SOP templates for an event company

Event work is deadline work: every event happens on a fixed date whether you are ready or not. These SOPs cover the core path from inquiry to wrap-up. They are ordered by the stage of the customer journey, with company procedures at the end. Replace the [bracketed] values with your own.

Lead acquisition: respond to a new inquiry

Purpose: Answer every inquiry quickly and capture what you need to know whether you can take the event.

1. Log the inquiry in [CRM] within 2 business hours, with date, venue, guest count, event type and budget if given.
2. Check availability for the date against the event calendar and staff availability.
3. Reply within 1 business day using the inquiry template: thank them, confirm availability, ask any missing basics, and offer two times for a planning call.
4. Mark the date as tentative in the calendar if the lead is qualified, with an expiry date of [7 days].
5. Follow up at [2 days] and [5 days] if there is no reply, then set the lead to nurture.

Lead nurture: run the planning call and site visit

Purpose: Understand the client’s vision and the venue’s constraints before quoting.

1. Send an agenda with the call invite, including a short list of questions for the client to think about.
2. On the call, cover the event goal, guest profile, schedule, must-haves, budget and decision makers.
3. Book a site visit for events at a new venue or over [guest count], and bring the site checklist: load-in access, power, parking, noise and curfew rules, and venue contact.
4. Write up notes in [CRM] the same day, including photos from the site visit.
5. Send a recap within 1 business day with next steps and when to expect a proposal.

Sales execution: send the proposal and book the event

Purpose: Turn a qualified inquiry into a confirmed, paid booking with no ambiguity about what is included.

1. Build the proposal from the proposal template within [3 business days] of the call, listing every inclusion and exclusion.
2. Review pricing against the price list. Discounts over [10%] need owner approval.
3. Send the proposal and contract together through [e-signature tool], with a clear expiry date.
4. Follow up at [3 days] and the day before expiry.
5. On signature, request the deposit, move the date from tentative to confirmed, and create the event folder from the template.

Fulfillment: collect vendor certificates of insurance (COI)

Purpose: Make sure every vendor on site carries the insurance the venue and your contract require.

1. Get the venue’s requirements in writing: coverage types, limits and who must be named as additional insured.
2. Request a COI from each vendor at least [30 days] before the event, sending them the exact requirements.
3. Check each COI on arrival: correct names, coverage, limits and dates that cover the event.
4. Send approved COIs to the venue by the venue’s deadline and save copies to the event folder.
5. Chase missing COIs at [14 days] out. A vendor without a valid COI by [7 days] out is escalated to the owner.

Fulfillment: run the event day

Purpose: Deliver the event to plan and handle problems before guests notice.

1. Confirm final details [72 hours] before: timeline, headcount, vendor arrival times and emergency contacts. Send the run of show to all vendors.
2. Arrive at the time on the run of show and check in with the venue contact.
3. Walk the space before load-in and check power, access and layout against the plan.
4. Check in each vendor on arrival and confirm their setup finish time.
5. Run the timeline, with one person holding the run of show and calling each cue.
6. Log any issue as it happens in the day-of notes: what happened, what you did, who was told.
7. Supervise load-out until the space is left as the venue requires, then do a final walk with the venue contact.

Retention: wrap up after the event

Purpose: Close the event cleanly and turn a good event into a review or a referral.

1. Send a thank-you to the client within 2 business days.
2. Hold a team debrief within [5 business days], using the day-of notes. Record what to repeat and what to fix.
3. Send the final invoice for any balance or agreed extras within [3 business days].
4. Pay vendors according to their terms and file their invoices.
5. Ask for a review or referral once the final invoice is settled.
6. Update SOPs with anything the debrief found.

Company: run event staff payroll

Purpose: Pay event staff correctly for every shift, including irregular and late hours.

1. Collect hours for every staff member from the event’s sign-in sheet or [time tool] within 1 business day after each event.
2. Check hours against the run of show and the staff schedule, and ask the event lead about differences.
3. Add approved extras such as mileage or parking reimbursements, each with a receipt.
4. Send totals for approval to [owner] before the payroll cutoff.
5. Submit payroll through [payroll provider], which handles withholding per your jurisdiction’s requirements, and file the approved hours in the event folder.