One of the things that most event planners can tell you about event planning is that they are not really fans of event planning. It’s stressful, full of things that really cannot be foreseen, and it’s just overall an arduous and demanding process.

Sometimes you may feel like you’d like to skip on some elements and focus on others, but deep down, you probably know that it’s really a bad idea.

To help you get around all these problematic elements, we’ve put together a list of things to look out for that can help you with budget planning.

If you don’t have a good plan on how to do it - you’ll fail miserably. In this guide, we’re going to show you how to avoid the most common pitfalls and approach your event budget to make it fun and affordable.

So, if you need some guidance on how to do it, let’s jump right into it!

What is Event Budgeting?

Every event planner can tell you it’s a nightmare to plan a great event budget expense. There are a lot of things that you have to take into consideration, and most of them are not even something that you would think of.

Lighting, sound, crew, additional crew, additional-additional crew - event success depends on many elements, and just some of them are basic things like food and beverage costs.

Event expenses can go up and down depending on what kind of event and strategy you will follow. Whether it’s something more glamorous or more basic - it’s really important to define for yourself what we are trying to accomplish here.

And that’s why it’s great to have a guide on hand.

What Kind of Software to Use?

Well, there are many different ways to create a successful event budget template, and you can probably find many things like this online. An extreme amount of things come down to an extreme amount of headaches.

Well, in our opinion - the best solution is the simplest one.

And its name is - Microsoft Excel. Event budgets can be overwhelming - Excel will never make you feel like you can’t do something. But, it’s best to work on an example, so let’s check out what your favorite spreadsheet has in store.

Also, we just can’t go by without recommending our affordable Microsoft Office solutions. If you don’t have Microsoft Excel to create your own event budget, do not worry, we’ve got you covered! We have amazing offers for your Office needs, and we can vouch that almost anyone can afford them.

Event Budget Spreadsheet Templates

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As you can clearly see, it’s a pretty simple concept with two columns and the most important elements in each one of them. Here, just as an example, you can find programs, decorations, publicity, refreshments, and site prizes for a virtual event. There are plenty of event budget templates to find online, and if you’re creating an even budget - you may want to check out each one to find the very best. This one is a great event template to work on and will surely suffice for 99% of most managers’ needs. 

Get this template

You can also use this one with some modifications. It’s a spreadsheet with more detail that you can modify to your liking. 

Get this template

You can also try a different style of a spreadsheet with less detail but more transparency. It’s great for a smaller kinds of events.

So, with that in mind, let’s get into some weeds of budget planning for an event.

How to Plan an Event Budget?

Event budget is a rather unusual thing to plan as there are many factors that you have to take into consideration. And, as you probably know, most of them will not come true, and you will probably have to add a few zeros at the end of your budget to make it work.

But, there are some ways to be sure of what you’re trying to accomplish. We’re here to help you in creating an event budget that will elevate your brand to oblivion! So, let’s check out what you should take into consideration.

Determine Your Budget

As we’ve stated many times before, there will be some unexpected costs, and there will be a lot of them. Whether it’s a corporate event or something more casual, there will be some expenses that you just could not foresee in any shape or form.

So, with that in mind, it’s really important to have at least some idea of what kind of costs you’re planning to have and to work from that upwards. The actual cost of everything will be higher, but fortunately - you can foresee some aspects of it in advance.

Also, it would be best if you remembered that creating an event from the “what I want” perspective, not from what I can afford, is dangerous and should be avoided. Inflating costs with an open and creative mind can be really hard to let go of, so it’s best to create a budget first and then try to fill it out with costs.

If you have a free hand, you can do whatever you like, but it’s mostly dependent on your budget manager, finance director, accountant, or whoever is in charge of the money in your company. If you’re a sole proprietor - it’s great, but you’ll have a lot more on your shoulders, so be sure to watch out even more.

Study History

It may sound silly at first, but one of the most important things when creating an event and saving money at that is to look for similar events in the past so you can, more or less, estimate what kind of costs you need to prepare for.

There is a ton of information on the internet on how much an event should cost, and you can easily find what looks the most like the thing you’re trying to accomplish.

And if you work in the bigger event management platform, you will clearly have an extensive portfolio of events to look at to compare what worked in the past and what can work nowadays.

It’s also a great learning experience that you should also keep for your next event. If you can determine that you have overspent some money on gifts, food, or something else, you can clearly learn from that experience and tighten the budget a bit so that you will not go bankrupt because of some excess sandwiches.

