Tips for Staying Under Budget

Planning an event of large scale is already tough enough without a tight budget breathing down your neck at every turn. It is an all-too-familiar feeling for me to have an exec who needs everything under the sun for an event and allows a humble budget in which to pull it off.

Get Quotes Up Front

There is no need to correspond with a vendor more than once without a quote. By getting a quote up front, you are not wasting any of their time and they are not wasting any of yours. Some vendors will go out of their way to woo you with talks of what they are capable of and that is understandable - it is their job, after all. But it is your job to get this event planned and execute it while staying under budget. If you stress to these types of vendors that you have a bottom line and need a number, they will provide it up front. Being firm in this request is also a great way to bargain for a lower price, if need be.

Steal From Other Pots

If you happen to locate a vendor that comes in slightly under budget, use that money elsewhere to splurge in another area of the event planning. Likewise, if you know that you can afford to be a little cheap in hiring the speaker for the event, you should seek a speaker that will come in under budget and allow you to spend more money on an element of the event that you deem to be of higher priority. The main goal here is to come in under budget. Your boss doesn't care how much money was assigned to each pot, just that you didn't go over the total allotted amount. So, if it is a swanky event that you are planning to thank the members of the board, go ahead and cut some corners where necessary to really go for it on the food.

Aim Low

Anytime you book an element of the event, you should always assume there will be "extras." Extras can include delivery fees, extra tax on certain items, hidden costs or anything of the sort. These extras are the reason you always want to tell vendors that your budget is quite a bit less than it actually is. Most vendors quote a price and expect that the final amount will be lower but hope that the planner will succumb knowing that her real budget is more than enough. By acknowledging a lower budget, you will inevitably save money and be able to move it into other pots.

Know Your Limits

If the gentleman playing the saxophone sounds just like Kenny G, odds are he costs just about as much and setting up an appointment with him would be a bad idea. At the start of planning the event, you will need to determine what is in your price range before setting up any appointments and/or interviews. There is absolutely no need to set up a tasting with a caterer at a rate that could only feed four, given your budget. First, why lead these vendors on to believe that you might actually hire them? Second, it is difficult to say no to greatness and attendees might care if there is no coat check because you splurged on the caviar. Third, your boss will most likely not approve of your lopsided spending habits and seek alternative event planning assistance in the future. Forth and finally, why torture yourself?

Remember the Bottom Line

I place this last on the list because it is the almighty rule in event and meeting planning. You always need to have that bottom number in the back of your mind, so as to prevent any sort of accidental spending on your part. Your boss trusts that you can plan and execute an event to his satisfaction with the budget he has allowed. No exec wants to see red in that bottom box on the invoice after all is said and done. If you keep your bottom line in your mind at all times when planning the event, you will be certain not to go over, thus cementing your boss's belief in you as a budget-savvy professional.