Siebel Events Management Guide > Defining an Event > End-User Setup Procedures for Defining an Event >

Adding Budget Details

As part of defining an event, you can create a budget for the event. The budget includes estimated revenues and expenses. Then, as part of preparing for and hosting the event, you can enter actual revenues and expenses. With this information, Siebel Events Management calculates budget variances (estimated versus actual amounts) so you can analyze an event's financial performance at each level of the event—event plan, event, and session. This capability allows your company to maintain a history of line item variances and budget accuracy over time.

NOTE:  Expenses and revenues for events and sessions can be entered at any level in the hierarchy. When entering expenses and revenues at the event level, fields are provided for associating the amounts with specific events and sessions.

The following procedure describes how to enter estimated expenses for an event. The same procedure applies to entering estimated revenues, only you use the Revenue subview on the Events screen.

To enter estimated expenses for an event

1. From the application-level menu, choose Navigate > Site Map > Events > Events.
2. From the visibility filter, select All Events.
3. In the All Events list, select and drill down on the event for which you want to enter expenses.
4. Click the Plan view tab and click then click Expenses.
5. In the Expenses list, click New and complete the necessary fields.

   The Variance amount and running totals for Forecast Expenses and Actual Expenses are updated at the bottom of the Expense List when the record is saved.

6. (Optional.) To add invoice details to an expense record, create a new invoice record in the Invoices screen. Note the invoice number for reference in the remaining steps.

   Some invoice record fields are described in the following table.

   Field	Comments
   Type	Select Payable. Invoices of type Receivable cannot be selected for cost line items.
   Invoice #	This automatically generated number appears in the Invoice # field of the Invoice Items list when you return to the event's Cost view in Step 7.

NOTE:  For Finance customers, the invoice is automatically created in the both the Billing screen and the Expenses list, and a link is established between them. As a result, both the Billing screen and Expenses list are updated whenever invoice information is modified in either location.

7. Navigate back to the Invoice Line Items list for the event.
8. Click Add in the Invoice # field to copy in the invoice information from the Invoices screen.

   The following table describes some fields in the Invoice Line Items list.

   Field	Comments
   Quantity	The number of items associated with the cost line item.
   Invoice Expected?	A Yes or No value, based on whether or not a vendor will generate an invoice.
   Invoice Date	The date the Invoice # is entered.
   Invoice Status	The status of the invoice. Typical values are Open, On Hold, Cancelled, Consolidated, and Closed.
   Vendor Invoice #	The invoice number entered.
   Vendor Name	The account name of the vendor.
   Cost Code	An internal cost code associated with the line item.

Estimating Revenues

You can use Siebel Events Management to track revenue sources for an event. Revenue may come from sources such as sponsorships, registration fees, advertising, and exhibitors.

To enter estimated revenues for an event

1. From the application-level menu, choose Navigate > Site Map > Events > Events.
2. In the Events list, select and drill down on the Event Name.
3. Click the Plan view tab and then click Revenue.
4. In the Revenue list, click New and complete the necessary fields.

   (Optional) Associate the revenue with a session.

Expenses can be tracked at the venue and vendor levels. Expenses created at the venue level, roll up to the event and have a Cost Type = Venue. Expenses created at the vendor level, roll up to the event and have a Cost Type = Vendor. For more information on creating expenses for a venue, see Researching and Choosing a Venue. For more information on creating expenses for a vendor, see Researching and Hiring Vendors.

Financial Information for Events

Siebel Events Management provides summarized financial information at all three levels in the hierarchy: Event Plans, Events, and Sessions. This information includes planning period, budget, expenses, and revenues. Several of these fields are automatically calculated based on detailed records that are created. See Table 9, Table 10, and Table 11 for more information about these fields.

Approving Event Plans

During the event planning phase, marketing administrators may be required to submit high-level event plans for approvals, as a part of the overall planning and budgeting process. Siebel Events Management contains functionality for getting approvals, whereby users can collaborate on an event plan by submitting the record to different individuals using the approval field. Further control over the approval process can be defined through state models, see Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide for further information.

To use the event plan approval field

1. From the application-level menu, choose Navigate > Site Map > Events > Event Plans.
2. In the Event Plans list, select the event.
3. In the Event Plan form, from the Approval Status field, click the drop-down list and select Submitted.
4. In the Pick Employee dialog box, select the individual to whom you wish to submit the plan.
5. Enter any additional comments and then click Send.

   The person to whom you have submitted the plan, must log in to their Siebel application to approve or reject the plan.

   NOTE:  You have the ability to track the history of approvals in the Event Plan > Plan > Approvals view.