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Apps for Event Planners: 5 Best Picks for 2024

Discover the apps for event planners that will create lasting memories!

Written by

Caryl Ramsey

Published on

October 1st, 2024

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About Shoeboxed

Shoeboxed is an expense & receipt tracking app that helps you get reimbursed quickly, maximize tax deductions, and reduce the hassle of doing accounting.

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Ready to turn your next event into a seamless success?

Event management can be complicated and overwhelming, requiring extensive planning and coordination. From managing registrations and ticketing to logistics, budget management, and communication, successful event planners juggle many tasks to ensure smooth operation.

Discover the top event management apps every event organizer and planner needs to streamline, organize, and create unforgettable experiences like never before!

Table of Contents

What are event management apps used for?

Event management apps are used for every stage of the event planning process.

These event management apps have one or a combination of the following:

Planning and budgeting: Organize event details, set budgets, and allocate resources.
Event registration and ticketing: Simplify attendee event registration and manage ticket sales.
Promotion and marketing: Promote events through email campaigns, social media integration, and other marketing channels.
Analytics and reporting: Track event performance, measure ROI, and make data-driven decisions.
Collaboration and communication: Improve team collaboration and communication with attendees.

With the best event management apps, planners can focus on their events' creative and strategic aspects rather than getting bogged down in administrative tasks.

This technology lets event professionals create amazing experiences while being organized and efficient.

What are the benefits of using event planning apps?

Event planning software and apps bring numerous advantages to assist event planners and professionals:

1. More efficiency: Automate tedious tasks, streamline workflows, and reduce human error.

2. Better collaboration: Communicate with team members, vendors, and stakeholders.

3. More organization: Store essential details, deadlines, and documents in one place.

4. Better event attendees experience: Manage registrations, ticketing, and communication with attendees.

5. Data-driven decisions: Use analytics and reporting to measure performance and make informed decisions for future events.

What are the key features to consider in an event management app?

I have found that when choosing an event management app, you should consider the following features:

1. Full event management capabilities: Event planning apps should cover everything from budgeting to execution.

2. Communication tools: Seamless communication and collaboration features to coordinate with team members and attendees.

3. Analytics and reporting: Advanced analytics to measure event performance and ROI.

4. Mobile app: User-friendly mobile apps to manage events on the go.

5. Integrations: Look for apps that integrate with other tools, such as CRM systems, marketing platforms, and accounting software, for a seamless workflow.

What are the top 5 essential apps for event planners?

Shoeboxed is known for receipt and expense management, but it’s also great for event planners. It helps you keep track of event expenses, manage budgets, and store important documents securely and organized.

1. Shoeboxed

Here’s a closer look at why Shoeboxed is the best for event planners.

Features:

Receipt scanning

Scan receipts with your smartphone.

Scan all your receipts with your smartphone’s camera and Shoeboxed's mobile app to track fuel costs, vehicle maintenance, and other work-related expenses.

Scan receipt images instantly, anywhere, anytime.

Outsource scanning

Or, if you want to outsource the scanning, send your receipts, documents, or business cards to Shoeboxed in their pre-paid postage-free Magic Envelope.

Their team will scan, human-verify, and upload all data to your designated Shoeboxed account.

How to scan receipts with a receipt scanning service

Shoeboxed is the only receipt scanner app that will handle both your paper receipts and your digital receipts—saving customers up to 9.2 hours per week from manual data entry!

Gmail Plugin

You can also forward any document or receipt in your email directly to your Shoeboxed account or auto-import receipts from Gmail to your Shoeboxed account with their Gmail plugin.

Add notes to receipts

In the Shoeboxed web app, you can add receipt information like client name or meeting purpose under the “notes” section. Better documentation of Meals and Entertainment receipts will protect you from audits and verify that the expense is indeed deductible.

With Shoeboxed, you can even go to the 'Notes' section and add additional information to your receipts to clarify them further.

Automatically organizes expenses

Shoeboxed-receipt-dashboard-interface-min

The app extracts the date, vendor, and total amount and auto-categorizes expenses.

Data is categorized into 15 tax or custom categories.

Search, edit, and manage receipts and documents quickly.

Shoeboxed’s OCR technology extracts key details from receipts, categorizes them, and stores them securely in the cloud.

Expense tracking and reporting

You can create comprehensive expense reports with just a few clicks.

Expense reporting has never been easier.

With just a few clicks, you can create custom reports with receipts attached from the web and your mobile device.

Shoeboxed generates reports that event planners need when filing taxes.

This makes tax preparation a breeze by consolidating all your deductible expenses in one place.

Track all event expenses in real-time and generate reports.

Create custom expense categories, track spending against your event budget, and view easy-to-read reports.

Document management

Store, organize, and manage important event documents such as contracts, invoices, and business cards in one secure, searchable digital archive.

You can also turn business cards into powerful online contact lists.

Ditch the piles of business cards and create an online contacts database of frequent clients and vendors.

You can send contact information to your favorite email or CRM program or download a CSV file to import into virtually any program you use.

Shoeboxed supports multiple file types, so keeping all your documents in one place is easy.

Do business cards like a boss ✨

Use Shoeboxed’s app to organize business cards, receipts, and more. Try free for 30 days!

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Mileage tracking

Use the app’s free mileage tracker for business mileage tracking.

Track mileage for event site visits or meetings with Shoeboxed’s GPS-based mileage tracker.

Shoeboxed’s GPS-based mileage tracker logs your trips, auto-categorizes mileage as an expense, and includes it in reports for reimbursements or tax deductions.

This feature helps event planners log travel expenses for reimbursement or tax deductions.

Integration with accounting software

Shoeboxed integrates with Wave, Xero, and QuickBooks.

Shoeboxed integrates with popular accounting platforms like QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks.

This integration syncs your expenses and receipts with your accounting software.

Tax preparation and compliance

Organizing your farm business tax receipts can minimize overlooked farm income and deductions.

Generate IRS-accepted digital expense reports, and compliance is made easy.

Shoeboxed’s categorization and reporting features help event managers and planners stay organized and avoid tax season stress.

Shoeboxed has been voted as the best receipt scanner app for tax season by Hubspot and given the Trusted Vendor and Quality Choice awards by Crozdesk.

Secure cloud storage

All your documents and receipts are stored in the cloud to access them from anywhere.

Shoeboxed uses industry-standard encryption to protect your data.

Simplify daily bookkeeping tasks

Shoeboxed turns event planning receipts into data that is categorized, organized, searchable, editable, and available anytime, anywhere.

Pros:

Streamlined expense management: Automates receipt scanning and categorization, saves time, and reduces manual errors.
Detailed reporting: Reports help event planners track and analyze expenses, stay within budget, and meet financial goals.
Integration: Sync with accounting software to simplify bookkeeping and financial management.
User-friendly: Easy to use, even for those with little financial experience.
Time-saving: It automates many expense tracking and reporting parts, giving you more time to focus on creative and strategic event planning.

Cons:

Mileage tracker: The mileage tracker doesn’t auto-track miles, making it easier to separate personal and business mileage.

Pricing:

$18/month
$36/month
$54/month

Turn receipts into data for tax time ✨

Try Shoeboxed’s systematic award-winning approach to receipt tracking for tax season. Try free for 30 days!

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2. Eventbrite

Eventbrite is known for its features that cater to a wide range of event planning needs.

Whether organizing a small community gathering or a large-scale conference, Eventbrite offers tools to help you seamlessly manage registrations, ticket sales, promotions, and analytics.

Here’s a detailed look at why Eventbrite is also a good event planning project management app.