The Ultimate Tradeshow Checklist User's Guide

TRADESHOW CHECKLIST & DASHBOARD
USERS GUIDE

Thank You!Thank you for purchasing this template. This document is a guide to
help you get started with your template and get the most out of it
while planning your next trade show. If you have any questions that
are beyond the scope of this document, please feel free to email via
our website contact form (http://plexkits.com/contact-us/) or send
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Tradeshow Checklist & Dashboard Guide
Table of Contents
DETAILS TAB OVERVIEW – p4
First Things First – p5
Main Details – p6
Other Details – p7
Checklist Tab Overview – p8
Overview – p9
Columns Explained – p10
Reminders** - p19
Dashboard Overview – p20
Overview – p21
Budget Tracking – p22
Step-by-Step – p23
PLEXKITS Social Links – p27

Make
sure
you
follow
Steps
1-‐3
before

changing
anything
on
the
Checklist
Tab!

*
Go
to
the
Details
tab

1.
First Things First!
Fill
in
the
Show
Name
&
the

Show
Start
Date.

2.

While
sAll
on
the
Details
Tab
-‐
Fill

out
the
Name
&
Email
Address

Columns,
but
leave
the
Task

Count
Column
the
way
it
is.

T h e s e
c e l l s
w i l l
u p d a t e

automaAcally
as
you
assign
tasks

on
the
checklist
tab

3. ✓ ✓ ✖
When
Adding
new
Employees
to
the
list,
it
should
automaAcally
expand
the
table,
but
if
it
doesn’t,
simply

drag
the
boKom
corner
to
include
or
remove
entries.

*

The
rest
of
the
Details
Tab
is

opAonal
and
can
be
ﬁlled
out
at

any
Ame.
Some
are
linked
to

other
items,
but
leaving
them

blank
won’t
cause
any

problems.

SHOW
DETAILS

1.  Event
Budget
-‐
Enter
your
predetermined
Budget
for
the
event
here.
This

number
is
needed
for
the
budget
chart
on
the
Dashboard
tab

2.  Actual
Cost
–
This
number
is
automa;cally
calculated
from
the
costs
entered

in
the
checklist

VENUE
DETAILS

3.  Venue
Name
-‐
Enter
the
name
of
the
venue
where
the
show
is
taking
place

4.  Venue
Address
-‐
This
will
be
used
to
generate
the
map
link

5.  Map
to
Venue
–
A
link
to
Google
Maps
will
be
auto
generated
here

EQUIPMENT
SHIPPING
DETAILS
(Op5onal)

6.  Name
-‐
Enter
the
name
of
the
loca;on
where
equipment
is
being
shipped

7.  Shipping
Address
-‐
This
will
be
used
to
generate
the
map
link

8.  Map
to
Venue
–
A
link
to
a
Google
Map
will
be
auto
generated
here

9.  Shipment
Deadline
–
This
value
will
be
inserted
on
the
checklist

HOTEL
DETAILS
(Op5onal)

10. Hotel
Name
-‐
Enter
the
name
of
the
hotel
where
your
staﬀ
is
styaing

11. Hotel
Address
-‐
Enter
the
address
hotel
to
generate
a
map

12. Map
to
Hotel
–
Another
auto-‐generated
Google
Maps
link
to
the
hotel

13. #
of
Rooms
Reserved
-‐
Enter
the
number
of
rooms
you
have
booked

14. Length
of
Stay
-‐
Enter
the
number
of
days
you
have
each
room
for

15. Cost
per
Room
-‐
Enter
the
cost
per
room
per
night

16. Total
Cost
of
Hotels
–
This
cell
calculates
the
total
costs
of
the
hotel

accommoda;ons
and
enters
it
into
the
appropriate
checklist
cell.
*If
you
don’t
have

all
the
details
and
just
the
total
cost,
you
can
overwrite
this
cell
with
the
total
value

4.
1
2
3
4
6
5
7
8
9
10
11
13
12
14
15
16
# These Cells Auto-Update
**Venue
Details,
Equipment
Shipping
and

Hotel
Details
were

added
in
Version
2.7

A
B
C D E F G H I J K L
Go
to
the
Checklist
tab.
Now
that
you
have
entered
the
beginning
details,
your
checklist
should

look
like
the
image
below.
If
it
doesn’t
you
should
check
to
make
sure
you
entered
all
the
details

correctly
from
steps
1-‐4.

