What to put in a corporate event planning business package

What to take away

What goes into a corporate event planning business package: a scope list, a staffing plan, a named deliverable list and a payment schedule that survives a venue change or a client revision.

Read this as general event-business information, not individualized advice.

What a corporate event planning business package contains

A package names what the client gets. It does not describe how good you are at delivering it. The corporate event planning services guide covers the business side; this is the list that goes in front of the client.

Build every package from the same eight components, then vary the depth.

Each line carries a deliverable, a deadline and an owner. A line without all three is a promise, not a package.

Which supplier holds the contract matters. Encore, the former PSAV, holds in-house AV contracts at many Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton properties, and those contracts often carry exclusive rigging rights. Freeman and GES bid general service contracting and décor. PRG takes large rigging and staging jobs.

Union venues add their own line. IATSE, Teamsters and IBEW locals hold jurisdiction over load-in at many convention centers, and house electricians bill by the hour for power drops. Many venues want a stamped rigging drawing submitted days before the labor call.

Registration platforms price differently. Eventbrite publishes per-ticket fees of roughly 3.5% to 3.7% plus about $1.60 to $1.80 per paid ticket, with payment processing billed separately. Cvent and Swoogo quote enterprise pricing per event. OnPeak and Maritz Global Events run housing blocks and pickup reporting for larger programs.

Price the lines, not the bundle

Clients ask for one number. Give them one built from visible parts.

Quoting venue, catering, AV and rigging as separate lines lets the client cut scope instead of arguing about the total. It also shows which line carries your margin. That matters when a venue adds a resort fee or a service charge after the contract is signed.

Per-attendee food and beverage minimums, hotel room-block attrition and resort fees all move the total. In most US markets, hotel service charges run about 20% to 26%, on top of state and local sales tax. Resort fees commonly add $25 to $60 per room per night.

Whether your fee is taxed depends on the state and the venue. Confirm the treatment with a licensed CPA before you publish a rate.

Typical US planning rates in most markets run about $75 to $150 an hour for an experienced planner, or 10% to 15% of total event spend on a full-service engagement.

For the arithmetic, use named variables the reader substitutes.

Do not invent a threshold for any of these. Where a figure matters and you do not have it, publish the formula and let the client fill it in.

Deposits, milestones and the payment schedule

A package without a payment schedule is a loan. Tie each payment to a milestone the client controls.

Every milestone needs a date, not a description. "Before the event" is not a milestone. Signature deposits commonly land at 25% to 50% of the planning fee, with the rest spread across the dates above.

Advertising the package

How you describe the package is regulated. The FTC advertising guide requires claims to be truthful and supported, and endorsements to reflect honest experience with material relationships disclosed.

That rules out "we handle everything" unless the scope list backs it up. It also rules out a testimonial from a client whose discount you have not disclosed.

Records to keep behind each package

Every package generates a paper trail. It includes:

The IRS records guidance allows any system that clearly shows income and expenses, as long as the documents behind purchases, sales, payroll and assets are kept.

Vendor payments of $600 or more in a tax year generally call for a 1099-NEC. Confirm the current threshold and filing rules with the IRS or a licensed CPA, not with a template.

Where the next event comes from

Two channels outperform paid advertising for corporate work: repeat accounts and visible work.

Repeat corporate accounts renew because the closeout was clean. Assign one person to own the post-event debrief and the follow-up calendar. A client who hears from you six weeks before their next planning cycle does not shop the package again.

Visible work means signage, branded registration desks and a floor manager the client's staff can find. It converts at the next event in the same industry, because attendees remember who ran the room. It depends on the quality of that one visible job.

Common questions

What belongs in a corporate event planning business package?

Eight components, starting with program scope, venue sourcing and supplier bid management. Registration and housing, agenda and speaker management and production and load-in follow. The last two are onsite management and closeout reconciliation. Each line needs a deliverable, a deadline and an owner. A package that lists only a price is a quote.

How should the payment schedule be structured?

Tie each payment to a milestone the client controls, starting with signature and the venue contract. Room-block cutoff, final headcount, load-in and the closeout balance are the rest. Every milestone needs a real date. A package without a schedule is a loan, and "before the event" is not a date.

Should venue, catering and AV be bundled into one price?

Quote them as separate lines and present one total. Separate lines let the client cut scope instead of arguing about the total, and they show which line carries your margin. Bundling hides the resort fees, service charges and tax treatment that erode margin after the contract is signed.

Who should confirm tax treatment and vendor reporting?

A licensed CPA, or the IRS directly for 1099-NEC thresholds and recordkeeping. Tax treatment of your fee depends on the state and the venue, and it changes. Confirm the current rule with the authority that sets it rather than copying a template.