Event Budget Calculator

How to budget an event

1. Choose the currency, then enter your total budget and the number of guests.
2. Tap Add item for each cost. Pick a category, name the item and enter the estimated amount.
3. As quotes are confirmed and bills are paid, fill in the actual amount next to each estimate.
4. Watch the summary. Remaining is your budget minus what you have actually spent, and it turns red when you go over. Cost per guest uses your actual spend once you have entered some, and your estimate until then.

The categories, and what hides inside them

• Venue — hire, security deposit, overtime charges, generator or power backup, cleaning.
• Catering — the per-plate rate multiplied by guests, plus service staff, crockery, water and taxes. Size the order with the Catering Calculator.
• Decor — flowers, stage, lighting, furniture hire, and the labour to set up and take down.
• Entertainment and Photography — fees, travel and meals for the crew, and any extra hours.
• Invitations, Attire, Transport, Gifts and favours, Staff and Miscellaneous — printing and postage, alterations, guest pickups, return gifts, tips and permits.

Why cost per guest is the number to watch

Most of an event's cost rises with the guest list: every extra person needs a plate, a chair, a favour and floor space. Dividing the total by the number of guests gives a figure you can act on. If the budget is ₹5,00,000 for 200 guests, you have ₹2,500 a head; adding 40 guests at the same standard costs another ₹1,00,000. Trimming the list is nearly always the fastest way to bring a budget back under control.

Keeping estimates and actuals apart

An estimate is your plan; an actual is what left your account. Keeping both shows where the plan was wrong while there is still time to react — if the venue came in 15% over, you can take that out of decor before the money is spent. Enter advances as actuals when you pay them, and update the line when the balance is settled.

Tips that save money

• Hold back a contingency of five to ten percent as its own line. Something unplanned always turns up in the last week.
• Get the total in writing, including taxes, service charges and overtime rates. The quoted price is rarely the final one.
• Confirm the guest count late but before the caterer's deadline, and pay for the number who will really come.
• Export a CSV every so often. The budget is saved only in this browser, and the file is your backup and an easy way to share figures with family or a planner.

Once the numbers are settled, plan the room with the Seating Planner.