Event Management, Google Business & Trello Automation

Google Workspace + Trello Business Systems, Automation & Management Dashboard
About Us
We are a small but growing entertainment/events business managing multiple events, tours, talent, venues, marketing campaigns and ongoing business operations.
We recently moved from Asana to Trello because we want task management to remain simple for our team. We also operate extensively through Google Workspace (Drive, Sheets, Docs, Forms and Calendar).
Over time, we have accumulated many spreadsheets, trackers, folders and processes. We are not looking to add another system on top of these.
We need someone to audit what we currently have, recommend a simpler architecture, then help us consolidate, integrate and automate it.
Our goal is broadly:
Trello = team task management
Operational Sheets = detailed specialist information where required
Google Workspace = files/docs/forms/calendars
Master Google Sheet = management hub/dashboard giving the business owner oversight of everything important
We are open to a better architecture if you recommend one.
1. Audit & System Design
Before making major changes, review our current:
- Trello board and automations
- Google Sheets/trackers
- Tour & Event Management system
- Venue Prospecting/Acquisition tracker
- Social Media/Marketing tracker
- Timesheet/Task-Time tracker
- Google Drive/Shared Drives
- Docs/templates
- Forms
- Calendars
- Existing integrations/processes
We have many spreadsheets, so initially this may appear like a lot.
We need you to identify what should be kept, consolidated, connected, automated, archived or retired, and where information is being duplicated.
Please present your recommended architecture before significantly changing/deleting existing systems.
2. Trello
Trello must remain very easy for staff.
Currently staff have individual lists, with tasks duplicated into a central To Do list, then moved through In Progress and Complete. We are happy to change this if there is a better structure.
We are considering:
One card = one task
List = Status
Member = Owner
Project = Project/Event
Due Date = Deadline
Priority = Importance
Potential workflow:
TO DO → IN PROGRESS → WAITING/BLOCKED → REVIEW/APPROVAL → COMPLETE
Staff should easily see their own tasks while management can see everything.
We do not want staff updating Trello AND manually updating the same task in Sheets.
3. Project/Event Templates
We run repeat events/projects and want reusable templates.
A major event may require:
Planning → Venue → Talent → Contracts → Ticketing → Creative → Marketing → Production → Logistics → Run Sheet → Guest Lists → Event Delivery → Invoicing → Post-Event
We may require templates for Major Events, Tours, Smaller Events, Marketing Campaigns and Internal Projects.
We need to be able to modify these templates ourselves.
4. Tour & Event Management
This is a major part of our business.
We currently have a substantial Tour/Event Management spreadsheet covering information such as:
- Events/tours/dates/locations
- Venues and contacts
- Talent and staffing
- Travel/accommodation
- Schedules/run sheets
- Production/technical requirements
- Marketing/ticketing
- Contracts/documentation
- Payments/invoicing
- Deadlines/actions/status
Please review this carefully.
It may remain a dedicated operational system if that is best, but key information should ideally feed the Master Dashboard.
For example:
Sydney Event | 85% Ready | 4 Outstanding | 1 Payment Outstanding | On Track
Actions arising here should ideally connect with Trello where appropriate rather than requiring duplicate entry.
5. Venue Prospecting & Acquisition
We have a spreadsheet used to find/contact potential venues.
We would like this reviewed as a possible pipeline:
IDENTIFIED → RESEARCHING → TO CONTACT → CONTACTED → FOLLOW-UP → NEGOTIATING → SECURED → NOT PROCEEDING
It may include venue/contact/location, communication history, owner, follow-up dates, status and notes.
Follow-up tasks should ideally connect to Trello.
Management should be able to see prospects, follow-ups due, negotiations and venues secured.
6. Social Media / Marketing
We have a detailed Social Media/Marketing tracker covering content across multiple events/projects.
This may include project, platform, content, owner, creative/copy status, due date, scheduled date and posting status.
We do not need every post on the executive dashboard, but want high-level project visibility, e.g.:
Event Marketing | 82% Complete | 14 Scheduled | 3 Outstanding | 1 Overdue
Please reduce duplicate entry between this system and Trello where practical.
7. Timesheets / Task-Time Tracking
Staff currently record what task they worked on and how long it took in a spreadsheet.
We would like to simplify this and potentially connect time entries to existing projects/Trello tasks.
