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.