Event Cash Flow Planner
Enter your deposits, balances and expected ticket sales to see your cash balance week by week, the first week you are short, and how much money you need to find before ticket money reaches you.
Your event and ticket sales
Enter how long tickets are on sale, what you expect to sell and when the ticket money reaches you.
Payments you have agreed
Enter each deposit and balance with the number of weeks before the event it is due. Enter 0 for event week.
Your week-by-week cash position
| Week | Weeks to go | Ticket money in | Payments out | Running balance |
|---|
This plan leaves out refunds, chargebacks, tax, bar income and sponsorship income. When ticket money actually reaches you depends on your ticketing and payment setup. The final balance is not profit: it only counts the payments you entered.
An event is a cash-flow business: you pay venue and artist deposits weeks before most buyers pay you. For a 1,000-capacity show at 80% sell-through and $40 per ticket, $32,000 of ticket income covers $27,500 of payments in total. With payouts during the sale and even sales, you are short by only $333 in the first week. If the same ticket money is paid out 21 days after the event, you need to find $27,500 before the doors open.
Why events are cash-flow businesses
Before you sell your first ticket, you may already be thousands in. The venue wants a deposit to hold the date. The artist wants a deposit to confirm. Flights, hotels and production follow. A buyer can wait until next week to decide. The artist's deposit may be due today.
That is why a budget that balances on paper can still fail. The question is not only "will ticket income cover my costs?" but three questions together: what am I already on the hook for, what must I pay next, and will the money actually be available when that payment is due? This planner answers the third question week by week, so you can see a bill that is due before the money arrives while you still have time to act.
How deposits usually stage
Payment terms vary by market, venue, agent and relationship. The table shows common practice as a starting point. The figures are directional, not a standard, so replace them with the terms in your own agreements.
| Payment | Common deposit | Deposit usually due | Balance usually due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue hire | 25–50% | When you confirm the date | Event week or settled on the night |
| Headline artist fee | 50% | When the offer is signed | On the night or just before the show |
| Support artists | 0–50% | When booked | On the night |
| Flights and hotels | Often 100% | When booked, 2–8 weeks out | None |
| Production (sound, lights, staging) | 25–50% | When the quote is agreed | Before load-in |
| Marketing | Paid as you spend | Heaviest at announce and on-sale | Final push in the last 2 weeks |
| Security and staff | Rarely | None | On the night or on invoice after |
At a festival, the same pattern repeats across dozens of artists and suppliers, each with its own deposit date. Many bills fall due before ticket money reaches the bank, so the useful question is "what must be paid next, and how much is missing?"
How payout timing changes everything
Two events with identical sales and identical costs can have very different cash needs. The difference is when ticket money reaches you.
- Payouts during the sale: ticket money arrives daily or weekly as tickets sell, so early sales help pay early deposits.
- Payout after the event: every ticket sold still leaves you waiting, so you pay every deposit and every balance from your own money first.
With Ticket Fairy, daily payouts are available through an eligible Stripe payment processing account in a supported Stripe country, or an eligible Xendit payment processing account in Indonesia. If Ticket Fairy processes the payments for you, ticket money is paid out 10 to 15 business days after the event. Confirm which setup applies to your account before you plan around a payout date.
How the sales curves work
The planner spreads your expected ticket income across the on-sale weeks with one of three shapes:
- Front-loaded: each week sells a little less than the one before, and the first week counts double. Over 12 weeks, week 1 takes 26.7% of sales and the final week 1.1%.
- Even: every week sells the same share. Over 12 weeks, that is 8.3% a week.
- Late-selling: each week sells a little more than the one before, and the final week counts double. Over 12 weeks, week 1 takes 1.1% and the final week 26.7%.
Sales happen in the weeks before event week. Payments due at 0 weeks fall in event week, after the last sales week. With payouts during the sale, the planner credits ticket money in the week it sells. In practice a payout can take a few days to reach your bank, so keep a small cushion.
1,000-capacity show, 12 weeks on sale, $0 starting cash
You expect to sell 80% of 1,000 tickets at $40 each after fees: 800 × $40 = $32,000. Your eight agreed payments add up to $27,500. With even sales, $32,000 ÷ 12 = $2,667 arrives each week.
- Payouts during the sale: week 1 brings in $2,667 but the $3,000 venue deposit is due, so you are $333 short. By week 3 you have $8,000 in and the $5,000 headliner deposit leaves you at exactly $0. After $11,000 of balances in event week, you finish at $4,500. Money you need to find: $333.
- Paid out 21 days after the event: nothing arrives until week 16 (3 weeks after). You are short from week 1 and reach −$27,500 in event week. The $32,000 payout then brings you back to $4,500. Money you need to find: $27,500.