Ideally:
Team Member → Project → Task/Activity → Date → Time
Reporting could include hours by staff member, project/event and activity, allowing us to better understand workload and the labour required to deliver events.
Existing payroll/timesheet requirements must be understood before changing this process.
8. Google Workspace
Please review and recommend improvements to:
Drive/Shared Drives: folder structure, project folders, permissions, business ownership, contractor access, naming conventions and archiving.
Docs: templates, SOPs and repeatable documents.
Forms: opportunities to improve repetitive data collection.
Calendar: shared calendars, events, tours, deadlines and milestones.
Ideally, project/event naming should be consistent across Trello, Drive and Sheets.
9. Master Google Sheet / Management Hub
We currently have many spreadsheets.
We do NOT simply want another spreadsheet added to the collection.
Some specialist Sheets may remain separate, but we want ONE MASTER MANAGEMENT HUB providing high-level oversight.
The dashboard should ideally show:
- Active projects/events
- Project health/progress
- Upcoming events/deadlines
- Open/In Progress/Completed tasks
- Overdue/Due Soon tasks
- Blocked work
- Items requiring management attention
- Team workload
- Recent achievements
- Tour/event readiness
- Venue pipeline
- Marketing progress
- High-level time/workload data
Project health could show:
ON TRACK | ATTENTION | AT RISK
We also want project-specific views showing progress, completed/outstanding work, owners, deadlines and blockers.
Completed work should remain available historically so we can see what the team has achieved.
10. Integration & Automation
Our key principle is:
Enter information once wherever reasonably possible.
For example:
Update Trello → Data feeds management system → Project reporting updates → Dashboard updates
We are open to Trello API/Butler, Google Apps Script, Make, Zapier or another appropriate solution.
We prefer the simplest reliable option with low ongoing costs.
Please disclose all subscriptions, automation limits and maintenance requirements.
11. New Projects & Self-Management
This is critical.
After the build, our team must be able to create and integrate new projects/events without rehiring the developer every time.
Please create a clear process such as:
Create Project → Select Template → Generate Tasks → Assign Team → Set Dates → Create Drive Structure → Create/Connect Required Sheets → Add Calendar/Milestones → Automatically Appear in Master Dashboard
We need clear instructions for:
- Creating new projects/events/tours
- Creating and assigning tasks
- Adding tasks to future templates
- Creating/connecting operational Sheets
- Adding/removing team members
- Creating project Drive structures
- Archiving completed projects
- Maintaining dashboards
- Managing/troubleshooting automations
- Connecting future trackers where practical
Routine additions should not require a developer.
12. Documentation, Training & Ownership
Please provide a simple Business Systems Operating Manual/SOP, written for normal business users.
It should explain how the complete system works and how we manage it ourselves.
All Sheets, scripts, Trello automations and integration accounts must ultimately be owned/controlled by our business, not the freelancer's personal accounts.
Automations should be documented:
Trigger → Action → Systems affected → Where configured → How to test → Troubleshooting
Please include a live handover/training session.
As a final test, we want to create a brand-new dummy project ourselves using your instructions and confirm that we can:
Create Project → Generate Tasks → Assign Team → Connect Workspace/Sheets → Appear in Dashboard → Manage → Complete/Archive
Successful completion of this test will form part of final project acceptance.
Critical Principles
1. Simple for staff
2. One source of truth wherever possible
3. Reduce spreadsheets, don't just create more
4. Preserve detailed operational systems where useful
5. One central management view
6. Automate where it genuinely saves work
7. Keep ongoing costs reasonable
8. Audit/design before changing
9. Build for independence
10. Easy for us to maintain and expand
Your Proposal
Please include:
1. How you would approach this project
2. Relevant Trello/Google Workspace/Sheets/automation experience
3. Examples of similar systems/dashboards
4. Your recommended architecture
5. How you would handle our existing spreadsheets
6. Your approach to Tour/Event Management, Venue Acquisition, Social Media and Timesheets
7. Recommended integration method and why
8. How you will ensure we can add new projects ourselves
9. Fixed-price quote
10. Delivery timeframe
11. Ongoing software costs
12. Documentation/training included
13. Post-delivery support included
Please do not simply respond saying you can do the job. Generic proposals will not be considered.
We are looking for someone who understands the business workflow and operational problem, not simply someone who can build a spreadsheet.
We are happy for you to recommend a different approach if you believe there is a simpler or better solution.