Quick answer
Event businesses borrow for AV and staging gear, marquees, hire stock, vehicles and the working capital to pay suppliers, crew and venues before clients or ticket sales pay out. Equipment finance suits gear that's hired out repeatedly. A line of credit or short-term loan suits the gap before an event. Lenders look at forward bookings, deposit terms, client concentration and cancellation risk. Banks suit established operators with property; non-bank lenders read recent trading instead.
Key points
- Event businesses usually pay for venues, crew, freight and production weeks before the final invoice or ticket revenue lands
- Ticket revenue from some platforms is held until after the event, so a sold-out show can still leave the promoter short beforehand
- Customer deposits are owed in work or refunds, so lenders treat them as obligations rather than profit
- Hire gear such as LED walls, staging and marquees earns repeatedly and can usually be financed against itself
- Penalties for unfair terms in standard form contracts have applied since November 2023, so deposit and cancellation clauses deserve a check
On the night, an event looks effortless. Behind it is a long trail of payments: the venue deposit months earlier, the staging hire, freight, security, crew rosters, power, insurance and a dozen suppliers who all want paying before bump-in. The client’s final payment, or the ticketing platform’s payout, often arrives after everyone else has been paid.
That gap is why most event operators end up talking to a lender, and it’s the first thing any decent lender will ask you to explain.
Where does the money go before the doors open?
Here’s a simplified timeline for a mid-sized corporate conference produced by an event company. The figures are illustrative only.
| When | Money in | Money out |
|---|---|---|
| 4 months before | Client deposit, $25k | Venue deposit, $18k |
| 2 months before | Nothing | Staging and AV hire deposits, $15k; marketing, $6k |
| 3 weeks before | Second instalment, $25k | Freight, printing, catering deposits, $22k |
| Event week | Nothing | Crew wages, security, power, balance of hire, $48k |
| 30 days after | Final invoice paid, $60k | Supplier balances, $12k |
On paper this event makes a healthy profit. In practice, the company is about $40k out of pocket in the fortnight around the event, and that’s with only one event on. Run three in the same month and the hole triples. Our cash flow gap calculator works through this for your own figures.
What kind of event business are you?
Lenders group the industry loosely, and each group raises different questions:
- Event planners and managers hold client relationships and subcontract most of the work. Their risk is paying suppliers before the client pays them. Few physical assets, so lenders focus on contracts and cash flow.
- AV, lighting and production companies own expensive gear and hire it out with crew. Equipment finance is central, and utilisation is what lenders ask about.
- Hire companies (marquees, furniture, staging, portable toilets, generators) are asset businesses with a busy season and vehicles to match.
- Festival and ticketed event promoters carry the most risk: big costs, revenue tied to ticket sales and weather, and often a payout that comes after the event.
- Wedding and private event specialists take deposits well ahead and work weekends in clusters.
If you straddle a few of these, tell the lender the rough split. It answers their first question before they ask it.
Why might ticket money arrive too late?
Ticketing platforms differ, but some hold ticket revenue until after the event unless the organiser applies for early or progressive payouts, partly to protect buyers if the event doesn’t proceed. That means a promoter can sell out and still have to fund the stage, sound, artists and site costs from somewhere else.
Options to fill that gap include a business line of credit, a short-term business loan cleared once the platform settles, getting sponsors to pay earlier, or negotiating progressive payouts with the platform based on your track record. For larger festivals, some promoters use property they own as security to get a bigger, cheaper facility.
Planning an event that needs funding before the ticket money lands? Tell us about it. Sixty seconds or so is all the form needs, and making an enquiry leaves your credit history exactly as it was.
What equipment do event businesses finance?
- LED video walls, projectors and screens
- Line array sound systems, consoles and microphones
- Lighting rigs, trusses and rigging hardware
- Staging, risers and dance floors
- Marquees, flooring and furniture for hire
- Generators, power distribution and lighting towers
- Trucks, vans and forklifts for bump-in and bump-out
Gear that’s hired out repeatedly suits equipment finance because each booking contributes to the repayment. Lenders prefer brands with an active second-hand market. A useful test before buying: if you’ve hired the same item in from a competitor more than a dozen times in a year, owning it may well cost less. The government’s business.gov.au site has a plain overview of owning versus leasing, and our equipment finance calculator shows the dollar cost.
