Home/How it works/Sample plans/Lantern Hall Venues
Sample plan · fictional company

Lantern Hall VenuesVenue operations platform: a sample sprint plan

An events group with three venues replaces spreadsheets and email threads with one place for bookings, contracts, deposits and event-day run sheets.

  • TypeEstablished business
  • IndustryEvent venues
  • Size3 venues, 22 staff, about 140 events a year
  • Plan6 monthly sprints, 37 cards

Lantern Hall Venues and everyone in this plan are made up. The format is real: it is how I plan and run every web app build, one board per month, reviewed with the client every Thursday.

The brief

The problem today

Each venue keeps its own booking spreadsheet, so a date can be held at one venue while a coordinator at another promises it to someone else. Contracts are Word files emailed back and forth, deposits are tracked by memory, and the event-day run sheet is rebuilt by hand from the email thread the night before. Last year two dates were double-booked and several final payments were collected late.

What the app has to do

One shared system for all three venues: every inquiry, hold, contract and payment in one place, automatic reminders so nothing is chased by memory, and a run sheet the floor team can open on a phone.

Who uses it

Owner
Dana Whitfield, owns the group

Bookings and revenue across all three venues at a glance, and approval of discounts.

Events manager
Marcus Bell, runs the coordinator team

Assign inquiries, check every venue's calendar, approve contracts before they go out.

Coordinator
Four coordinators, each looking after one venue

Turn inquiries into holds and contracts, track payments, build the run sheet with the client.

Floor lead
Shift leads working the event itself

The run sheet, vendor arrivals and the room layout on a phone, with nothing to edit by mistake.

Client
The couple or company booking the event

Sign the contract, pay deposits, and see the final details without a long email thread.

What gets built

Shared calendar Every venue's dates in one calendar, with holds, booked events and blackout dates color-coded. 2 screens
Calendar

Month and week views of all venues, filterable by venue and status.

  • Venue filter chips (The Foundry, Willow Barn, Harbor Room)
  • Status colors for inquiry hold, booked and blackout
  • Click a date to start a hold or open the event
  • Warning banner when two holds overlap at one venue
Venue settings

Rooms, capacities, setup and teardown buffers, and blackout dates per venue.

  • Room list with seated and standing capacity
  • Setup and teardown buffer in hours
  • Blackout dates with a reason
Inquiries and holds Website inquiries land in a pipeline; a coordinator turns the good ones into a hold that expires on its own. 2 screens
Inquiry pipeline

Board of inquiries by stage, New, Contacted, Tour booked, Hold, Contract sent, Booked, Lost.

  • Card per inquiry with name, date wanted, guest count, venue
  • Drag between stages
  • Assigned coordinator avatar
  • Lost reason picker when moved to Lost
Inquiry detail

Everything about one inquiry, with notes and the email history.

  • Date, guest count, event type, budget range
  • Availability check across the three venues for the wanted date
  • Place hold button with expiry date (default 7 days)
  • Notes and activity timeline
Contracts and payments Contracts built from templates, signed online, with a deposit and payment schedule that sends its own reminders. 3 screens
Contract builder

Pick a template, fill in the event, add packages and line items, send for signature.

  • Template picker (wedding, corporate, private party)
  • Line items with package, room fee, add-ons
  • Discount field that needs owner approval over a set percent
  • Preview and send
Payment schedule

Deposit and installments for one event, with status and reminders.

  • Deposit, second payment and final payment rows with due dates
  • Paid, due, overdue status
  • Send reminder now button
  • Record a check payment by hand
Client portal

The client's own view, sign the contract, pay, see what is due next.

  • Contract with typed signature and date
  • Pay now button for the next payment
  • Event summary and coordinator contact
Event day The run sheet, vendor list and floor plan for each event, built by the coordinator and read by the floor team. 2 screens
Run sheet editor

The timeline of the day, minute by minute, with who does what.

