Market Day Collective
Market Day
Collective
Events Management
 Guide
For the organising team
Version 1

Organiser
responsibilities

Everything a market day needs somebody to own, split into fourteen departments so it can be handed out rather than carried by one person. Each section has a space for a name, a backup and a phone number. If you are running a small day on your own, read it as a checklist instead and work out which parts you can genuinely do.

How to use this
Assign every sectionIncluding the ones nobody wants. An unassigned department is not a small risk, it is the thing that gets discovered on the morning
Name a backup for eachPeople get sick. A department with one name and no second is one phone call from a gap
The lead should not run a departmentIf the day is big enough to have a team, the lead needs their hands free to make decisions and unblock people. On a small day this is unavoidable, and that is fine, just know it
Split Money and accounts if you canThey sit in one department because on most days one person does both. If you have two people, split the approving from the recording, so nobody is signing off their own spending
Put every phone number on one sheetPrinted, on paper, carried by everyone. Not in a group chat nobody can scroll on a busy morning
Escalate earlyEvery department should know who they take a problem to, and that the answer is never "wait until pack down"
Who has what

Fill this in first, then fill in the same names on each section. This page is the one to print and carry.

DepartmentAssigned toBackupPhone
Lead organiser
Money and accounts
Marketing, communications and print
Software, IT and day management
Venue
Parking and traffic
Stalls and sellers
Logistics and site
Volunteers and rosters
Food and kitchens
Creche and kids
Safety and compliance
Tickets and attendees
Pack down and close
If you are a team of four, not fourteen.

Group them rather than dropping them. A workable set of four is: the first takes Lead, Venue and Safety. The second takes Money and accounts, Tickets, and Software and IT. The third takes Stalls, Marketing and print, and Volunteers. The fourth takes Logistics, Parking and Pack down, because those three are all about moving things and people around the site.

Food and Creche go to whoever is actually running them, because neither can be held by somebody who is not there.

The important thing is that every line still has a name against it, even if the same name appears five times. A named person who is overloaded is a problem you can see. An unnamed department is one you cannot.

The departments
Lead organiser
Decides, and keeps everybody else unblocked
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

Owns the date, the venue and the go or no go. Appoints every other role below and a backup for each. On a day big enough to have a team, the lead should not also run a department: they need their hands free.

Before the day
  • Set the date, choose the venue and sign the hire agreement
  • Appoint every department below, and a named backup for each
  • Hold the checklist and the countdown, and chase what is late
  • Be the single point of contact for the venue
  • Name the weather or cancellation decision point: the day, the time, and how everyone will be told
  • Approve the stall fee and the attendee prices before anything is published
  • Settle anything two departments disagree about, quickly
On the day, and after
  • Be findable. Carry a phone and answer it
  • Walk the whole site twice: once after opening, once mid afternoon
  • Make the calls nobody else is allowed to make
  • Run the debrief within a week, while it is still fresh
  • Thank every seller and every volunteer within 48 hours
  • Write the note that carries into next year's checklist
Money and accounts
Decides what is spent, and records what happened
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

Builds the budget, sets the prices, controls what goes out, and keeps the records straight. If you have two people for this, split it: one approves the spending, the other records it.

Before the day
  • Build the budget from every cost group, including the ones people forget
  • Hold the contingency at a percentage, and never let it be set as a fixed figure
  • Set the stall fee from the real arithmetic, not from what feels reasonable
  • Set attendee prices: entry, meals, drinks, creche, bundles
  • Connect the payment provider, and check it is actually verified for payouts
  • Decide the float, and the refund reserve, before any money arrives
  • Approve every commitment before it is made
  • Issue a numbered receipt for every payment taken: stall fee, sponsorship, grant, ticket
  • File every invoice, certificate, permit and agreement where a second person can find it
  • Know whether the day is registered for tax, and put the answer on every receipt
  • Track every grant's acquittal date as a real deadline
  • Keep the budget's actual column up to date as things are paid, not at the end
On the day, and after
  • Draw the float and record the amount and the date
  • Record every cash payment made on the day: two names, a reason, the amount, a signature
  • Count the gate takings with a second person, never alone
  • Hold the paper tally sheet, and collect every docket and receipt through the day
  • Bank the float back the same week, and record that date too
  • Pay every outstanding invoice, settle the kitchens, chase the bond
  • Chase what each kitchen actually spent, which nobody volunteers
  • Reconcile every line, actual against estimate, and name the differences
  • File the acquittals and send what the grant body asked for
  • Work out the surplus and what share of it is owed
  • Produce one closing statement the whole team can read, and hand over a clean record for next year
Marketing, communications and print
Getting people there, keeping everybody told, and everything that gets printed
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

Three jobs that sit together: the public campaign, the messages that go to sellers, volunteers and ticket holders, and every single thing the day prints. One department owning all the printing is what stops three people ordering three differently styled signs.

