Tracking actuals and cash flow

Deposits, milestone payments, final balances and the week after. Build a payment calendar so nothing is late and nothing is paid twice.

Read the transcript

Tracking actuals and cash flow.

Deposits, milestone payments, final balances and the week after.

Build a payment calendar so nothing is late and nothing is paid twice.

Build the payment calendar from the contracts.

Every vendor contract has a deposit, sometimes a milestone, and a balance date.

Put all of them on one calendar with the amount, the method and who approves.

Typical GTA terms.

Venues: 25 to 50 percent at signing, a second instalment 60 to 90 days out, balance 10 to 14 days before, with the final guarantee.

Caterers: 25 to 50 percent deposit, balance 7 to 14 days before, adjusted for final numbers.

Building the calendar: a procedure.

The day a contract is signed, open it to the payment clause and copy every date and amount onto the payment calendar tab of the budget sheet, with the vendor, the method (e-transfer, cheque, card, wire) and the approver.

Where a date is written as "14 days before the event", convert it to a calendar date. Where it is "on receipt of invoice", write the date you expect the invoice and chase it if it does not arrive.

Committed versus actual.

Track three columns per line: budgeted, committed (what the contract says you will pay), actual (what was invoiced).

The gap between committed and actual is where overtime, extra covers and damage charges appear.

Questions to ask about every invoice.

Does it match the committed figure in the contract? If not, what is the line that differs?

Is HST shown separately and is the vendor's HST number on the invoice? Without it, a registered client cannot claim input tax credits.

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

What you will be able to do

• Build a payment calendar from contracts
• Track committed vs actual spend
• Close the budget within 14 days of the event

Build the payment calendar from the contracts

Every vendor contract has a deposit, sometimes a milestone, and a balance date. Put all of them on one calendar with the amount, the method and who approves. Late payments cost goodwill; double payments cost money and happen more often than planners admit.

Typical GTA terms

• Venues: 25–50 percent at signing, a second instalment 60–90 days out, balance 10–14 days before, with the final guarantee.
• Caterers: 25–50 percent deposit, balance 7–14 days before, adjusted for final numbers.
• Entertainment: 25–50 percent deposit, balance on the day or within 7 days per contract.
• Rentals, AV, florals: deposit at booking, balance before delivery.
• Your fee: a retainer at signing, milestones, the balance before the event, never after.

Building the calendar: a procedure

1. The day a contract is signed, open it to the payment clause and copy every date and amount onto the payment calendar tab of the budget sheet, with the vendor, the method (e-transfer, cheque, card, wire) and the approver.
2. Where a date is written as “14 days before the event”, convert it to a calendar date. Where it is “on receipt of invoice”, write the date you expect the invoice and chase it if it does not arrive.
3. Add the client’s approval cycle. A charity board that meets on the second Tuesday cannot approve a deposit due on the first Monday.
4. Add the method’s lead time. A corporate cheque run may be weekly; a wire takes a day; an e-transfer has a daily limit that may not cover a venue instalment.
5. Mark each payment paid with the date and the reference number the moment it leaves. That reference is what stops the double payment.
6. Review the calendar every Friday with the budget sheet. Anything due in the next 14 days gets a reminder to the approver that day.

Committed versus actual

Track three columns per line: budgeted, committed (what the contract says you will pay), actual (what was invoiced). The gap between committed and actual is where overtime, extra covers and damage charges appear. Update the sheet every time a contract is signed or an invoice arrives, not at the end.

Questions to ask about every invoice

• Does it match the committed figure in the contract? If not, what is the line that differs?
• Is HST shown separately and is the vendor’s HST number on the invoice? Without it, a registered client cannot claim input tax credits.
• Is the service charge applied only to the lines the venue said it would be?
• Are extra covers charged at the contracted per-cover price?
• Is overtime calculated from the hour the contract names, not from an earlier hour?
• Was this amount, or any part of it, already paid as a deposit or milestone? Check the reference numbers.
• Is there a damage or cleaning charge, and did the venue walk the room with you at strike?

Cash flow for the client

Clients need to know when money leaves their account. Give them a monthly cash-flow line on the budget sheet so the treasurer or finance team can plan. For charities with board approvals, the deposit dates drive the meeting schedule.

Corporate clients bring a different rhythm. Procurement may need a purchase order before any payment, vendor registration for every supplier you want paid directly, and net-30 terms that no entertainer will accept. The usual solution is for the planner to contract and pay the small vendors and invoice the company for them at milestones, which is why your own fee agreement needs to say whether you are acting as agent or principal, and why your retainer has to be large enough to carry those deposits.

Close within fourteen days

Final invoices arrive in the week after the event. Reconcile them against the committed column, query anything unexplained within 48 hours (venues correct honest errors quickly when asked early), pay, and close the sheet. The closed sheet is the first page of next year’s budget.

Worked example

Harbour Gala payment calendar: 14 payments across seven months, $12,000 of deposits in the first six weeks. The foundation moved a board meeting forward to approve them. Final reconciliation found a $420 duplicated bar charge, refunded on request.

The calendar in outline. Month two: hotel deposit on signing, planner retainer. Month three: deposits to the mentalist, the two magicians and the photographer as each contract is countersigned with its COI. Month four: florist and AV deposits; the municipal lottery licence fee for the 50/50 draw, which the development officer pays directly and which carries no HST. Month five: the hotel’s second instalment at 90 days. Month six: planner milestone. Final two weeks: hotel balance with the guarantee at 72 hours, caterer-equivalent adjustments for the extra covers, entertainment balances per contract, planner balance before the event. Week after: AV overtime invoice, hotel final with the bar consumption, florist balance. The duplicated bar charge appeared because the hotel’s final invoice included the capped consumption bar in full and a second line for “additional bar” that duplicated the last hour; the committed column showed the cap, the reference numbers showed only one payment, and the hotel corrected it within two days because it was asked within two.

Common mistakes

• Paying from the invoice instead of from the calendar. Fix: the calendar says what is due; the invoice is checked against it.
• No reference number against a paid item. Fix: date and reference the moment the payment leaves.
• Your balance due after the event. Fix: before, every time; after the event you are a creditor, not a planner.
• Letting final invoices sit for a month. Fix: query within 48 hours; close within 14 days.
• Forgetting the client’s approval cycle. Fix: board and procurement dates on the calendar before the vendor dates.

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)