  • Timeline rows with time, item, owner and notes
  • Vendor arrivals and load-in times
  • Room layout image upload
  • Dietary and accessibility notes
Floor lead view

Read-only, phone-first view of today's events.

  • Today's events at this venue
  • Next item on the timeline highlighted
  • Tap to call a vendor
  • Mark an item done
Reports Bookings, revenue booked and payments outstanding, by venue and by month. 1 screen
Dashboard

The owner's one-screen view of the business.

  • Events booked this month and next, by venue
  • Revenue booked vs same month last year
  • Payments overdue list
  • Inquiry to booking conversion rate by coordinator

How the main jobs flow

Inquiry to booked event
  1. A visitor fills in the inquiry form on the Lantern Hall website.
  2. The inquiry appears in the pipeline as New and is assigned to that venue's coordinator.
  3. The coordinator checks the date across venues and places a 7-day hold.
  4. The coordinator builds the contract from a template and the events manager approves it.
  5. The client signs online and pays the deposit; the event moves to Booked and the hold becomes a booking.
Hold expiry
  1. A hold reaches 2 days before expiry and the coordinator gets a reminder.
  2. If nothing happens, the hold expires and the date opens on the calendar again.
  3. The inquiry moves back to Contacted with a note that the hold lapsed.
Event day
  1. Two weeks out, the coordinator finalizes the run sheet with the client.
  2. The day before, the floor lead gets the run sheet on their phone.
  3. On the day, the floor lead marks timeline items done as they happen.
  4. After the event, the coordinator logs any damage or extra charges for the final invoice.

How we will know it worked

  • Zero double-booked dates across the three venues.
  • Every deposit and installment reminder sent automatically, with overdue payments visible on one screen.
  • Coordinators build a run sheet in under 30 minutes instead of rebuilding it from email.
  • Inquiry to booking conversion tracked per coordinator for the first time.

Not in this build

  • Syncing with accounting software (a monthly payments export to the bookkeeper is included instead).
  • Catering menus and food ordering, which stay with the caterers.
  • Ticketed public events.
  • A native phone app; the floor lead view works in the phone's browser.
Build notes: integrations, data and sample records

Integrations

  • Stripe: Card and bank payments for deposits and installments, with receipts.
  • Resend: Inquiry confirmations, hold expiry reminders and payment reminders by email.
  • Website inquiry form: The form on the existing Lantern Hall website posts straight into the pipeline.
  • Calendar feed: A read-only feed so coordinators see booked events in Google or Outlook calendar.

Data

Venue

name, address, rooms, capacity seated, capacity standing, setup buffer hours, blackout dates

Inquiry

contact name, email, phone, event type, date wanted, guest count, venue wanted, stage, assigned coordinator, lost reason

Hold

inquiry, venue, room, date, start time, end time, expires on, status

Event

client, venue, room, date, guest count, contract, payment schedule, run sheet, status

Contract

template, line items, discount, approved by, sent on, signed on, signature name

Payment

event, type (deposit, second, final), amount, due date, paid on, method, status

Run sheet item

event, time, item, owner, vendor, notes, done

Vendor

name, type (caterer, DJ, florist, photographer), phone, email, preferred

Sample records for the prototype

  • Venues: The Foundry (restored warehouse, 250 seated), Willow Barn (barn and lawn, 180 seated), Harbor Room (rooftop, 90 seated).
  • Staff: Dana Whitfield (owner), Marcus Bell (events manager), coordinators Priya Shah (Foundry), Tom Alvarez (Willow Barn), Jess Monroe (Harbor Room), Kai Turner (floater); floor leads Rosa Ortiz and Ben Fuller.
  • Booked: Okafor and Lindqvist wedding, Willow Barn, a Saturday in June, 160 guests, deposit paid, second payment due in 3 weeks.
  • Booked: Brightline Credit Union holiday party, The Foundry, a Friday in December, 220 guests, final payment overdue by 4 days.
  • Hold: Harper 40th birthday, Harbor Room, expires in 2 days, contract not yet sent.
  • Inquiries: 14 open across the pipeline, including a nonprofit gala for 200 that fits only The Foundry.
  • Vendors: Copper Pot Catering (preferred), Northside Sound (DJ), Wildstem Florals, Lumen Photo Co.
  • Run sheet sample: 2:00 florist load-in, 4:30 ceremony, 5:15 cocktail hour, 6:30 dinner service, 8:00 first dance, 11:00 last call, 11:30 vendor load-out.