Before the day
  • Run the interest page first, before anything is sized or costed
  • Write and send the announcement, then the countdown
  • Own every print job the day needs. Posters, flyers, banners, A-frames, bunting, directional signs, site maps, stall number cards, seller lapel badges, volunteer name tags, car dash passes, ticket stock, paper fallback sheets and the printed contact sheet
  • Collect what each department needs printed, with their artwork and their quantity, by one date
  • Treat print lead times as deadlines that belong to somebody else. They cannot be compressed on the morning
  • Proof everything before it goes to the printer, including the codes, which nobody else will check
  • Distribute the posters and flyers physically: noticeboards, newsletters, shop windows
  • Reprint if the theme, the date or the details change, and say plainly what is already printed and will now not match
  • Run stallholder spotlights, so sellers get something from the marketing too
  • Send the email sequence: save the date, invitation, confirmation, reminder
  • Publish the full lineup and stall map in the last fortnight
  • Post the day before, carrying the weather call
On the day, and after
  • Take photographs through the day, including the quiet corners
  • Post in the morning and again mid afternoon
  • Post the album and the thank you within a few days
  • Announce the next date while people still remember this one
Software, IT and day management
Codes, devices, the network, and keeping the day to time
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

Generates every code the day runs on, makes sure the scanning actually works everywhere it needs to, and keeps the day to the run sheet. The one department where a problem at 10am stops four others working, so it needs a backup who has actually done it before, not just been told about it.

Before the day
  • Set the market day up on the platform: pages, tickets, food, creche, stalls, prices
  • Set up the event app: roles, an access code for every person, and what each role can see
  • Generate every code the day runs on: stall passport codes, ticket and entry codes, car dash passes, child and bag stickers, volunteer role codes, and hand the artwork to Marketing to print
  • Write the NFC stickers and tags, then read every single one back. A sticker that was written but never tested is a stall with no passport
  • Test the NFC chain end to end: an attendee phone presenting, a volunteer phone reading, on more than one handset model
  • Check the lock and screen behaviour on a few real phones, so the gate volunteers know what to tell people
  • Sort connectivity: what the venue has, whether a unit is needed, and what happens when it drops
  • Count the devices needed at every point, charge them, label them, and have spares
  • Set up a charging point somewhere, because everything will be flat by two
  • Test the whole chain end to end, on a device that is not yours, before the day
  • Write the run sheet: access time, bump in windows, opening, meal service, last call, pack down
  • Specify the paper fallback for every scanning point, and get it to Marketing in time to print
On the day, and after
  • Hand out devices, sign them out by name, and watch every volunteer sign in successfully
  • Walk every stall at bump in and check their side works: their code reads, their card reader connects, their power is on and their lead is safe
  • Give each stallholder the one line answer for what to do when their reader drops out
  • Be the roving fixer all day. When something will not scan, you are the person who comes
  • Watch the gate count, the kitchen board and the creche register through the day
  • Run the PA and the announcements: collection slots, last call, anything the lead needs said
  • Keep the day to the run sheet, and tell the lead early when it is slipping, not once it has
  • Collect every device back and reconcile them against the sign out list
  • Export the data afterwards: attendance, scans, orders, the passport
  • Delete what should not be kept, starting with the creche photographs
  • Write down every place the technology got in the way, for next time
Venue
Everything to do with the building and the ground
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

The single owner of the relationship with whoever controls the site. Runs the venue checklist, books it, and is the one who knows what was agreed.

Before the day
  • Walk and assess every candidate venue against the checklist
  • Book it, read the hire conditions and agree them in writing
  • Confirm access times, keys, setup the day before and takedown after
  • Confirm power circuits, toilets, kitchen, a creche room, and parking
  • Agree what state it has to be left in, and who does the clean
  • Ask whether payment can sit until after the day
  • Confirm whose insurance covers the event, and what they require from stallholders
On the day, and after
  • Open up, hold the keys, and be there at access time
  • Walk the building with the venue at the start and again at the end
  • Deal with anything the building throws at you: a failed circuit, a locked room
  • Make good anything that needs it before you hand back
  • Return the keys to a named person, and chase the bond
Parking and traffic
Where every car goes, and how it gets out again
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

Underestimated at every market day and the cause of most of the bad tempers. The work is almost entirely in the planning: on the day it is just holding the plan.

