BOE 2027: what exhibitors and visitors should know about crew software
BOE International on 20 and 21 January 2027 in Dortmund is the last date in the decision window before the season. Which questions organisers and agencies should put to a staffing software, what applies to booth staff under German labour law, and how to meet EVENTRA at the fair.
En resumen
- BOE International takes place on 20 and 21 January 2027 at Messe Dortmund. For staffing it is the last date at which a tool for the 2027 season can be compared before the crew call goes out in February.
- Ten questions separate crew software from a presentation: import of the existing crew, rest-period and 70-day checks while planning, check-in without coverage, export for DATEV and StoTax, data held in the EU, a price per engagement instead of per seat, time to go-live.
- Booth staff at the fair are event staff: short-term employment with the 70-day count, the duty to record working time, and for trade-fair construction companies the Sofortmeldung before work starts.
- § 28a Abs. 4 SGB IV (Sofortmeldung, trade-fair construction)
- § 8 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 SGB IV (short-term employment)
- § 17 MiLoG (recording duty)
- § 5 ArbZG (rest period)
BOE International takes place on 20 and 21 January 2027 at Messe Dortmund. For organisers and staffing agencies it is the last date in the decision window: crew requirement, budget and tool for the season are set by January, the crew call goes out from February, and after that nobody switches systems. Whoever uses the fair to compare crew software should come with their own figures and a fixed list of questions, not with an hour for presentations.
Why BOE is the last date
Season planning for 2027 follows a fixed calendar: October to January decisions, February to April recruiting and the first shift plans, May to September the season. BOE sits in the last week of that window. Whoever picks a tool there still has about two weeks before the crew call for the import, the application link and the briefing. Whoever starts comparing after the fair decides during recruiting, when the first applications already sit in the old spreadsheet.
Ten questions for every vendor
The questions are phrased so the answer can be shown at the booth, not just confirmed:
| # | Question | How to recognise the answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | How does my existing crew get from the spreadsheet into the system? | An import with your file, not a form per person |
| 2 | Does each person enter their own master data and previous employment? | An application link with required fields, insurance number included |
| 3 | Does the shift plan check the 11-hour rest period when assigning? | A warning in the plan before the shift is confirmed |
| 4 | Does the system count the 70 working days per person across all events, with a forecast? | A number per person built from recorded hours and booked shifts |
| 5 | Does check-in work on site without coverage? | A scan in flight mode that syncs later |
| 6 | Which file does my payroll office receive? | Sample files for DATEV LODAS, DATEV Lohn und Gehalt or StoTax to take away |
| 7 | Where is the data held, and when is ID data deleted? | Hosting in the EU, a deletion period as a setting, not a promise |
| 8 | What does an event with 300 engagements cost, and what does the crew app cost? | A price per engagement, the crew app without a licence |
| 9 | How long until the first event? | A plan in days, not a project proposal |
| 10 | Can the ZVÜ list be collected per service provider and exported for the authority? | One form per person, one export per event |
Whoever lays five vendors with the same ten answers side by side after the fair has a decision. Whoever has seen five presentations has five impressions.
Excel and WhatsApp versus crew software
The alternative to software is not "no software" but the spreadsheet and the group chat. Both work up to a certain size, and the fair is where organisers find out whether they are above it:
| Task | Spreadsheet and group chat | Crew software |
|---|---|---|
| Master data | The organiser retypes what the person sends | The person enters it, required fields enforce completeness |
| Rest period and 70 days | Formulas someone maintains | Checked while planning, per person across all events |
| Time tracking | Paper list or a "here" message | QR-code check-in, matched to the shift |
| Payroll office | Retyping hours | Export with wage types and supplements |
| Who is where today | A call to the area lead | Live overview with missing check-ins |
The point at which the spreadsheet breaks is the same for most organisers: the person who works in three areas and for two companies, whose days nobody adds up.
What applies to booth staff
Exhibitors at BOE are themselves employers of event staff, often through an agency. Three rules apply to hosts, build crews and booth attendants as to any festival crew:
- Short-term employment: at most 70 working days or 3 months in the calendar year, counted across all employers. Two fair days in January are the first days of the 2027 count, and the person who works the festival in summer brings them along.
- Recording duty: start, end and duration of working time; for Minijobbers and short-term employees under § 17 MiLoG by the end of the seventh calendar day after the working day at the latest.
- Sofortmeldung: companies involved in the build and strike of trade fairs are listed in § 28a Abs. 4 SGB IV. Their employees must be registered before work starts, even for a single build day.
Whoever books booth staff through an agency should have it in the contract who keeps the records and who files the registrations. In an inspection at the booth it is not the agency that is asked, but the person.
Meeting EVENTRA at BOE
EVENTRA has no booth at BOE 2027. We are in Dortmund on 20 and 21 January as visitors and meet organisers and agencies by appointment, on the grounds or online in the week after. Book the meeting through the demo page and bring the 2026 figures: number of events, people per area, employment types, the payroll software your tax adviser uses. With those we plan one of your own 2027 events in 30 minutes, with rest periods, the 70-day count and the export for your payroll office. We answer the ten questions above in order, with the product, not with slides.