Many event professionals use Curate to automate the time-consuming tasks involved in running their businesses. With tools to manage back-end processes, create proposals, track rentals, and oversee multiple locations, it’s easy to see why Curate is often a popular choice.
But with so many other event management systems available, like Perfect Venue, is Curate right for your business?
In this Curate review, we help you decide whether it’s the best event software to meet your individual needs. Find out what Curate has to offer, including who it’s best suited to, its features, integrations, and pricing.
Curate Review For Event Professionals
What is Curate Software?
Curate is a platform for event professionals. The software is packed with tools to help you automate, organize, plan, and streamline event venue management tasks. A central dashboard houses helpful features such as attractive proposals and rentals tracking, alongside tools for controlling back-of-house processes at multiple locations.
If catering management software interests you, Curate allows you to automate wholesale orders and prepare precise menus for events. With better food inventory management, you can increase the profitability of each occasion.
Other great features for event professionals include the interactive proposals feature. This links to Pinterest so your clients can envision their event more clearly.
Besides that, there are many of the standard functions you’d expect, for example, BEO software, task management, and e-signature capability.
On the downside, the software doesn’t come cheap (it starts at $125 per month). This can mean that you pay for more functionality than you actually need.
Who Uses Curate?
Curate’s primary customers are florists, event professionals, venue managers, and caterers. Within that scope, businesses of all sizes can use Curate, although the price tag can be off-putting if you’re just getting started.
Top Features Explained
Interactive Proposals
With Curate, you can access various customizable templates to create professional client forms and proposals. Any information customers enter into your inquiry forms will automatically populate into proposal templates. This way, you can build accurate, neat-looking documents faster.
Curate takes proposals a step further by making them interactive. We mentioned the Pinterest vision board display above. But besides that, the interactive function lets your clients view, sign, and pay proposals online on a single screen.
Rental Tracking and Management
Event venues often have an inventory of equipment that clients can rent as part of the venue hire package. But, tracking this equipment manually using spreadsheets can take time and effort. It can lead to questions such as:
- At which location can certain items be found?
- How many of an item are available for hire at any given time?
- Are there prior breakages that need to be accounted for?
Using Curate’s rental software module, you can manage and track all rentals, so you know the answers to these questions in real time. You can also pull up a detailed rental history to determine your busiest season and plan ahead.
Multiple Location Management
It’s not always simple keeping up with the happenings at your event venues if you manage several. There’s also room for inconsistent document branding or client messaging going out, especially if different people are in charge.
Curate’s multi-location management software can help track the goings-on at your venues. For example, reporting features allow you to monitor the performance of each location. View metrics such as sales revenue and vendor performance to better understand individual and overall expenses, profits, and margins.
You can also produce a more consistent brand experience through templated documents and standard event pricing. Your team can access built-in document templates to create recognizable proposals and contracts with uniform pricing.
Event Management
It’s all in the details - events teams must stay on top of event requirements in real time. Curate can help you manage this through features such as:
- Internal notes: keep your staff up-to-date with internal notes and documentation.
- Automated lists: automatically create packing and shopping lists from your proposals and BEOs.
- Pricing and profits: accurately price items based on recipe costs. Receive a detailed report to ensure the event is profitable for your venue.
Client Communication
With Curate, you can email clients directly from the platform and send automatic payment reminders for scheduled events. The software also comes with a basic CRM to monitor customer interactions and pick up conversations with people at the right moment using the right messaging.
Available Integrations
Curate offers integration support for various third-party apps, including:
- Square
- Google Calendar
- Microsoft Outlook
- Nowsta
- Mayesh
- Floral Supply Syndicate
- iBuyFlowers
- Stripe
- Quickbooks
- Xero
Curate Pricing
With pricing starting at $125 per month (paid annually), Curate isn’t the most affordable event management software.
Let’s consider what each annual pricing plan has to offer:
- Startup from $125 per month: Create up to 100 proposals per year, process payments, electronic signatures, easy recipe creation, and live in-app chat support.
- Established from $208 per month: Everything in the Startup option, create up to 300 proposals per year, integrations, automated workflows, business, and financial reports.
- Premium from $333 per month: Everything in Startup and Established options, advanced reporting, unlimited proposals, quarterly strategy meetings with the Curate team.
- Enterprise - request a quote: Everything in Startup, Established, and Premium, unlimited user licenses, advanced custom reporting, enhanced SLA, superior support.
Curate offers various add-ons to their main plans. For example, you can get advanced rentals management at an extra $50 per month. This feature gives you access to overbooking notifications and inventory history.
Furthermore, if you require additional users for the platform, you can expect to pay another $30 per month per person.
Curate offers a 14-day free trial to test it out. Otherwise, schedule a demo with the team to get a feel for what the software can do.
Pros
- Create professional proposals
- Automated emails for follow-ups and reminders
- Advanced reporting
- Multiple venue management
- Electronic signatures
- Integrations
Cons
- On the pricier side
- No native mobile app
- Can have a learning curve
- Features focus somewhat on florists and wedding venues
Conclusion
Curate offers a solid product that helps you streamline your event management processes. Advanced reporting features and multiple venue management keep your team on the same page and working toward a common goal.
Suppose you’re looking for a powerful event venue management platform that’s more affordable. In that case, we suggest you try out Perfect Venue for free. With easy set-up and features and functions to manage unique event venues, making the switch will save you time and increase your sales.
