Event deposit exposure calculator
The committee has paid several deposits and wants to know how much of that money is really exposed.
…
The short answer
The calculator takes each payment you made and splits what has not come back into four parts: the amount the contract states as refundable, an amount refundable only if a condition is met, a disputed amount, and the remainder with no refund stated. The parts always add back to the amount paid.
It is arithmetic on your own reading of the contract. It is not a legal determination of whether any amount can be recovered.
What to enter
- Amount paid to each supplier or venue, and anything already refunded to you.
- The amount the contract states as refundable, as you read it.
- An amount refundable only if a condition is met, with the condition written down.
- An amount in dispute, a clause or note, and the refund deadline if there is one.
- Optionally, the date you are checking as of, so passed deadlines are flagged.
How the split works
Outstanding is the amount paid minus what has been refunded. The stated refundable, conditional and disputed amounts are taken out of it, and whatever is left is shown as no refund stated.
The parts must not overlap. If they add up to more than is outstanding, the tool rejects the line so that the numbers reconcile instead of hiding the problem.
What counts as exposure
Exposure at risk is the conditional, disputed and no-refund-stated parts together. The amount a contract states as refundable is a claim you hold, not money received, so it is shown separately.
A payment with no refund wording entered is flagged. The sensible next step is to read the contract again, not to write the money off.
Questions to put to the supplier
- Please confirm in writing which part of the deposit is refundable, and on what date that right ends.
- What exactly must happen for the conditional part to be refunded, and who decides?
- For a disputed amount, what is the supplier's written position and what evidence do they rely on?
Limits
The tool cannot say who is right in a dispute or interpret a clause. Take legal advice on any contested amount. To see how these payments sit in the wider cash picture, use the cash payment schedule builder, and for the budget view the budget variance calculator.
Worked example · Fictional example
A fictional hotel deposit
Fictional organisation and figures, to show the calculation.
A fictional association paid a hotel RM 10,000. RM 4,000 has been refunded, so RM 6,000 is outstanding. Reading the contract, the committee records RM 3,000 as stated refundable, RM 1,000 refundable only if the date is resold, and RM 500 disputed.
The remaining RM 1,500 has no refund stated. Exposure at risk is RM 3,000: the conditional RM 1,000, the disputed RM 500 and the RM 1,500 with no refund stated. The parts reconcile to the RM 10,000 paid.
| Part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Already refunded | RM 4,000.00 |
| Contract states refundable | RM 3,000.00 |
| Conditional on resale of the date | RM 1,000.00 |
| Disputed | RM 500.00 |
| No refund stated | RM 1,500.00 |
| Total (equals amount paid) | RM 10,000.00 |
Use this yourself
Deposit exposure worksheet
Complete one row per payment. The last four columns plus Already refunded must add up to the amount paid.
| Paid to | Amount paid | Already refunded | Contract states refundable | Refundable only if (condition) | Disputed | No refund stated | Clause and refund deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- There are a few deposits and the refund wording is clear in each contract.
- No amount is disputed and the deadlines are known.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Contract wording is unclear or contradictory, and several parties are involved.
- A supplier is disputing a refund and the committee needs the documents and dates ordered before taking advice.
- Deposits are large relative to the budget and decisions on the event date or scope depend on what can come back.
Need deposits and contract terms pulled into one view?
An Event Blueprint can set out supplier requirements and a register of deposits, refund conditions and deadlines, so questions reach each supplier in writing. Legal interpretation stays with your own advisers.
Questions organisers ask
Does the tool tell me if I can recover a deposit?
No. It adds up the parts you enter from your own reading of the contract and does not decide what is legally recoverable.
Why is the stated refundable amount not counted as at risk?
It is a claim you hold under the contract as you read it. It is shown separately and still needs the supplier to confirm.
What if the parts add up to more than is outstanding?
The line is rejected with the figures shown, so you can correct the overlap and the numbers reconcile.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.