Yes, we can do that
The client's event lead rings on a Tuesday: could the welcome drinks move from the terrace to the ballroom, and could you add a photographer for the awards? Your account manager says yes, because the client is happy and the event is three weeks away. The ballroom needs extra lighting and a dance floor moved. The photographer needs booking for the evening. Nobody sends a price.
Two more calls like that happen before the event. After it, the finance team prepares the final invoice from the original proposal plus the changes someone remembers. The client queries the ones that are on it, because they never saw a price in writing, and the ones that are not on it are simply lost.
Why changes slip past the invoice
Account managers are rewarded for keeping clients happy, not for paperwork, and the moment a change is agreed is the worst moment to stop and price it.
- Changes are agreed verbally or in a quick reply email.
- The supplier cost of the change is not known at the time, so pricing is postponed.
- There is no standard change note, so each account manager does it differently or not at all.
- Finance prepares the final invoice from the proposal, without a list of changes.
- Clients push back on charges they did not approve in writing.
Where the margin disappears
An event can go from profitable to break-even on a series of small, reasonable changes, each of which the client would have paid for if asked. Without a written approval, disputing a charge after the event costs the relationship. And the extra supplier costs still arrive, so the event budget shows an overspend that is really unbilled work.
There is a quieter cost as well. When changes are never priced, clients learn that changes are free, and the next event brings more of them. Account managers who want to charge feel they are breaking a precedent, so they do not, and the pattern sets in across the whole account.
The change request step we build
- Any change is logged on the event from a phone or laptop in under a minute: what the client asked for, when and who asked.
- The affected budget lines and suppliers are suggested from the event plan, and supplier quotes for the change are requested from the same screen.
- Once costs are in, the change note calculates a client price using your markup rules for that client, which the account manager can adjust.
- The client receives a short change note by email with a one-click approve or decline, and approval is recorded with name and time.
- Approved changes update the event budget, the run sheet and the supplier schedule together.
- Small changes below a threshold you set can be approved under a pre-agreed allowance, still recorded for the final invoice.
- The final invoice draft lists the original proposal plus every approved change, ready for finance to check and send through your accounts package.
| Change | Supplier cost | Client price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drinks moved indoors | Lighting and dance floor move | Per your markup | Approved by client |
| Awards photographer | Photographer quote | Per your markup | Awaiting approval |
| Extra vegan menu option | Within allowance | Included | Recorded, no charge |
Change conversations without the awkward invoice
The account manager still says yes on the call. Afterwards, they log the change, and the note goes to the client later that day with a price. Most clients approve in minutes, and a few decide the change is not worth it, which is also useful. At the end of the event, the final invoice has no surprises for either side: every extra line has a date and an approval next to it.
Do these sound familiar?
- Client changes are agreed on calls and priced later, or never.
- Final invoices are built from the proposal plus memory.
- Clients dispute extras they did not approve in writing.
- Event budgets show overspends that are really unbilled changes.
- Each account manager handles changes differently.