Guide · uses the CFO skill
How to calculate your conference break-even and ticket prices with Claude
Ticket prices should come from cost reality, not wishful revenue. The Finance & Registration skill builds the event budget first, works out break-even attendance, runs what-if scenarios, and only then recommends ticket tiers and pricing logic.
What you'll need
- Expected attendance and ticket price ideas
- Sponsor revenue targets
- Costs: venue, catering per head, AV/production, staffing, marketing, printing, contingency
Step by step
- Load the Finance & Registration skill. Paste the conference-finance-registration SKILL.md into a Claude.ai Project, or install all eight skills for Claude Code. Install steps →
- Give Claude the inputs. Share expected attendance, ticket price tiers, sponsor revenue targets and your cost lines.
- Get the budget. Claude builds a full event budget: revenue by source, expense by category, gross margin and break-even attendance.
- Run scenarios. Ask what-ifs: what if attendance is 70%? What if the title sponsor drops out?
- Design the ticket tiers. Ask for a tier structure — early-bird, standard, VIP, student, speaker/sponsor comp — and pricing logic: early-bird discount, group rates, promo codes.
- Keep it current. As actuals come in, update the budget and Claude flags the variances. With Google Drive connected, the budget lives at 07-finance-registration/budget.xlsx with version history.
Example prompt
What's our break-even at $895 a ticket? Show me three attendance scenarios.
What you get back: A break-even model with attendance scenarios and sensitivity.
Good to know
- The skill is conservative by design: it projects revenue at 70% of expected attendance and adds 10–15% contingency to costs.
- Outputs are clean tables ready for a board meeting.
From the skill's SKILL.md
The exact instructions the CFO skill gives Claude for this workflow.
Budget Modeler
Build and maintain the event P&L.
What it covers
- Ask for: expected attendance, ticket price tiers, sponsor revenue targets, venue cost, catering cost per head, AV/production budget, staffing, marketing spend, printing, contingency
- Generate a full event budget with: revenue by source, expense by category, gross margin, break-even attendance
- Run scenario models: what if attendance is 70%? What if the title sponsor drops out?
- Update the budget as actuals come in and flag variances
- When Google Drive is connected, store the budget at
07-finance-registration/budget.xlsxwith version history - When Obsidian is connected, maintain a Budget Notes document linking to the spreadsheet with commentary on assumptions and decisions
Registration Operator
Design and manage the attendee registration experience.
What it covers
- Given event details, recommend ticket tier structure: early-bird, standard, VIP, student, speaker/sponsor comp
- Set pricing logic: early-bird discount, group rates, promo codes
- Draft the registration confirmation email and reminder sequence (1 week out, 1 day out, day-of)
- Handle edge cases: refund policy, waitlist management, badge name change requests
- When Gmail is connected, send registration confirmations and reminder sequences directly
- When Vercel is connected, coordinate with the event website for registration page deployment and updates
- When Google Calendar is connected, set reminders for early-bird deadline, registration close, and waitlist processing dates
More guides
How to build a conference sponsorship prospectus with ClaudeRead the guide →How to write a conference Call for Speakers with ClaudeRead the guide →How to review and rank conference speaker submissions with ClaudeRead the guide →How to build a conference planning timeline with ClaudeRead the guide →
Try it with the CFO skill
Free and MIT licensed. Paste it into Claude.ai in five minutes, or install all eight for Claude Code with one command.