s get started.
What Is an Event Budget?
Your event budget will break down the costs your business will incur for your event, line by line. With a reasonable budget, you can figure out how to prioritize your expenses and make the best possible financial decisions so you can put on the event you envision.
Core Components of an Event Budget
To start building your budget road map, you want to look at all the different categories where your event will incur costs. Here are some of the most common cost areas you will likely encounter:
- Venue
- Catering
- Entertainment
- Staffing
- Marketing
- Permits
- Miscellaneous
As you look at all these different costs, you’ll discover that some expenses will be what we call fixed costs and others will be variable costs. Let’s look at the differences between these two categories.
Fixed costs
The fixed cost means the cost won’t change regardless of how many attendees you have. For example, think about your venue. If you have 250 guests or 350 guests, your venue cost will be the same.
Variable costs
However, variable costs change depending on your numbers. The price of food will likely change depending on how many mouths the caterer is expecting.
These two types of cost lines will impact how you write up your budget, so you should be cognizant of whether the cost will be fixed or variable as you start to organize your budget.
Importance of Event Budgeting for Professionals
Creating an effective event budget requires more than just listing out costs. You want to think carefully about how you allocate your resources and prioritize different parts of the event. Effective event budgeting for professionals requires stakeholder confidence. Run your budget by your stakeholders periodically throughout the planning process and collect their feedback regarding how you are using the funds available. They might have suggestions about how to better prioritize finances or where more investment should be made.
Controlling costs will also play an essential role in your planning. Having a good balance between fixed and variable costs will help you have a good idea of where your budget is being spent. When you have a variable cost, you want to have a good idea of how much the cost will increase at different intervals. Controlling the cost will prevent a certain budget line from running away from you, and you end up spending far more than you planned.
Regular analysis also needs to take center stage. The event can bring tremendous benefits for your business. Attracting leads, building business reputation, and increasing market share will all help your business grow. However, you need to carefully analyze the relationship between the investment you make and your expected outcome. Look at your past events and how well they were able to produce leads and sales. Consider the ROI you received from these events, and how that relates to your anticipated ROI from the current event.
As you design your event, we recommend documenting each step of the process with spreadsheets and templates. Spreadsheets and templates can be easily shared within a group, making it easier to lay out exactly where your finances are going and how they will support your event. We recommend these types of tools because they are easy to implement and share within your team.
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Event Budget
If you are new to designing an event budget, or if you want to improve your team’s ability to construct a quality budget, here is your step-by-step guide to improve your operations.
Step 1 – Define the Event Scope and Goal
The first step you should take is to define your event scope and your goals. Taking a good look at the big picture of what you want to accomplish with your event will make it easier to prioritize different types of costs and determine how you want to allocate your available resources.
Work with your team to define your objectives, considering areas like profit, attendance, and engagement. You can then use this information to determine where you will focus your budget.
Step 2 – Estimate Event Income
Next, you will want to consider the estimated income you can collect from your event. This income can help contribute to your overall event budget and provide you with valuable profit for your business.
The income from your event can come from a variety of places. Some common income generators include:
- Ticket sales
- Sponsorships
- Donations
- Vendor fees
To track all these different sources of income, we recommend using an event income statement or an event income and expenses report template.
Step 3 – Outline All Event Expenses
Now, you will itemize all your expected expenses so you can start to get a feel for the different costs you need to consider and how you want to prioritize them.
An event budget spreadsheet will be invaluable here. It will provide you with guidance as you work through your different expense categories, like we outlined above, and what items will need to fit under each heading. As you start to fill in the spreadsheet, you will see how your money is allocated.
For example, when you work on the venue portion of your budget, you will want to include:
- Location
- Staffing
- Security
- Parking fees
- Tech support
- AV equipment and support
Step 4 – Use an Event Budget Template
Once you have outlined all your potential expenses, pulling up an event budget template will simplify your discussions and final decisions regarding how you will allocate your resources. With the template, you will have an editable document that you can personalize. Since the document is designed to guide you through budgeting, it will track your expenses so you can stick to your budget goals.
Step 5 – Review and Adjust for Contingencies
Even the most well-planned budgets can encounter unexpected expenses. You might have a guest list that outpaces your expectations or a speaker who backs out at the last minute, forcing you to pay a last-minute fee for someone new. It is always best practice to include a 5 to 10% buffer for unexpected costs. This allows you to manage these surprises without going over budget.
As you encounter expenses that differ from your projected budget, track all these changes in real time. This allows you to avoid surprises in your totals and ensures you have a thorough understanding of precisely where your money is going, so you can make any necessary adjustments.
Step 6 – Monitor and Update During Execution
Budgeting for your event goes beyond producing an outline. Active budget management calls for you to make adjustments and note changes as they occur. The event budget format should allow for rapid recalculations as changes occur. This empowers you to shift in response to events in real time.
