How to Use the Planning Hub: Shared Budget, Vendors, Decisions, Documents and Checklist

The planning hub is where the organizers of an event plan it together. It lives next to the guest list, the invitation and the photo gallery, so the numbers it shows are live: per-guest costs follow your confirmed RSVPs, and everyone who helps organize the event sees the same budget, the same vendors and the same to-do list.

It has six tabs, shown as a row of buttons under the page title:

Overview — the budget at a glance: projected total, paid, still to pay, next payments due, who pays what, and progress on the checklist.
Budget — categories, budget lines, contracted prices and a payment schedule with due dates.
Vendors — everyone you work with, their status and their arrival time on the day.
Decisions — questions with options the organizers vote and comment on, then turn into budget lines.
Documents — contracts, quotes, invoices and inspiration, linked to vendors and budget lines.
Checklist — dated tasks with assignees, seeded from a template for your event type.

The planning hub is available from the Professional plan up and on every event that runs under an event subscription. On other plans you can open it and browse every tab with sample data (a "Preview with sample data" badge is shown), so you can see what it does before upgrading.

Who Can Use It

The event's organizer and every accepted event collaborator get full access to the planning hub. A couple planning a wedding together, a host and a co-host, or a corporate team can all edit the same budget, vote on the same decisions and tick the same checklist. Collaborators also receive the payment and task reminder emails.

Guests never see the planning hub. Nothing in it is linked to the invitation or the photo album.

How to Open the Planning Hub

Sign in to dashboard.fotify.app.
Make sure the right event is selected in the event switcher at the top of the page.
Click Planning in the left sidebar (the wallet icon). The planning hub opens on the Overview tab.
Switch tabs by clicking Overview, Budget, Vendors, Decisions, Documents or Checklist under the page title. A red number on a tab means something needs attention: overdue payments on Budget, open decisions on Decisions, overdue tasks on Checklist.

Everything you edit in the planning hub opens in a side panel on the right. Each panel has a Cancel button and a Save button at the bottom; close it without saving with Cancel or the X in its corner.

Step 1: Set Up the Planning Hub

The first time you open Planning for an event you see the card Set up your planning hub.

Under Template, click one of the four options: Wedding, Party / birthday, Corporate / conference or Other event. The template seeds your budget categories, the "who pays" labels and a dated checklist. You can rename or remove anything later.
In the Currency dropdown, pick the currency of the event. One currency per event; amounts are stored to the cent. You can change it later from the budget settings (see "Change the currency, expected guests, target and payers" below).
In Expected guests, type how many guests you expect. This number is used for per-guest costs until your RSVPs confirm a headcount.
Optionally type a Budget target. The overview shows how far you are from it.
Leave Add the template checklist, dated relative to the event day checked to get a to-do list dated backwards from your event date.
Click Create planning hub. The hub opens on the Overview tab.

The templates seed these budget categories:

Template	Categories
Wedding	Venue, Catering & drinks, Photo & video, Music & entertainment, Flowers & decor, Attire & beauty, Invitations & stationery, Transport, Rentals, Cake & desserts, Rings & gifts, Favours, Ceremony & officiant, Contingency
Party / birthday	Venue, Food & drinks, Music & entertainment, Decor, Photo & video, Cake & desserts, Invitations, Favours & gifts, Rentals, Contingency
Corporate / conference	Venue, Catering, AV & production, Speakers & talent, Marketing & signage, Travel & accommodation, Photo & video, Swag & printing, Staffing, Registration & tech, Contingency
Other event	Venue, Food & drinks, Entertainment, Decor, Photo & video, Other, Contingency

Step 2: Build the Budget

Click the Budget tab. Each category is a collapsible block; click a category's name to expand or collapse its budget lines.

Add a budget line

Expand the category the cost belongs to (for example Venue).
Click + Add budget line at the bottom of the category. The Add budget line panel opens.
Type a Name (for example "Villa Aurora hire").
Check the Category dropdown; change it if the line belongs elsewhere.
Type the Estimated amount — your guess before you have a quote.
Once you have a signed quote, type the Contracted price. When it is filled in, it replaces the estimate in every total.
Tick This is a per-guest cost for catering, open bar, rentals or anything priced per head. The amounts you entered are then per guest and get multiplied by your headcount automatically (see below).
In Who pays, pick one of your payer labels (for example Partner 1, Partner 2, Shared), or leave Not assigned.
In Vendor, pick the vendor delivering it, or leave No vendor.
Add Notes if you want to remember something about the quote.
Click Save.

Edit or delete a budget line

To edit, click the pencil icon at the right of the line, change the fields and click Save.
To delete, click the trash icon at the right of the line and confirm. Deleting a line also deletes its payments.

Projected, paid and remaining

Every line shows Estimated, Contracted and Paid; every category and the Overview add them up into:

Projected — what the line will cost: the contracted price if there is one, otherwise the estimate, times the headcount for per-guest lines. A line never projects below what you have already paid.
Paid — the sum of the payments you have marked as paid.
Remaining — projected minus paid.

