Hiroyuki Oyama gave a talk on YAPC::Asia financial report (in JP). I’d like to show the numbers and key factors in this article to help who try to organise a big event.
YAPC::Asia handles 500+ attendees with all volunteer organising committee.
In 2006 and 2007, they used Lawson (convenience store chain) ticket system to sell the tickets. In 2008, they used their own customized system with Paypal payment system. Oyama emphasized that realtime payment of Paypal is really helpful. In 2006/2007, they had to make a loan for various payments, but not in 2008.
Actually Oyama lent his own 1,500,000yen ($15,000) to YAPC account in 2006.
Most of incomes are consisted from:
* Ticket sales (in 2008, 3500yen each)
* Sponsorship (paid in 1-2months prior to the event)
* Entrance fee for a conference dinner (if charge separetely)
Most of expenditure are consisted from:
* Venue (must be paid in advance)
* Giveaways (such as T-shirt or bag)
* Dinner/Lunch/etc
* Travel reimburse (paid only for invited few speakers)
* Ticket sales commissions
Also he mentioned to much smaller fees such as:
* Transaction fees (bank transfer, etc..)
* Communication fees (postage, etc..)
* Various fees
Oyama said that they are trying to not make a profit, because YAPC::Asia is not a registered tax entity. So, if profit was made, income tax will be included to someone’s tax ammount. They even rejected some offers of sponsorship.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p72_igITxlodY0hCrHW28LA
Shunichi Arai