A timeline is a chronological organizer with dates, assignments, tasks, notes and corresponding deadlines. This tool helps you list activities and meetings for up to a month in advance. You can put a timeline on the wall where you and your staff can check task assignments. This assists in completing tasks as a team, since you can delegate work and get the input of the whole team.
A schedule has tasks, staff assignments, and notes centering on the day of the event and the preceding days. It outlines different components of an event, based on day, time, and location. The schedule assists when working with a deadline, as you can allocate each task the time it requires. As an organizer, you must be time-conscious and a schedule helps you with this.
A checklist helps with the handling of the logistical aspects of an event. It has the event dates, venue, and the tasks that need completion before the event. A checklist serves as a reminder of the tasks you need to complete, such as bookings, payments and picking up equipment. Use it to check your progress in the planning and when updating your client. Use the checklist to schedule meetings and set reminders.
Budget tools help you keep track of finances and allocate funds appropriately. You can track actual expenses and manage costs, in conjunction with incoming event revenue. Organizers often work within strict budgets, making it difficult to allocate the funds appropriately, thus the budget tool comes in handy. Budget tools, such as Ebudget, help you create a budget, transfer items from the estimate budget to the working budget, report the differences between the two budgets, and track the actual expense on items.