How to Manage Cross-Functional Workflows: Airtable Dashboards for Project Management
- Katelyn LeBoeuf
- May 28, 2025
- 3 min read
A large-scale annual conference required coordination across hundreds of sponsors, committee members, vendor partners, and internal collaborators to deliver a dynamic five-day experience. As the event grew year over year, so did the complexity of managing tasks, deliverables, and communication. The organization sought to modernize how information was structured, accessed, and shared to stay ahead of operational demands.
From siloed spreadsheets to a fully centralized workflow— how I built a system that supported 200+ sponsors, 800 contacts, and 5 days of seamless conference execution.
Through hands-on discovery and system mapping, it became clear: the team didn’t just need a fix. The reliance on disjointed spreadsheets led to duplicated data, siloed communication, and operational blind spots. Sales lacked visibility into deliverables, while sponsors juggled multiple email threads without a clear view of their progress. They needed a foundation—a centralized system that could scale, reduce manual friction, and support real-time coordination across all stakeholders.
Strategic System Goals (That Didn’t Break the Budget)
To support internal alignment and elevate the sponsor experience, the solution focused on three core priorities:
Data Integrity & Visibility ➔ Eliminate redundancies, unify communication across departments, and ensure real-time access to task status and event logistics.
Sponsor Empowerment ➔ Create personalized dashboards where sponsors could view everything in one place—tasks, deadlines, payment status, and resources—without relying on email threads or external portals.
Improve Deliverable Management ➔ A structured system for deliverables, automated updates, and dynamic dashboards reduced the need for repeated outreach—keeping sponsors informed and on track.
The Solution: Airtable Dashboards for Project Management - No Add-Ons Required.
This solution was built with strategy and scale in mind—leveraging Airtable’s native capabilities to create a powerful, cost-efficient system for sponsor coordination. A system was designed to reduce friction, automate workflows, and create a more organized, responsive experience for both internal teams and sponsors.
Smarter Systems, Not Bigger Bills
Instead of relying on third-party portals or costly add-ons, we used Airtable Interfaces to create a fully custom system—delivering the same high-touch functionality as paid tools like Softr ($269/mo) or Airtable’s own Interface Designer add-on ($120/mo), but without the ongoing subscription cost. This approach not only saved thousands annually—it gave the team full control, flexibility, and ownership over their process.
Every feature was designed to support real-time coordination, reduce manual effort, and create a seamless experience for both sponsors and internal teams.
✓ In-Depth Task Tracking with Prefilled Forms
Sponsors completed deliverables via prefilled forms that auto-linked to their session and task records. This eliminated duplicate data entry, improved submission accuracy, and triggered instant status updates across the system.
✓ Live Automation + Real-Time Syncing
Once a form was submitted, automations updated dashboards immediately—so changes were reflected instantly for both the sponsor and internal team.
✓ QuickBooks Integration via Make
Sponsors could view current balances and payment statuses directly within their dashboard, updated through real-time syncing with financial records.
✓ Dynamic Event Sub-Pages
Sponsors could drill down into individual sessions or view a high-level recap of everything they were involved in, including live updates and key deadlines.
✓ Private Sponsor Dashboards
Each sponsor received a secure, personalized dashboard to track event participation, deliverables, and real-time status updates—no extra tools or logins required.
Strategic Outcomes That Speak for Themselves
The transformation wasn’t just technical—it was deeply felt by the team. What once required hours of back-and-forth became an intuitive, organized system that brought structure to every stage of sponsor engagement. With greater visibility, less friction, and tools that just made sense, the team gained back time, control, and confidence. The result? A sponsor experience that felt smoother, more professional, and more personal—driving stronger engagement and lasting internal relief.
Capacity Through Automation
With high-friction tasks offloaded and complex workflows automated, the team reclaimed time, reduced cognitive load, and redirected their focus toward strategic partnership development.
Operational Simplicity
The system consolidated fragmented tools into one streamlined workflow, removing bottlenecks across sponsorships, payments, and scheduling—built to handle 150+ automations without overwhelming the team.
Designed to Scale, Not Just Survive
From syncing 675+ unique sponsorship variants to managing growing inventory and order volume, the system was designed to evolve—supporting more partners, more events, and more complexity without adding complexity.
More Time for Strategy, Less Time Chasing Tasks
By reducing friction, internal teams gained the bandwidth to focus on growth, partnerships, & innovation.
A Smarter Foundation for Future Expansion
With systems built to flex and scale, the team is now equipped to take on bigger sponsors, larger events, and bolder ideas—with clarity and control.
Stronger Sponsor Relationships at Scale
Airtable dashboards for project management of sponsor deliverables, boosted engagement, trust, and transparency among top-tier partners.
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