Event Budget Templates and Tools
To improve budget management, we recommend taking advantage of various budget templates and tools, which can simplify your process and avoid missing key details.
Free Event Budget Template
To get you started, here’s a free event budget template from Smartsheet. See how the items in this budget template align with the needs of your unique event.
Event Income and Expense Report Template
An event income and expense report will help you break down the flow of money in and out of the event. This can be particularly valuable as you do your post-event reporting for the clarity it will offer on the finances of your event. You can compare the numbers on the sheet to your final revenue numbers and make sure all your accounts are fully reconciled.
Use the insight you gain from this report to also improve your ROI analysis. You can compare your final expenses to the number of leads you secured and their average value to gain insight into your cost per lead and the lift the business experienced after the event.
You can find a free event income and expense report template here: https://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/event-budget-template.html
Sample Event Budget Spreadsheet
Spreadsheets work very well for creating event budgets. Tools like Excel, Google Sheets, Smartsheet, and Cvent all offer an easy platform that you and your team can fill in.
Your budget will include headings such as:
Venue
- Equipment for the venue
- The location reservation
- Staffing
- Tech and AV support
Catering
- Food and drinks
- Staff
- Bar services
- Snacks and coffee
Signage and Decor
- Signs and directions for posting
- Lighting and decorations
- Furniture
Entertainment and speakers
- Speaker fees and entertainment charges
- AV equipment
- VIP extras
Marketing
- Ads for social media
- Ads for search engines
- Website development
- Graphic designs
- Flyers and other print promotions
Permits
- Any permits for your location
- Permits for any demonstrations you will run
- Permits for your event size
- Permits for parking and/or transportation
Miscellaneous
- Promotional items and branded merchandise
Pro Tips for Effective Event Budgeting
It’s time for you to take your event budgeting to the next level. Here are our three tips for staying on top of your budget and using your resources to launch the event you envisioned.
Start Early and Revisit Often
Place your initial budget at the top of your to-do list. As your team comes together, it should be one of the first tasks you manage. Your budget will provide you with a roadmap to see how the rest of the event comes together. You will see how much you can allocate for different parts of the event, such as entertainment and food. Once you know your parameters, it becomes easier to find vendors and elements of your event that fit your budget.
As you progress through the planning process, regularly revisit your budget. These revisits give you the space to make adjustments as needed. If you find a caterer who offers you a discount because you booked far in advance, you might have more for entertainment, for example. On the other hand, if your keynote is asking for more compensation than you intended, you might need to cut back on the merch.
Collaborate with Vendors and Sponsors
While you plan your event, work closely with your vendors and your sponsors. Both of these participants in your event will have a significant impact on the budget you have available for your event and how you allocate those resources.
Work with your sponsors to learn more about the types of benefits they appreciate and will make them more inclined to work with you in the future. You will build healthier relationships that will build your income for your budget and your profit.
Similarly, work with your vendors to secure the best services you can for your budget. Consider discounts for signing in advance, being a repeat customer, or bundling services.
Track Every Dollar
Discipline must take center stage as you think about budget management. Ensure you and your team know exactly how every dollar is spent for the event. Don’t enter rough estimates or guesses on your budget sheet. As you cement your contracts, record all final numbers. Tracking your finances closely will keep you on top of your available resources.
Conclusion
A well-developed budget is key to launching an event effectively. You will know where all your money is used and how that directly translates to event success.
As you create a working budget for your event and then modify it as you plan, using downloadable templates can help tremendously. They are a great way to stay on top of all the details involved in budgeting and help you work more effectively.
Bookmark this blog so you can quickly reference the templates you need when the time arises.
FAQs
What is a good event budget format?
A good event budget format is one that helps you keep all your information easy to reference and well-organized. We recommend using a template that organizes your budget by category so you can easily allocate your resources for the desired areas.
How do I create an event income statement?
To create an event income statement, you will want to compile all your sources of income and expenses.
Start by looking at all the areas where you earned money through your event. This will likely include categories such as:
- Sponsorship packages
- Vendor fees
- Ticket sales
You will then use your budget sheet to create a thorough list of all your incurred expenses. Note all the resources demanded by vendors, entertainment, staffing, and marketing.
Once you have all this information, you will want to compare your expenses to your income. You can also quantify your leads and their value and use your cost-per-lead indicator to further evaluate the cost versus profit information.
What should be included in an event planning budget?
Your event planning budget should include all the different costs you will have as you plan and run your event. This means the budget should include all charges related to your:
- Venue
- Vendors.
- Marketing and merchandise
- Entertainment
- Permits
- Staffing
Make your event budget relatively detailed so you can track all the expenses within a given category and get an accurate understanding of your available resources and how they are used for the event.
Are there free event budget templates available?
Yes, there are a variety of free event budget templates available. We have explored several above, but we recommend taking a look at:
