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Best Event Budget Template in Google Sheets [5 Free Templates]

Are you looking for efficient event budgeting solutions? With the help of Google Sheets, organizing an event budget has never been easier. Google Sheets offers a range of customizable templates that can help event planners track expenses, forecast costs, and manage cash flow.

In this article, we have compiled some of the best event budget templates available in Google Sheets. Whether you’re planning a small gathering or a large conference, these templates come with customizable features, automatic computations, and organized layouts that will help you stay organized and financially keep your event on track.

What Makes a Good Event Budget Template?

Finding an ideal event budget template depends on your specific needs. For example, you’d want to use a business-focused template when organizing a conference. Regardless of the type, here are the following characteristics you should look for in a budget spreadsheet:

  • Income and expense categories: An event budget should ensure that every dollar coming in and going out gets recorded. Categories should include venue, marketing, registration, food and beverage, and miscellaneous expenses.
  • Formatted and well-labeled fields: The template should have a well-structured and organized layout, with the categories and subcategories clearly defined. This makes it easier to navigate and understand your budget at a glance.
  • Auto-calculated cells: Find templates equipped with functions and formulas for automatic computations. This way, you can reduce human error and make the work easier.
  • Dashboards: Charts and graphs also provide plenty of help in managing your event budget, so make sure the template you download has one.

The Best Event Budget Templates in Google Sheets

Here are the top event budget templates in Google Sheets you can use for streamlined budgeting and financial management. These user-friendly templates offer customization and powerful tracking features for efficient planning.

1. Fundraising Event Budget Template

Event budget template Google Sheets—Fundraiser budget template

 

Are you organizing a fundraising auction or charity event? Use this fundraiser budget template to see the potential costs for fundraisers, track income from sponsors and donors, and allocate your budget efficiently. You’ll find the following features inside our spreadsheet:

  • The Dashboard tab with a bar graph that displays your income and expenses (both the projected and actual amounts).
  • The Income tab that contains a detailed breakdown of potential fund sources (sponsorships, donations, and attendee contributions).
  • The Expenses tab with a cellular view of each expense in a fundraising event.

 

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2. Party Planning Budget Template

Party planning budget template in Google Sheets

 

Parties can be fun until you find out you’ve almost emptied your wallet unplanned. Use this party planning budget template to ensure you have a good time before, during, and after your party. Here’s what you can do inside the template:

  • List your party expenses across multiple categories, including drinks, audiovisual systems, decorations, and entertainment.
  • Automatically calculate your total costs as well as subtotal expenses per category.
  • Conveniently view your expenses in a pie chart on the Dashboard sheet.

 

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3. Trade Show Budget Template

Trade show budget template

 

When organizing trade shows, you have to take care of booth space rentals, transportation expenses, marketing materials, and staff salaries. But these are only some of the things you need to consider.

With numerous costs involved, this trade show budget template would help you allocate funds efficiently and prevent overspending. Therefore, we have included common trade show costs in the spreadsheet, which you can modify as needed. There are also dedicated columns for your projected and actual spending, as well as the (auto-calculated) differences between the two.

 

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4. Conference Event Budget Sheet

Conference event budget sheet

 

To host a successful event — it is essential to ensure that every aspect of your conference is properly funded. This event budgeting template helps you estimate, track, and control your expenses related to venue, speakers, marketing, technical systems, and catering.

We have designed this conference budget spreadsheet with efficiency in mind. As you indicate your budgeted amount and actual spending, the sheet automatically computes their total as well as the variations between them.

 

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5. Free Google Sheets Budget Template for General Use

General event budget spreadsheet in Google Sheets

Our templates above cater to specific types of events, but there are a lot more occasions where budget spreadsheets provide help. In this regard, this free event budget template is what you need.

 

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Why Use Our Google Sheets Event Budget Template

Organizing an event is an exciting and fulfilling experience, but it can also be challenging, especially when managing finances. Therefore, it’s essential to keep track of every expense and ensure the event stays within budget. That’s where our Google Sheets event budget template comes in.