Before the day
  • Count the bays, and find every way in and out
  • Zone the carpark by departure time, not arrival time, so nobody is ever blocked in by a car that leaves later than they do
  • Set aside an elderly and accessible zone near the entrance, and a drop off bay
  • Plan vendor vehicle access for bump in, and again for load out
  • Ask at booking how far people are travelling and roughly when they expect to leave, so zones are decided before anyone arrives
  • Produce the dash passes, and a small pad of blanks for the gate
  • Roster marshals for the whole day, not just the first hour
  • Agree in advance what happens when the carpark fills
On the day, and after
  • Direct every car to its zone as it arrives. Zoning only holds if somebody is standing there
  • Scan every car in and out, and record which marshal did it
  • Keep the drop off bay clear, all day
  • Write a pass on the spot rather than turning somebody away
  • Stage vehicle access at load out, while patrons are still leaving
  • At the end, know exactly which cars are still on site
  • Sweep the carpark for rubbish and lost property before you leave
Stalls and sellers
Every seller, from application to thank you
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

The busiest role in the lead up and the most visible on the morning. Sellers judge the whole day by how this one is run.

Before the day
  • Open applications, then accept and decline promptly. Silence loses sellers
  • Allocate stall numbers, sizes and positions, and publish the map
  • Collect a public liability certificate from every seller, expiring after the event date
  • Collect the food answers from food sellers: council notified, or low risk community group
  • Send the seller pack: number, size, what is provided, bump in time, parking, fee, rules, and the wet weather answer
  • Send the marketing pack four weeks out and the preparation guide three weeks out
  • Chase the ones who have not answered, more than once
On the day, and after
  • Marshal bump in by zone, and keep the unloading area moving
  • Check every stall in, hand over stall cards and lapel badges
  • Be the person a seller can find within a minute all day
  • Walk past the quiet stalls and talk to them
  • Send the survey afterwards: did you cover your fee and your costs
  • Keep the notes that make next year's invitations quicker
Logistics and site
Everything that has to be carried, placed or plugged in
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

The role that decides whether the morning is calm or frantic. Most of it is done before anybody else arrives.

Before the day
  • Draw the site map: stalls, toilets, first aid, water, bins, entry and exit all marked
  • Count tables and chairs, and know what is on site and what is hired
  • Sort power: leads, boards, covers, and where each stall's draw is coming from
  • Work out what signage the site needs and where each piece goes, then hand it to Marketing in time for their print run
  • Sort bins, bags and where the waste actually goes
  • Pack the box: cable ties, gaffer tape, leads, first aid kit, pens and paper, bin bags, weights, water, sunscreen, scissors, zip lock bags, a printed contact list, lapel badges and spare blanks
On the day, and after
  • Set out the floor before anyone arrives, so bump in is walking into a plan
  • Put the signage up, bins out, water on, aisles marked
  • Keep the aisles clear all day, including as stalls spread
  • Take it all down, get the waste off site, leave it as found
Volunteers and rosters
The people who make the day work and are easiest to forget
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

Recruiting is the small half. The roster, the briefing and the changeovers are the rest.

Before the day
  • Recruit through the interest page, and keep asking
  • Sight the working with children check of every creche and kids activity volunteer, in person
  • Ask every volunteer whether they hold current first aid, whatever role they signed up for
  • Build the roster with named shifts and a named backup for each
  • Brief everyone before the day: what they are doing, who they report to, where to be
On the day, and after
  • Run the changeovers, so nobody is left standing an extra hour
  • Make sure everybody gets a break and something to eat
  • Be the person a volunteer goes to when something is wrong
  • Thank every one of them within 48 hours, by name
  • Note who to ask again, and who not to
Food and kitchens
The meal, the menu, the money and the timing
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

Only needed where the day is serving food. It carries more deadlines than any other department.

Before the day
  • Approve each kitchen, and whether it is the day's kitchen or somebody's own business
  • Approve every menu, with a price and an ingredient cost per item, before anything goes on sale
  • Set collection slots to what the kitchen can actually cook, not to demand
  • Set an order cut-off that leaves clearing, shopping and prep days. Seven days out is the usual default
  • Pay the ingredient advance before the shopping, not after
  • Collect allergen declarations, and sight the food safety certificate of anyone cooking, in person
On the day, and after
  • Run the kitchen screen and the collection point
  • Make sure allergy orders are plated first and kept separate
  • Call the collection slots, and keep the queue moving
  • Ask each kitchen what they actually spent, and settle it
  • Count meal tickets redeemed, so nobody has fed volunteers out of their own stock
Creche and kids
The part where getting it wrong is serious
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

Whether it is a full creche or a craft table, this role carries a duty of care and it should be held by somebody who wants it.