The plan, month by month

Each month has its own board. Cards are numbered in the order they are worked across the whole plan. Each card shows what I build and, where it applies, what I need from the client. If something from the client arrives late, the cards after it move back by the same amount.

AIwhirks' part Lantern Hall Venues's part

These are best-case sprints: they assume no delays, no changes to scope and no surprises. Progress is reviewed every Thursday. Months further out are less certain, so each one is planned in detail at the review that ends the month before.

Month 1

Foundation and the shared calendar

Foundation

We agree the plan, bring in every venue's bookings from the spreadsheets, set up sign-in for the team, and put all three venues on one calendar.

  • All existing bookings in one calendarEnd of week 3
  • Team signs in and checks their venueEnd of week 4

The calendar is the base everything else is built on, so getting the existing bookings in cleanly comes first.

Week 1 Thursday check-in
1 Foundation Week 1

Kickoff and the build plan

A working session to walk through how an inquiry becomes an event today, at each venue. From it we write the build plan, the checklist we build and test against.

AIwhirksRun the session, write the build plan, and send it for a read-through.
Lantern Hall Venues · End of week 1Two hours with Dana and Marcus for the session. Then: every venue's booking spreadsheet, your contract templates, and a list of staff with their role and venue.
2 Foundation Week 1

Accounts in Lantern Hall's name

The app runs in accounts that Lantern Hall owns and pays for, so the app and its data belong to you from day one.

AIwhirksSend step-by-step setup notes, then set everything up once you invite us. We never need your passwords.
Lantern Hall Venues · End of week 1Create the hosting, email and Stripe accounts in Lantern Hall's name and invite Travis to each.
Week 2 Thursday check-in
3 Foundation Weeks 1-2

Clickable prototype first

Before anything is coded, a clickable prototype of the main screens with sample events, so your team can try the calendar, pipeline and run sheet and tell us what is wrong while it is still cheap to change.

AIwhirksBuild the prototype from the build plan in card 1, walk your team through it, and fold the notes back into the plan.
Lantern Hall Venues · Middle of week 2A 45-minute walkthrough with Marcus and at least one coordinator, then one list of notes.
4 Foundation Week 2

Sign-in and roles

Everyone signs in with their own account. Owner, events manager, coordinator and floor lead each see only what their role needs.

AIwhirksBuild sign-in, the five roles and the staff list.
Lantern Hall VenuesUses the staff list from card 1, nothing new.
5 Foundation Week 2

Venues, rooms and buffers

Each venue's rooms, seated and standing capacity, and the setup and teardown time needed around an event, so the calendar knows when a room is really free.

AIwhirksBuild venue settings and load the three venues.
Lantern Hall Venues · Middle of week 2Confirm capacities and setup times for each room, and list any blackout dates for the next 12 months.
Week 3 Thursday check-in
6 Foundation Week 3

Bring in existing bookings

Every booked event and hold from the three spreadsheets, cleaned up and loaded. Anything that doesn't match, such as a date booked twice, goes on a list for you to decide.

AIwhirksClean and load the data, and send the list of conflicts we found.
Lantern Hall Venues · End of week 3Decide each conflict on the list. Usually 30 minutes with Marcus.
7 Bookings Weeks 3-4

The shared calendar

Month and week views of all three venues, color-coded by status, with a warning whenever two bookings overlap in one room.

