Event budget template
A spreadsheet that does the math for you. 32 line items across 9 categories, the costs teams forget, contingency set aside before anything else, and estimate, committed and actual side by side. It opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers, and there is nothing to sign up for.
Three tabs: your budget, a worked example, and how to use it.
Every line in the template
Delete what your event does not need and add your own lines inside the right category. The totals and the by-category summary update on their own.
Venue
- Room rental, event day
- Setup and teardown daysVenues often charge these as full days
- Security and cleaning
- Parking or validation
Food and beverage
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Breaks (two)
- Reception, drinks and bites
- Service chargeSet to your venue's %; applies to the F&B subtotal
- Sales tax on F&B and service chargeSet to your local rate
AV and production
- Equipment packageScreens, mics, projection, lighting
- Crew and technician hours
- AV overtime bufferFor when the day runs long
- Power, rigging and Wi-Fi upgrade
Speakers and talent
- Keynote fee
- Speaker travel and lodging
- Moderator or host
Marketing and registration
- Registration platform
- Card processing feesRoughly 3% of ticket revenue
- Promotion and paid social
- Printing, badges and signage
Staffing
- On-site staff and temps
- Photographer
- Gratuities
Technology
- Event app
- Streaming for hybridLeave at 0 if in-person only
- Badge printing on site
Logistics
- Shipping and storage
- Ground transport
- Insurance and permits
Gifts and decor
- Attendee gifts
- Decor and florals
A 150-person, one-day conference
The example tab fills every line for a $120,000 ceiling with 12% set aside as contingency. The numbers are illustrative, not quotes. Prices vary a lot by city and venue, so use it to see how the sheet behaves, then replace every number with your own.
| Category | Estimate | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Venue | $12,300 | 12% |
| Food and beverage | $30,519 | 31% |
| AV and production | $15,400 | 16% |
| Speakers and talent | $19,300 | 19% |
| Marketing and registration | $6,250 | 6% |
| Staffing | $4,800 | 5% |
| Technology | $2,200 | 2% |
| Logistics | $2,750 | 3% |
| Gifts and decor | $5,550 | 6% |
| Subtotal | $99,069 | |
| Contingency (12% of ceiling) | $14,400 | |
| Total with contingency | $113,469 |
$6,531 left under the ceiling · $756 per attendee
The costs people forget
Service charge and tax on F&B
Often 30% or more on top of the menu price. The template applies both to the whole F&B subtotal, so they grow with the menu.
Setup and teardown days
Many venues charge these as full days. If you load in the night before, it is a line.
AV overtime
The day runs long, the crew stays, and the invoice notices. Keep a buffer line.
Card processing fees
Around 3% of ticket revenue disappears at checkout if you sell registrations.
Gratuities, shipping and storage
Small lines on their own, and together they are often what pushes a budget over.
Each of these has its own line in the template. For the reasoning behind every category, read how to make an event budget.
How to use it
- 01Write the budget ceiling and the contingency % first. Budget what is left, not the whole number.
- 02Fill in headcount. Per-person lines pick it up automatically, and you can overwrite any quantity.
- 03Price each line from real quotes. Delete what you do not need and add your own lines inside the right category.
- 04Set the service charge and tax % to your venue's real numbers.
- 05As contracts are signed, fill Committed. As invoices land, fill Actual. Variance flags any line that is drifting while there is still time to act.
Draft the first pass with AI
The blank spreadsheet is the slow part. Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, fill in the brackets, and paste the table it returns into the template. Use the ranges to decide which quotes to chase first. AI does not know your venue's rates, so every number still gets replaced by a real one.
I'm planning a [event type] in [city] on [date] for [headcount] people. My budget ceiling is $[amount], and I want [12]% set aside as contingency first. Draft an event budget using these categories: Venue, Food and beverage, AV and production, Speakers and talent, Marketing and registration, Staffing, Technology, Logistics, Gifts and decor. For each line, give a low and a high estimate for this city. Include the costs teams usually forget: F&B service charge and tax, AV overtime, setup and teardown days, card processing fees, gratuities, shipping and storage. Return a table I can paste into a spreadsheet with these columns: Category | Line item | Qty | Unit cost low | Unit cost high | Notes. Then list the three lines where your estimate is least reliable, so I know which quotes to get first.
Sending the venue an RFP next? The event RFP template asks every venue to price the same lines, so you can compare bids before any of them go into this budget.
Frequently asked questions
What should an event budget include?
A ceiling you cannot exceed, a contingency set aside before anything else, and lines for venue, food and beverage, AV and production, speakers, marketing and registration, staffing, technology, logistics, and gifts or decor. The lines that cause overruns are the ones teams leave out: service charge and tax on F&B, setup and teardown days, AV overtime and card processing fees. This template includes all of them.
How much contingency should an event budget have?
10 to 15% of the ceiling, set aside first. The template defaults to 12% and calculates it from the ceiling, so it does not shrink when you trim other lines.
Does the template work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets, or use File, then Import, in an open sheet. The formulas carry over. It also opens in Excel and Apple Numbers.
What do Estimate, Committed and Actual mean?
Estimate is what you expect a line to cost. Committed is what you have signed for. Actual is what you have paid. Watching all three each week shows a category drifting while you can still change something, rather than after the event.
Can AI build an event budget for me?
It can draft the first pass. Give ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini your event type, city, headcount and ceiling with the prompt on this page and it returns a categorized budget with low and high ranges. Treat those as a starting point and replace them with real quotes; AI does not know your venue's rates.
Is the template free?
Yes, with no sign-up. Download it and change anything you like.
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