Event Production Quote: How to Price, Scope and Follow Up When Details Keep Changing

BOTrento Team12 October 20269 min read

What production enquiries usually leave out

A typical production enquiry is one line long: “We need sound, lighting and a screen for a few hundred guests in a hotel ballroom in May.” It gives you no load-in times, no power details, no idea of what the presenters will actually do and no indication of whether the venue has in-house kit. If you price it as it stands, you'll be guessing. If you wait for a full brief before replying, a faster competitor may get the job.

Questions to ask before you price

1. Venue and access: which room, what ceiling height, are there rigging points, and how far is it from the loading bay to the room?
2. Timings: when are load-in, rehearsal, show and load-out? Is there an overnight or a turnaround?
3. Power: what does the venue provide, and will you need a generator or a distro?
4. Show content: how many presenters, any panels or live music, playback from a laptop or from your media server?
5. Screens and content: what aspect ratio, who supplies the graphics, and when is the content deadline?
6. House kit and suppliers: is the venue's AV compulsory, and are other suppliers on site that you need to coordinate with?
7. Decision process: who signs off the quote, and when do they need to?

Send these questions together with a provisional price. Don't send them instead of one. A quick first reply that states its assumptions clearly keeps the conversation going. For a general routine, see how to reply to sales enquiries faster. If you also handle event agency briefs in high season, our guide to event agency enquiries in peak season covers checking dates and making provisional holds.

Build the quote around change, not against it

A production quote will change, so plan for that. Structure it so that changes only touch the lines they affect, rather than forcing you to rework the whole document.

Put prices in euros excluding VAT, and state that on the quote. If part of your kit comes from rental partners, check availability before you commit to dates. This article on equipment rental availability explains how to avoid double bookings.

Handling change requests: step by step

Most margin is lost through small changes agreed by phone that never make it into the quote: “Can we add a lectern mic?” or “Could load-out be an hour later?” Use one routine for every change, however small it is.

1. Get it in writing. If a change comes up on a call, send a one-line email confirming what you heard. From then on, that email is the record.
2. Sort it. Decide whether the change is within scope (no cost), a priced change (an option or change rate you've already quoted), or needs checking (a supplier, the venue or crew availability).
3. Reprice only the affected lines. Leave the base alone unless the brief has really changed, for example a new venue or a different day.
4. Issue a new version. Use a file name such as ClientName_EventDate_v[n] and open the quote with a short “Changes since the previous version” list.
5. Mark the old version as superseded. Keep it in the thread so you can always see how the price changed.
6. Ask for confirmation of the specific version (“Please confirm version [n]”) rather than of “the quote”.
7. Agree a lock date. After that date, changes are charged at the change rates. Agree it early, while everyone is still friendly.

Write the change summary in the email body as well as in the attached PDF. People skim emails, and plain text in the thread is easier for everyone to find later, including any tool that reads your inbox.

Template: sending a revised quote

Copy it, fill in the gaps and keep it short. The aim is to make the change easy to approve.

Subject: [Event name], [date]: revised quote, version [n]

Hi [Name],

Thanks for the update on [what changed, e.g. the extra panel session in the afternoon]. The revised quote, version [n], is attached. Here's what changed compared with the previous version:

• Added: [number] extra handheld mics and an extra hour of crew time, €[amount] excl. VAT
• Removed: the second projection screen, now replaced by the LED wall option
• Unchanged: base package, load-in at [time], load-out by [time]

New total: €[amount] excl. VAT. Prices are held until [date]. The LED wall depends on our supplier, so I can only hold it until then.

Two things are still open: final content format (we've assumed widescreen) and venue power (we've assumed [details]). If either changes, I'll update the quote.

Could you confirm version [n] by [date]? I'll check back with you on [day] in any case.

Best regards,
[Name]

Follow-up while the brief is still moving

Follow-up tends to get forgotten when a quote is “still being discussed”. Each new version feels like progress, but nobody owns the next step. Use these rules:

• Every version needs a follow-up date. Sending a new version restarts the clock. It doesn't end the conversation.
• Follow up on the open questions, not just the price. Asking “Have you had a chance to check the venue power?” is easier to answer than “Any thoughts on the quote?”
• Keep the promises you make in emails. If you wrote “I'll confirm the LED wall price by Friday”, the client will remember, even if you don't.
• Bring up supplier deadlines early. When a held price or piece of kit is about to expire, that's a real and useful reason to get back in touch.
• Close the loop. If the client goes quiet after several versions, ask directly whether the event is still going ahead.

For reminder timing and wording, see how to stop forgetting quote follow-ups. When you measure results, count all versions of a quote as one quote, otherwise your figures will be inflated. Our guide to quote conversion rate explains how.

How BOTrento handles this during a 14-day trial

BOTrento Chief of Staff is a managed process for enquiries, quotes and follow-ups. It doesn't replace your CRM, your quoting spreadsheet or your accounts software. It sits alongside them and makes sure nothing slips. Here's what a production company would see during the trial:

1. Connect your data. You connect a mailbox over IMAP, or forward from Gmail, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, or you import an export from your CRM or spreadsheet as CSV or XLSX. Someone from our team contacts you within 24 hours on working days to help with the setup. The 14 days only start once your data has been uploaded successfully.
2. Check each working-day morning. You get the Today 1+3 overview in the app and by email. It shows the one most important case and three more, for example a revised quote with no reply or a supplier hold that expires this week.
3. Approve drafts. BOTrento prepares drafts of replies, revised-quote emails and follow-ups in English, Czech, German or French. You edit them and send them yourself. Nothing is sent without a person approving it.
4. Keep track of promises. Lines such as “I'll come back by Friday with the LED wall price” are picked up and you get a reminder.

There are some limits to be aware of. BOTrento works from the text of your emails and doesn't read attachments, so put the change summary in the email body. It doesn't read your calendar, and it never confirms dates or bookings on your behalf. If you connect over IMAP, the start of the trial also includes a “Lost money” report that looks back for enquiries and quotes that went unanswered.

The trial is 14 days free, with no card and no API key of your own required. AI usage is included. See a walkthrough of the process, read how it works for event and production companies, check the plans for after the trial or start your free 14-day trial.