How to Manage Budgets for In-Person Meetings

Budgets might not be the flashiest part of planning an in-person meeting, but they’re the foundation that holds everything together. For Executive Assistants (EAs) and meeting planners, budgeting isn’t about completing an expense report. It’s about visibility, adaptability, and demonstrating your strategic value.

At TROOP, we use a three-stage budgeting method: Estimate → Working → Actual. This method for managing meeting budgets gives you control at every stage of planning, so you can plan smarter, communicate earlier, and build credibility.

How to manage budgets for in-person meetings

Here’s how each stage works, why it matters, and how combining all three makes in-person meeting budgets more predictable and more strategic.

1. Create an Estimated budget

An Estimated budget is exactly what it sounds like — an initial forecast of the meeting’s full costs. It’s the version you’ll use to secure approval and set expectations with your executive and Finance team. 

What to include in your Estimate:

• Travel: Get a headcount, then research flights or different modes of transportation based on each attendee's travel origin.
• Accommodation and meeting space: Once a meeting location is selected, compare hotel options and room block assumptions. Then find a meeting space, ideally one that’s in the same hotel or within walking distance of it.
• Meals: Factor in restaurant options, along with meals or snacks offered during the meeting. This could look something like $20/person/meal + $X for each team dinner. If meals are covered in a venue or catering package, make that clear and include it as a single line item in your budget. 
• Activities and extras: Depending on the meeting type, you might need to configure team-building activities, entertainment, or printed materials.

A strong Estimate shows that you considered all angles, including major (and minor) costs, and helps avoid back-and-forth with Finance by setting realistic expectations early.

Pro tip: Add a cushion to your Estimate for variable costs such as fluctuating flight pricing. It’s best to have a contingency plan for each meeting in case the budget goes over.

2. Stay in control with a Working budget 

Once the travel and logistics details are locked in, your budget shifts from draft to reality — quotes roll in, prices change, and attendees confirm (or drop out). The Working budget is where you manage these changes. This stage often lasts the longest and requires regular updates as details evolve.

What to track:

• Updated pricing from vendors and rate changes with flights or hotels.
• Shoulder nights (extra hotel nights) added due to travel schedules.
• Headcount updates that affect transport, rooms, swag, and meals.
• Ground transfers and shuttles once arrivals and departures are confirmed.
• Track when you need to flex. For example, adding more attendees might mean dipping into your contingency, selecting a new dinner option to stay within budget, or reallocating funds from one category to another.

The Working budget shows that you’re proactive, helping you build credibility by demonstrating agility and foresight. It proves you’re not just tracking numbers in a spreadsheet, you’re managing the bigger picture.

3. Finalize all details with the Actual budget

When the meeting wraps, the Actual budget tells the full story. It captures what was actually spent and how close you came to what was originally planned. This is your opportunity to show how you balanced costs, managed trade-offs, and stayed aligned with expectations. Use these insights to strengthen your next meeting proposal or secure larger budgets in the future.

What to review:

• Estimate versus Actual spend: Where were you accurate, and where did costs shift?
• Variances explained: Document reasons for increases or savings, for example, “Flights rose due to late bookings, but venue savings offset the cost.”
• Spending patterns: Recurring trends like catering overages or consistent savings by avoiding shoulder nights.
• Unusual expenses: Flag unusual or one-time expenses to review before the next planning cycle.

Your Actual budget is proof of how well you managed the process. Show how you balanced costs across all cost categories, close the loop with Finance, and secure future budgets by showing how strategically you can manage a budget.

Why this three-step framework works

When you use Estimated, Working, and Actual budgets together, you create a simple structure that makes meeting planning far less overwhelming.

• Estimated sets expectations and earns early buy-in.
• Working keeps you in control as plans shift.
• Actual proves the value of your decisions.

This framework shows that budgeting is about progress, alignment, and credibility. With TROOP, you can manage all three stages in one view, making it easier to track changes, share updates, and deliver meeting reports that build trust with your executive and Finance.

Deliver a powerful budget for in-person meetings

At the end of the day, a budget is an efficient way to show your executive and Finance that you’re in control. When you can explain changes with confidence, demonstrate the thinking behind your choices, and highlight smart trade-offs, you’re doing more than balancing costs. You’re building trust.