You should use our templates if you mainly do event budgeting for the following reasons:

  • To ensure that every aspect of your event is funded properly
  • To not go over your set financial budget for the event
  • To find alternative high-quality options that are not expensive

While it might be difficult to achieve all these goals independently, using one of our event budget templates will make it significantly easier. They can help you in the following aspects:

  • Overview of your expenses: Our templates have dedicated columns that allow you to indicate the cost of every expense you make. As you fill in the cells with the relevant data, you create a complete record of your spending for the event.
  • Accurate computations: We included several formulas and functions to automatically calculate your expenses for you. They’re done by your computer directly, reducing the chances of human error.
  • Visual reports: We also created some charts and graphs in our templates to help you get visual insights into your event budgeting. These are also auto-updated based on what you indicate in the spreadsheet.

Our templates are also easy to use and customizable. You can add or remove categories depending on your event’s needs, making it a personalized tool for managing your event’s finances.

In addition, the template comes with built-in formulas that allow you to see your expenses in real-time and track your cash flow, helping you make informed decisions about where to allocate funds.

How to Create an Event Budget

Knowing what to put on your budget spreadsheet template also matters. Here are five steps you can take to create an effective and comprehensive budget for your events:

Step 1: Know the Ins and Outs of Your Event

To start, answer the following questions below:

  • Is your event for corporate purposes, a nonprofit event, or a fundraiser?
  • Who will be attending?
  • How many attendees are you expecting?
  • When and where do you plan to hold the event?

The list above can go a long way, but these four should be enough for you to determine what your event is all about. Answering them is crucial since they will be the basis for the following sections.

Step 2: Check Your Money Sources

If you’re organizing a fundraiser, you’re likely going to deal with sponsors, donors, and partners. Meanwhile, if you’re doing a for-profit event, you might try selling merchandise to gather funds (or use company resources) to hold the occasion.

All the money that you’ll receive from these sources is counted as your event income. This would determine the amount you can allocate to each of your expenses in the next step.

Step 3: Itemize Your Expenses

When and where is your event happening? Is it in the afternoon in a large conference hall? The answers to these questions will already determine two types of expenses: venue and food.

But there are a lot more aspects to check: audiovisual systems, guest accommodations, souvenirs, etc. Be as detailed as possible in itemizing your expenses.

Step 4: Get an Estimate

Reach out to potential suppliers, service providers, and other relevant people to get a quote for your expenses. You can also research the current market prices of food, beverages, and event staples to get a rough idea of your expected amount to spend.

Step 5: Review Your Budget Differences

This comes post-event. See the differences between your forecasted amount and the actual expenses you made. Doing this lets you determine where to cut costs and reallocate your budget for your next event.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Attract Attendees to an Event?

Focus on your marketing strategy. Utilize social media posts and ads, and reach out to your mailing list. Engage potential attendees with compelling content and personalized invitations to generate interest and maximize attendance.

How Do I Make Sure an Event Runs Smoothly?

Allocate sufficient time for thorough planning and preparation to ensure a smooth event. Pay attention to every detail, including venue selection, logistics, scheduling, and attendee management. Have backup plans in place to address any unforeseen challenges.

How Do I Organize an Event with No Money?

To organize an event with no money, seek sponsors and partners. Many companies sponsor events for brand exposure. Find suitable institutions and emphasize the mutual benefits of collaboration to cover expenses for a successful event.

Is There a Budget Template in Google Sheets?

Yes. Google Sheets itself offers two templates for monthly and annual personal budgeting. There’s also the annual business budget template made by Intuit QuickBooks in the Google Sheets template gallery. Unfortunately, none of these templates are ideal for budgeting event expenses.

Plan Your Event Expenses Wisely

Budgeting avoids overspending and ensures that every detail of your event gets allocated enough funds. You can easily do that with our event budget templates in Google Sheets.

You can do a lot more with spreadsheets than just budget your finances. Learn about them by enrolling in our Google Forms and Sheets Masterclass today!

Searching for more of these powerful templates? Check out our premium templates and get them at half the cost with the code “SSP.”

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