Planning an event is a crucial task because it requires a great amount of money, therefore, everyone tries to search for different ways to save money and plan events within their budget. If you want to do this then you have to think smartly while spending money on different arrangements of events. In order to arrange a well-organized event with all entertainment and facilities then you have to design an event budget. An event budget is the only way to manage everything according to your wishes. Without an event budget, you cannot manage your party expenses and these can go beyond your funds. It is the perfect way to plan a fantastic event even with limited resources. It is really easy to design an event budget on your own. You can do this with some brainstorming and planning skills.
Event Budget Format Guidelines
Event budget planning is crucial for all types of events therefore you have to design it on your first preference. In order to entertain you, today I will share some tips to design an effective event budget:
- In the first step, you have to know the nature of the event you have to organize to determine what kinds of skills, finances, venue, etc. are required. You have to make sure that you can properly hand in this job within the given time frame according to the required theme.
- Open a word processing program and write down all those areas that require proper finances such as supplies, food, decorations, sitting arrangement, DJ Band, etc. You have to think about everything either small or large in order to prepare a detailed and well-structured budget. You can delete some unnecessary areas later but initially, you are required to include all.
- Estimate how much finances you have to arrange for this event and then estimate your expenses to find out whether these expenses are sufficient for you or not. Clearly write all important activities of the event and write the estimated amount required to plan this activity.
- After planning for the initial step, it is time to estimate how much time you have to plan your event. Tackle the big areas first and assign duties to those persons who are willing to help you. Designate a specific amount of funds for each area but do not forget other parts of event planning.
- Plan everything in advance to save your time and effort. Stay organized from step one because it will make your work easy. Perform each task before sufficient time according to its requirements such as the arrangement of food, seating arrangement, tables, and decorations should be done before the last few hours.
- If you have more than one person involved with you in the preparation of the event then prepare their list to have a proper record of their name and designated task. Finances should be managed by one person only because more than one person handling finances can cause conflicts.
Free Event Budget Templates
Here are previews and download links for these Free Event Budget Templates mostly in MS Excel format.
A Budget Spread Sheet is a file prepared in MS Excel and widely used in businesses. The sheet is prepared in a way that automatically adjusts the figures in the “Balance” column. The two main components of the Budget Spread Sheet are income and expenditure. A budget must be prepared in a systematic order to get a clear understanding of the break-up of various components. A simple budget is always prepared in Excel to make calculations quick, easy, and accessible. Almost all companies follow budget planning guidelines to make their forecast accuracy.
A Budget Spread Sheet can be prepared easily and the format is also not complex. But usually, finance experts handle this department. If the company is small or in a start-up stage, there might not be many employees and the departments might not be separated; hence, any employee may be asked to prepare a Budget Spread Sheet. Therefore, the below-mentioned guidelines will solve your purpose.
Planning Expenses for an Event
The company’s income and expenditure are the only two elements to be considered while preparing a Budget Spread Sheet. Hence, start with the income component. You must know all the components that contribute to the income (investment returns, shares, operating income, rental income, other returns, receivables, etc). Add up all the components to get an estimated figure of the income.
Below the income component, mention all the components contributing to the expenditure. Include all kinds of bills, taxes, interests, payables, rents, transportation, salary, raw materials, operating costs, etc. Add up all of them to get an estimated annual expenditure.
Do not forget to make two separate columns for both income and expenses. These would be named as actual and estimated. Also, calculate the difference between the actual and estimated using the “difference” formula in MS Excel.
Thus, your Budget Spread Sheet is ready with all major components included. To give it a better and professional look, highlight the difference column viz.; if the actual income is greater than the estimated, highlight the number with green. Similarly, if the actual cost is less than the estimated cost, highlight the number (difference) with green.
The above tips can help you in preparing Budget Spread Sheet. Ensure that you keep the previous year’s budget along with you because those figures will be your starting point for this year’s budget. The biggest advantage of using a spreadsheet is that all calculations are chained with one another. This reduces manual work and makes our tasks easy and also error-free. The file can be saved and sent via email to any employee for business purposes. Digital media offers numerous advantages and thus, companies tend to use them very often. The Budget Spread Sheet must be updated monthly to enter the figures (income and expenses). It is better to compare the estimated and actual numbers once a month to test the accuracy of the budget. If the difference is too large, changes must be made immediately to run the company and its operations smoothly.