AIwhirksBuild the calendar and show it to you midweek.
Week 4 Thursday: month review
8 Bookings Week 4

Team tries the calendar

Each coordinator signs in and checks their venue's next three months against what they know is booked.

AIwhirksFix what the team finds, the same week where we can.
Lantern Hall Venues · Middle of week 4Each coordinator spends 20 minutes checking their venue and sends notes.
9 Foundation Week 4

Month review and next plan

At the last check-in of the month, what got done, what moved, and the board for Month 2.

AIwhirksUpdate this plan and walk through it with you.
Month 2

Inquiries and holds

Bookings

Website inquiries flow straight into a pipeline, coordinators place holds that expire on their own, and the calendar checks every venue before a date is promised.

  • Website inquiries land in the pipelineEnd of week 1
  • Holds expire automaticallyEnd of week 3
Week 1 Thursday check-in
10 Bookings Week 1

Website inquiry form

The inquiry form on your website posts straight into the app. The visitor gets a confirmation email and the right coordinator gets a notice.

AIwhirksBuild the form connection and the confirmation email.
Lantern Hall Venues · Start of week 1Give us access to edit the inquiry form on your website, or send the details to whoever runs it.
Week 2 Thursday check-in
11 Bookings Weeks 2-3

Inquiry pipeline

A board of every inquiry by stage, from New to Booked or Lost, with the assigned coordinator on each card. A reason is required when an inquiry is marked Lost, so you can see why dates get away.

AIwhirksBuild the board, the inquiry detail screen and the lost reasons.
Lantern Hall Venues · Middle of week 2Agree the list of lost reasons, for example price, date taken, went with another venue, no reply.
12 Bookings Week 2

Availability check across venues

On any inquiry, one click shows whether the date is open at each venue that can fit the guest count, including setup and teardown time.

AIwhirksBuild the check using the calendar from card 7.
Week 3 Thursday check-in
13 Bookings Week 3

Holds that expire on their own

A hold blocks the date for a set number of days (7 unless you change it). The coordinator is reminded 2 days before it lapses, and if nothing happens the date opens again.

AIwhirksBuild holds, expiry and the reminder email.
Lantern Hall Venues · End of week 3Confirm the default hold length and who can extend a hold.
Week 4 Thursday: month review
14 Bookings Week 4

Run real inquiries through it

For one week, every new inquiry at Willow Barn goes through the app instead of the spreadsheet.

AIwhirksWatch it alongside Tom and fix what gets in the way.
Lantern Hall Venues · End of week 4Tom uses the app for every Willow Barn inquiry this week and sends notes on Friday.
15 Foundation Week 4

Month review and next plan

What got done, what moved, and the board for Month 3.

AIwhirksUpdate this plan and walk through it with you.
Month 3

Contracts and deposits

Contracts and payments

Contracts are built from your templates and signed online, and every event gets a payment schedule that sends its own reminders and takes card or bank payments.

  • First contract signed onlineEnd of week 2
  • First deposit paid through the appEnd of week 3

Stripe needs a few days to verify a new account, which is why it is set up in Month 1.

Week 1 Thursday check-in
16 Contracts and payments Weeks 1-2

Contract templates

Your wedding, corporate and private party contracts turned into templates. The event details, packages and line items fill in on their own.

AIwhirksBuild the templates from your current Word files and send each one to check.
Lantern Hall Venues · Middle of week 1Current version of each contract, your packages and add-ons list, and the discount level that needs Dana's approval.
Week 2 Thursday check-in
17 Contracts and payments Week 2

Approve, send and sign

Marcus approves a contract before it goes out, then the client signs online with a typed signature. Once signed, the hold becomes a booking.

AIwhirksBuild approval, sending, the client's signing page and the signed copy PDF.
18 Contracts and payments Weeks 2-3

The client's portal

The client's own page for their event, with the signed contract, what has been paid and what is due next.

