Professional: the planner's guide

Hands sorting blank receipts into piles beside a calculator

Building the budget from the goal

Module 3: Budgeting · 15 min

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

Four event props beside different-sized stacks of coins

Academy

Typical cost splits by event type

Module 3: Budgeting · 15 min

A holiday party, a gala, a kids' party and a conference spend differently. Memorise the four shapes and you can sanity-check any…

Hand tucking a reserve cash pouch into a planner's bag

Academy

Contingency and the reserve

Module 3: Budgeting · 15 min

Ten percent, held by the planner, released only for scope that was not in the brief. Learn what it covers, what it…

Bill folder passed across a bar top with a pen and card terminal

Academy

HST, gratuities and service charges in Ontario

Module 3: Budgeting · 15 min

Thirteen percent HST on most lines, 18% gratuity on food and bar at most venues, and service charges that are not gratuity.…

A planner's hands sorting receipts into a coloured accordion folder at a home-office desk in Toronto

Academy

Tracking actuals and cash flow

Module 3: Budgeting · 15 min

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

Planner photographing a venue's electrical panel on a site visit

Academy

Site visits: the 25 questions

Module 4: Venues · 15 min

Walk a venue with the tour checklist. Learn what to photograph, what to measure, and which answers change the budget.

Banquet room set theatre-style with clear aisles leading to exit doors

Academy

Capacity, layouts and the fire code

Module 4: Venues · 15 min

Banquet, cocktail, theatre, classroom, U-shape, cabaret. Density rules from the Ontario Fire Code, the posted occupant load, and the venue capacity calculator.

A planner and a venue manager seen from behind shaking hands in an empty Toronto event venue

Academy

Venue contracts and minimums

Module 4: Venues · 15 min

Minimum spend, attrition, cancellation schedules, exclusivity, insurance, overtime and force majeure. Clause by clause, with the red flags.

Inside a draped pole tent at night with staff lighting candles

Academy

Outdoor and tented events

Module 4: Venues · 15 min

Tents over 60 m² need permits in most Ontario municipalities. Learn tent sizing, flooring, power, washrooms, weather plans and the park permit…

Stagehand with a road-case dolly inside a padded freight elevator

Academy

Hotels, unions and load-in rules

Module 4: Venues · 15 min

Downtown hotels and convention centres have union load-in, drayage, exclusive AV and dock schedules. Budget for them or be surprised.

A small group of planners from behind touring three Toronto spaces in one afternoon

Academy

Module 4 workshop: choose between three venues

Module 4: Venues · 15 min

Score a hotel ballroom, a King West loft and a Vaughan banquet hall for a 220-guest corporate gala using the checklist and…

Vendors in a pre-event huddle around a planner in a ballroom

Academy

Building the vendor team

Module 5: Vendors & Entertainment · 15 min

Order of booking, how to find good vendors in the GTA, references, and the directory filters that save hours.