What better place to start our course than creating a new event with our eventplanner.net software? If you haven’t already, go to the event software homepage. Next, click on 'Event software' in the top right of the navigation bar.

Method #1

When you’re in the eventplanner.net software, on the left side of the screen, you will find the menu, where you will see all the tools we have available: Moodboards, Checklists, Callsheets, Budgets, and Contacts.

There are multiple ways of creating an event, but for simplicity, we’ll start with the easiest one.

Click “Add a new event”, and input the following details:

• Event name
• Date
• Event type
• Number of people
• Region
• Budget
• Currency
• VAT checkbox
• Description
• Blank template checkbox

Event name: choose something specific that you’ll be able to distinguish from the other events you create. You’ll see all your events on your main dashboard in a list format; giving those a specific name will help you navigate to the correct one.

Date: this is the date when your event takes place.

Event type: there are multiple options to choose from: business event, staff party, product launch, meeting, conference, teambuilding, concert, wedding, private party, and other. Pick the most appropriate one.

Number of people: the number of people in attendance. This becomes important later when we start building our budgets. If you work with prices based on units, the number of people will affect the overall cost. For example, if the price for a caterer is $20 per person, your budget will be calculated accordingly.

Region: type in the town or city where the event is due to take place. If it’s a virtual event, simply enter the registered address of the business, the office address, or the event organiser. It’s important to get this detail right, as our eventplanner.net software will help you find the right venue for your event.

Budget: the amount you wish to allocate for the overall scope of this particular event.

Currency: select the appropriate value from the drop-down list. These are the currencies currently available to choose from, and we’ll be adding new ones in the future.

VAT checkbox: select this box if you wish to see prices in the Budgets section excl. VAT.

Description: provide an overview of the event, and include relevant detail, such as the aim of the event, what the intended outcome is, and any planning considerations.

Blank template checkbox: select this if you don’t want to pre-fill your event Checklist or start from a blank Checklist. For example, if you’re planning a wedding, a checklist will be added with all the necessary tasks that are required, such as “Book the ceremony venue”.

• Important! At present, we don’t have the functionality to create your own templates. But you can re-use a checklist from another event, the same applies for call sheets, ... It’s possible to setup an event based on a previous one. More will be shared on how to do that later in this guide (method 2).

Once all the above information has been input, check the details are correct, then select “Save”.

You’ll then be taken to a new screen, where you’ll see your event name at the top.

• Top Tip! If you want to add a new event, click on the event name (adjacent to the down arrow) add select the option to add a new event. From here, you can navigate between your other events too. With eventplanner.net, you can work on multiple events simultaneously and switch between them.

And voila! The tools are now ready to start using.

As a quick exercise, navigate to “Checklists” in the left pane and you will see (if you selected to pre-fill the checklist) several tasks ready for you to organise the event type you selected. From here, you can start building your budget, carrying out a brief, selecting an event agency, and so much more.

Method #2

As mentioned previously, there are other ways to create a new event. One of the best ways to do this is to create an event based on a previous event you’ve organised. Simply click on the event name at the top (adjacent to the down arrow) add select the event which you would like to use as a template for your new event. After making your selection, you’ll see the familiar screen where we input our event details. Revisit the instructions above if you require any further explanation.

• Important! The software will recalculate all the dates of tasks and call sheet items for the event based on the new date you input. For example, say you have a task on your checklist, and the due date of the task was three months before the start date of the event, then our software will recalculate based on the date of the new event.

It’s the same for call sheet items, too. For example, if you have a call sheet, and the day before the event you decorated the venue, then your new call sheet will take that into consideration and amend the date accordingly.

The only difference when creating this event, in terms of options available, is the “Import these contacts” checkboxes. Here you can decide whether you want to include the same contact details of the people you worked with on the last event. Check all the boxes of the contacts you want to include. If you leave out a contact, all corresponding tasks and assignments will be assigned to you, the organiser of the event. You can always reassign them to somebody else at a later stage.

Go right ahead and save the new event.

In the navigation header (adjacent to the drop-down arrow), you will now see your original event and the new event you’ve created. Remember, you can switch between these events easily with all the available tools in the eventplanner.net suite. If you switch tools, the system will remember what you were working on and you won’t lose any of your work.

Method #3

The last option to create an event is not from within the event software itself but from anywhere on our platform. For example, say you’re in the directory on our website and are browsing event venues, and imagine you’re planning to run an event in Antwerp, simply enter the details in the search bar and hit “Search”.

After a moment, you’ll see a list of search results. Imagine now that you’ve found the perfect location. After clicking on the page, you’ll see all the details about that particular venue.

Click “Get a quote”, and you’ll be taken to a page where you can select a new event or a current event that you’re planning. Once selected, you’ll be taken to another page with a web form (this will be prepopulated if you’ve selected an existing event). Check you’re happy with the details and click “Send”.

• Note: when creating a new event this way, there are fewer options to select from. Any events created this way will be done so with standard values. But fear not! You can always populate the required information by going back to the event software and clicking on “Show info”. Here you will see all the information on the event you’ve entered. You can always click “Edit” and change any of the event details.

Archiving Events

And last but not least, there’s also an archive event button. When your event has taken place – or if it’s been canceled, postponed, or no longer required – you can archive your event without deleting it. Archived events don’t show in the usual places anymore, such as the drop-down list when switching between events.

Archiving events it’s really handy if you work on a lot of events; you’re drop-down list will soon become overgrown if it’s not pruned.

You will see a new link here: “Archived events”. Clicking on that will take you to the archive, where you will see all the events that are archived. From here, you can still access your historic events, open them, and even unarchive them.

Personalizing Your Experience

One final point: you can personalize your experience by going to the settings screen. To do so, click on your name in the top menu, then go to the “Personal” tab. Here, you will see all your communication and notification preferences.

When it comes to notification preferences, you can choose between three ways we communicate with you: push notifications (through the eventplanner.net app if you have it installed), emails, and website notifications (these can’t be toggled off).

On top of this, you can change the types of notifications you’d like to receive. For example, we can send notifications when you get an assignment, or when a colleague assigns you to a task, or when someone creates a call sheet entry. If you wish to change any of these preferences, click “Edit” and check the relevant boxes.

• Important! What’s the difference between email and consolidated email? An email is when the action occurs. So, if it’s 10 am and your colleague assigns you to a task, then you get that email immediately. The consolidated email is sent once per day, which gives a breakdown of all your notifications throughout the day.
• Top Tip! You can set reminders for tasks and amend your notifications. For example, if you have a task assigned in any given project, and you want a reminder when the task is due, make sure these reminders are switched on in this screen.

And that’s a wrap for how to create an event.

Next, we’ll be learning all about the tools we offer in our eventplanner.net software. So grab yourself a drink, and we’ll see you in the next section.