Could we get another round of coffee in twenty minutes
It is 2.40pm and the afternoon session is running late. The organiser catches the duty manager in the corridor and asks for another coffee break, the bar to open half an hour early and the main room held until six. The duty manager agrees to all three, radios the kitchen and the bar, and writes a note on the back of the function sheet.
The function sheet goes in the recycling at the end of the night. The invoice goes out the following week with none of it. Or finance hears about it later and adds it, and the organiser says they were never told there would be a charge.
Extras are agreed in corridors
The event day is when clients change their minds most and when your team is busiest. Nobody wants to stop an organiser mid-event to talk about price. The duty manager may not know the price. The bar may run its own tab in the till system that never meets the event invoice.
- Requests are agreed verbally and passed on by radio.
- Prices for extras are on a rate card most floor staff have not seen.
- Bar tabs are held in the till system, separate from the event booking.
- Overtime for rooms and AV is not recorded with start and finish times.
- The organiser's approval is not captured, so charges are disputed later.
The value that leaks away
Every unbilled extra is revenue for food, drink and staff time you already paid for. Every extra billed without a record of approval is a potential dispute and a strained relationship with a client who might have booked again. Finance spends time after each event asking the floor team what happened, often relying on memory from a week ago.
How we build on-the-day extras capture
- Duty managers and supervisors use a simple app on a phone or tablet, opened to today's events.
- They pick the event and add an extra from a list that mirrors your rate card: refreshment rounds, room hold, bar opening, AV items, overtime.
- The price shows as the item is chosen, and the organiser can approve on the device with a tap or receive a quick confirmation message.
- The kitchen, bar or AV team gets the request at the same time, so the radio call is backed by a record.
- Bar tabs are brought in from your till system, where it offers an export or API, and attached to the event.
- Every extra appears on the event's pre-invoice summary for finance to review before the final invoice goes out.
| Extra | Captured | Lands on |
|---|---|---|
| Additional refreshments | Item, time, quantity, approval | Final invoice |
| Room held longer | Start and finish time | Final invoice at your hourly rate |
| Bar tab | Imported from the till | Final invoice or separate bill |
| Extra AV | Item and duration | Final invoice, AV partner notified |
What the day after looks like
Finance opens the pre-invoice summary and sees everything added during the event, with times, prices and approvals. The invoice goes out correctly the first time. If an organiser queries a line, you can show who agreed it and when. Duty managers stop keeping paper notes they have to decipher later.
Signs your venue is losing extras
- On-the-day requests are noted on paper or not at all.
- Finance asks the floor team what happened after each event.
- Bar tabs are billed separately or forgotten.
- Organisers dispute extras because they were not told the price.
- Room overtime is rarely charged.