Outline event planning expenses: Hosting a grand event might come with its ups and downs which might attract different arrays of expenses ranging from the venue sourcing, food and drinks catering, the event decorations/designs especially now that a lot of clients are very particular about the ambience of the event halls; security, music etc.
The thing is, overlooking even one expense category can have a disastrous impact on the entire event. So, it is very important that you draw out all the elements that you’ll spend money on. Doing this perfectly will help you create an awesome event.
Build A Basic Event Budget: Never you be caught in the trap of insufficient funds at any time during the planning process. Sometimes some clients might keep on adding or changing some elements against the initial agreement. It is better for you to let them know ahead of time that any change or increase will possibly attract more funds, which must also be included in the written contract you have with the client. To Be on a safe side, it is best to build in a buffer zone of 10% to avoid running out of funds. Please, also note that all unused funds shall be refunded to the client; After-all, one of your roles as an events manager is also to be their funds manager and save as much money as possible for them.
Calculate events management fee: Do not create any surprise at all; your management fee must be agreed upon from the get-go. This may be a touchy subject, but it must however be decided and agreed upon from the commencement of the planning process. Events managers have several ways they charge their fees; some could be as a one-off fee, commissions, percentage etc. The bottom line is to get to a compromise with your client and also make sure it reflects in the contract and the event budget draft so no one would be caught unaware.
Trim event cost: Permit me to call it one of the super powers of an events manager; that is the power to negotiate accordingly to save some money for the clients. The truth is that we rarely work with unlimited budgets for most events, apparently, there are always situations where the event manager would need to cut some cost in order to work with the available funds.
Another way is to improvise some elements in order to accommodate the budgets. For example, should you spend less on centerpieces in order to preserve the gourmet dessert?
In some cases, the events manager can go through the expenses and renegotiate or cut back in areas where the guests will never notice.
CONCLUDED
and then