I ran show labor budgets every day for years. The ones that held up all had the same bones. Here's the layout, a worked example and the mistakes that blow them up.
The layout
One row per day, per classification. These are the columns that matter:
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Day / Date | The show day |
| Phase | Install, Show or Dismantle |
| Classification | Journeyman, foreman, apprentice, etc. |
| Men | Planned crew size |
| ST / OT / DT hours (per man) | The planned split under your agreement |
| Rate | Straight-time hourly rate for the classification |
| Fringe per hour | Benefit fund contributions per hour, per your agreement |
| Burden % | Payroll taxes and insurance, as a percent of wages |
| Parking / reimbursements (per man) | Flat amounts per man-day |
| Planned $ | The loaded cost of the row |
| Actual $ | Filled in nightly from approved sheets |
| Variance | Actual minus planned |
The planned-cost formula
For a row, in spreadsheet terms:
Adjust the overtime and double-time multipliers, and whether fringes are owed on hours worked or hours paid, to match your agreement.
A worked example
This is a fictional four-day hotel show. The rates and percentages are examples only: a $50 straight-time rate, $20 an hour in fringes, 12% burden and $15 parking per man-day.
The plan
| Day | Phase | Men | Hours per man | Loaded cost per man | Planned $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Install | 10 | 8 ST + 2 OT | $831 | $8,310 |
| 2 | Install | 12 | 8 ST | $623 | $7,476 |
| 3 | Show | 4 | 8 ST | $623 | $2,492 |
| 4 | Dismantle | 14 | 8 ST + 2 OT | $831 | $11,634 |
| Total | $29,912 |
After day 2, approved sheets show one extra man on day 1, and the day-2 crew ran a half hour of overtime each:
| Day | Planned $ | Actual $ | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8,310 | $9,141 | +$831 |
| 2 | $7,476 | $8,100 | +$624 |
| To date | $15,786 | $17,241 | +$1,455 |
Forecast at finish = $17,241 actual + $2,492 (day 3 plan) + $11,634 (day 4 plan) = $31,367, which is $1,455 over the $29,912 plan.
The decision. A dismantle man-day costs about $831 loaded. Taking the dismantle call from 14 men to 12 saves about $1,662 and brings the forecast to about $29,705, back under plan. Whether the floor can strike in time with 12 is the call only an operations person can make, but now they're making it with numbers in front of them. For the full method, see how many people can tomorrow's crew call afford?
Updating it every night
- Use approved hours only. Not the foreman's estimate at the desk, not the call sheet. The approved sign-in sheets.
- Replace the plan with actuals for the day just worked. Keep the original plan column so you can see the variance.
- Re-forecast. Actual to date plus the plan for each scheduled day not worked yet.
- Look at tomorrow's call before you send it. If the forecast is over, tomorrow is the cheapest day to fix it.
Mistakes that blow up a labor budget
- Budgeting at the straight-time rate. A 10-hour day with 2 hours of overtime costs a lot more than 10 × the rate.
- Forgetting the fringe and burden load. Benefit funds and payroll taxes can add a big share on top of wages.
- Ignoring minimum calls. If your agreement guarantees a minimum, a short day still costs the minimum.
- Mixing estimates and actuals. Keep pending time separate from approved time, or the forecast moves every time someone guesses.
- Retyping the same hours. When the budget is a second spreadsheet, the hours get typed into payroll, then into the budget, and the two drift apart.
Where myCrewIQ fits
The Live Labor Budget add-on in myCrewIQ runs this budget from the same approved sign-in sheets that build your payroll file. Every approved timesheet updates actual against plan by install, show and dismantle, re-forecasts the finish, and shows how many men tomorrow's call can afford, with every input visible so you can check the math. Nobody types the hours twice.
Frequently asked questions
- What should a trade show labor budget include?
- Men, hours and classification for every day of install, show and dismantle, priced at the loaded cost: wages with overtime and double time, benefit fund contributions, payroll burden and reimbursements.
- What is a loaded labor rate?
- The full cost of an hour or a man-day: the wage plus fringes, payroll taxes and insurance, and any per-man reimbursements.
- How do you forecast a show's final labor cost?
- Add the approved actual cost to date to the planned cost of every day not worked yet. Update it every night.
- What's the difference between a labor budget and a crew call?
- The budget is the plan and the running cost for the whole show. The crew call is how many men you bring in tomorrow, and the budget tells you how many you can afford.