Budgeting For Party Planners

Whether you are a professional party planner or a private individual hosting a party for friends you need to keep an eye on the money you are spending. To do this properly you need to create a budget. A budget is a written document, normally prepared using an excel spread sheet that forecasts the potential costs and in some cases income for the event. A well created budget that is updated regularly is an essential tool that will help you check your spending under control. It will serve as your money guide throughout the planning process.

A budget is important for many reasons, otherwise it would just be a waste of time. At the beginning of the process when quotes are been prepared it will help you decide whether or not to take on the job. Corporations, charities and individuals are all becoming very aware of costs and you need to be sure that the party can be organised within the proposed price point. Then once you decide to go ahead with the event the budget will facilitate the decision making process from start to finish. It is a critical toll in helping you to spend money wisely.

Any budget will have two main heading, revenue and expenses. You must not only know the source and date on which money will be received but also when you will be expected to pay for items. In other words cash flow forecasting, but don't worry you can use the budget template for both.If you are an experienced party planner chances are you are well aware of how to set up a budget but you will also need some "hard figures". That is where experience comes in very handy. By referring to past events you can be more certain about the cost of the various elements. For those new to the business it will take longer. Do not take short cuts when it comes to populating the budget template. You may have to make a large volume of calls or spend hours trawling the net for accurate prices but it will be well worth the effort.

The individual line on a budget should reflect the overall vision for the event. General heading such as Venue, Wine, Entertainment, etc will remain the same but once you get further into the detail the line items will change. For example the budget lines for a top end corporate event are likely to be very different to the detail for a 10K sponsored run. In the context of business events a budget is also a very effective form of internal communication. If you are an employee who has been placed in charge of the event you can use the budget to keep your line manager informed throughout the planning process and of any problems as preparations for the event get under way.

If you expect to receive money for the event then the budget detail should clearly show the sources of that revenue. Generally there are a number of revenue sources, own reserves, ticket sales, sponsorship or a combination of all three. The important point to note is that the revenue may not be received until after expenses have been incurred so it is essential that you confirm your suppliers terms of trade. If you have reserves built up from previous events then it may not be such a big issue. This point highlights the important of running an adequately funded business.