AIwhirksBuild the portal and its sign-in link.
Week 3 Thursday check-in
19 Contracts and payments Week 3

Payment schedule and online payments

Every booked event gets a deposit, a second payment and a final payment with due dates. Clients pay by card or bank transfer from the portal. Coordinators can record a check by hand.

AIwhirksBuild the schedule, the payment page and Stripe receipts.
Lantern Hall Venues · Start of week 3Confirm your standard payment terms, for example 25% to book, 50% at 90 days out, the rest at 14 days out.
20 Contracts and payments Week 3

Payment reminders and overdue list

Reminders go out 7 days before and on the due date. Anything overdue shows on one list for Marcus.

AIwhirksBuild the reminders and the overdue list.
Week 4 Thursday: month review
21 Contracts and payments Week 4

First real contract and deposit

One real client signs and pays a deposit through the app, start to finish.

AIwhirksRun it with the coordinator and fix anything the client trips on.
Lantern Hall Venues · Start of week 4Pick one new booking and let the client know their contract will come from the new system.
22 Foundation Week 4

Month review and next plan

What got done, what moved, and the board for Month 4.

AIwhirksUpdate this plan and walk through it with you.
Month 4

Event day

Event day

Coordinators build the run sheet with the client inside the app, and the floor team opens it on their phones on the day.

  • First event run from the appEnd of week 4
Week 1 Thursday check-in
23 Event day Week 1

Vendor list

Your caterers, DJs, florists and photographers in one list, with preferred vendors marked, so a coordinator can add them to an event in two clicks.

AIwhirksBuild the vendor list and load your current vendors.
Lantern Hall Venues · Start of week 1Your vendor list with contacts, and which ones are preferred.
Week 2 Thursday check-in
24 Event day Weeks 2-3

Run sheet editor

The timeline of the day with time, item, owner and vendor, plus dietary notes, accessibility needs and a room layout image. Starts from a template for each event type.

AIwhirksBuild the editor and one template per event type.
Lantern Hall Venues · Middle of week 2Two or three real run sheets from past events, one of each type.
Week 3 Thursday check-in
25 Event day Week 3

Floor lead view on a phone

Today's events at your venue, with the next item highlighted, tap to call a vendor, and a button to mark items done. Nothing on it can be edited by mistake.

AIwhirksBuild the phone view and test it on the phones your floor leads use.
26 Event day Week 3

After-event notes and extra charges

After the event, the coordinator logs damage, overtime or extra bar charges. They go onto the final payment automatically.

AIwhirksBuild the close-out form and link it to the payment schedule from card 19.
Week 4 Thursday: month review
27 Event day Week 4

First event run from the app

One real event at Willow Barn runs from the app, run sheet to close-out.

AIwhirksBe on call during the event and fix what the floor lead finds.
Lantern Hall Venues · Start of week 4Pick the event, and have Rosa or Ben use the floor lead view on the day.
28 Foundation Week 4

Month review and next plan

What got done, what moved, and the board for Month 5.

AIwhirksUpdate this plan and walk through it with you.
Month 5

Reports and the full pilot

Launch

Dana gets the dashboard, Willow Barn runs entirely on the app for a month, and we fix everything the pilot turns up.

  • Willow Barn fully off the spreadsheetEnd of week 1
  • Owner dashboard liveEnd of week 2
Week 1 Thursday check-in
29 Launch Weeks 1-4

Willow Barn runs on the app

Every inquiry, contract, payment and run sheet at Willow Barn goes through the app. The spreadsheet is kept read-only as a backup.

AIwhirksCheck in with Tom twice a week and fix issues in order of importance.
Lantern Hall Venues · Start of week 1Tom stops using the Willow Barn spreadsheet and keeps one running list of notes.
Week 2 Thursday check-in
30 Launch Week 2

Owner dashboard

Events booked this month and next by venue, revenue booked against last year, overdue payments, and inquiry to booking rate by coordinator.