The Overview tab compares the projected total to your budget target and splits it per category and per payer.

Headcount for per-guest lines

The headcount used for per-guest costs is:

The number of guests confirmed by your RSVPs (accepted and checked-in parties), when you have any.
Otherwise, the Expected guests number from your settings.

As RSVPs come in, the projected total moves on its own. The Headcount card on the Overview says whether it is Confirmed by RSVPs or Expected (no RSVPs yet).

Add, rename or delete a category

To add one, click Add category at the top right of the Budget tab, type the Category name and click Save.
To rename one, click the pencil icon next to the category name, change the name and click Save.
To delete one, click the trash icon next to the category name and confirm. A category can only be deleted once it has no lines; move or delete its lines first.

Change the currency, expected guests, target and payers

On the Budget tab, click Settings at the top right. The Settings panel opens.
To change the currency, replace the 3-letter code in Currency (for example EUR, GBP, MXN). Amounts are relabeled, not converted: a line of 1,000 stays 1,000 in the new currency.
Change Expected guests or the Budget target in the same panel.
Under Payers, edit a name in place, click the trash icon to remove one, or click + Add payer to add one (up to 8). Payers are the people or groups who can pick up a cost: partners, families, the company.
Click Save.

Step 3: Schedule Payments and Get Reminders

Every budget line has its own payment schedule.

Add a payment

On the Budget tab, click the payments link under a line (it reads No payments, 1 payment, 2 payments...). The payments of that line unfold below it.
Click + Add payment. The Add payment panel opens with the line's name in its title.
Type a Label (Deposit, Second installment, Balance...).
Type the Amount.
Pick the Due date. It is a calendar day in your venue's time zone. Everyone planning gets an email a week and a day before.
Who pays defaults to the line's payer; change it if someone else pays this installment.
Tick Already paid when recording a payment you made in the past.
Click Save.

Mark a payment as paid

Tick the checkbox in front of the payment. The line's Paid amount and the Overview update immediately. Untick it to undo.

Edit or delete a payment

Click the pencil icon at the right of the payment to change it, or the trash icon to delete it (confirm the dialog).

Reminder emails

Fotify emails the organizer and every accepted collaborator:

a week before an unpaid payment is due, and
a day before it is due.

Each payment is reminded at most twice. Marking a payment as paid, or changing its due date, resets the reminders. The email lists every payment and task that is due, with a link back to the planning hub. The Next payments card on the Overview shows the same list; click Open budget there to jump to the Budget tab.

Step 4: Keep Your Vendors in One Place

Click the Vendors tab. It is your directory of everyone you work with.

Add a vendor

Click Add vendor at the top right. The Add vendor panel opens.
Type the vendor's Name (required) and a Category (catering, photography, flowers...).
Pick a Status:
- Enquired — you have reached out.
- Quoted — you have a price.
- Booked — the contract is signed.
- Paid — everything is settled.
Fill in the Contact person, Phone, Email and Website you have.
Set Arrival on the day to the date and time the vendor is expected on site, in the venue's local time. It is printed on the run sheet.
Add Notes and click Save.

Edit, filter or remove a vendor

Click the pencil icon on a vendor card to edit it, then Save.
Use the Filter by status dropdown at the top (All statuses, Enquired, Quoted, Booked, Paid) to narrow the list.
Click the trash icon on a vendor card and confirm to remove it. Budget lines and documents linked to it stay; they simply lose the link.

Vendors can be linked to budget lines, decision options and documents, so from any budget line you can see who is delivering it.

Run sheet PDF

Click Run sheet PDF at the top of the Vendors tab to download one document with your invitation's itinerary and every vendor's arrival time and contact details, ready to share with the venue and your vendors. The button is disabled until you have at least one vendor.

Step 5: Decide Together on the Decisions Board

Click the Decisions tab. It is for the choices you make as a group: which venue, band or DJ, buffet or plated dinner.

Create a decision

Click New decision at the top right. The New decision panel opens.
Type the Question (for example "Which venue should we book?") and, optionally, some Context.
Fill in Option 1, Option 2 and so on: each option has a title, a Price, Pros, Cons, a Link and a Vendor. Click Add option for more (up to 10).
Click Save. The decision appears in the list as Open.

Vote and discuss

Click a decision card to open it.
Click Vote under the option you prefer. You can vote for one option per decision; click Remove vote to take it back or vote for another option. The card shows how many votes each option has and You voted on yours.
Scroll to Discussion at the bottom, type in Add a comment and click Post. The author of a comment and the organizer can delete it with its trash icon.
Click Add option inside the decision to add options later, or the trash icon next to an option to remove it.

Choose the winner

Open the decision and click Choose under the winning option. The Choose "..." confirmation opens.
Under Add to the budget as, pick a budget category to create a contracted budget line at the option's price, linked to its vendor. The vendor is marked Booked at the same time. Pick Don't add a budget line if you only want to record the choice.
Click Confirm choice. The decision moves to the Decided group and shows Chosen: ....

