Budgeting An Event

As I’ve been discussing, in order to plan a successful event, there are numerous tasks that need to be handled, including a major one, writing out a budget.  It would be nice to have a client say, “I want you to plan an amazing event for me and money is no object!”  However, that’s rarely the case.  There’s almost always some window of how much money can be spent and since we are learning about budgeting in my class this week, I thought this would be a perfect time to discuss this part of event planning. 

First off, there are a TON of websites that can be found to give you tips on starting a budget, budget proposals, as well as finding examples of budgeting templates, like this one called, The Great Event.  It’s a budget in a printable form that has most areas already spelled out so there’s not as much research as to what needs to be budgeted out.  Of course, not everything needs to be used in every event, but it is a great start! 

There’s also another website called, Docstoc.com, that gives a great example for a budget proposal.  Before there is a budget set in stone, research has to be done to see the roundabout figures that your company would possibly have to spend, and then it would be discussed and presented in a budget proposal.  The example above is in a PowerPoint presentation format.  The budget proposal is very important because it shows where and how the money will be spent so your clients don’t feel they are getting overcharged or cheated out of their money.  It also helps us, as event planners, become more organized with the money and make sure we don’t go over budget.

One last website that I want to discuss is www.ecu.edu.  This website is full of awesome information such as: budget preparation tips, including budget templates for download, definitions of common budget terms, budget preparation suggestions, possible budget cost items, plus even more budget tips.  I feel this website has a lot of useful information when it comes to budgeting.

All I had to do was go to Google and type in “concert budget” and thousands of sites and templates popped up that were easily accessed.  The ones I discussed were my favorite and most helpful so I thought I’d share them with everyone!  I’m sure some will be more helpful than others and since there are thousands to choose from, I’m sure some people will find others more helpful to them as well!