Exhibition budget: what to include
The stand price is the number everyone quotes, and it is rarely more than half of what an exhibition actually costs. This checklist covers the whole picture, so the investment figure you take to your board is the one you will actually spend.
The budget checklist
Space and stand
- Floor space, priced per square metre
- Stand design and build, or shell scheme upgrade
- Graphics, print and signage
- Furniture, flooring and lighting hire
- Electrics, rigging, wifi and stand cleaning
- Storage and shipping of stand materials
Event fees
- Exhibitor registration and badges
- Sponsorship packages and speaking slots
- Directory or app listings
- Lead capture licence or scanner hire
People and travel
- Staff day rate multiplied by days away, travel days included
- Flights, rail or mileage
- Accommodation for build-up, show days and breakdown
- Meals, taxis and incidental expenses
- Temporary staff, interpreters or demonstrators
Marketing and sales
- Pre-event campaigns, email and paid promotion
- Printed materials and brochures
- Giveaways and promotional items
- Hospitality, meeting space or an evening event
- Post-event follow-up campaigns
Costing staff time properly
Staff time is usually the largest cost after the stand itself, and the one most often left out. Take the fully loaded daily cost of each person attending, multiply by the days they are away including build-up, show days, breakdown and travel, then add it to the total. If you would rather not use salary figures, use a nominal internal day rate and apply the same rate to every event so the comparison stays fair.
Sanity checking the total
Once the total is in front of you, ask two questions. How many customers would this event need to win to cover itself, and does that number look achievable given what you sell? If the break-even figure is far beyond anything the event could realistically deliver, the answer is usually a smaller stand or a different show, not a bigger target.
Leave room for follow-up
Leads captured on a stand only turn into revenue if someone works them afterwards. Budget the follow-up time and any post-event campaign as part of the event, not as a separate line that quietly never gets funded.
Common questions
Space and stand build, sponsorship and event fees, staff time for every day away, travel, accommodation, meals, pre-event marketing, printed materials, giveaways, shipping and stand services such as electrics and wifi.
Total your exhibition budget
Enter your costs and see total investment, cost per lead and how many customers the event needs to pay for itself.
Add up your exhibition costsRelated: what UK trade shows cost to exhibit at and setting ROI targets before the event.