What is an event budget?
A budget is simply an organized way to manage your finances before, during and during the evaluation of your event. It allows you to identify and balance money coming in (income) and money going out (expense). A budget helps you plan for the week, month, or year ahead and determine the kind of lifestyle you can afford.
Who needs an event budget?
Pretty much everyone should be on a budget as most people don't have the luxury of resorting to a bottomless wallet! As a student with a very limited income, you might think that budgeting is a pointless activity. In fact, the less money you have to live on, the greater the need to budget. Budgeting allows you to make the best use of the limited resources you have. Steps in preparing a budget
1. You must first determine where your money is going so that your budget is based on realistic estimates of your expenses. For a month, write down exactly where every penny of your money goes in a journal.
2. Accurately track your income for the same month. Write down any income on the day you receive it – this could include salary, government aid, parental/spouse assistance, etc.
3. Also keep track of your bank balance in your diary. Write down your balance at the beginning of each week. Then you can see at any time during your pay periods whether you are calling on savings.
4. Use the above information to work out your budget on the Budget Planner above the page. Budgeting Tips
Start by overestimating your spending - focus on wants as well as needs. Once you compare this to your income, you need to make some decisions about where to cut back if necessary. The fallback position is "What do I need?"
Don't make your budget too inflexible or too tight - if you do, there will come a time when you can no longer stick to it.
Track your budget for three months and then check it out - can it be improved?
Budgets often fail because organizing an event with irregular or unpredictable expenses is not taken into account. Plan unexpected costs (medical, insurance, overtime, car repairs, etc.) by regularly setting aside money for "emergencies" (various, uncertain costs).
If your budget is in the red, don't panic!! Ask yourself the following questions and make the necessary adjustments:
- Can you remove any of the event fees?
- Can you reduce some of the event costs?
- Would an event loan help?
These finance templates also work with OpenOffice and Google Sheets, so if you're running your business on a very tight budget, hopefully you can make these finance templates work for you too. When time or quality is of the essence, this ready-made template can help you save time and focus on the topics that really matter! An easy way to start filling out your document is to download this Event Budget Template now!
