Meetings + Events

Tips to help even the savviest event planner create a solid meeting planning budget

When you're accountable for organizing a meeting or event, the budget can become your ultimate event planning guide. Here are meeting planning tips to establish a bullet-proof budget and keep you in the good books with management.

1. Determine all your sources of funding. Decide in advance which expenses will be covered by your organization or event sponsors and what, if anything, attendees will pay for.

2. Create a simple spreadsheet, an event planning checklist, to list expenses for all operational areas of your meeting or event, so you can plan for and track expenses. Some of the major cost areas of meeting planning will include:

• Staff time
• Marketing expenses
• Registration expenses
• Air and ground transportation
• Accommodations
• Food and beverage
• Entertainment and recreation
• Speakers and training
• Taxes and gratuities
• Service charges
• Audiovisual equipment and production costs

3. Review event planner budgets from similar meetings or your organization's past events to compare costs and allow for inflation on items like transportation and food.

4. Add a contingency fund to cover any unexpected expenses that can come up,

5. Factor in expenses for any licenses or insurance that may be necessary. For instance, you may be required to pay a license for music you use or for distribution of written materials under copyright. Insurance costs may be required for serving liquor and general liability, as well as business cancellation and interruption.

6. Take good care of your suppliers. Arrange for your accounts payable team to pay them promptly, if necessary keeping a holding account to cover ongoing program expenses.

7. Arrange to meet with your company's accounting office or financial officer to review the format of your budget. You want to ensure that your expenses can be properly captured through internal accounting systems.

8. As demands may change for your event, confirm in advance which financial officer or department head would have to authorize expenses above and beyond the budget you submit. This isn't necessarily about going over-budget, but being clear on who has fiscal responsibility.