41

chapter four
budgets and
financial management
YES

NO
Good financial management is fundamental
The following template gives an example of the kind of entries that may be appropriate
to your event, but your entries should of course be specific to your particular situation:

43
to the delivery of successful events. Our FIGURE 4.1

advice is simple: plan ahead, be realistic,

chapter four budgets and financial management

keep on top of your budget and implement
control systems that work for you.
Right from the start, ensure that you set a realistic budget with inbuilt flexibility and
identified contingencies. If you are looking to raise public funds or sponsorship, don’t
approach a potential funder until you are able to present a realistic outline budget.
Remember, you need to convince yourself of the event’s financial viability before you
can convince others.

Transparency
Those applying for (and in receipt of) public funds will be required to provide detailed
financial information about the event and wider company finances. For management
and reporting purposes ensure that you keep separate, or are able to separate, all
financial information to do with the event. Never try to ‘fudge’ figures or provide
misleading information. Funders will often require sight of your annual accounts and
may well reserve the right to carry out an audit to ensure their funds have been used
in the agreed manner. Aside from funders’ requirements it is best practice to present
and keep transparent accounts.

Preparing your Budget

Your event budget is basically a projection of all income and expenditure relating to the
development and delivery of the event. To help you manage event finances effectively it’s
a good approach to keep a ‘live budget’ on your computer – i.e. a spreadsheet that
you update on a regular (daily/weekly) basis. Set up your budget in a package such as
Microsoft Excel so that you have numeric functions to help you manage the financial data.
 Good financial management is fundamental
The following template gives an example of the kind of entries that may be appropriate
to your event, but your entries should of course be specific to your particular situation:
44

to the delivery of successful events. Our FIGURE 4.1

Live Event Budget – Summary

Description
INCOME 1. Projected (£) 2. Income to date (£) 3. Variance (1–2)
1 Grants / Underwriting /
Public Funding (list all)
2 Trusts / Foundations (list all)
3 Sponsorship (list all)
4 Ticket Sales / Admissions
5 Merchandising
6 Other Income
Total Income £ £ £

EXPENDITURE 1. Projected (£) 2. Spend to date (£) 3. Variance (1–2)

Administration
1 General Administration
2 General Insurance
3 Travel & Accommodation
4 Staff Salaries & Fees
5 Management Fees (if applicable)
6 Other Administration Expenses
Subtotal Administration £ £ £
Event Costs
1 Event Evaluation / Bid Costs
2 Sanction Fees (if appropriate)
3 Facility / Venue
4 Other Production Costs (Plant,
Equip. Hire, Crew, Security, etc)
5 Health & Safety
6 Insurance
7 Ceremonies
8 Entertainment / Artistic
Programme (fees & costs)
9 Hospitality
10 Cost of Merchandising
 FIGURE 4.1 CONTINUED

11 Travel, Accommodation
& Services

45
12 Communication (Radios, etc)
13 Ticket Production
14 Other Event Expenses

chapter four budgets and financial management

Subtotal Event Costs £ £ £
Marketing & Promotion Expenses
1 Advertising
2 Design Fees & Print Production
3 Direct Mail / Distribution /
Display
4 Internet
5 Media & PR
6 Market Research
7 Other Marketing &
Promotions Expenses
Subtotal
Marketing & Promotion £ £ £

TOTAL EXPENSES £ £ £
ADD CONTINGENCY
(5% OF TOTAL EXPENSES) £ £ £
TOTAL EXPENSES +
CONTINGENCY £ £ £

Surplus / Deficit £ £ £
Budget Preparation Tips

47
> Ensure that you build appropriate contingencies into your budget.

> Present your budget clearly and make sure it is easy to read and interpret.

chapter four budgets and financial management

> Be realistic. Never include funding sources that are unlikely to materialise.

> If relevant – for example, if the event finances are processed through a parent
organisation – ensure the cost centres you set up in your event budget
(i.e. marketing, production, etc) integrate with the ‘parent’ accounts system.

> Each and every item of event income and expenditure should be recorded in your
event budget.

> The complexity of your budget will depend on the size or nature of your event.
If the budget is extensive, and you are employing a software package such as
Microsoft Excel, it’s a useful approach to link worksheets to the front page ‘budget
summary’ in order to keep a detailed breakdown of each line in the budget.

