How to Plan a Corporate Event in the Philippines

Someone in a meeting said “let’s do something for the team”, and now it’s your name on the calendar invite. Here’s how to plan a corporate event without letting it eat your quarter: what to settle first, the suppliers you need, what to ask the venue and what to get in writing. (Spreadsheet optional. Coffee recommended.)

This is for the HR officer, executive assistant or office manager who has a date, a headcount roughly agreed over Viber, and a boss who wants it “simple but nice”.

What should you settle before you call anyone?

Settle the headcount, the budget and who signs off, in that order. We’d suggest getting these three in writing, even if it’s one email, before a single supplier hears from you.

• Headcount. Guest count drives most of the cost, so get a number, or at least a ceiling. “Everyone plus some guests from the regional office” isn’t one.
• Budget and who approves it. Find out who holds the budget and who has the final yes. They’re often different people, and the second one tends to appear the week before the event.
• The purpose. A town hall, a training day, a year-end party and an awards night need different rooms, programs and suppliers. One sentence on what the event is for saves a lot of back and forth.
• The date and a backup date. Have a second date ready. Venues and suppliers you like may already be booked on your first one.

Once these are agreed, every supplier conversation gets shorter, because you can answer their first three questions without checking with anyone.

When should you start planning a corporate event?

Start as soon as the date is agreed. There’s no reliable rule for how far ahead a company event needs, so we won’t invent one. Ask your venue and your key suppliers how much notice they need for your date and headcount, then work backwards from the earliest answer.

Three checkpoints keep things on track:

1. The venue is confirmed. Your date is real once the venue has it in writing and you have an official receipt for the deposit. Everything else follows from here.
2. Suppliers are confirmed. Catering headcount, the sound and lights setup and the program are agreed and written down.
3. Guest details are closed. RSVPs, dietary needs and accessibility needs are collected and passed to the venue and caterer.

Reconfirm every supplier a week before and again the day before. It feels like overkill until it isn’t.

Which suppliers does a corporate event need?

Most company events need a venue, food, sound and lights, a host and someone recording it. Bigger programs add coordination, styling and entertainment. Here’s the usual list:

• Venue. Some include catering and basic sound; ask what’s in the package before you book anything separately.
• Catering. Buffet, packed meals or plated, depending on the program and the room.
• Sound systems and lighting. Microphones, speakers, a screen or LED wall, and someone to run them. For anything with a program, this is the supplier guests notice most when it goes wrong.
• Host or emcee. Keeps the program moving and the raffle honest.
• Photography and videography. For the company page, the internal newsletter and the CEO’s speech that someone will want to rewatch.
• Event coordination. Worth it when you’re juggling several suppliers and still have a day job.
• Extras: styling and decor, entertainment, and giveaways and merchandise.

Calling each one separately means quotes in five formats across three apps. On Migala you post your event once, list the services you need, and suppliers who fit send you proposals you can compare side by side. Their contact details open up only when you choose them, so your phone stays quiet during work hours.

What should you ask the venue before you book?

Ask what’s included, what costs extra and what the room can actually handle. A good-looking ballroom with weak internet is a problem if the regional office is joining by video.

• Sound and lights: is it in-house, or can you bring your own supplier? Is there a fee for bringing your own?
• Internet: what’s the upload speed, and is a wired connection included? This matters for any livestream or hybrid session.
• Power: is there backup power for the production equipment?
• Access time: when can suppliers get in to set up, and when must everyone be out? Is setup counted inside your booked hours?
• The full price: is the service charge included, and is VAT? Ask for one total with both in it.
• Overtime and corkage: what’s the hourly rate if the program runs long, and when does the clock start?

How do you build a budget management will approve?

Build it from full prices in writing, not from base quotes. A quote that leaves out the service charge, VAT or overtime looks cheaper on paper and turns into an awkward email later.

Ask every supplier for the total price, including:

• overtime: the hourly rate, and when the clock starts and stops;
• setup and teardown, and whether they count inside the booked hours;
• transport, parking and tolls, and any out-of-town fee;
• service charge and VAT, especially on hotel and venue quotes;
• crew meals and corkage.

The most common budget mistake is spending on small extras before the big suppliers are settled, so there’s too little left for what guests notice: the food, the sound and lights, and the photos. Settle those first. And if the guest list grows, re-check the budget the same day. (The “few extra people from sales” are never a few.)

What should be in writing before you pay?

Get the agreement in writing before any deposit, with an official receipt for every payment. Your finance team will ask for the receipts anyway.

The agreement should cover:

• what’s included and excluded, and the total price;
• the payment schedule;
• the date, start and end times, and the overtime rate;
• cancellation, change and refund terms, both if you cancel and if the supplier does;
• a backup or replacement if the supplier can’t make it.

Before paying a supplier you haven’t worked with, check the business is real. Ask for the business name and registration details and check them yourself, and meet or video-call them first. A busy social page isn’t proof on its own.

How do you compare quotes fairly?

Compare like with like: the same headcount, the same hours and the same inclusions, line by line. Two catering quotes can look alike and not be. One includes service staff, the other doesn’t.

Put each service’s quotes side by side and ask each supplier the same three questions: what the total is with every extra, what happens if either of you cancels or changes the date, and what their backup is if something goes wrong. For a longer checklist, see how to find and compare event suppliers in Metro Manila.

Where to start

Settle the headcount, budget and approver this week, then confirm the venue. When you’re ready for the rest, post your event on Migala with the services you need and compare the proposals that come in, one service at a time. It’s free to post.

Then save some energy for the party itself. Someone from accounting has been practising “My Way” since October, and they’d like a good sound system.