APPENDIX G
The Settlement & Money Worksheet
The door, guarantee, percentage, and merch math — with a settle sheet both sides can sign.
Chapter Twenty-Seven covered getting paid and the settle. This appendix turns that into a worksheet: a clean, step-by-step way to do the night’s math together and end with a signed settle sheet both sides keep. Work through only the parts your deal calls for — a flat guarantee skips most of the door math; a straight door deal skips the guarantee comparison. A fillable companion accompanies this appendix.
💬 SETTLE CLEAN, SETTLE TONIGHT Do the math together, in the open, the same night. Both sides looking at the same numbers — the count, the split, the merch, the deductions — is how a settle stays clean and a relationship survives the money. Lay it all out, agree on the total, pay it (or get paid), and both keep a signed copy. The room that settles straight and the act that counts honestly build the kind of trust that books the next ten shows. See Chapter Twenty-Seven. |
Part One — The Deal
Deal Type: { Guarantee · door split · greater of guarantee-or-percentage · guarantee plus percentage over a threshold }
Guarantee ($): { The flat fee, if any }
Artist Percentage (%): { The artist’s share of the split }
Split Calculated On: { Gross door, or door after agreed expenses — state which }
Deposit / Advance Already Paid ($): { What was paid up front, to subtract at the end }
Part Two — The Door
Admissions: { Count times price — e.g., 180 x $15 }
Gross Door ($): { Total admission income for the night }
Agreed Expenses Off the Top ($): { Only if the deal splits after expenses — itemize (sound, production) }
Split Base ($): { Gross door minus agreed expenses }
Artist’s Door Share ($): { Artist percentage times the split base }
Part Three — The Comparison
Guarantee ($): { From Part One }
Artist’s Door Share ($): { From Part Two }
Performance Pay ($): { For a “greater of” deal, the larger of the two — or guarantee plus the overage, per the deal }
Part Four — Merch
Gross Merch Sales ($): { Everything sold tonight }
Sales Tax ($): { Set aside or remitted per Chapter Twenty-Nine — know who remits it }
Net Merch Sales ($): { Gross minus sales tax }
Venue Merch Cut (% and $): { The house cut, if any }
Artist’s Net Merch ($): { What the artist keeps }
Part Five — The Settle
Performance Pay ($): { From Part Three }
Plus Artist’s Net Merch ($): { If the venue is paying it out tonight }
Less Deposit / Advance Already Paid ($): { From Part One }
Less Other Agreed Deductions ($): { Itemize anything else }
TOTAL DUE TO ARTIST ($): { The final number, after all of the above }
Paid By: { Cash · check · other }
The Sign-Off
Both parties sign, both keep a copy. A signed settle sheet ends the night with no daylight between what each side remembers.
Venue / Purchaser Signature: { sign and date }
Printed Name & Title: { sign and date }
Date: { sign and date }
Artist Signature: { sign and date }
Printed Name: { sign and date }
Date: { sign and date }
⚠️ A WORKSHEET, NOT TAX ADVICE This worksheet organizes the night’s math; it is not tax or accounting advice. Merch sales tax and income reporting are real obligations — the venue may issue a 1099, and the artist owes tax on this income (Chapters Twenty-Eight and Twenty-Nine). Keep your records, save your settle sheets, and let a CPA or tax professional handle the filings. This page helps you settle the night, not your taxes. |
Put this chapter to work
Continue the lesson with connected resources
The chapter explains the principle. These resources help you practice it, document it, calculate it or train it in the room.
Use the resource that matches the decision in front of you. A tool supports judgment; it does not replace current law, venue policy, qualified professional advice or the person responsible for the operation.