Deposits, contracts and cancellations
Deposits are the event industry’s lifeline, but they’re not free money. Until the event happens, each one represents work owed or, depending on your terms, a possible refund. Lenders treat a large deposit balance as an obligation, and they’ll read your contract terms to see what happens on cancellation.
Two points worth acting on:
- Review your standard terms. Since November 2023, a non-negotiable contract containing an unfair term can expose the business that wrote it to heavy penalties, whether the customer is a couple or a company. Deposit forfeiture and cancellation clauses are worth having a lawyer check.
- Consider event cancellation insurance for weather-exposed or high-cost events. A lender is noticeably more relaxed about a festival that’s insured against a washout.
Then keep deposits for future events separate from day-to-day spending where you can. It’s the simplest protection against the timing trap above.
When are the peaks and troughs?
- Spring: racing carnivals, school formals, weddings and outdoor events start up.
- November and December: end-of-year functions and Christmas parties, often the biggest weeks for corporate event companies and hire businesses.
- January: quieter for corporate work; busy for festivals and summer events.
- February and March: festival season in several capitals, plus conferences resuming.
- Winter: slower for outdoor work in the south, while indoor conferences and the northern dry season keep some businesses busy.
With income this uneven, a revolving limit used in the build-up and cleared afterwards usually beats a lump sum. See our page on business loans for seasonal businesses and the guide to cash flow for event businesses. For ticketed events, run the numbers through the break-even calculator before committing to the venue.
What should an event business bring to a lender?
- Bank statements for at least the last six months, ideally twelve to show a full cycle
- Your latest BAS and financial statements
- A forward bookings list with confirmed dates, values and deposits received
- Copies of significant client contracts and your standard terms
- An equipment register, with any finance owing
- For promoters: past ticket sales by event, budgets and the ticketing platform’s payout terms
- Your ATO portal statement if anything is outstanding
Worked example: an AV company before festival season
Invented figures for illustration. An Adelaide AV and staging business turning over about $2.3m hires in LED wall panels for most large jobs, spending around $95k a year on cross-hire. Ahead of February and March, it has confirmed bookings across several festival venues and corporate launches.
The owners buy their own LED panels and processors for $240k on equipment finance over four years, secured on the gear. Cutting cross-hire alone covers a large share of the repayment. They also set up a $150k line of credit to pay crew, freight and power in the weeks before invoices settle. Through the festival peak the line runs close to its limit, then drops back toward zero by April as clients pay. Their bank was willing to lend, but only with a mortgage over the owners’ home, so they chose a non-bank lender for the line of credit.
Ready for the season ahead?
Event businesses rarely fail for lack of bookings. They get squeezed by timing. Getting the gear and the gap funded properly means you can say yes to the next big job without holding your breath.
Want a hand working out the best structure? Send through the basics. It’s a quick form, close to a minute, and nobody pulls your credit just because you asked. Your information isn’t fired off around the market either. A real member of our team reads it and calls you about your events. Give us accurate figures on turnover, bookings and the amount you need, and we’ll aim to get the right answer to you on the first go.
Frequently asked questions
Can an event company borrow against future bookings?
Not directly in most cases, but a strong forward bookings list helps a lot. Lenders use it as evidence that a line of credit or short-term loan will be repaid. Signed contracts with deposit terms, especially from corporate clients, carry far more weight than enquiries or holds.
How do festival and ticketed event organisers fund costs before ticket money comes in?
Common approaches include a line of credit, a short-term business loan, sponsor payments in advance and negotiating early payouts with the ticketing platform. Some promoters also use property-secured funding for larger events. Lenders will want to see past events' ticket sales, the budget and the break-even point.
Can I finance AV, lighting and staging equipment?
Yes. Equipment from well-known brands with an active resale market is usually straightforward to finance with equipment finance or a chattel mortgage. Lenders like gear that is hired out repeatedly, because each booking helps cover the repayment.
What happens to my loan if an event is cancelled?
Your repayments continue, so plan for it. Event cancellation insurance, clear deposit and cancellation clauses, and a cash buffer all help. If a cancellation causes real hardship, contact your lender early; most have a process for short-term relief.
Will a bank lend to an event business?
Banks lend to event businesses with several years of steady results, diversified clients and security, and their offers are often the cheapest available. Where income is lumpy, the business is young, or the bank wants property you'd rather not offer, a non-bank lender may assess recent bank statements and bookings instead.