To change your mind, open the decision and click Reopen. The budget line it created stays; delete it from the Budget tab if you no longer need it. To delete a decision entirely, open it and click the trash icon in the panel header.

Step 6: Store Contracts, Quotes and Inspiration

Click the Documents tab.

Upload a document

Drag files onto the Drop files here or click to upload area, or click it to pick files, or click Upload at the top right.
Accepted files: PDF, images, Word, Excel and text, up to 25 MB each. A toast confirms Documents uploaded.
Each event has a storage allowance for planning documents that depends on its plan; the bar at the top of the tab shows how much is used.

Tag a document

Click the pencil icon on the document. The Edit document panel opens.
Change the File name if you like.
Pick a Type: Contract, Quote, Invoice, Inspiration or Other.
Link it to a Vendor and to a Budget line, so the signed contract sits next to the line it belongs to.
Click Save.

Download, filter or delete

Click Download on a document to open a short-lived link to the original file. Files are private to the organizers.
Use the Filter by type dropdown at the top to show only contracts, quotes, invoices, inspiration or other files.
Click the trash icon and confirm to delete a document.

Documents are deleted together with the event's other files when the gallery access period ends.

Step 7: Work the Checklist

Click the Checklist tab. Tasks are grouped into Overdue, This week, Later and No date, with a progress bar at the top that reads, for example, 3 of 12 done.

Complete a task

Tick the checkbox in front of the task. Completed tasks move out of the list; tick Show completed at the top to see them in a Done group, and untick a task to reopen it.

Add a task

Click Add task at the top right. The Add task panel opens.
Type the Task title.
Pick a Due date (optional) and add Notes.
In Assigned to, pick the organizer or any accepted collaborator, or leave Unassigned.
Click Save.

Click the pencil icon on a task to edit it, or the trash icon to delete it.

Add template tasks

In the dropdown at the top of the Checklist tab, pick a template: Wedding, Party / birthday, Corporate / conference or Other event.
Click Add template tasks. Only tasks you don't already have are added, and a toast tells you how many.

Template tasks are dated backwards from your event day: the wedding template, for instance, puts "Book the venue" 11 months out and "Confirm arrival times with all vendors" 3 days before.

Everyone planning gets an email the day before a task is due.

Exports

At the top right of the Budget tab:

Click CSV to download every budget line with its category, vendor, payer, estimated, contracted, projected, paid and remaining amounts.
Click Payments CSV to download every scheduled and paid payment with its due date and status.
Click PDF to download a printable budget summary grouped by category.

At the top of the Vendors tab, click Run sheet PDF for the day-of run sheet described above.

Using the Planning Hub from an AI Assistant

If you have connected an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT to Fotify, it can do most of the above for you:

set up the planning hub from a template, and change its currency, expected guests, budget target and payers;
read the budget overview and the full budget;
add, update and delete budget lines, and add or update payments (including marking them paid);
list, add and update vendors;
list decisions, create new ones with their options, and choose the winner (with or without a budget line);
list, add and update checklist tasks (including completing them).

Ask it, for example, "add a $2,000 deposit due October 1 to the venue line", "which payments are due this month?" or "switch the budget to euros". Uploading documents and voting on decisions are done in the dashboard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which plans include the planning hub? A: It is included from the Professional plan up and on every event created under an event subscription. Other plans can open the hub and browse it with sample data, and the upgrade card links to the plan that unlocks it.

Q: Can my partner edit the budget too? A: Yes. Invite them as an event collaborator. Accepted collaborators have the same access as you in the planning hub and receive the reminder emails.

Q: Can I change the currency after setting up the hub? A: Yes. On the Budget tab click Settings, replace the 3-letter code in Currency and click Save. Any ISO currency code works (EUR, GBP, ARS, MXN, ILS...). Existing amounts keep their numbers and are only relabeled, so change it before you enter your quotes if you can.

Q: Why did my projected total change on its own? A: Per-guest lines are multiplied by your confirmed headcount. When more guests accept the invitation, catering and other per-guest costs go up accordingly. The Headcount card on the Overview shows whether the number comes from RSVPs or from your expected guests.

Q: When are reminder emails sent? A: A week and a day before an unpaid payment's due date, and the day before a task's due date. Reminders go to the organizer and every accepted collaborator, in their own language.

Q: Do guests see any of this? A: No. The planning hub is only visible to the organizers of the event.

Q: What happens to documents when the event ends? A: They are removed together with the event's photos when the gallery access period of your plan ends. Download anything you want to keep before then.

Q: Can I export the budget to a spreadsheet? A: Yes. On the Budget tab click CSV for all lines or Payments CSV for all payments, plus PDF for a printable summary.

Q: Why is the Run sheet PDF button disabled? A: It needs at least one vendor. Add your first vendor on the Vendors tab and the button becomes available.