Why you need a checklist (and what belongs on it)

The first phase determines whether the event will work. Here you set the goal, the audience, the budget and the format. Without a sharp foundation, every later choice becomes a discussion without end.

Start with three questions. What should be different after the event than before it? Think about who should experience that difference and how much it may cost. The answer to those three questions steers all the choices that follow. Then choose the format (such as a conference or staff party) and the rough date. Note the estimated group size too.

Set up the team in this phase too. Appoint one owner for the content, one for the production and one decision-maker for budget overruns. Those are three roles that should never sit with the same person. Schedule a weekly 30-minute meeting, always on the same day and time.

This phase is the longest and the most error-prone. The venue is booked or it isn't, and suppliers are confirmed or they aren't. A day's delay here means a week's delay further down the line.

Start with the venue. Make a shortlist of three, view them and choose one. Place an option within 48 hours. We wrote a separate guide on choosing a venue. After that we arrange catering, technical production, entertainment and transport. Ask each supplier for two quotes, not one. Check references and what happens if they drop out.

Lock in contracts with clear cancellation clauses. Note per supplier who the day contact is and which number is reachable on the event day. Mention the required set-up time too. Without those details, someone will be standing around on the day itself waiting for an answer.

Now the event becomes tangible. You build the run sheet, the invitations go out and the programme takes its final shape. This phase is where concept and execution meet.

The run sheet is a minute-by-minute timeline from 14 hours before the event to the final goodbye. For each time slot you note what happens and who is responsible. Plus where it takes place and how the transition to the next block runs. Keep it to one A4 for the main outline, plus appendices per supplier. Everyone on the floor must see the same document.

Send the invitations at least four weeks ahead. Follow up at 80% confirmations three days before the deadline. Make a dietary list and a transport list. A special-requests list belongs there too. Book entertainment at least eight weeks ahead. Later means a poorer choice and higher prices.

In the final two weeks it's about control, not creation. Every loose end still open now is one that will snap shut at an unfortunate moment during the event. Here the checklist becomes a ticking-off exercise.

A week and a half ahead: the final numbers go to catering and the schedule to technical production. The name list is ready for the badges. A week ahead: a dress rehearsal with the core team and a walk-through of the venue, plus a briefing with the speakers. Three days ahead: day communication to all suppliers. The day before the event: a venue check and a stock check, plus the final briefing.

On the day itself, everything stands or falls with calm in the team. One runner for unforeseen matters and one point of contact per supplier. Plus one person who guards the schedule. Three roles alongside the host duties. Everything that could go wrong, you already solved two weeks earlier. Now it's about the rhythm of the day.

Most checklists stop at the end of the event. That's too early. What happens in the four weeks after that determines whether this event had an effect or only cost money.

Right afterwards: send a thank-you email to participants within 48 hours. Send the invoice to suppliers within two weeks and the survey to participants within four days. Waiting with that survey is a waste of time. The memory fades fast.

Schedule an evaluation session with the core team within ten working days. Two questions on the table: what worked and what didn't? Add a third question: what do we do differently next time? Record those answers in a document and keep it with the brief file. At the next edition you don't start from zero. You'll find our complete guide on the costs of an events agency here.

A checklist only works if someone guards it. As owner of the checklist, you know at every moment where you stand. Without an owner, deadlines vanish into inboxes and full diaries. That's the moment events go wrong.

We make events for companies between 100 and 10,000 employees. Think of Heijmans and Carglass, but also SAP. We use our own version of this checklist as a production compass for every assignment. At Live Impact we start with a conversation about goal and audience. And about the desired impact. After that we arrange the entire execution with our production team. So you can experience the event yourself instead of keeping it running.

Call us on 085 401 40 14 or email hello@live-impact.nl for an introduction. Seriously fun.