Building the budget from the goal

Start from the envelope, split by category using GTA ratios, then price line by line. Use the budget calculator and learn when its ratios are wrong.

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Building the budget from the goal.

Start from the envelope, split by category using GTA ratios, then price line by line.

Use the budget calculator and learn when its ratios are wrong.

Envelope first, lines second.

Start from the number the client can actually spend, remove contingency, split what remains by category using ratios for the event type, then price each line from quotes.

Doing it the other way round (adding up wishes) produces a number nobody can pay.

Step by step.

Contingency: 10 percent held back: 2,273 dollars (so that the spend plus contingency equals the envelope).

For a gala the calculator uses venue and food and beverage about 50 percent, entertainment and AV 15, décor 8, photo 5, print and gifts 12, planning and staffing 10.

Why the contingency arithmetic looks odd.

Step two divides the envelope by 1.10 rather than multiplying by 0.90.

The reason is that contingency is usually defined as a percentage of the spend, not of the envelope.

Where the first quotes come from.

You will not have real quotes on day one, so the first pass uses typical GTA ranges to replace the ratios, and the second pass replaces those with written quotes.

For a 200-guest downtown gala the first pass might use: hotel plated dinner 95 to 180 dollars per plate before service charge and HST; close-up magician 600 to 1,500 dollars for two hours; stage mentalist 1,500 to 5,000 dollars for 30 to 45 minutes; photographer 1,500 to 4,000 dollars for six to eight hours; uplighting for twenty fixtures 600 to 1,200 dollars; one-day event liability 150 to 400 dollars if the client needs it.

Questions to ask before a quote goes on the sheet.

Is this before HST? In Ontario, assume yes unless the quote says "all-in".

Does it include a service charge or gratuity, and is that figure itself taxed? At hotels and banquet halls, usually 18 percent and yes.

That is the lesson. The worksheet and the quiz are just below this video.

What you will be able to do

• Split a budget by category with GTA ratios
• Build a line-item budget from the split
• Know when ratios break (cultural weddings, trade shows)

Envelope first, lines second

Start from the number the client can actually spend, remove contingency, split what remains by category using ratios for the event type, then price each line from quotes. Doing it the other way round (adding up wishes) produces a number nobody can pay.

Step by step

1. Envelope: $25,000.
2. Contingency: 10 percent held back: $2,273 (so that the spend plus contingency equals the envelope). Spendable: $22,727.
3. Split by ratio. For a gala the calculator uses venue and F&B about 50 percent, entertainment and AV 15, décor 8, photo 5, print and gifts 12, planning and staffing 10.
4. Price the lines. Replace each ratio with a real quote, grossed up for HST (13 percent) and gratuity (usually 18 percent on food and bar).
5. Reconcile. If the lines exceed the spendable number, cut from nice-to-haves in the creative brief, never from non-negotiables.

Why the contingency arithmetic looks odd

Step two divides the envelope by 1.10 rather than multiplying by 0.90. The reason is that contingency is usually defined as a percentage of the spend, not of the envelope. If you spend $22,727 and hold 10 percent of that ($2,273), the two together equal the $25,000 envelope exactly. If you instead took 10 percent off the top ($2,500) you would be holding 11 percent of the spend, which is fine but confuses the client when the percentage in the report does not match the one in the proposal. Pick one method, write it in the proposal, and use it on every update.

Where the first quotes come from

You will not have real quotes on day one, so the first pass uses typical GTA ranges to replace the ratios, and the second pass replaces those with written quotes. For a 200-guest downtown gala the first pass might use: hotel plated dinner $95–$180 per plate before service charge and HST; close-up magician $600–$1,500 for two hours; stage mentalist $1,500–$5,000 for 30–45 minutes; photographer $1,500–$4,000 for six to eight hours; uplighting for twenty fixtures $600–$1,200; one-day event liability $150–$400 if the client needs it. Use the midpoint for the first pass and note “range, not quote” in the comments column. Within three weeks every one of those should be a written quote with a date on it.

Questions to ask before a quote goes on the sheet

• Is this before HST? In Ontario, assume yes unless the quote says “all-in”.
• Does it include a service charge or gratuity, and is that figure itself taxed? At hotels and banquet halls, usually 18 percent and yes.
• What is the quote for, exactly: how many hours, how many people, what equipment, what travel?
• What is not included that I will need: a technician, a rigger, delivery, set-up labour, overtime after a stated hour?
• How long is the quote valid, and what happens to the price if the date moves?
• Is there a deposit, and is it refundable at any point?

When the ratios are wrong

Ratios are averages. They break for multi-day cultural weddings (venue and attire swell), trade shows (booth build dominates), and kids’ parties (entertainment is a quarter of the budget). For those, build from quotes immediately and use the ratios only as a sanity check.

Two more GTA cases where the ratios mislead. Outdoor events: a tent, flooring, portable washrooms, generators and permits can be a third of the budget before a single plate is served. A 20×40 frame tent installed runs $1,200–$2,500 as a typical GTA range and a washroom trailer $1,500–$3,500 a day; tents over 60 m² aggregate need a building permit and those of 225 m² or more need an engineer’s review. Public events: security at $35–$50 an hour per guard, first-aid responders at $45–$70 an hour, fencing and permits sit in categories the standard ratios barely have.

Gross up every quote

A $15,000 catering quote is $16,950 with HST. If the venue adds 18 percent gratuity before tax it is $17,700 before tax and $20,001 after. Vendors in Ontario quote before tax by habit; your budget sheet must not.

Worked example

Harbour Gala, first pass: hotel F&B minimum $18,000 becomes $24,000 all-in with service charge and HST. That alone is 96 percent of the spendable number. The gala cannot happen at that hotel on $25,000, so the committee either raises the envelope through table sponsors (it does, to $40,000) or moves to a banquet hall. The budget surfaced the decision in month two, which is its job.

The full first pass at $25,000 looked like this. Spendable $22,727. Venue and F&B at 50 percent: $11,364 allocated against $24,000 required, a gap of more than $12,000 on one line. Entertainment and AV at 15 percent: $3,409, which at typical GTA ranges buys two close-up magicians and a modest mentalist set but no AV beyond the hotel’s inclusions. Décor at 8 percent: $1,818. Photo at 5 percent: $1,136, below the typical range for six hours. Print and stewardship at 12 percent: $2,727. Planning and staffing at 10 percent: $2,273, against a quoted fee of $4,500. Every line except décor was short, and the venue line was short by half. The alternatives presented to the committee were: a banquet hall at $65–$120 per plate, which fits but moves the gala out of downtown; 140 guests at the hotel, which the committee rejected because fewer seats means fewer paddles; or table sponsors at a figure that raises the envelope to $40,000. The committee chose the sponsors, and the second pass at $40,000 is the budget the rest of this module uses.

Common mistakes

• Adding up wishes and calling the total a budget. Fix: envelope, contingency, ratios, quotes, in that order.
• Leaving a typical range on the sheet for months. Fix: date every quote and chase the written version within three weeks.
• Grossing up the planner fee for gratuity. Fix: gratuity applies to food and bar lines only; everything else is HST only.
• Cutting a non-negotiable to make the number fit. Fix: cut nice-to-haves first, then present the envelope decision to the client.

Worksheet

Download the worksheet, complete it for your own event (or the running gala example), and keep it in your course binder. It takes about 10 minutes.

Download the worksheet (PDF)