How to manage your exhibition budget more effectively

A complete exhibition budget has six groups of costs: space and organiser fees, the stand itself, venue services, freight and labour, insurance and travel, and promotion with lead follow-up. Add a contingency line on top.

The costs most often missed are the venue services (power, rigging, internet and cleaning), which are ordered separately from your space, and the late-order charges that some venues add when you order close to the show. Below is a template you can use, followed by the traps to watch out for.

The exhibition budget template

Use one row per item. Enter the quote when it arrives and the actual cost when the invoice does. The gap between the two columns makes next year's budget more accurate.

For what drives the cost of the stand itself, see how much an exhibition stand costs in Australia. This page covers everything around it.

Be aware of the venue costs most budgets miss

Your space booking often doesn't include the services that make the stand work. At the major Australian venues these are ordered separately, either from the venue's exhibitor services team or from the organiser's appointed contractor.

• Power. At the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, power to the stand is arranged through the event's contracted stand builder, not the venue. Count every light, screen and fridge before you order.
• Rigging. The Adelaide Convention Centre has exclusive rights to rigging in the venue, and the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre uses an exclusive in-house rigger for primary rigging. If you plan a hanging sign, budget for the venue's crew.
• Internet. Free venue Wi-Fi isn't built for a stand. ICC Sydney caps its free Wi-Fi at 10 Mbps per device, Brisbane's free network is speed-limited and, in the venue's words, "not designed for ... event-critical elements", and Perth's free service runs in 60-minute sessions. If a demo, payment terminal or lead app depends on the connection, order a dedicated line.
• Cleaning. Stand cleaning is a separate booking at ICC Sydney and Adelaide. Ask the organiser what the general clean covers.

Read the organiser's manual for exactly what your space includes before you price anything else.

Venue order deadlines and late charges

Late orders are one of the easiest leaks to stop. These are the deadlines four major venues publish. Your organiser may set earlier ones, so check the show manual too.

• Adelaide Convention Centre: orders close 14 days before the event, when the online ordering portal closes. Rigging changes within 3 days of the event may incur extra charges.
• Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre: the payment form is due at least 5 business days before. A 20% surcharge applies to late forms.
• Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre: orders must be placed and paid 7 days before. Later orders depend on what the venue can still accommodate.
• Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre: orders are due 7 business days before. What happens to late orders is not stated. MCEC suggests deciding your services a month out.

Put the earliest deadline in the project plan, and order everything at once so you aren't paying twice for the same service.

Where to spend and where to save

Spend on what visitors see from the aisle and on what your team uses all day. Save on the parts nobody notices, and on anything you'd otherwise buy again for the next show.

Spend here:

• The main graphic wall. It's what people see from the aisle, and it carries the message.
• Lighting on products and graphics. Venue lighting is set for the hall, not your stand.
• One hero element: a demo counter, a product display or a screen. It gives people a reason to stop.
• Artwork and proofing. Errors found at the venue cost more than errors found on screen.
• Stand team briefing and lead capture. The leads are why you're there.

Save here:

• The frame behind the graphic wall. Reuse a frame and change only the printed fabric skin.
• Extra wall area. A short, well-lit wall works harder than a long dim one.
• Custom furniture. Use standard counters and seating from a kit, or the organiser's hire list.
• Single-show structures. Hire for one-off or trial shows.
• Rush freight. Book freight when the graphics are approved, not the week of the show.

Reusable fabric systems are where the saving is clearest. Our SuperWall is an aluminium frame with a one-piece 270gsm fabric skin. With its carry bag it weighs 7 to 14kg depending on size, and it is designed for one person to put up in under 10 minutes. When the campaign changes, you print a new skin and keep the frame. The fabric can be machine washed on a cold cycle between shows.

If you'd rather not choose every piece yourself, our numbered portable exhibition kits group matching display pieces under a single price, and each kit can be adjusted to the size of space you've booked.

Where exhibition budgets leak

• Late venue orders. Late orders can carry a surcharge or miss the cut-off altogether (see the deadlines above).
• Rushed freight. Late artwork pushes production back and forces express freight.
• Storage. A stand kept in a corner of the office is easily damaged and may need repairs before the next show. Proper storage is a line in the budget, but it keeps the stand in show condition.
• Rework. Graphics printed before sizes are confirmed with the organiser often have to be reprinted.
• Duplicate services. The stand builder and the venue both supply power, furniture or cleaning because nobody checked who was ordering what.
• No lead follow-up. The budget is spent but the leads go cold. Plan the follow-up for the 48 hours after the show before you leave for the venue.

Freight, storage and show days

Our logistics and storage service moves kit across Australia and New Zealand and stores it between events. Each item is checked in, inspected for wear, maintained and cleaned before it goes out again. For roadshows we can also manage installation and dismantle at each stop. If you're using equipment we supplied, we can provide help on show days, on site or after hours.

Allow time as well as money. Brief the design early enough that production, freight and venue orders don't have to be rushed.

Treating a reused stand as an asset

A stand you buy and take to several shows lasts well beyond one event. For background, the Australian Taxation Office says its general depreciation rules "set the amounts (capital allowances) that can be claimed based on the asset's effective life", and that a depreciating asset "starts to decline in value when you first use it (or install it ready for use)". How they apply to your stand is a question for your accountant.

The practical half of the reuse case is simpler: when the message changes, reprint the graphics for a frame you already own instead of building a new stand.

Fill in the template with the show details and send it to us with your floor plan. We'll quote the stand, graphics, freight and storage lines. Or call 1300 240 250.