Pre-Event Checklist Template for Conference Planning

Planning a conference is equal parts precision and persuasion. You are aligning stakeholders, budgets, and timelines while designing an experience that inspires attendees to connect and act. That is why a pre-event checklist template is one of the most valuable tools in an event leader’s kit. It gives your team a shared source of truth, reduces avoidable risk, and frees up time for the creative decisions that make your program stand out.

What you’ll learn

• The core sections every reusable pre-event template should include
• Ready-to-use bullets for in-person, virtual, and hybrid conferences
• How to assign owners, due dates, and KPIs so teams execute with confidence
• Where to find full production kits and templates you can customize

Bizzabo’s latest research shows event programs are expanding in both frequency and complexity. Leaders are being asked to do more with tighter timelines while lifting attendee satisfaction and measurable impact. A standardized, living checklist is how high-performing teams scale, especially across multi-event portfolios.

Build a reusable pre-event checklist your team will actually use

Before you dive into format-specific details, give your team a single template that works across event types. Store it in a shared workspace, map each section to owners, and link to the systems your team uses every day. That way, the checklist evolves as your program matures.

What to include in every pre-event template

• Event brief and goals: Purpose, audience, value proposition, top KPIs, and scope. If you do not have a strong brief, start with this guide and template: How to create an event brief.
• Roles and RACI: Decision makers, approvers, contributors, and reviewers, plus a clear escalation path.
• Budget and approvals: Working budget, funding sources, and checkpoints for scope changes.
• Timeline and dependencies: Milestones by week, with dependencies and critical path.
• Risk and contingency: Scenario planning for venue, travel, technology, health and safety, and speakers.
• Tech stack and integrations: Registration, badging, mobile or web app, A/V, streaming, marketing automation, CRM, and data flows.
• Measurement plan: How you will capture registrations, engagement, meetings booked, pipeline, and satisfaction so leadership can see progress before event day.

Tip: Standardize the brief first, then the checklist. Use the same core sections for every event, then adjust for size, format, and audience.

In-person conference planning, pre-event checklist

In-person conferences remain critical for relationship building and brand trust. Your pre-event list should balance program design, onsite logistics, and attendee experience. Grouping tasks by theme makes ownership and orchestration much easier.

Event design and program

• Set event name, dates, and length. Select a theme that speaks to audience needs.
• Define target audience segments, attendee personas, and attendance goals by segment.
• Draft your program architecture, including tracks, sessions, keynotes, and networking formats.
• Write a concise event description and positioning statement for all channels.
• Establish success metrics and KPIs, such as qualified meetings, session attendance, and NPS.
• Build a working budget with contingency and identify shared funding with partners as needed.
• Determine pricing strategy for passes and discount tiers. Validate against competitive events.

Venue and onsite logistics

• Secure a venue in a location that fits your audience profile. Request updated floor plans and walkthroughs.
• Decide on seating and room sets by session type. Hold rooms for green rooms, prayer or quiet space, and family needs.
• Confirm technology: Wi-Fi coverage, A/V packages, lighting plots, microphones, stage furniture, and cybersecurity standards.
• Outline load-in and load-out windows, freight access, and storage.
• Finalize branding and fabrication, including wayfinding, stage design, and signage plans.
• Book printing and promotional vendors with cutoffs that match your show timeline.
• Confirm health and safety protocols and security staffing in coordination with the venue.
• Plan for accessibility and inclusion, such as ramps, clear sightlines, captioning, interpreters, and accessible restrooms.
• Assign sponsor meeting rooms and onsite hospitality.
• Obtain a certificate of insurance and ensure all vendors are covered.

Experience and networking

• Select engagement tools for Q&A, polling, live chat, and meeting scheduling.
• Offer structured formats that increase serendipity, such as hosted roundtables or small-group workshops.
• Hold time for rehearsals, room checks, and a full show flow run-through.
• Ensure onsite staff have a clear comms plan, including Slack channels and radio call sheets.
• Prepare onsite escalation guides for speaker issues, tech incidents, or schedule changes.
• If improving connections is a priority, explore Bizzabo’s Event Networking Platform to power AI matchmaking, 1:1 scheduling, hosted buyer workflows, and measurable meeting outcomes across in-person and digital touchpoints.

