Hi everyone. Hope you’re doing great? Today’s lecture is bent on teaching you how to prepare an event budget using modern technology.
What is an Event Budget?
An event budget is a forecast or estimation of all the expenses and costs that you’d incur in the course of planning an event.
You’d never know how much you’re to actually spend on an event, but you can have an actual estimate for it.
Why Should I Prepare an event Budget
The purpose of event budgeting is to enable you and your clients know the financial costs of the event. It enables your client know what he/she is likely to spend on the event.
It is very important to do proper research before preparing a budget, and it is also pertinent for you to adequately put all the possible items that might arise on the budgeting sheet, so no unexpected costs arise.
How to Prepare an Event Budget
Preparing an event budget is a very crucial skill every event planner must possess. You have to be quick, you have to be accurate and you have to be flexible.
The following are the preliminary steps to take, when preparing an event budget.
Steps to take when preparing your event budget
- Find out your client’s plans
- Write out all the possible things/services that would be needed at the event
- Do a quick estimation of the possible costs using estimation software
- Do market research
- Get Minimum and Maximum Cost Projections
- Put the budget in a formal format
- Present the budget, either in the event proposal or as a standalone document.
Id be explaining the above items below
1. Find Out Your Client’s Plans
You’d need to hold a preliminary meeting with your client and find out his/her plans and aspirations for the event.
To do this, you might need to compile a form or a questionnaire with all the questions you’d need to ask the client. Those questions might range from his preferred venue, food policy, colours, event aspirations, number of guests, music, etc.
Allow the customer to say everything they’d love, and to even send samples or photos of the things he/she would love to see. This would enable you prepare a good budget easier.
2. Write out all the possible things/services that would be needed at the event
Once you have gotten your client’s ideas for the event, go forward to write out a list of all the things that would make this possible.
This list can either be taken from a checklist which you have prepared a long time ago, or it can be a custom list you prepared for your client.
This list would enable you to prepare the budget for the event. You can either use the 24Rentz event checklist or the budget template to do this.
3. Do a Quick Estimation Using Estimation Software
Veterans can do this without a software. However, if you are a newbie or amateur event planner who has no idea the price range of lots of services/items needed for an event, you can use estimation softwares to make a quick one.
A typical example of this software is wedding cost. With this website, you can quickly estimate the price of your event and get a foresight to what it might cost to execute an event.
This estimation isn’t to be taken religiously. It is to be used as a yardstick for measuring prices. Most times, the estimation is an average or a minimum. You might need to double the prices, or add half to the cost to arrive at the current market costs.
4. Do Market Research
You’d need to do market research to find out the actual prices of those items. Like I said earlier, the prices you see on estimation websites might not be accurate.
Many event planners use 24Rentz to check prices of certain items. Alternatively, you can send us your list items and our staff will do it for you in less than 48 hours.
Your market research gives you the prices of the items. You compare prices of individual items, based on quality and location.
When you’ve done the market research and gotten all the prices, pen them down. They would be vital for the next step.
5. Prepare Minimum and Maximum Costs Projections
Let’s say you got prices of 10 different venues in your clients dream location. The lowest venue costs $1000 and the most extravagant costs $5000.
In your projections, you use the minimum and maximum costs as the price. You don’t give a definite figure, you give a price range. Alternatively, you can use the average as the price projection.
So in your venue price, you either use $1000 – $5000 as the venue price or you can just put $3000 [($1000 + $5000) ÷ 2] and as the price.
Do this for all the items on your list so you get a minimum and maximum costs projection. Also calculate the average price.
This makes your budget better and your client more informed of the possible prices he/she would be paying.
6. Put the Budget in a formal format
You can either prepare a presentation slide, use Excel sheet, a PDF, video or any method that would make the numbers more understandable.
The way you present the budget matters more than the preparation, so you have to be meticulous about it. Use pictorials or charts to show possible prices, ranges and projections.
24Rentz can help you prepare a nice budget document, with a great design for your client. Just use the chat button to contact our agent. The fee is very much affordable.
7. Present the Budget
This is the most important part of the budget. The presentation of the budget would determine if the client moves on or not.
You’d need to be smart with your words, and to prepare it when the client is at their best mood. Most times, it’s better to present it when you’re with the client. This enables the client to ask questions about the budget and be clarified on details.
You can do this remotely, probably using zoom or Google meet. Use the share your screen function to project your screen or your slide, so you client knows what to expect.
Remember, a budget is just an estimate. Prices change and the customer would still have the final say of what items to be selected and what he can pay for.
Can 24Rentz Help me Prepare an Event Budget?
Yes! 24Rentz can help you prepare a professional budget for your next event. Just hit us using the WhatsApp chat button and our experts would get on it.
Prices might vary based on the workload and location. Also, we do this for free for certain customers, and for some of our students.
Hit us up and we’d get started.
How long does it take to Prepare an event budget?
Depending on how fast you are, it should take a minimum of 48 hours to prepare a professional budget.
24Rentz can estimate it for you in 24 hours and prepare a full budget in less than 72 hours.
We hope to reduce this time in the future, so you can do your budgeting instantly and faster.
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