AllSeated is a free collaboration network for planning events that enables you to design floor plans, manage guest lists, and create seating seating charts.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I hate spreadsheets, and I hate budgeting. They’re necessary evils, as we all know, so when it’s time for me to budget I rely on templates and apps like Wally to help plan out my expenses.

If you’re an event planner looking to simplify your budgeting process, you need an event budget template. Templates are a great option for event planners who can’t afford elaborate budgeting software and need a different solution.

I’ve compiled a list of seven event budget templates (a mix of Excel spreadsheets and printable options) that will help you plan out your expenses for most—if not all—of your events.

If none of these templates are exactly what you’re looking for, never fear: I round things out with a quick guide to building your own event budget template.

Templates are listed in alphabetical order.

Excel templates

These templates are best for event planners who not only want to plan out event expenses, but also want to visualize those expenses using Excel spreadsheet tools. Excel templates grant users far more flexibility than printable budgets, making them ideal for complex events with multiple moving parts.

Printable templates

For planners who prefer to work on paper, these templates are just what you’re looking for. These are best for smaller events without too many moving parts, and cover basic expenses such as venue, decorations, and staff.

Build your own event budget template

While these seven templates cover most of the basics, they don’t cover every base. If these listed templates don’t have everything you need, you can build your own event budget template from scratch in whichever format you prefer.

Eventbrite has a thorough guide that walks you through each step of designing your own event budget. I’ve summarized their steps below, and unpacked the process further by including additional pointers on what you should look for when creating your event budget.

Step 1: Determine what you are budgeting for

While most events have similar expenses such as venue costs or guest registration systems, others—such as drone security and other trendy features—are unique to each event. The benefit of building your own budget is the ability to organize your unique costs any way you please.

What expenses should you account for when building your event budget template? Free video effects for mac desktop.

• Venue and decorations
• Catering
• Staffing
• Travel costs
• Audio/visual equipment
• Entertainment
• Miscellaneous fees

Step 2: Identify your actual costs

Your budget needs a baseline of necessary expenses, such as the venue, which come before adding any extra amenities. The baseline consists of broad categories, each of which is fleshed out with individual costs.

Here are a few examples:

Venue:

• Room rental
• Security deposit
• Parking

A/V:

• Projectors
• Internet/Wi-Fi
• Speakers
• Microphones
• Cameras

Catering:

• Bartenders
• Servers
• Food
• Beverages

Marketing:

• Print materials and design work

Entertainment:

• Musicians/DJ
• Speaker fees
• Associated housing and transportation costs

Miscellaneous:

• Venue decor
• Seating
• Additional event staff
• Taxes and fees

Eventbrite recommends color coding your expenses, labeling venue expenses in red, marketing expenses in blue, travel costs in green, and so on. This will help you keep your finances organized and make finding what you need a breeze.

Step 3: Plan out your projected revenue

Once you’ve calculated your expenses, it’s time to project your revenue.

Most event management software can track ticket sales, while others track additional sources of revenue, such as vendors, sponsors, and donation income. If this isn’t your first event of this kind, go back and reference previous revenue totals and spreadsheets to help build your estimate.

When projecting your revenue, look for:

• Cost per attendee versus cost per registration dollars earned
• Trends in attendee costs and cost per registration in relation to each other (have they gone up or down?)
• Event opportunities, including new technologies that create new costs while also bringing in new revenues (example: RFID technology)
• Similar events and their profitability

Step 4: Plan for unknown variables

In any budget, you want to create a buffer for incidentals encountered while planning your event. It’s better to over budget and be left with excess funds than to be stuck in the red before you’ve collected any revenue.

For tips on keeping costs within your established budget in order to create that buffer, check out this video from Event Planning Blueprint TV:

Step 5: Bringing it all together

Now that you have all of the information you need, it’s time to put your event budget together.

For Excel users, here’s a quick tutorial on how to create a simple spreadsheet budget that you can plug all of your data into:

For those of you who prefer pen and paper, use one of the templates above as inspiration and add in your unique, necessary variables and sections to create a comprehensive, fully customized budget.

Other event management resources

Instead of meeting your needs, maybe these templates have made you realize you need a budgeting software system to help plan out your expenses. Check out Capterra’s budgeting software directory, and be sure to use the powerful filtering tool to help you find exactly what you need.

Capterra’s event management blog is full of resources and guides to help you pull off the perfect event. Here’s a few to get you started:

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Looking for Event Management software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Event Management software solutions.

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