-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
Budget
We are still in the process of cleaning up the budget and reimbursement but for those planning for next year who need it now, you can view the budget at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmLyPq_86bnfdHFqbWtMMzRBX3FoT291N0dXSERmeXc
In summary, we raised around $8K for the foundation, and $690 for scholarships for next years conference. Hopefully that 10K can be used to buffer the next one around!
We pulled in ~$18K in sponsorships and $79K in tickets. It cost ~$95K to run the show. The moral of the story: if in doubt, raise the ticket price a bit. A little will go a long way!
Working through the foundation, we went through a reimbursement process. Keeping track of receipts and who is owed was a task in itself. In the end I had a giant folder where every receipt was dumped. Bi-weekly I would go through and reconcile those receipts with credit card statements and bank accounts to make sure nothing slipped through. Everything was then documented in the budget. Despite that, I have a feeling something was still missed. I (eleddy) paid for everything through my account and if a bi-weekly run through of expenses turned up enough to send in a reimbursement, then I would send it in. Reimbursing through the foundation requires a scan of all receipts and a list of what and why. This helps for investigation later as well.
Make a habit of saving and/or scanning EVERY receipt from the beginning, pick a method and stick to it. When the conference is happening you will be glad you don't have to think about it anymore.
Reimbursement worked great in the beginning but at some point I had $50K on my credit card and my savings accounts were down $10K. Money was moving around like crazy and surprising to me the biggest bills came at the end. Catering is charged on the day of service. Last minute computer rentals and networking. Etc. Plan to have a big set of bills and ample credit limit in the last week and the week of the conference. Lucky for me American Express pushed my limit and let me keep spending otherwise we would have been in some deep shizzle.
One thing in particular that kept people from being paid was this idea of getting peoples tax information. We need a W9 from everyone who performed a service in order to pay them. This is easier said than done. We worked with people who didn't own computers let alone a printer. Schedule time and prepare to battle people on this.
One month after the conference and I'm still trying to collect an invoice from a venue for $2K. I can't get reimbursed through the foundation until this comes in. My advice for future conference organizers is to demand invoices up FRONT! This is easier said than done, which I'm sure you will learn.