Proposal

A planner’s decision document for a client: understanding, concept, options, budget, timeline, fee and terms.

How it works in practice

A planning proposal answers the question the client is really asking: what will I get, what will it cost, and what do I need to decide? It opens with your understanding of the event in their words, so they can correct you before you price anything. Then the concept, two or three options at different spending levels, a budget summary, a timeline of key milestones, your fee, and the terms.

Short beats long. Four pages that a busy committee chair can read in ten minutes will win more often than a 20-page deck. Put the decision you need, and the date you need it by, on the first page.

How to handle it

1. Hold a discovery call and write down the client’s goals, headcount, date range and envelope.
2. Write the understanding section first and send it for a quick check if the brief is unclear.
3. Build options as bundles: a lean version, the recommended version, and a stretch version.
4. Show the budget with HST and any service charge included, and say so.
5. Define scope precisely: what is in the fee, what is billed extra, how many site visits and revisions.
6. State the deposit or retainer, payment schedule and cancellation terms, then give an expiry date for the quote.

Worked numbers

An example for a 180-guest holiday party in a downtown hotel (typical GTA ranges, 2026):

If the client is an employer and this is a staff party, mention that the CRA treats employer social events as a non-taxable benefit only when the cost is $150 per person or less including taxes; above that the whole amount is taxable. That single line often decides which option they pick.

Related tools

Start from the event proposal template and price the options with the event budget calculator.