> State clearly if your budget is presented as NET (it does not include VAT) or GROSS
(it does include VAT). Broadly speaking, if you are VAT registered and able to reclaim
the VAT keep a NET event budget. If you are not VAT registered and therefore
unable to reclaim the VAT keep a GROSS event budget. If in doubt, seek the advice
of your/an accountant.

> Be aware of the VAT status of any income that you receive. For example, grants are
generally not subject to VAT but commercial sponsorship is likely to be. Errors or
misunderstandings can be costly.

> Ensure you understand your liability to pay VAT on ticket income and other sales.

> Be conservative with regards to ticket income targets. When entering a projected
ticket income, ensure that you have worked out exactly how many tickets you would
have to sell to achieve it. Remember to take into account any tax deductions,
concession rates, group bookings or special offers and their likely impact on your target.
 > It is important that you record the value of any ‘in-kind’ support you receive. However,
to avoid getting your ‘in-kind’ values mixed up with the actual cash at your disposal,
48

it’s advisable to keep a note of your in-kind support separately. If you do choose to
show ‘in-kind’ figures in your budget, make sure you enter the value as an income
as well as expenditure and mark both entries as ‘in-kind’.

> Always back-up and archive your budget as necessary. Ensure that you keep a record
of which versions you have presented to outside parties such as funding partners.

Control Mechanisms
> The Budget Holder: It’s advisable that one person is ultimately responsible for
updating and managing the overall budget – ideally the event manager or producer.
If others in the team are given authority for certain budget elements, set control
mechanisms in advance and ensure they understand and agree the level of budget
available to them.

> Coding: If relevant, set up an appropriate invoice coding system so that budget
information can be easily entered (and filtered) in accordance with any existing
accounts system.

> Purchase orders: Where possible, raise purchase orders. These not only provide a
checking mechanism when passing invoices for payment, but they confirm to the
supplier exactly what you want and when you want it. Ensure you add delivery
details and contact telephone number, especially if the order is to be delivered to
a temporary event site.

> Processing invoices: Depending on what already exists within your organisation,
it’s a good idea to put in place a system for approving invoices relating to the event.
One control mechanism is to attach ‘approval slips’ to each invoice in order for the
budget holder to code them, ‘sign them off’ and add any appropriate notes for the
book keeper (or person who writes the cheques). Whatever system you employ,
ensure that invoices do not get paid until the event budget holder has approved
them and has updated the ‘live budget’ accordingly. The point is to keep on top
of all event expenditure.
> Petty cash: Ensure that all petty cash spend is factored into the budget. When issuing
petty cash in advance, ensure that you do so in exchange for a signed petty cash

49
slip (you can make your own or buy them from stationers). Ensure that receipts for
all petty cash purchases are collected, numbered and properly coded. It’s useful to

chapter four budgets and financial management

provide a petty cash template for those in receipt of cash. Here’s a sample template
for you to adapt to your purposes.

Provide the template as an Excel file rather than as a hard copy in order to
minimise errors: see figure 4.2 below.
FIGURE 4.2

PETTY CASH RECORD

Please number your receipts and staple them to this completed form

Name:
Receipt Budget Petty Cash Petty Cash
No. Code Description Date Received Spend Balance
xx/xx/xx £ 50.00
1 Marketing/3 stamps xx/xx/xx £ 10.00 £ 40.00
2 Marketing/7 printer cartridge xx/xx/xx £ 20.00 £ 20.00
Etc…
Totals £ 50.00 £ 30.00 £ 20.00
Date returned:
Notes:

Note: Once you receive a completed petty cash record, exchange it for the associated
petty cash slip(s) to keep your records in order.

> Good record keeping: Keep all your financial information on file and at hand. Make
hard copies of your key documents. Back up all your computer files to CD or DVD
on a regular basis.

