Using Event Planning Software to Organize Your Next Corporate Event

Planning corporate events, even small affairs, is made much simpler with software. Web-based tools can be used to sell tickets, automate registrations, and generate reports that give the organizer important information regarding attendees. But many event planners have yet to make the transition to software. Instead, they handle the minutiae of organizing seminars, product launches, and fundraisers manually. Not only is doing so inefficient, but it opens the door to making costly mistakes.

In this article, we'll begin with the basics of planning a corporate event. Our purpose is to demonstrate the number of details involved, and describe the advantages of using software to handle them. We'll present the benefits of requiring online registrations for your next event, and briefly explain how standards in events software are developed.

Organizing a conference, award ceremony, or team-building affair requires more than simply picking a venue and caterer. You'll need to consider budget constraints, timelines, lodging, and floor plans. You'll need to sell tickets, register attendees, and send email confirmations to registrants.

Depending on the type of event you're planning, you may also want to book speakers and entertainers. A lot of planners are also responsible for lining up advertisers and sponsors. If you're organizing a trade show, you'll need to handle the sale of floor space.

Planning a successful event requires managing a dizzying number of variables at the same time. Your job is to make certain every facet dovetails to complement others. Long ago, corporate events were simpler to plan and execute. There were fewer issues involved, and thus the organizer could handle them manually. Those days are nearly over. Planning seminars, road shows, and off-site corporate meetings is becoming increasingly complex. For this reason, events management software, while considered by some to be a luxury, is likely to become a necessary tool for professional planners.

One of the goals for corporate planners is to maximize attendance at their events. The problem is, doing so is nearly impossible if the tasks described earlier are addressed manually. Imagine processing each payment over the phone; entering each registrant's contact information into a database; sending each attendee an email confirmation; and compiling registration data in a way that provides useful insight into the progress of your event. Promoting your conference or seminar while managing these details is impractical.

Web-based software eases the burden. Attendees can register online anytime, day or night. They can enter their own contact information, minimizing mistakes. The software can send an instant email confirmation to each registrant, providing details about the venue, schedule, and date and time of the event.

Another advantage of online registration is that it allows you to generate reports that reveal how well registration is progressing. You'll know at a glance how many people have signed up, which will help you forecast how many will ultimately attend.

An organization called Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX for short) is leading an effort to standardize software used by event planners. APEX is a consortium of industry professionals who collaborate through discussion and planning. Their goal is to establish standards that are voluntarily endorsed and supported by providers of event planning software. They claim that doing so will lead to greater efficiency, cost savings, and less duplication in services.

APEX's efforts have produced over 200 templates, as well as several applications, that promote consistency throughout the events management industry. Their templates address areas ranging from housing and registration to transportation and venue selection. Because the APEX standards are voluntary, they have not been adopted by all software providers. There remains a high degree of variability in the industry.

Event planning software tools will play an increasingly important role in organizing conferences, corporate meetings, and other affairs. Regardless of your organization's size, such tools are soon to become a necessity.