AIwhirksBuild the dashboard and walk Dana through it.
Lantern Hall Venues · Start of week 2Last year's monthly booked revenue by venue, so the comparison has something to compare against.
31 Launch Week 2

Monthly export for the bookkeeper

A monthly file of every payment received, in the layout your bookkeeper already uses.

AIwhirksBuild the export and send a sample to the bookkeeper.
Lantern Hall Venues · Middle of week 2Introduce us to your bookkeeper and send one month of what they get today.
Week 3 Thursday check-in
32 Launch Weeks 3-4

Fix what the pilot found

Everything on Tom's list, most important first, each one shown to Tom when it is done.

AIwhirksFix, re-test and show each fix.
Lantern Hall Venues · Start of week 3Mark each note "must fix before the other venues" or "can wait".
Week 4 Thursday: month review
33 Foundation Week 4

Month review and go-live plan

What got done, what moved, and the go-live plan for The Foundry and Harbor Room.

AIwhirksUpdate this plan and walk through it with you.
Month 6

All venues live and handover

Launch

The Foundry and Harbor Room move onto the app, the old spreadsheets are retired, and your team gets the training and documents to run it without us.

  • All three venues liveEnd of week 2
  • Handover completeEnd of week 4
Week 1 Thursday check-in
34 Launch Week 1

Training for every role

A short session for each role, owner, events manager, coordinators and floor leads, plus a one-page guide for each.

AIwhirksRun the sessions and write the guides.
Lantern Hall Venues · Middle of week 1One hour with each group, either in person at The Foundry or on a video call.
Week 2 Thursday check-in
35 Launch Week 2

The Foundry and Harbor Room go live

Priya and Jess move their venues onto the app. Any open bookings left in their spreadsheets are brought across first.

AIwhirksBring across the last data and stay close for the first week.
Lantern Hall Venues · Start of week 2Priya and Jess stop using their spreadsheets on the agreed day.
Week 3 Thursday check-in
36 Launch Weeks 3-4

Settle-in fixes

The small things two more venues find in their first two weeks.

AIwhirksFix and show each one.
Week 4 Thursday: month review
37 Launch Week 4

Handover and what comes next

The system documents, a backup check, and a list of ideas for later. Optional monthly support from here is your choice.

AIwhirksHand over the documents, run a restore test with you, and present the ideas list.
Lantern Hall Venues · End of week 4Decide whether you want monthly support after go-live.

Lantern Hall Venues · Venue operations platform · Best-case schedule: assumes no delays, changes or issues.

Questions about this plan

How long does it take to build a venue operations platform?

This sample plan takes 6 monthly sprints, from kickoff to handover. The big milestones are first deposit paid through the app (Month 3) and all three venues live (Month 6). A real build's length depends on its scope, and the plan is reviewed every Thursday.

What gets built first?

Month 1 covers foundation and the shared calendar. We agree the plan, bring in every venue's bookings from the spreadsheets, set up sign-in for the team, and put all three venues on one calendar.

What does Lantern Hall Venues need to provide?

23 of the 37 cards include something from Lantern Hall Venues, such as decisions, access or real data, each with a due point. If one arrives late, the cards after it move back by the same amount.

Who uses the venue operations platform?

Owner: bookings and revenue across all three venues at a glance, and approval of discounts. Events manager: assign inquiries, check every venue's calendar, approve contracts before they go out. Coordinator: turn inquiries into holds and contracts, track payments, build the run sheet with the client. Floor lead: the run sheet, vendor arrivals and the room layout on a phone, with nothing to edit by mistake. Client: sign the contract, pay deposits, and see the final details without a long email thread.

Is this a real company?

No. Lantern Hall Venues and everyone in this plan are made up. The format is real: it is how AIwhirks plans and runs every web app build.

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