Budgeting certainly isn’t the easiest or most enjoyable part of event planning. But managing your money is crucial because, if you don’t take proper care, you can easily overspend.
So, how do you go about creating and managing your budget? To help answer this question, event planning experts share tips to keep your spending on track.
Historical data can be immensely helpful with the budget planning process. By identifying how you have overspent in the past, you can avoid making the same mistakes this time around. If this is your first year in charge of the function, ask the previous planner for their budget figures.
What vision are you trying to achieve? Defining your goals – such as providing a fun experience for the guests, honoring a special occasion, boosting employee morale or creating buzz about a new product – can help decide how to properly allocate the available funds.
For effective budgeting, you need to consider all of your costs. Create an event budget spreadsheet that lists specific expenses you expect to incur, which may include:
Count on facing unexpected costs.
As careful as you might be in your budgeting, it’s important to build in a contingency fund because you never know what might happen. Your function could run longer than you anticipate, leading to added venue and staffing costs. Or your keynote speaker could cancel at the last minute, and a replacement might demand a higher fee. By giving yourself a buffer, you can avoid going over budget in the chaos of an unexpected – and uncontrollable – situation.
Including a professional planner in your event budget might seem like an unnecessary expense, but this is far from the case. An expert in event planning knows how to get the services and products you need at the best possible price. And, with their advice, you’ll be able to spend your money wisely and avoid costly mistakes.
For expert full-service event planning assistance in Utah, turn to the highly-skilled team at In the Event.
Our professional team has over 35 years of combined experience creating innovative experiences, and we can put our expertise to work for you. In the Event can help with venue selection, equipment rentals, themed décor, custom design plans and much more. And, when you rent your lighting, A/V equipment, furniture or décor from us, we include professional event planning services in your rental fee!
For details on our event planning services and rentals, contact our Salt Lake City, Utah, office today.
