# SOP templates for an event company

Owner: Owner or operations manager
Runs: Set up once, reviewed each season

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.

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Template from SOPCompass (https://sopcompass.com/templates/event-company-sops). Free to use and adapt.