Want plug-and-play templates for your onsite program, show flow, and comms? Download Bizzabo’s In-person Event Production Kit.

Virtual conference planning, pre-event checklist

Virtual conferences widen your reach, reduce travel friction, and deliver rich engagement data. They also require disciplined production and redundancy. Use this checklist to keep your team aligned.

Platform and production

• Evaluate virtual event platforms against your requirements. Prioritize reliability, engagement tools, sponsor inventory, and CRM or marketing automation integration.
• Run bandwidth tests and streaming simulations for each content format.
• Create a redundancy plan for encoders, internet, speaker connections, and MC handoffs.
• Build branded graphics packages, lower thirds, countdowns, and holding screens.
• Standardize session templates to speed up presenter prep and QA.
• If you want a single hub for venue, engagement, networking, and analytics, consider our Virtual Events Software.

Speakers, sponsors, and stakeholders

• Build speaker portals with deadlines, tech checks, and content guidelines.
• Collect assets early, including bios, headshots, pronouns, and correct spellings.
• Assign moderators for chats and Q&A.
• Define sponsor deliverables, session formats, and SLAs for lead capture and meetings.
• Schedule rehearsals to validate lighting, audio, and environment for each remote presenter.

Promotion and enablement

• Launch an event site with a clear value proposition, FAQs, and accessibility info.
• Map email and social cadences with segmented messaging by audience type.
• Create UTM structures to attribute registrations across paid, partner, and sales motions.
• Draft copy and creative for owned, earned, and paid channels, then schedule and QA.
• Provide toolkits for internal teams and partners with approved assets and messaging.

Hybrid conference planning, pre-event checklist

Hybrid events are not simply the sum of in-person plus virtual. They require intentional parity so both audiences feel valued, engaged, and connected. The goal is to remove friction and unify the experience wherever possible.

Unifying the experience

• Enable networking across audiences with shared directories, AI matchmaking, and 1:1 scheduling.
• Plan equitable Q&A and chat so remote and in-person attendees can be seen and heard.
• Align content access and on-demand strategy to avoid audience FOMO.
• Segment pre-event communications and automations so each audience receives the right guidance at the right time.
• Provide clear wayfinding for both venues, physical and digital.
• For a ready-made starting point, use the Hybrid Event Production Kit.

Tech and talent

• Map an integrated run of show for onsite and remote presenters, including handoffs.
• Staff both an A/V crew and a virtual production team with clear roles.
• Schedule comprehensive rehearsals with all presenters and moderators.
• Build contingency paths for power, internet, and platform incidents.
• Define KPIs that compare engagement across audiences and inform future format choices.
• If you are consolidating tooling, our Hybrid Events Software brings registration, content, networking, and data together in one place.

Turn your checklist into an operating system

A checklist is most powerful when it connects to your systems of record. That is how leaders keep a pulse on progress and value, without chasing updates across threads and spreadsheets.

Make your template operational

• Link each checklist section to owners and due dates in your project tool.
• Connect registration and app data to your CRM, so sales can act on meeting signals pre-event.
• Define a daily reporting cadence. Surface registration pace, speaker readiness, sponsor deliverables, and budget health.
• Create a single escalation guide for risks with fast decision rights.
• Close the loop with debriefs, then update your template based on lessons learned.
• If networking is a growth lever for your program, extend your checklist with structured connection goals, then operationalize those outcomes using Bizzabo’s Event Networking Platform and its scheduling and measurement workflows.

Download fully built planning kits and templates

If you want plug-and-play checklists, agendas, and templates, start with Bizzabo’s production kits. Each one includes editable checklists you can copy into your workspace.

Recap

High-performing event teams do not start from scratch. They align on a reusable pre-event checklist template, assign owners and timelines, and connect the template to the systems that power registration, content, networking, and revenue. With the right structure, you enable your team to deliver consistent, high-quality experiences, quarter after quarter, while building a data trail that proves impact.

FAQs for pre-event checklists