Before the day
  • Secure a room that is enclosed, has one way in and no through traffic
  • Sight every volunteer's working with children check in person, before the day
  • Set the ratio, and cap the bookings to it. The cap is staffing, never demand
  • Set up the register, the name stickers and the photo consent, in writing, at booking
  • Make sure somebody with current first aid is present the whole time
  • Collect allergies and anything a child needs, with the times and where it is in their bag
On the day, and after
  • Sign every child in and out, by a parent or caregiver, without exception
  • Own the register across the whole day, even as volunteers change shift
  • Keep the allergy list visible to whoever is on
  • Log nappy changes, food and drink, so a handover is clean
  • Delete the photos afterwards. They existed for the handover, not for keeping
Safety and compliance
The things that are boring until the day they are not
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

Mostly a set of questions asked early. The work is in asking them in time.

Before the day
  • Confirm public liability for the day itself, and the position for stallholders
  • Notify the council if the day needs it, with their lead time, not yours
  • Arrange a first aid officer or service, and a kit
  • Check extinguishers, and a fire blanket wherever there is a flame
  • Check RCD protection, and whether the venue wants leads tested and tagged
  • Know the evacuation plan, the exits and who the warden is
  • Set the weather decision point and write down how everyone will be told
On the day, and after
  • Sign the first aid officer in, and make sure people know where they are
  • Keep exits clear all day, including during pack down
  • Keep an incident log, even for the small ones
  • Record and report anything that happened, properly, afterwards
Tickets and attendees
Everyone coming through the gate
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

Includes the free ones. Issue a ticket even where entry costs nothing, because it is the only way to have a real headcount. Works shoulder to shoulder with Parking at the gate.

Before the day
  • Set up ticket types: individual, family pack, free. With prices, quantities and sales windows
  • Set the caps, and set each one by what actually limits it
  • Turn on food ordering and creche passes if the day has them
  • Publish what entry includes and what it does not, plainly
  • Prepare the door list, and a paper fallback for no signal
On the day, and after
  • Run the gate: scan in, scan out, keep the live count
  • Hand each arrival to Parking with their zone
  • Run the passport and the challenges, and draw the prizes
  • Produce the real attendance figure, which is worth more than ticket sales
  • Process any refunds owed, promptly
Pack down and close
The hour that decides what people remember
Assigned to
Backup
Phone on the day

A named role, not something the tired people absorb at the end. It starts before the day, not at 8pm.

Before the day
  • Agree the pack down time and publish it to every seller
  • Roster who is staying, by name, and tell them in advance
  • Agree the vehicle access plan for load out with Parking
  • Agree who cleans what: toilets, the creche space, the floor, the rubbish
On the day, and after
  • Hold the line on the pack down time. Nobody packs early
  • Clean the toilets and the creche space, and pick up the rubbish
  • Collect lost property, and know who is holding it
  • Walk the site with the venue and hand it back
  • Be the last to leave, and check the gate count is at zero
What every role owes the others
Say early when it is not going to happenA late thing that is flagged in week six is a problem. The same thing flagged in the last week is a crisis. Nobody will be cross that you told them
Write down what you agreedEspecially with the venue, the kitchens and anybody being paid. A conversation nobody recorded is a conversation that happens twice
Hand over, do not disappearIf you drop out, the next person needs what you know, not just what you filed
Do not spend what is not yoursStall fees and ticket money are not the day's money until the day runs. If it does not happen, all of it goes back
Turn up to the debriefIt is the only place next year's day gets easier, and it takes an hour

The six that decide whether it runs smoothly

1 Every department has a name and a backup

Written down, before the last fortnight, not sorted out in the week of.

2 Somebody other than the spender checks the spending

Even where one person holds Money and accounts, a second pair of eyes on the reconciliation costs an hour and protects everybody.

3 The technology is tested end to end before the day

On somebody else's device, by somebody who did not build it. Every scanning point has a printed paper fallback.

4 The carpark is zoned before anybody arrives

And a marshal stands there directing. A zoning plan with nobody enforcing it lasts about four cars.

5 The deadlines that belong to other people are set first

Council lead times, printing lead times, insurance certificates, the kitchen order cut-off. You cannot compress any of them.

6 Somebody owns pack down before the day starts

It is the hour people remember, and it is the one that always gets left to whoever is still standing.