Do Your Research

Do not let people tell you what you should pay for something! Do your own research. You will quickly find that most people overestimate how much money things can cost in reality. We’re talking about event marketing, venue costs, technology costs, and everything else - you can really find something much cheaper if you’d just look for it.

Of course, you can’t know everything, so there are some ways to gain that kind of information for sure, but it’s not like it’s mystical knowledge. If you ask around, most people in the industry will tell you about the typical X costs. Even more - most people will recommend something for a discount as they will probably also benefit from it in the future.

As you may already know as event planners, people seek out clients, so with some good recommendations, all the parties involved will have their fair share.

Have a Plan!

The most important thing is to have a plan. It may sound pretty ordinary, but you have to keep in mind that most people do everything as they go, so it’s worth mentioning.

The most basic thing can really help you out in the long run. Such stuff like just writing down what kind of venue you need, how many people you’d want to invite, who is going to be the speaker, etc., etc.

When written down, those things can give you the scope of what you’re trying to accomplish with your team. It’s best to look at it this way - the more detailed the plan you’re going to create, the fewer costs you’ll have because you will not spend any money on something that is not essential. A good plan can get you places for sure!

Gather the Money

Stakeholders, as the title suggests, have some stake in the whole thing, so remember to consult with them about what you’re trying to achieve with this event.

With that, start asking questions about the budget, estimated income, what kind of event is this going to be - is this a hybrid event, do you need to have some advanced event technology, keynote speakers, do we need to pay them, etc. There are a lot of things you can talk through to drastically diminish or inflate your budget, so be sure not to get anything without approval. The costs can be really high for an individual, and you definitely don’t want to pay out of pocket.

Estimate the Costs

As we’ve stated before, you need to have a clear vision of what kind of budget you’re working with. Then, and only then, you can start estimating how much money you’re going to sink into this project. 

To do so, you’ll first need to get everything you can in writing and go point by point on what kind of costs you have to prepare for. The most important things to consider are:

• Marketing
• Venue
• Security
• Equipment (rent or buy?)
• Ads
• Social media promotion
• Photograph
• Keynote speaker
• Design
• Additional staff
• Catering

Remember that to attract attendees, you’ll need a strong budget with technical support ready for every possibility. Of course, this list is created from the most common expenses. There will probably be some additional costs, like in the case of most events.

Contact the Vendors

After you finally get a list of your needs, it’s time to get in touch with the vendors from whom you’re trying to get all the necessary items.

Remember not to get stuck on some one thing and try to get as many of them as you possibly can. By doing so, you can see the real prices on the market and easily negotiate with different event sources representatives.

Be sure to create a detailed version of what you need, as the more elements you’ll find to compare, the better deals you can get out of it.

Love Thy Vendor

If you work in an event planning work environment, you will probably have a list of possible vendors at your doorstep. Be sure to use it, as your relationship with many vendors will be extremely beneficial in the future.

Those business relationships in this kind of environment can pay off in the long run, and you can get some pretty good discounts if you decide to get into long-term relationships with a vendor. It’s understandable that if you could work with someone for, let’s say 1000$ a month or get a one-time payment of 2000$, you’re probably going to choose the first one. Business relationships are all about the exchange, so keep that in mind when planning your event.

Close Your Budget

After accomplishing that, you’ll be able to close out your budget. You know what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, where you’re doing it, and with whom. The last thing you need to do is to sum it all up and add the costs so that you can have an estimate on what is your budget 

You can see what kind of elements went over the limit and what you’ve guessed right. It’s essential to check this one out with the starting budget you’ve put together in the beginning and note what kind of things did not meet the expectations.

Also, be sure to check out the previous event budgets for similar events. You can learn a lot from this data on what items went up in price and…well, probably everything went up, so keep track of that when looking for the prices for the next event.

You can even create an additional column in which you will see how the budget changed over time and what were some of the initial phases of the project versus where we landed at.

Additionally, remember that there will be extra expenses, so add up to 15% of the total budget to be sure.

Check Everything

So, now that we have our budget and everything in it, let’s track what we get and for what kind of money.

It’s a really important process that you need to do at the end of every event to see what worked and what went overboard.

With this kind of data, you will clearly be ahead of yourself and can see how the whole thing went down. 

What We Saved

Remember that it’s not only about what we spend. There is probably a lot of stuff you can save on, especially if you have a good vendor that will stay on your side no matter what happens. 

This is a great way to understand the market and prepare for the next event budget. If you do it right, you will thank yourself in the future.