A.  Event
Title
–
Title
of
the
event
from
the
details
tab

B.  Progress
Bar
–The
percentage
of
tasks
already
completed

C.  ID
#
-‐
This
is
a
task
ID
number

D.  Task
–
This
is
the
name
of
a
specific
task

E.  Stage
–
Which
Stage
of
the
process
does
this
task
belong
to

F.  Category
–
What
type
of
task
is
this

G.  Effort
–
Amount
of
effort
required
to
complete
this
task

H.  Owner
–
Person
responsible
for
compleAon
of
specific
task

I.  Due
Date
–
Specific
Tasks
Due
Date

J.  Cost
–
Actual
Cost
of
specific
Item

K.  Status
–
Current
compleAon
status
of
task

L.  Notes
–
A
space
for
personal
notes
or
comments
about
task

The
ID
column
contains
a
simple
ascending
count
of
the

tasks
when
you
begin.
This
column
does
not
use
any

formulas
and
the
numbers
are
staAc.
This
is
for
sorAng

purposes
so
that
if
you
decide
to
sort
by
any
of
the
other

columns,
you
can
sAll
bring
it
back
to
this
original
order.
The

ID
column
must
contain
a
UNIQUE
number
in
order
for
the

“NEXT
TASKS”
items
on
the
dashboard
to
properly
register.

C.
Columns Explained – ID
If
you
add
in
a
new
column,
you’ll
noAce
that
it
does
not
automaAcally

receive
and
ID
number.
If
you
don’t
want
to
have
to
renumber
all
the

other
cells
in
order
to
insert
it
at
a
speciﬁc
spot,
you
can
get
a
unique

number
that
ﬁts
the
order
by
using
decimals.

For
instance
if
you
insert
a

line
between
10
and
11,
instead
of
renumbering
all
the
tasks
from
11
to

the
end,
you
could
just
give
the
new
item
a
number
of
10.1

*

The
TASK
column
simple
contains
the
name
or

brief
descripAon
of
a
speciﬁc
task.
The
list
begins

with
a
huge
task
list
to
get
you
started,
but
this

column
is
completely
editable
and
completely
up

to
you.
You
should
remove
any
rows
that
contain

tasks
aren’t
applicable
to
your
show.
Every
show
is

diﬀerent
so
make
sure
you
add
any
addiAonal

tasks
that
may
be
missing
from
the
original
list.

D.
Columns Explained – Task

The
Stage
&
Category
columns
are

completely
customizable
columns

used
for
the
purpose
of
sorAng.
You

can
come
up
with
as
many
stages
or

categories
as
you
would
like
to
help

organize
your
tasks.

E&F.
Columns Explained – Stage/Category
Use
column
ﬁltering
and
sorAng
to
help
keep

track
of
tasks
and
create
the
perfect
view
of

the
progress.

*

The
Effort
column
is
the
amount
of
work
involved

in
compleAng
that
specific
task.
This
task
uses
a

dropdown
box
to
select
your
choice
from
the

predetermined
list.
Select
LOW
if
it
involves
only
a

small
amount
of
work.
MED
is
for
tasks
with
an

average
amount
of
work
and
HIGH
are
tasks
with

the
most
work.
There
is
also
and
N/A
category
for

tasks
which
effort
level
does
not
apply.

G.
Columns Explained – Effort
Each
tasks
value
is
weighted
based
on
effort
level
so
that
you

can
accurately
gauge
your
progress
so
far
for
the
event.
For

example
compleAng
a
High
effort
task
would
increase
your

overall
percent
compleAon
than
compleAng
low
effort
tasks.

*

The
Owner
column
is
where
you
select
the

member
of
your
team
that
is
responsible
for
that

speciﬁc
task.
The
value
must
be
chosen
from
a

dropdown
box
that
consists
of
all
the
names
listed

on
the
Details
tab.
If
you
remove
someone
from

the
Details
tab
aler
they
have
been
assigned
a

task,
the
owner
column
will
become
greyed
out
to

let
you
know
it
needs
to
be
assigned
to
a
new

person.

A
blank
cell
is
remains
greyed
out
unAl
it

has
a
proper
name
selected.

H.
Columns Explained – Owner
The
name
Ron
is
no
longer
on
the

Details
Tab
so
it
becomes
greyed
out

The
Due
Date
column
is
the
date
on
which
that
speciﬁc

task
is
due.
The
date
column
works
together
with
the

Status
column.
If
a
task
due
date
has
past
AND
the
task
has

not
been
marked
as
“Complete”
the
date
will
highlight
in

Red.
If
a
task
has
been
completed,
it
will
not
turn
red
even

aler
the
date
has
past.
The
Due
Dates
that
you
begin
with

are
are
esAmaAon
based
on
the
date
you
entered
on
the

Details
tab.

