How it works
How the countdown puts a date on each task
Every task hangs off one of five dates from your show. Change a date and the tasks that depend on it move with it.
Enter the show
The first and last show days, the move-in day, your booth size, what kind of booth you have and how the freight travels. Leave move-in blank and it is set to the day before opening.
The list is worked back from five anchor dates
Opening day, move-in, the last show day, the advance-price (discount) deadline and the last day the advance warehouse takes freight. Until you enter the last two from your exhibitor kit, the countdown uses typical values: the discount deadline four weeks before opening, and the warehouse cutoff ten days before move-in.
Weekends and holidays are skipped
A deadline that would land on a weekend or a major US holiday (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas) moves to the business day before. A follow-up task after the show moves to the business day after. Show days and dates you copy from the kit stay exactly as entered.
Your booth and freight change the list
A custom build adds the builder brief, design approval, labor and the contractor paperwork. A 20 x 20 or larger booth adds floor plan approval and a hanging sign. Shipping to the warehouse, shipping direct and carrying it in each have their own shipping tasks.
Edit, tick off, export
Change any task's date, wording or notes, delete what doesn't apply, add your own. Export the list as a CSV for a spreadsheet or an .ics file for Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar, print it, or copy a share link for a colleague.
The main timings
Typical lead times, in days before (or after) the date they hang off. Your show's kit wins over all of these.
| When | Task | Why then |
|---|---|---|
| Open −150 | Goals and budget; builder brief for a custom booth | Custom booths take months to design and build. |
| Open −120 | Get the exhibitor service kit | Kits usually come out a few months before the show and hold the real deadlines. |
| Open −90 | Floor plan approval (400 sq ft and up) | Shows review large booth plans well before move-in. |
| Open −60 | Booth staff, hotel block | Room blocks often close about a month out. |
| Open −56 | Graphic files to the printer, promo items ordered | Two to four weeks of production plus shipping, and they have to arrive before the freight leaves. |
| Open −45 | Badges, flights, insurance certificate | Badge pricing often goes up after a registration deadline. |
| Discount | Electrical, carpet and furniture, labor, lead scanner, payment | Orders after this date are billed at the higher standard rate. |
| Discount −10 | Internet | Hall internet and catering deadlines often come earlier. |
| Open −28 to −2 | Three pre-show emails, meetings, social posts | The invitation goes out about four weeks before; reminders in the last days. |
| Cutoff −14 to 0 | Book carrier, pack, ship, arrive | Freight that misses the warehouse cutoff pays a late charge. |
| Move-in −5 | Check every order confirmation | Mistakes are cheap to fix before move-in and hard to get credited after. |
| Close +2 | Follow up with hot leads | While they still remember you. |
| Close +7 to +45 | Debrief, invoices, results, rebooking | Next year's space often sells soon after the show. |
From published exhibitor service kits for 2026 and 2027 shows, show contractor guidance on advance warehouse receiving, and exhibitor planning guides. The full checklist, phase by phase
Where your list is kept
In your browser's own storage, on this device. Nothing you type is sent to us or anyone else; the page has no analytics and no tracking. Clearing your browser data clears the list, so export a CSV if it matters.
A share link holds the whole list inside the link itself, after the # sign, which browsers don't send to servers. Whoever opens it gets their own copy; changes don't sync back.
