The ABCs of Budgeting By Jenn Kimbel, CMP, meeting & Event Manager and Deirdre Bourke, CMP, Senior Account Executive In today’s turbulent economy, budgeting is crucial. Zero-based budgeting is the most effective and accurate way to budget for your conference. In other words, you should start with a clean slate estimating revenues and expenses based on the location of your meeting, the unique cost issues associated with it and other factors that may affect your program. Why? The approach of adding a 5% increase over last year’s final budget won’t cut it anymore. To start the budgeting process, you and your Conferon team need to research these factors and follow the “ABC’s of Budgeting”. Revenue—review all sources of revenue for your program—attendee registration, exhibits, and sponsorships. Expenses—Consider all the following categories and others that may be unique to your program. Audio Visual—equipment rental costs, production expense, labor issues unique to venue, contracted concession items (i.e. complimentary microphones, no patch fees for audio-recording, etc. Exhibits—exhibit space rental, per-booth costs (providing booth package or not?), carpet (is your hall carpeted?), signage, registration counters and support furnishings, cleaning fees, labor issues. Food and Beverage—determine average costs for all meal services and breaks (i.e. coffee costs can be as high as $95 per gallon in New York vs. $45 per gallon in other locations). Will the meeting location and program schedule have an effect on attendance? Do you have an F&B minimum required in your venue contract? Budget realistically but erring to the high side is a good start. Labor—pay particular attention to union issues. Does the facility require specific labor due to union contracts? Electricians, rigging, ushers, sound and lighting technicians, decorators, carpenters, etc. Office equipment support—rental costs for computers, printers, fax machines, etc. Registration—material costs (badge stock, badges, conference bags, etc.) and on-site staff Security—personnel costs for security guards, EMT, badge checkers; fire marshal approval for floor plans; facility mandates for security personnel; re-key of meeting rooms Signage—review signage needs for directionals, sessions, special events, information (exhibit and registration hours); cost of various sized signs, entrance units, etc. Consider any contract concessions from general contractor or sign production company; easels—provided by facility or do you need to rent? Speaker Expenses—fees and travel expenses Staff Travel Expenses—airfare, guestroom expenses (consider contract concessions for comp or staff rate rooms), meals, incidental expenses (parking, cabs, etc.) Telecommunications & Electrical Requirements—cost estimates for telephone lines, including instrument rental; fax lines, internet connections and/or modem lines for offices and meeting rooms; Cyber Café—internet connections and electrical hookups; electrical hookups required for offices, registration, etc. Transportation—airport meet & greet (costs can vary based on distance from airport); daily conference shuttle service (is it required for all hotels or only few not in walking distance?), special event transportation; VIP transfers; transportation for the disabled (do you need separate vehicles that are wheel chair accessible?) Additional Items to Consider ADA compliance issues—extensive ramps for stages; rental of carts in large meeting facility Attrition—review hotel contracts for possible attrition concerns—budget accordingly Tax Exempt Status—is your organization tax exempt in the state where you are holding the meeting? Complete all necessary paperwork and distribute forms accordingly to all vendors. Conferon has developed a user-friendly budgeting tool that can be updated throughout the planning process. This will allow you and your Conferon team to know where you stand financially every step of the way. Proper budgeting will help avoid the pitfalls of how to pay for those “surprise” expenses that can come up with meetings. The question to consider is not “should I budget,” but rather, “did I budget wisely?”