What Was More Expansive

And the flip side of that is - what we had to pay more for. Inflation is not a great lady to know, so you can only presume that you probably have had too much faith in not getting completely overrun by your budget.

See who cost you more, what kind of equipment you got that was a little too pricey, and where you could cut something but decided to let it be. There are many things to consider in those cases, so be sure to have them all upfront, as they can save you in some cases.

Create a Team

Every event planner will probably tell you that your team has to be top-of-the-top. You need to make room for having the best person on every item and location. If you think that you can just wing it with insufficient people or unqualified employees, you will fail. 

What kind of team members to choose? Let’s go over some examples.

Main Team

Those are the people you really need to have as your leads – the managers, problem solvers, with great communication skills, who are creative, etc.

You need to treat them right, get whatever they need, and remember to value their work properly. As you’ve probably noticed many times in your professional career, it’s rather rare to find someone who understands the task at hand and can think for themselves.

Support

The B Team can do almost everything that the A team can but lacks the personal skills and experience necessary to do said job. Be sure to find some intelligent and goal-oriented people. They come in handy in times of trouble. The worst thing you can do is to get someone who doesn’t really care about the job in your B team or a person who has been overrun with ambition.

Technicians

Technicians are really important, and they can make or break your event. They are mostly freelancers, so be sure to have the same deal with them as you have with the vendors. Get as many of them as you can and do whatever you can to have a long-term relationship with them.

They seek clients, so they will always be interested in what you’re offering but may not be available for your needs 24/7. 

Trainees

The backbone of every event in history. Trainees, volunteers, and just overall - people that do the most basic tasks are an amazing asset to every company if you know how to use them wisely. They are often students or people in entry-level positions in the company, so they don’t know too much but are very eager to help out.

Getting a lot of trainees or volunteers can really drive your costs down as they are not fully fledged employees but also - it’s a minefield. You’ll never know who you’re going to get; without proper oversight, they can be extremely dangerous and potentially destroy everything. So be sure not to overlook their behavior.

…But Automize Wherever You Can

It’s a well-known fact that people are more expensive than machines. You can clearly see that not every single thing has to be done by a human, and it’s sometimes silly to expect that. If you have a reception at your party, you can hire a barista if it’s important, but if not - do you really need something more than a coffee machine that works if you press a button?

Similarly, you can hire a valet that will greet the guests and park their cars, but if it’s a corporate event, is it really that important? Wouldn’t it be easier if just everyone parked their cars? Those are some of the questions you need to ask yourself as an event manager.

Cost-Saving Tips

There are plenty of cost-saving tips you can use to drive your prices down. Of course, it will not be an easy task, but it’s a necessary one for sure. There are a couple of things you can do to get stuff cheaper.

Cutting on People-related Elements

The quickest way to do so is to get on the “human” expenses. And to get on it hard! It turns out that the hotel/food and beverages/traveling, and everything else that is somehow human-related can be costly in the long run but can be very much downplayed if you play your cards right.

For example, you don’t always need to have a 5-star hotel for every corporate event. Sometimes you’ll just need to find a nice 3-star hotel with a restaurant and a conference room. And that’s all you really need at that point.

Cutting on Technology

The other thing is - technology. It can get quite expensive if no one is paying attention to it, and on the other hand, it can be cheap if someone does. The basic concept is simple. Most people don’t know anything about technology, so they often get scammed or talked into some unrealistic costs that are really unnecessary. For example, if you need your event film, you don’t need an 8k, IMAX camera that Christopher Nolan used in his latest film. You can get something much cheaper for a reasonable price on the market.

Find Local Alternatives

Additionally, if big companies give you issues or some problematic budgets, see if there’s a local, smaller company. Those people can usually get the job done well for a fracture of the price. They need customers, and big companies don’t need anyone. So keep that in mind while creating future budgets.

Event Budget Planning - Conclusion

Here we are, at the end line of our presentation. Budget planning is really hard, but in the end, if everything goes well, it’s also extremely satisfying. One of the best things in a life of an event planner is when they see that everything went according to plan with no problems whatsoever. It’s a rare visual, but a welcomed one.

We’d also like to thank you for checking out our guide. It was a pleasure creating such an informative guide for you, and we hope that we could help you out with event planning needs. If you have any questions about any part of our guide, please feel free to let us know. We’d be more than happy to find out some of the conundrums you got in and how we can solve them.

Also - let us know what you think. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated.

If you have any software/gaming/office-related issues, let us know, we’d be more than happy to create a great guide for you.

And - if you could share this article with your friends and family, we would really appreciate it. Until the next one!