What a complete run of show looks like, minute by minute
Eight blocks, from the first vendor at the loading dock to the last chair stacked, with a time and an owner on every line. It is the timeline Joinways builds inside the event, so there is no spreadsheet to download and fill in.
The short version: what a run of show contains
A run of show is the minute-by-minute timeline of an event, one line per moment, each with a time, a cue, an owner and a location, so that the venue team, the client and the vendors execute the same sequence. A complete run of show covers eight blocks in order: the header with the event, date and the two day-of contacts; load-in and setup; doors and guest arrival; the program itself, block by block, with meals and breaks; transitions and technical cues; speeches and entertainment; the close, from last call to guest departure; and teardown with vendor load-out. It differs from a banquet event order, which lists services and quantities: the run of show says when each thing happens and who does it. In Joinways the timeline lives inside the event next to the quote and the BEO, and the example on this page walks through a real corporate dinner rather than handing you a blank template.
- Eight blocks in the order the day unfolds: header, load-in, doors, program, cues, entertainment, close, teardown
- Every line has four fields: time, cue, owner, location. A line without an owner is a line nobody executes
- The venue owns the run of show for what it delivers; the client or planner owns the program content. One document, two authors
- Issued with the BEO: working version about a week out, final version once the program is locked, same recipients every time
- Built inside the Joinways event, so the timeline, the BEO and the quote never disagree on times or headcount
The eight blocks of a run of show, in order
Read in the order the day happens. Each block lists the lines it must carry and what most often goes missing when the timeline is rebuilt in a spreadsheet the night before.
- 01
Header and owners
Event name, client, date, guaranteed headcount, the spaces used, and the two people who own the day: the venue's coordinator and the client's lead, each with a mobile number. Below them, the list of owners that will appear on the lines: floor, kitchen, technical, security, each vendor. What goes missing: the client-side contact who can decide at 7 PM whether the speech starts without the CEO.
- 02
Load-in and setup
First vendor arrival with a loading dock slot per vendor, furniture and setup by space, linen and tableware, technical build and sound check, florals, signage, a final walk-through with a time. What goes missing: the sequence between vendors. Sound cannot build while the stage is being assembled, and the florist needs the tables set. One line per dependency.
- 03
Doors and guest arrival
Staff briefing, doors open, welcome and check-in, cloakroom, welcome drinks, background music level, the moment guests are invited to move to the next space. What goes missing: the buffer between doors and the first program block, and who watches the door for late arrivals once the room has closed.
- 04
The program, block by block
Each program block on its own line: opening words, sessions or courses, breaks, meals with the exact service time per course, awards, group photo. Meals are the venue's lines; sessions are the client's lines, but both sit on the same timeline. What goes missing: the service time of each course, which is what the kitchen actually needs, and the breaks that let the floor reset a room.
- 05
Transitions and technical cues
Every moment where lighting, sound, screens or room layout change: lights down for the film, microphone handover between speakers, slide advance owner, room flip from plenary to dinner with a duration, screen content during meals. What goes missing: who presses the button. A cue with no owner is a cue that happens late.
- 06
Speeches and entertainment
Speaker order with names and durations, the introduction lines, the band or DJ set times and breaks, the first dance or the award ceremony, the cake or the surprise, and the fallback if a speaker runs long. What goes missing: the cut-off time the DJ has agreed to and the noise curfew the venue is bound by.
- 07
Close: last call to guest departure
Last call announcement, bar close, house lights up, transport or taxi coordination, guest departure, cloakroom return, client debrief on the spot. What goes missing: the gap between the official end and the moment the last guest leaves, which is where staffing costs quietly grow.
- 08
Teardown and load-out
Vendor load-out slots in reverse order of load-in, venue reset, lost and found, damage check with the client's lead before they leave, keys and access badges returned, the final line with the time the venue is handed back. What goes missing: the walk-through with the client, which is the only moment a damage claim can be settled without a dispute.
Running a day that follows the timeline
Venues whose events run to time do not have better spreadsheets. They have one timeline, one owner per line, and a briefing where every owner reads their own lines aloud.
Brief from the run of show, not from memory: fifteen minutes before doors, each owner reads their lines. A line nobody claims at the briefing is a line that will not happen
Put buffers where the day slips: after speeches, after the room flip, before the last course. A run of show with no buffers is a wish list
Keep the vendor version clean: the DJ needs set times and the curfew, not the price of the cocktail. One document, two exports, never two documents
What to check before issuing the run of show
- Every line has a clock time and a named owner, including the technical cues
- Service times on the run of show match the banquet event order the kitchen holds
- The client has confirmed the program blocks in writing, and the vendors have their link
What separates venues whose events run to time
The difference is not the template, it is the discipline: one timeline inside the event, an owner on every cue, a briefing that reads the lines aloud, and the reflex to change the document rather than to tell people. Tooling helps because the venue's lines come from what was sold, and every reader has the same current version. That is what the timeline in Joinways is built around.
The run of show exists, in a spreadsheet nobody trusts by event day
Most venues have a timeline for each event. The trouble is where it lives: a spreadsheet rebuilt from the quote and from three email threads the night before, one column per team, printed for the floor and emailed to the DJ. The client moves the speeches by email on the day, the spreadsheet does not follow, and at 8 PM the kitchen serves the main course during the CEO's toast.
