In a perfect world, event technology would grow from trees, free for the taking by event managers. Sadly, this Event Tech Garden of Eden does not exist; we live in a world of constrained resources and must plan for our event technology usage. This is a good thing. Limitations forces us to think strategically about how we can most optimally use event tech to enhance the impact of our events. Our free Event Tech Budget Template, downloadable via the button below, will help you do this.

Read to the end of this post for an explanation of how to best use this budgeting tool. 

Additionally, we’ve found there are several important things to keep in mind when budgeting for event technology:

• Define your event’s goals: Know first what you want to achieve and then find tools that help you accomplish these goals. This will help you avoid wasting money on unnecessary technology.
• Do your research: An educated buyer is a savvy buyer. Know what options are out there and what they can do for your event. Get demos.
• Start the process early: Integrating event technology is not something that happens overnight. Defining goals, researching options, scheduling demos — these are all things that take time. Starting as early as possible will ensure you don’t act in haste or run out of time altogether.
• Put it in the plan early: Put your ideal world event technology ask in your budget early in your planning process. Things may get cut, but it will be immensely harder to add in new items and technology mid-process than it will be to defend things already in the budget.
• Measure To Improve: Your goals should tie to metrics. Measuring against these—not just post-event but throughout the entire process—will ensure you stay on course and get what you originally wanted out of your event tech.

Our downloadable Event Tech Budget Template will help you organize and focus your event tech planning. This flexible document is a great resource when budgeting for an event of any size. The first tab, Example, gives you a sample budget filled-in with hypothetical data. The next tab, Budget, contains a blank template for you to use as an event tech budgeting tool. The Actual tab is for you your final totals, and it auto populates with task, vendor, and budgeted amounts from the Budget tab. The final tab, Reporting, allows you to quickly compare your final totals with budgeted amounts.  Click the button below to get the Event Tech Budget Template:

If you're interested in learning more about the current event tech landscape, Cramer has put together an excellent document that will be a great help in your planning.