What a Settlement Statement Should Actually Contain
Promoter deals end with a settlement. A clean statement closes the night. A sloppy one becomes a dispute. Here are the eleven line items every promoter expects to see.
Settlement is the moment the night gets judged. Did the venue and the promoter agree on the numbers, or did the night end with an email chain?
A clean settlement statement is the difference between a promoter booking again next month and never coming back. It is also the primary document if a financial dispute ever goes anywhere formal.
The eleven things every settlement statement needs
1. Event details
- Venue name and address
- Event name
- Date and door times
- Promoter name and billing address
Basic metadata. Gets missed when people rush.
2. Deal structure
- Door split (e.g. 80/20 to promoter after costs)
- Any guarantee
- Guarantee against door or versus door
- Definition of "net" if a net split applies (what is deducted before the split)
The most common dispute is about what "after costs" means. Write it explicitly, every time.
3. Ticket sales - pre-sale
- Number of tickets sold through each platform
- Gross revenue per platform
- Booking fees (typically absorbed by buyer, but specify)
- Venue's take from pre-sales
If you use Skiddle, FIXR, Fatsoma, Dice, and direct, list all five. Reconcile totals to what actually hit the bank.
4. Ticket sales - on the door
- Door price tiers (before X pm, after X pm, last entry)
- Number sold at each tier
- Total door revenue
- Cash versus card split (if relevant)
5. Gross attendance
- Total paid attendance (pre-sale plus door)
- Guest list (free tickets used, with a cap documented)
- Comps and staff (listed separately)
Guest list is where disputes hide. A deal that says "20 guest list included" needs to reconcile against a list of 20 names, not 48.
6. Agreed deductions
Common deductions to list line by line:
- Support act fees (if promoter's responsibility)
- Sound engineer fee
- Marketing spend (receipted)
- Print costs
- PRS/PPL fees (if charged separately)
- Any specific pre-agreed buy-outs
If it is not on the pre-event deal sheet, it does not appear here.
7. Venue fees and rider
- Hire fee or minimum spend
- Rider cost (with receipts or agreed estimate)
- Security cost (if billed back)
- Door team cost (if split)
8. Net revenue calculation
Gross (minus) agreed deductions (minus) venue fees equals net revenue for splitting.
Show the arithmetic. Never just write "net: £4,200". Write "Gross £6,800 - Support £400 - Engineer £250 - Hire fee £1,500 - Rider £450 = Net £4,200".
9. Split calculation
- Net revenue
- Split percentage
- Promoter gross
- Any deductions from promoter gross (loan against guarantee, etc.)
- Promoter net
10. Payment terms
- Method (BACS, cheque, cash)
- Date payment is due (typically 7 days after event)
- Bank details for transfer
- Reference to use
11. Signatures
Both parties sign. Date. Any outstanding items noted in a "Queries" field.
If the promoter disputes a number, write the dispute under Queries. Do not just rewrite the statement. The document with the dispute noted is what survives.
The template mistake
Most venues build a settlement template in a spreadsheet. Good start. The mistake is running every event through the same template without checking that the deal structure matches.
A 60/40 door split needs a different template to a minimum guarantee versus door deal. An 80/20 net split needs explicit deduction lines. A flat-fee hire needs no split at all.
One template, five variants, each with a deal-type name. Pick the variant at the event creation, not at settlement.
Reconciling the numbers
A settlement statement should tie to:
- Ticketing reports (from each platform you used)
- POS data (if you bill the promoter for bar sales overage)
- Door float report (cash taken on the door)
- Bank deposits (what actually cleared)
Any of those four being out of step with the statement is a conversation you want to have before you send the statement, not after.
Timing
Send the settlement statement within 48 hours of the event. Longer and two things happen: the promoter forgets the specifics of what was agreed, and your own memory of the night fades.
Payment in 7 days. Disputes noted in writing.
Why a digital settlement tool changes the conversation
A well-built settlement workflow auto-pulls ticket sales from your ticketing platforms, pulls door cash from the POS, applies the deal template, and produces a signed PDF on both sides.
The number is the number. The arithmetic is visible. The sources are linked. Disputes become specific (you queried this line item) rather than generic (the settlement is wrong).
Holocron's settlement engine pulls pre-sale data from Skiddle, Dice, Eventbrite, FIXR, and Ticket Tailor; reconciles against door entries; applies per-event deal templates; and produces signed statements both parties can agree on within 48 hours of the event.