- The timeline is rebuilt by hand from the quote and the email thread, so the times on the run of show, the BEO and the quote do not match
- Lines have a time but no owner: everyone assumes someone else presses the button on the lights
- The venue's lines and the client's program live in two documents, and the kitchen only sees one of them
- Changes agreed on the day by email or text never reach the printed version the floor is holding
- Vendors get the full internal spreadsheet, tabs with prices included, because there is no clean way to share only their lines
One timeline inside the event, shared with the people who execute it
In Joinways the timeline lives in the event, next to the emails, the quote and the banquet event order. The venue's lines come from what was sold; the client's program is added on the same timeline; each line has a time, a cue, an owner and a space. It is shared as a PDF internally and as a public link with vendors that hides pricing, and every change is made once, in one place.
Related product pages: Reports
- Built from the event: the signed quote gives the spaces, the meals and the services, so the venue's lines are there before anyone types
- One timeline for two authors: the venue's operational lines and the client's program blocks sit in the same sequence
- Four fields per line, with an owner on every cue, and per-day timelines for multi-day seminars
- Shared with the BEO: PDF for internal teams, a public link for vendors with no financial data, one current version for everyone
What belongs on a run of show line, and what does not
The four columns every line carries, what is added when it helps, and what belongs on another document.
| Column | Always on the line | Add when relevant | Never on the run of show |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | A clock time, not a duration, for every line from load-in to hand-back | A duration next to the time for blocks that can slip, such as speeches | The sales timeline: when the quote was sent, read or signed |
| Cue | One action in plain words: doors open, lights down, service of the main course | The trigger for the cue, such as a speaker's last sentence or a song | Quantities and menus, which belong on the banquet event order |
| Owner | One named person or team per line, never everyone | A backup owner for the cues that cannot slip | Vendor rates and the commission of the agency |
| Location | The space where the cue happens, especially on multi-space events | The setup style of the space at that moment when the room flips | Room hire prices per space |
| Notes | The one thing that will go wrong if forgotten: the allergy at table 4, the speaker who needs a lapel mic | The client's wording for announcements | Anything financial, and the client's history with the venue |
What a complete run of show changes on the day
What the timeline is built to change. Judge it on your own events during the free trial.
Per line
Every cue names the person who executes it. The lights go down because someone's name is on the line, not because everyone expected someone else.
Between documents
Timeline, BEO and quote share one source. The service time on the run of show is the one the kitchen reads on the BEO.
For vendors
The DJ, the caterer and the florist read their lines through a link that hides prices and client history. One current version, not three printouts.
Figures are illustrative: they describe what a structured process is designed to make possible, not measured Joinways customer results. Actual results vary by venue.
The same eight blocks, different content
A corporate dinner, a two-day seminar, a wedding: the structure holds, the lines change.
A corporate dinner with speeches
Cocktail, seating, three courses, two speeches, an award, a DJ until midnight. The run of show carries the service time of each course between the speeches, and the cue for the lights before the film.
A two-day seminar
Plenary, workshops, lunch, a room flip for the evening dinner, then breakfast and a second day. Per-day timelines keep the room flips, the breaks and the meals distinct instead of on one averaged sheet.
A wedding
Ceremony, cocktail, dinner, first dance, cake, last call. The couple's planner owns the program blocks, the venue owns load-in, service, close and teardown, and both read the same timeline.
A corporate dinner for 120, from quote to run of show
Starting point
A reception venue hosts a company's annual dinner: 120 guests, cocktail on the terrace, seated dinner in the main hall, two speeches, an award, a DJ. The quote was signed six weeks out. Until now the coordinator rebuilt the timeline in a spreadsheet the day before, from the quote and the client's emails.
What the coordinator does
She opens the event in Joinways. The spaces, the cocktail, the three courses and the DJ line are already on the timeline from the signed quote. She adds the client's program blocks (welcome words, two speeches, the award), sets a service time for each course between them, names the owner of every cue, adds the noise curfew to the DJ line, and issues the PDF internally on Monday. The DJ and the caterer get the public link the same day.
What it looks like
In this scenario the timeline is issued in twenty minutes instead of an evening, the kitchen reads the same service times as the floor, and when the client moves a speech on the Thursday the change is made once and everyone reads the new version through the same link.
Event coordinator
Illustrative scenario: reception venue
Illustrative scenario based on typical venue outcomes, not an actual named customer.
Frequently asked questions about the run of show
What is a run of show?
What should a run of show include?
What is the difference between a run of show, a BEO and an event timeline?
Who writes the run of show, the venue or the client?
How detailed should it be, really minute by minute?
When should the run of show go out, and to whom?
Is there a run of show template I can download in Excel or Google Sheets?
Pricing is public: from $49 per venue per month, with a 30-day free trial. See pricing
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Banquet event order: the 12 sections every venue should include, who writes it, who reads it, and how it prevents last-minute chaos.
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Anatomy of a sales cycle in event venues: from first contact to signed quote
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