How to brief event suppliers properly — what a good requirements sheet contains

We receive enquiries every day. The most common one reads:

"Hi, our company is planning a year-end party, could we get a price?"

That cannot be quoted. Not because we don't want to, but because the number would be meaningless — without the headcount, the date, the venue and the level of service, the figure could be three times off.

And when the brief is vague, suppliers can only quote high. They have to price in the risk of "whatever else you might want". You think you are keeping your options open; in practice you are paying for uncertainty.

1. At the enquiry stage: seven fields are enough

A first enquiry doesn't need to be exhaustive, but none of these seven can be missing:

Field	Why the supplier needs it	Example
Date	Whether the date is free, peak or off-peak	Sat 17 Jan 2026
Venue	Travel, load-in difficulty, out-of-city or not	Regent Taipei, Taipei City (booked)
Headcount	Scale determines crew and equipment	About 150
Timing	Total hours from load-in to load-out	18:00–22:00, load-in from 15:00
Budget range	Determines which tier to quote	NT$300,000–500,000 for this item
Scope	What the service covers	Photography + video + same-day edit
Decision date	Whether to hold the date for you	Deciding this week

Will naming a budget get it all eaten up? The usual worry is "if I say the budget, they'll quote right up to it." In practice the opposite happens: without a budget you get a quote unrelated to your needs, then spend two weeks going back and forth. Give a range (not an exact figure) so the supplier knows which tier to quote.

If you really don't want to say, at least offer "we're allocating roughly ten per cent of the total budget to this item" or "please quote a basic and an enhanced version."

2. At the confirmation stage: the details to add

Once you've chosen a supplier, these need to be in writing. "I assumed they knew" is the main cause of on-site failures.

Item	What to spell out
Load-in time	Earliest the supplier can get in — does the venue allow it?
Load-out time	When must the space be clear? Who covers overruns?
Power	How many sockets, where, do you need your own extension leads
Access route	How close can a vehicle get, how far is the carry, is there a lift
Internet	Is there Wi-Fi, credentials, do they need their own connection
Venue restrictions	Can you fix things to walls, run cables across walkways, any noise curfews
On-site contact	Who is the single point of contact, and their phone number
Meals	Do crew meals need to be provided
Parking	How are crew vehicle spaces arranged, who pays

Every one of these nine directly affects the quote and what is feasible. If load-in is only an hour but large equipment has to be rigged, and the supplier only finds out on the day, the result is either a surcharge or an unfinished setup.

3. What each type of supplier needs to know

Giving the wrong information is the same as giving none. Different suppliers care about genuinely different things:

Supplier type	Most needs to know	Commonly left out
Venue	Number of tables, date, timing, any external suppliers	Whether you're bringing in your own drinks/cake
Catering	Headcount, vegetarian and allergy counts, budget per table	Children's meals, crew meals
AV equipment	Venue's existing kit, playback formats, number of microphones	Whether the venue projection is visible with the lights up
Photo/video	Hours, must-shoot list, delivery date and licence scope	Whether a same-day edit is needed
Host/MC	Minute-by-minute rundown, list of speakers and their titles	Correct pronunciation of names
Interactive services	Headcount, guest internet conditions, big-screen specs	Whether guest Wi-Fi can take the load
Décor	Venue's existing backdrop/lighting, load-in time	Ceiling height, whether walls can be nailed
Gifts/prizes	Quantity, unit price band, delivery deadline	Who moves the large prizes

The most common gap is AV: the organiser says "the venue has a projector," so the supplier assumes it's fine; on the day the image washes out completely once the lights go up. What needs writing down isn't "there is a projector" but "the projector is / isn't visible with the house lights at banquet level."

4. Comparing quotes: convert to the same basis first

Once you have three quotes, the most common mistake is comparing the totals directly. They are usually not the same thing.

Check these five points before comparing:

1. Tax and service charge in or out
2. Travel and accommodation in or out (a big difference for out-of-city jobs)
3. Overtime in or out (how overruns are charged)
4. Crew allocation (how many people, how many hours)
5. Delivery scope (raw files? selected retouched images? how many?)

The method is simple — build one table and line all three up:

Item	Supplier A	Supplier B	Supplier C
Quote	35,000	28,000	42,000
Tax/service charge	Included	Not included	Included
Travel	Included	3,000 extra	Included
Hours	6 hours	4 hours	8 hours
Crew	2 people	1 person	2 people
Overtime	3,000/hr	Not stated	2,500/hr
Comparable total	35,000	33,600 + unknown overtime	42,000

Once the table is filled in, you usually find that "the cheapest one" isn't actually the cheapest — it just quoted for less.

Where a field says "not stated", go back and ask. Not asking means keeping the risk yourself.

5. A requirements sheet template

Copy and adapt this when you enquire:

[Event requirements]
Event type: company year-end party
Date and time: Sat 17 Jan 2026, 18:00–22:00
Venue: Banquet hall, 3F, Regent Taipei, Taipei City (booked)
Headcount: about 150 (15 tables of 10)
Load-in: from 15:00 (confirmed with venue)

Services required:
1. Stills photography (full event)
2. Video plus post-event highlights edit
3. Same-day edit (to play 30 minutes before the close, about 90 seconds)

Budget: NT$50,000–80,000 for this item

On-site conditions:
- 4 sockets beside the stage, extension leads can be run
- Guest Wi-Fi available, bandwidth not confirmed
- Venue has a projector, brightness with lights up not tested

Other:
- Do you need crew meals provided? Please let us know
- We'd like delivery within 2 weeks
- Photos will be used internally and in recruitment materials — please state the licence scope

Decision date: by Friday this week

Contact: Wang Hsiao-ming, 0912-345-678 (single point of contact)

With an email like this, a supplier can quote a usable price straight away — and there will be no hidden costs.

6. A few practical notes

Name a single point of contact. Three managers each telling the supplier a different version is a common source of on-site chaos. Keep one contact person for external communication.

Put verbal agreements in writing. Add-ons, discounts and timing changes agreed on the phone should be summarised in a message afterwards, with a reply confirming them.

Say when requirements change. Headcount going from 150 to 200, or the run time from four hours to five, both affect the quote and the crew. The earlier you say, the cheaper the adjustment; say it on the day and it's usually a surcharge or a no.

Ask the supplier what they need from you. A good supplier will come back with a list of questions. If they quote without asking anything, that quote is usually unreliable.

Checklist

Before enquiring

• Date, venue, headcount and timing confirmed or in a clear range
• Budget range decided (at least internally)
• Scope of services listed
• Decision date set

After confirming the supplier

• Load-in/load-out times written down and confirmed with the venue
• Power, access route, internet and venue restrictions communicated
• Single point of contact and phone number named
• Crew meals and parking covered
• Delivery date, scope and licensing written into the contract

When comparing quotes

• All three converted to a comparable total including tax and service charge
• Hours, crew and delivery scope lined up
• Overtime rates clarified
• Every "not stated" field followed up

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