Budget and procurement tools
Event budget variance calculator
The committee wants to know which budget lines are drifting before the next sign-off.
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The short answer
The calculator compares each category's approved budget with what is committed, and shows the variance in RM and as a percentage of budget. Committed and paid are displayed side by side, because paid is already part of committed.
Where the approved budget is zero, a percentage cannot be calculated. The tool says so and shows the amount over budget in RM instead.
What to enter
- Approved budget: the amount signed off for the category.
- Committed in total: everything ordered, contracted or invoiced for the category, including any part already paid.
- Of which paid: only the part of the commitment that has left the account.
- Leave a cell blank if it is not known. Blank is never treated as zero.
How the variance is worked out
Variance is the approved budget minus the committed amount. A positive figure is under budget and a negative figure is over budget. The percentage is the variance divided by the approved budget.
Outstanding is committed minus paid. It is the money still to leave the account, and it is shown so that nobody reads paid and committed as two separate costs.
Why committed and paid are not added
A venue contract of RM 18,500 with a RM 5,000 deposit paid is a RM 18,500 commitment, with RM 13,500 outstanding. Adding the deposit on top would report RM 23,500 and overstate the spend.
If a category shows paid but no committed amount, the tool uses the paid amount as a minimum and flags it, because anything ordered but not yet paid is missing.
Zero budgets and unknown figures
A category with a zero budget and some spend shows the RM overspend and a not-applicable percentage. That usually means the cost was never budgeted, which is a decision for the committee.
Categories with no budget or no spend figure are listed and left out of the totals, so a gap in the data is visible instead of looking like a saving.
Limits
The tool compares figures you enter. It does not know whether a quote is complete, whether tax is included, or whether further costs will arrive. For the full budget build, use the event budget builder, and for the sign-off pack use the budget approval summary builder.
Worked example · Fictional example
A fictional forum budget check
Fictional organisation and figures, to show the calculation.
A fictional association has Venue at RM 20,000 budget, RM 18,500 committed and RM 5,000 paid. The variance is RM 1,500 under budget, or 7.5 per cent, with RM 13,500 still outstanding.
Catering is RM 12,000 against RM 13,200 committed: RM 1,200 over, or 10 per cent. AV was never budgeted (RM 0) and has RM 1,500 committed, so it shows RM 1,500 over with the percentage marked not applicable.
| Category | Budget | Committed | Paid | Variance | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | RM 20,000.00 | RM 18,500.00 | RM 5,000.00 | RM 1,500.00 | 7.5% |
| Catering | RM 12,000.00 | RM 13,200.00 | RM 0.00 | -RM 1,200.00 | -10.0% |
| AV | RM 0.00 | RM 1,500.00 | RM 500.00 | -RM 1,500.00 | Not applicable |
Use this yourself
Budget variance worksheet
Complete one row per category. Work left to right and leave a cell empty if it is not known.
| Category | Approved budget | Committed in total | Of which paid | Outstanding (committed minus paid) | Variance (budget minus committed) | Variance % (blank if budget is zero) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total of complete rows |
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- The budget has a handful of categories and every commitment is recorded in one place.
- The committee only needs a monthly check of the same lines.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Commitments sit across several people, so no single list shows what is committed.
- Several categories are over budget and the committee must choose what to change before the next payment.
- Budget lines need to be tied to contracts, payment dates and a reporting rhythm.
Need the budget tracked against commitments?
An Event Blueprint can set out the budget structure, the commitment log and the dates when each variance is reviewed. Approvals and spending decisions stay with your committee.
Questions organisers ask
Is paid added to committed?
No. Paid is the part of committed that has already left the account, so the two are shown side by side and never added.
What happens when the budget is zero?
The percentage is shown as not applicable because it cannot be divided by zero. The amount over budget is still shown in RM.
What if I know the paid amount but not the commitment?
The paid amount is used as a minimum and the line is flagged, since anything ordered but unpaid is missing.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.