When planning an event, managing a budget can be very difficult. Even if you believe you’ve accounted for everything, something always seems to happen to throw a spanner in the works. These unforeseen hiccups have the power to escalate the final cost of your event, which is why budgeting effectively can make sure these budgeting costs are managed.
The larger and more complex the event, the more likely these kinds of things are bound happen, making budgeting strategies all the more important. In this blog, the team at Samson Hire walk you through several great ways to manage your budget to prevent any unforeseen catastrophes. Read on to learn more!
Create an effective budgeting template
A complete budgeting list is the perfect place to start when considering budgeting for your event. When you’re creating this list, it’s important to not omit any detail, no matter how small it seems. Every detail you add makes your finished list all the more accurate, and helps you better consider your budget.
- Venue rental (and potentially any relevant hidden costs)
- Decorations
- Food and beverages
- Technology hire
- Programming
- Sign costs
- Marketing and advertising
- Staffing
- Travel costs
These are of course completely dependent on the size of your event – a local school event might not require huge costs associated with programming and marketing, for example. It’s important to break down costs into categories such as this to ensure nothing is forgotten.
Ensure everyone involved with the budget is consistent
Having more than one person contribute to a budget can be valuable on some occasions – it might save something being completely forgotten, or brainstorming can help conjure up some great ideas individuals might not have thought up on their own.
If there is more than one person managing the budget, it’s a necessity to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Effective collaboration is the key to making sure that two or more contrary budgets aren’t produced. People might consider different budget areas as priority, which will obviously see money allocated in very different areas. What results is a budget that is unusable (and perhaps even some avoidable disagreements!).
Make sure to spend where necessary
Although a budget can make organizers hesitant to spend money wherever possible, this is not necessarily a wise move. Preventing spend on frivolous things is obviously advised, but not spending money where it counts can actually harm an event.
Knowing where to allocate budget to the cheapest options can be an art, but a lot of it also involves common sense. For example, hiring a cheaper audio-visual option might help stretch the budget further, but if dozens of people have to crowd around a tiny screen and listen to tinny speakers, it could hardly be considered money well spent, and can even devalue the rest of the event.
All ready for your big event?
With these simple steps, making sure your budget doesn’t get out of hand can be considerably more likely. With your budget all ready, you can now start diving into your event. To help ensure that you’re prepared for your next event, make sure to get in touch with Samson for complete sign needs, including electronic advertising signs and rooftop balloons. Make sure to get in touch if you have any questions at all.
1800 77 88 99