Defining event resources

The Event resources window in the Advanced Accounting Console enables you to define all of the potential room and function resource groups and items.

Standard resources define the elements you need in preparing the physical setting for an event function:

  • Facilities
  • Tools
  • Refreshments
  • Furniture
  • Supplies

On the Set up event resources window, you can outline major planning resource groups and detail items (indented from the group heading). After you establish the groups and detail items, including assigning codes, descriptions, and the order in which they appear on the planning report, those resource groups and items are available when you activate any room setup/planning sheet.

Keep in mind that you can define any number of resource groups and detail items so you can cover the anticipated needs of any particular event or function. Extra resources will not clutter your planning reports; while you may have defined many resource areas on the window, only the ones that you need and activate for a particular event function appear on its planning report.

The Set up event resources window has three purposes and enables you to do the following:

  • Define a full range of event planning resources (both groups and detail items) to accommodate and plan for any size and type of event
  • Establish a print/display order for resource groups and items on the planning report (and related windows)
  • Dictate the type of information that you can enter for a resource item when you define a plan, such as quantity, time, and notes

iMIS Events includes a sample set of resource entries. You are free to use and build on this skeleton sample or discard it. You can add, delete, and edit resource table records as needed.

When you define a resource group (such as Audio-Visual), you name, describe, and set the order in which each group should appear on reports and windows. Similarly, if a resource group has multiple detail items such as projectors and microphones, assign a ranking for these items as well.

Depending on the resources you select for a function, iMIS may prompt you for a quantity (of the resource needed) or a time (for which the resource is needed), or require you to verify that the resource applies. A large text area may appear for you to enter notes in the resource area. When you define a resource group or item, you also can specify which kinds of information it will accept.

Sometimes a group may not have any detail items. Conversely, planning data may use only detail-level items (such as Audio-Visual: Microphone). In this case, the group entry provides a heading for its detail items included in the plan. When a group has no detail items, you enter planning information directly at the group level (as with Floor Plan and Notes above).

The Set up event resources window enables you to define the options that appear in the function/room setup and planning facility. If your license includes iMIS Speaker Evaluation, this window also lets you define the event/speaker evaluation areas you want to track.

The Room Setup facility provides planning reports and inquiry tools to help you organize the setup requirements for any function. Within iMIS Events, the room setup categories and items that you can specify for any function are referred to as resources. You determine the type of resource groups and items to have available for a planning facility. Overall resource groups include Audio-Visual (A/V) Equipment and Food and Beverage; items within the A/V group include microphones and overhead projectors.

When you plan your available resource groups and items, list all of the items that you may want to include for complex events in a planning sheet that you can give to hotel or other setup personnel.