- Late-selling with payouts during the sale: week 1 brings in only $356, and after the headliner deposit in week 3 you are $5,867 short. Money you need to find: $5,867.
Same event, same costs, same final balance. The money you need to find ranges from $333 to $27,500 depending on timing alone.
Ways to close a cash gap
- Negotiate deposit dates. Ask whether the venue deposit can move to your on-sale date, or whether a production deposit can drop to 25%. A two-week shift on one large deposit often closes a small gap.
- Sell earlier. An announce and presale that bring sales forward put money in before the big deposits. Use the presale timing planner to set the dates.
- Offer payment plans to buyers. Payment plans can bring purchases forward, but a ticket sold on a plan is not paid in full yet. Count only the instalments due before each bill.
- Check your payout setup. If your ticket money arrives after the event, compare that with payouts during the sale using the planner above.
- Consider funding, carefully. Ticket Fairy Capital is a working capital advance for artist deposits, venue deposits, production and marketing. It is subject to eligibility and approval, and it requires sales history, so first-time organizers need to build a track record first. It costs money and must be repaid: repayment is a percentage of ticket revenue taken as tickets sell, which lowers the ticket money you receive each week. A decision usually takes a few business days and funds typically arrive 1–2 weeks after approval, so an application does not guarantee money for a bill due this week.
The festival version: many suppliers, many dates
A festival may have deposits and balances due to dozens of artists and suppliers on different dates. Enter each one as its own row. Group small suppliers with the same due week into one row if the list gets long, but keep every artist deposit separate so you can see which one first pushes you below zero. Production may agree a cost that finance has not yet received, so enter what you have agreed, not only what has been invoiced. Festivals often sell front-loaded around the lineup announce, which helps with early deposits only if ticket money reaches you during the sale. See festival planning software for running the rest of the operation.
Common cash-flow planning mistakes
- Treating tickets sold as money in the bank. Sales figures show what buyers paid, not what has reached you. If payout comes after the event, none of it can pay a deposit.
- Checking only the total. Income of $32,000 against costs of $27,500 looks safe, but in the worked example you can still need $27,500 of your own money before payout.
- Assuming the busiest selling week comes first. Club nights and local shows often sell late. If your deposits come early and your sales come late, plan for the gap.
- Forgetting balances due on the night. Artist, venue and staff balances often land in event week, all at once. That is where the lowest balance often sits.
- Ignoring what the plan leaves out. Refunds, chargebacks and tax can take money back after you counted it. Bar and sponsorship income can help, but only once it actually arrives.
- Adding another artist without rerunning the plan. A new booking may help sell tickets. It also adds a deposit you must pay if sales fall short.
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
How do I plan cash flow for an event?
List every payment you have agreed with the week it is due, estimate your ticket income, spread it across the on-sale weeks with a realistic sales curve, and credit it in the week the money actually reaches you. Your running balance each week shows whether you can pay each bill on its due date, not only whether income covers costs in total.
When do I have to pay venue and artist deposits?
As common practice, venues often ask for 25 to 50% when you confirm the date and headline artists often ask for 50% when the offer is signed, with balances due in event week or on the night. Terms vary by market, venue, agent and relationship, so enter the dates in your own agreements.
Why can I run out of money even if my event sells well?
Because you pay deposits before most buyers pay you. If your ticket money is paid out after the event, strong sales cannot pay a deposit due today. In our example, $32,000 of ticket income covers $27,500 of payments, yet you need to find $27,500 of your own money first when ticket money is paid out after the event.
When do event organizers get paid for ticket sales?
It depends on your ticketing and payment setup. Some setups pay out daily or weekly during the sale, others pay out after the event. With Ticket Fairy, daily payouts are available through an eligible Stripe payment processing account in a supported Stripe country, or an eligible Xendit payment processing account in Indonesia. If Ticket Fairy processes the payments for you, payout is 10 to 15 business days after the event.
How can I cover a cash gap before my event?
Ask suppliers to move or reduce a deposit, bring sales forward with an announce and presale, offer buyers payment plans while counting only the instalments due before each bill, or put in more of your own starting cash. Funding such as Ticket Fairy Capital is subject to eligibility and approval, requires sales history, costs money and must be repaid, so it is never guaranteed money for an imminent bill.
What does this cash flow planner leave out?
It leaves out refunds, chargebacks, tax, bar income and sponsorship income, and it only counts the payments you enter. The final balance is not profit. When ticket money actually reaches you depends on your ticketing and payment setup.
Reviewed and updated September 2026 by the Ticket Fairy events data team. Benchmarks in this tool are directional — for real-time analytics against your own event history, use Ticket Fairy Intelligence.