> Cash flow projections: Ensure that you plan your cash flow effectively. The lack of
available cash could well bring your operation to a halt and put the whole team and
event under unnecessary pressure. A simple template is provided on the next page.
Remember that entries in the cash flow will be GROSS (i.e. they will include VAT). If
you are VAT registered and the event is not the sole business of the company, your
VAT payments/claims should be factored in to your overall company cash flow.
Again, if you are working within a wider organisational structure, ensure that you
plan your cash flow with the finance department. See figure 4.3 overleaf.
 FIGURE 4.3

CASH FLOW FOR THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDED APRIL 20XX

GROSS
INCOME May-0X Jun-0X Jul-0X Aug-0X Sep-0X Oct-0X Nov-0X Dec-0X Jan-0X Feb-0X Mar-0X Apr-0X TOTALS
Insert
Insert monthly
source income £
£
£
Total
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £

GROSS DIRECT
EXPENDITURE May-0X Jun-0X Jul-0X Aug-0X Sep-0X Oct-0X Nov-0X Dec-0X Jan-0X Feb-0X Mar-0X Apr-0X TOTALS
Insert
monthly
Insert spend £
£
£
Total
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £

Opening
Balance
Cash Flow £
Income
– spend £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
Closing £
Balance Opening
balance –
cash flow
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
 •

•
• •

•
•
 Things to Remember on Site
52

Cash
Think about what cash you will need during the event itself. Do you need till floats,
prize money, petty cash, etc? Make sure you order any cash that you require from
your bank well enough in advance. Remember to state the required denominations
and when you need to pick it up.

Fees
Some performers prefer to be paid at the event itself. For ease and security try to avoid
this, but if it’s unavoidable prepare the cheques/cash in advance and store in a locked
room or safe until required. Ensure you get a proper receipt for any cash payments.

Security
Ensure you put sufficient security measures in place that take into account the amount
of cash you will have on site and the safety of those handling it. Think through the
various scenarios pertinent to your event. How will you monitor and store your takings
on site? Who will be responsible for handling cash? Is training required? Are staff
adequately protected against possible attack? Do you need to arrange a Night Safe
Service with your bank? Remember to check your insurance policy to ensure you have
the right level and type of cover.

Other Financial Issues

Annual Accounts
The status of your organisation will determine the level of financial reporting you
are required to undertake. Registered companies are required by law to prepare and
submit a set of financial accounts to Companies House each year. Whilst unincorporated
organisations are not required to do this, they should maintain proper books and
records. For further advice visit www.businesslink.gov.uk, www.bgateway.com,
www.companieshouse.gov.uk or speak to your/an accountant.
VAT – should you be registered?

53
The supply of any goods and services, which are subject to VAT at any rate, are called
taxable supplies whether you are VAT registered or not. If the value of your taxable
supplies is over a specific limit, you need to register for VAT, unless your supplies are

chapter four budgets and financial management

wholly or mainly zero rated in which case you may apply for exemption from
registration. For further information visit www.hmrc.gov.uk or call the national
helpline 0845 010 9000.

Gift Aid
Gift Aid allows charities to reclaim the basic rate of income tax paid on the donations.
Using Gift Aid means that for every pound donated, charities can claim an extra 28
pence from the Inland Revenue. If the donor is a UK taxpayer, this means that £100
can be turned into £128 just so long as donations are made through Gift Aid. For more
information on eligibility and how to claim, contact the Inland Revenue Charities Office
in Edinburgh 0845 3020203 or visit www.hmrc.gov.uk or www.givingcampaign.org.uk

Keep a Record of your Assets

If you have bought items such as site or office equipment for the purposes of the
event, it’s useful to keep a record/register of what you have and where each item is
stored. This should prevent your purchased items getting lost, forgotten about and
unnecessarily replaced next time round.

Future Planning
When planning the event’s finances over a period of years, you can use your ‘Live
Budget’ model (figure 4.1, page 44) and adjust it to demonstrate projected income and
expenditure going forward. This kind of planning should help you concentrate on the
future financial viability of the event and what you will have to do to ensure this.
 FIGURE 4.4

Event Budget Projection Over 3 Years

55
Description Year 1 Year 2 projection Year 3 projection
INCOME
1 Include all details

chapter four budgets and financial management

Total Income £ £ £
Year 1 Year 2 projection Year 3 projection
EXPENDITURE
1 Include all details

TOTAL EXPENSES £ £ £
ADD CONTINGENCY
(5% OF TOTAL EXPENSES) £ £ £
TOTAL EXPENSES +
CONTINGENCY £ £ £

Surplus / Deficit £ £ £

TOP TIP
Keep on top of your finances at every stage. If you lose control of the
budget you have effectively lost control of the event.