How to make an event budget your client can approve.
A good event budget is not a guess at one big number. It is a list of lines, each with a quantity, a unit price and a reason, that the client can read, question and approve. Here is how planners build one, step by step.
Eight steps from brief to approved budget
- 01
Read the brief
Write down guests, days, city, dates, the client's target budget and what must not change. These numbers drive everything else.
- 02
Set your categories
Venue, catering, hotel, production, transport, show, staff, branding and other. Fixed categories make budgets easy to compare.
- 03
List every line
One line per thing you will pay for: main hall, coffee breaks, sound and light, airport transfers. Small lines add up.
- 04
Tie quantities to guests and days
Meals are guests × days, rooms are rooms × nights. When the guest count moves, the budget moves with it.
- 05
Replace estimates with quotes
Start with your own estimates, then swap in real vendor quotes line by line, and note who quoted what.
- 06
Add contingency and fee
Show contingency and your agency fee as their own lines, not hidden in the prices. Then add VAT.
- 07
Send it for approval
Send one version, with a total the client approves in writing. Keep their name and the date.
- 08
Track every change
After approval, every change gets a reason, an amount and the client's yes. That is what keeps the final invoice clean.
Estimate first, then replace with quotes
Clients usually want a number before you have quotes. That's fine: build the full budget with your own estimates from past events, mark it as an estimate, and agree a target total.
Then ask vendors for quotes and replace your estimates line by line. Keep the vendor name next to each line, so you know which numbers are confirmed and which are still guesses.
Read the small print in every quote
Most budget surprises are already written in the vendor's quote. Before a number goes into your budget, check:
- Is VAT included or on top?
- Service charge or gratuity on catering: often 10–25%, depending on the country
- Overtime: staff, venue and crew after a set hour
- Minimum spend on food and drinks
- Delivery, setup and teardown fees
- Equipment the venue rents to you on top of the room
- Cancellation and reduction terms: from which date you pay in full
Changes after approval
Every event budget changes: more guests, a longer bar, an extra technician. The problem is never the change; it is the change nobody agreed in writing.
Write each change with its reason and amount, and get the client's yes before you commit the money. Keep the approved total and the waiting changes apart, so everyone can see both. This is exactly what Yestivo does for you, but the free template's change log works too.
Questions
How much contingency should an event budget have?+
Many planners start at about 10% of the subtotal: less when most prices are fixed, more when the venue, guest count or programme is still open. See our guide to event contingency.
Should my agency fee be a separate line?+
It depends on your agreement with the client. Many agencies show it as a percentage or fixed fee on its own line; others include it in the prices. Either way, be consistent and write it down.
How do I handle VAT?+
Keep prices without VAT in the lines and add VAT once at the end. VAT rules for events differ by country and by client, so check with your accountant.
What is the fastest way to start?+
Download our free event budget template. It has the categories, typical lines, guest and day quantities, contingency, fee and VAT ready.
Bring one real budget. See it under control.
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