}
A complete set of templates, checklists, and tools for professional wedding planners.
Business
Wedding Planning
Marketing
Day in the Life
Self Development
Friday Favorites
Do You Know Your Cash Flow?
Many event planners are small business owners who are solely responsible for getting the clients and cash flow needed to stay in business. If you are new to running a business, it can be a challenge to determine how much you need to make to cover expenses, taxes, and savings for a rainy day. Below, we are talking about the basics of managing cash flow.
1) Know what you are spending
Whether you use financial software or a paper and pen, write it down. Most business expenses are tax deductible but you need to keep track of them. Keeping expenses organized by month will help with the next step of projecting spending.
2) Project future spending
As your business grows, you can see what you have spent in the past and can predict what you will spend for this year. I have a monthly amount that I spend, on average, for my planning business. This amount covers my marketing, networking, taxes, office supplies, and industry association memberships. I know that I need to cover this amount every month before I pay myself so that I can stay in business.
3) Charge what you are worth
Most wedding and event planners charge too little for their services. We love what we do as event planners, but we are still in business to make money. I know that you want to help people, but it’s not your job to finance anyone else’s event with low-priced services. If you go out of business, then you aren’t able to help anyone. Consider raising your rates and consider these factors when determining wedding planner pricing.
4) Know your incoming cash flow
If you own your own planning business, you need to know exactly how much money is coming in each month. It can be as simple as an Excel document that has every month of the year listed with the date and payment amount you are expecting for each month in the future. When you book a new client, add their payment dates and amount to the correct months for easy reference.
5) Watch what you spend
Every dollar you spend on your business should add value and move your business forward in some way. If you have a slow year, every dollar matters. If you have a great year, you can save for a slow year and invest in your education and business.
Knowing what you need encourages you to get out there and make it happen. Once you have an understanding of cash flow and spending, business becomes much easier because you know what you have and what you need.
Not sure how to price your services and what to offer in your wedding planning packages?
Pricing With Confidence: Secrets to Profitable Pricing & Services for Professional Wedding Planners is a comprehensive guide with templates and worksheets that give you the tools and information needed to confidently offer profitable and sustainable wedding planning packages and pricing.
This guide is ideal for both new and experienced wedding planners who want to understand pricing methods and techniques. This guidebook is also perfect for wedding planners who want to save time by having ready-to-use templates for planning packages, examples of website wording, and a professional spreadsheet to rely on for calculating prices for weddings and events.
LEARN MORE AND GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS!
A complete set of templates, checklists, and tools for professional wedding planners.
Business
Wedding Planning
Marketing
Day in the Life
Self Development
Friday Favorites
Get the Free Guide: 20 Low-Cost Marketing Ideas for Wedding and Event Planners
Check your inbox for your free marketing guide!
PLANNER’S LOUNGE © 2023 | Website Design by Megan Martin Creative | Terms & Conditions
[…] your money. It’s easy to look at your bank account and see all the deposits stacking up, but how much money do you spend? What happens if deposits stop coming in for a few months? There’s a great book called Profit […]
[…] educated on accounting and legal issues or hire someone to help you with accounting, cash flow, pricing your wedding services, and contract […]
[…] business, you may consider renting an office or studio space. If you are new to the business or if you aren’t yet turning a steady profit, this isn’t the time to invest in the overhead expense of having an office […]
[…] Do You Know Your Cash Flow? […]
[…] first time we have ever owned and managed our own business. With ownership comes responsibility for cash flow. We are in charge of booking events to get money in the door. Then we are responsible for paying […]