DJ and sound for a company event in Paris

Three things that surprise organisers coming from abroad

The build slot comes first. French venues impose a load-in window, it is short, it is written into the contract, and it is shared with the caterer and often with a lighting or video supplier. A venue that opens its doors at seven does not let anyone in at two in the afternoon to set up quietly. The order of the trades is fixed on paper, weeks ahead, or everybody loses half the slot.

The sound limiter comes second, and it genuinely does not exist in most of the markets our clients come from. It is a box that measures the level at one point in the room and cuts the power to the stage above a threshold. It cannot be bypassed, and it cuts at the worst possible moment. It can be worked with: several small speakers close to the guests measure far lower than one large system at the back, for the same felt volume.

The curfew comes third. Music stop and venue handover are two different hours in a French rental contract, and they are rarely the same. Both are worth having in writing before signing, because the first decides your running order and the second decides what you pay if it slips.

What we cover, and why it is one supplier rather than three

Music, sound system, dance floor lighting, and the microphones for your speeches, awards or presentations. In France these are often quoted by separate companies, which means separate contracts, separate site visits, and a conversation on the night about whose responsibility something is.

We bring everything, including our own cabling and a backup mixer, and we set it up inside the venue's build slot. Nothing is hired locally, which matters when the event is in December and every rental company in Paris is out of stock.

The speeches are the part that decides how the evening is remembered internally. Microphones tested beforehand with the actual speakers, a spare at hand, the level set on their voice rather than on an average, and a clean transition from the background music. A chief executive nobody can hear at the back of the room is the only thing anyone discusses on Monday.

Working in English, and with your French suppliers in French

Everything on your side happens in English: the first call, the quote, the running order, and the announcements on the night if you want them in English. A mixed French and international audience is our normal case, and bilingual announcing is a matter of planning a little more time into the running order rather than of technique.

Everything on the venue's side happens in French, and we handle it. The venue manager, the technical régisseur, the caterer: most of them work in French only, and for an organiser based abroad that is usually the single largest source of friction. We would rather take that conversation than have it relayed twice.

The paperwork, which your finance team will ask about

A detailed quote line by line, accepted by signature or against a purchase order depending on your internal process, then an invoice after the event carrying your PO reference. The documents your procurement team needs for supplier onboarding are provided on request, in advance, rather than chased twice.

No VAT is charged. We operate under the French small-business exemption, article 293 B of the tax code, which means the figure quoted is the figure paid and there is nothing to reclaim. For a company comparing a French supplier with a UK or US one, that changes the comparison: a quote of 1,400 euros here sits against a VAT-inclusive quote elsewhere, not against a pre-tax one.

Payment is by bank transfer after the event, on the terms written into the quote. International transfers are routine for us.