I.
Columns Explained – Due Date
Most
of
the
start
dates
are
created
with
formulas
that
look
like

this
=StartDate-60 to
adjust
a
formula
for
your
show
you
can

either
adjust
the
number
in
the
formula
or
enter
an
exact
date.
To

adjust
the
formula
just
change
the
number
to
how
many
days

before
the
Show
Start
Date
you
would
like
the
task
to
be

completed.
If
the
due
date
should
be
a
week
before
the
show
just

change
the
formula
to
=StartDate-7

*

The
Cost
column
is
where
you
can
keep
track
of
all

the
actual
costs
of
speciﬁc
items
throughout
the

enAre
process.
Do
not
enter
your
budgeted
costs
in

this
column,
as
the
sum
of
this
column
will
be

compared
to
your
original
budget
value
you
entered

on
the
details
tab.
The
comparison
of
Actual
to

Budgeted
spend
is
displayed
on
the
Dashboard
tab.

J.
Columns Explained – Cost
A
few
of
the
cost
cells
will
be
automaAcally
populated
with
data

you
entered
on
the
details
tab
(if
applicable)

*

The
Status
column
is
where
you
indicate
the
current

status
of
a
task.
You
can
select
either
Not
Started,
In

Progress
or
Completed
for
the
various
stages
of

compleAon.
If
you
do
have
a
task
that
you
need
to

mark
as
blank,
selecAng
N/A
in
the
Eﬀort
Column
will

remove
the
Status
of
that
speciﬁc
task.
Marking
a
task

as
complete
or
in
progress
will
further
your

progression
towards
100%
compleAon.

K.
Columns Explained – Status

The
Notes
column
is
just
that,
a
place
to
enter
any

notes
or
comments
that
you
would
like
to
remember

for
later.
There
isn’t
much
to
this
column,
it’s
only
for

convenience
and
is
not
connected
to
any
formulas
or

other
cells.

L.
Columns Explained – Notes

The
Reminder
Email
feature
was
removed

from
our
feature
list
as
it
is
no
longer

supported
by
most
email
clients,
though
we

lel
it
in
just
in
case.
If
you
are
using
most

Outlook
on
a
Windows
machine
most

versions
will
sAll
work
correctly.
EssenAally
if

a
task
is
past
due
and
not
yet
marked
as

complete
a
link
will
appear
that
when
you

click
it
will
generate
an
email
to
the
task

owner
than
menAons
which
task
is
sAll
past

due,
all
you
have
to
do
is
hit
send.
If
you
are

using
a
Mail
Client
that
doesn’t
support
this

feature,
feel
free
to
delete
or
clear
the
cells

to
remove
the
feature
completely.

**
Columns Explained – Reminders**

A
B
C
D
E F
G
H
I
J
Go
to
the
Dashboard
tab.
No
cells
on
this
tab
need
to
be
edited,
they
will
automaAcally
update
as

you
progress
through
the
planning
process.

A.  Event
Title
–
Title
of
the
event
from
the
details
tab

B.  Percent
Complete
–The
percentage
of
tasks
already
completed

C.  Budget
Graph
–
A
comparison
of
actual
spend
&
budget

D.  Tasks
By
Owner
–
A
breakdown
of
number
of
tasks
per
person

E.  Days
Un5l
Event
–
Days
lel
unAl
the
event
begins

F.  Tasks
to
Complete
–
Number
of
tasks
lel
to
complete

G.  Tasks
Past
Due
–
Number
of
tasks
that
are
past
their
due
date

H.  Percent
of
Budget
–
Actual
Spend
as
a
percentage
of
Budget

I.  Next
Task
List
–
A
list
of
the
next
tasks
to
complete
based
on
date

J.  Tasks
by
Status
–
A
breakdown
of
Tasks
by
compleAon
status

Go
to
the
Details
tab

1.
Make
sure
you
have

entered
your
budget
in

the
Event
Budget
Cell

2.

Go
to
the
Checklist
tab

3.
Enter
any
costs
from
the

event
in
the
Cost
Column
of

the
applicable
task.

Ex.
The

$2500
listed
here,
is
related

to
the
submit
full
payment

item.
Even
if
the
item
is
not

marked
as
complete,
you

are
s;ll
able
to
enter
any

known
costs.

4.

If
you
take
a
look
at
the
Details
tab
now,
you

will
see
the
Actual
Cost
cell
has
been

updated
with
the
costs
entered
so
far.

*
Go
to
the
Dashboard
tab

5.
The
graph
here
will
show
your
current
costs
compared
to
the
budget
you
set
for
the

event
iniAally.
The
number
to
the
right
will
give
you
a
quick
percentage
showing
you
if

you
are
on
track
with
your
budget.
The
Green
dot
means
you
are
sAll
under
budget.

If
your
Actual
Cost
is
higher
than
your
Event
Budget,
you
will
see
this
reﬂected
in
both
the
graph
and

on
the
Details
Tab.
The
Dot
on
the
Dashboard
tab
will
turn
from
green
to
red
once
you
are
no
longer

within
your
budget.
*

Thank You!
Have any questions? Stay in touch!
www.plexkits.com
https://twitter.com/PLEXKITS
https://plus.google.com/+Plexkits
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/rickbannerman/

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