How to settle ticket revenue between co-promoters after a show

The show is over, the room was busy, and your co-promoter wants to know when they'll get paid. You open the ticket report. They open a list of expenses they covered. You both agreed to split the profit, but those two documents don't yet tell you what either business should receive.

Settle a co-promoted event by agreeing the event's income and costs first, calculating each partner's share of the result, then accounting for money each has already contributed, spent or received. Check that the proposed transfers leave enough cash for unpaid bills, refunds and unresolved items. Both businesses should approve the same statement before you release the money.

That order matters. Someone who paid the sound supplier personally can be owed a much larger transfer than their partner without earning a larger profit share. Equally, someone who received ticket income into their own account may need to send money back, even though the event made a profit.

We'll work through one fictional show in USD, including an initial payment, a reserve and a late invoice. The aim is a settlement both businesses can explain, check and finish, with a record you can still understand when you book the next date.

Start with the deal you actually agreed

Pull out the agreement before you calculate a split. Find the legal businesses involved, the event covered, the income included and the costs each business may charge. Then find the rules for returning funding, sharing profit, covering losses and paying any fixed fees. A message saying "sixty forty" leaves most of those questions unanswered.

For this guide, co-promoters are businesses sharing the commercial result of producing a show. A person receiving a fixed commission for each ticket they sell has a different arrangement. Our guide to paying promoters per ticket sold covers that sales relationship. Don't use a commission report to settle a joint production unless the joint-production agreement expressly uses that calculation.

Ask what the percentage applies to. A share of ticket receipts before costs gives a different result from a share of profit after costs. A minimum guaranteed payment creates another calculation. So does a fee paid to one partner for programming, production or marketing before the remaining profit is divided. Use the wording you agreed, and resolve ambiguity together rather than choosing whichever interpretation produces your preferred payment.

Also separate the commercial agreement from its legal and tax treatment. Australia's business.gov.au guidance describes partnership agreements as a way to document matters including contributions, responsibilities and profit or loss sharing. That is guidance about an Australian business structure, not a ruling that every event collaboration creates that structure. Ask a local adviser what your particular arrangement requires.

If the agreement is incomplete, prepare the undisputed figures and list the decisions still needed. You can agree a documented amendment or a specific treatment for this show. Don't quietly turn an uncertain term into a spreadsheet formula and present the answer as settled. The other business needs to see where the existing agreement ends and a new decision begins.

Build one account for the whole show

Use the financial records your platform already connects. In Loopyah's event financial view, ticket, door and sponsor sales, refunds, fees, promoter payments and AI Ads Manager spend feed into the event figures automatically. You add external costs, and cash is shown separately from profit. Start with that connected record rather than typing those transactions again. The additional work here is applying the co-promoter agreement, checking external contributions and approving what each business receives.

Appoint one person to prepare the settlement and another authorised person from the other business to review it. Both need access to the supporting records. Keep the approved budget, actual income, actual costs, partner balances and payment instructions together, while keeping bank details restricted to the people making the transfer.

The settlement should cover the whole show, even when the money passed through different accounts. If your partner collected door sales and you collected online sales, include both. If one business paid for production from its own bank, include the approved production cost and separately record who funded it. Starting with only the account you control can make a profitable event look unprofitable, or make a partner's money disappear from the calculation.

Set a clear reporting cut-off, with date, time and time zone. Use it for the ticket report, refunds, payment records and cost schedule. Later items can then be identified as later items. Otherwise you can spend an afternoon arguing about two accurate reports taken at different times, with one including the refunds processed that morning.

Check whether each report covers this event alone. A ticketing payout or a supplier invoice may combine several dates. Allocate the relevant amount using the underlying transaction detail and keep that allocation attached. If two shows used the same equipment hire, the total allocated across them should match the bill. Both co-promoters should understand the rule before you use it to reduce the result.

Give each version a date and a status. "Initial settlement, subject to the listed reserve" means something different from "final settlement, all listed items resolved". Keep earlier versions available for reference and show what changed. A reviewer should be able to follow a corrected supplier bill without guessing which attachment replaced the one they approved yesterday.

You don't need an elaborate system for one small show. You do need one shared account that connects the evidence to the proposed payments. If you're still deciding whether to produce together, use the co-host selection guide before the next agreement. Settlement is much easier when both businesses already understand who can spend and what they are sharing.

Reconcile ticket income before dividing it

Start with completed paid sales, then identify discounts, refunds, chargebacks and any other adjustments recorded for the event. Keep cancelled orders, failed payments and complimentary tickets out of paid revenue. They can matter operationally, but they don't create money to distribute. A full room and a large guest list won't repair a shortfall in the financial account.

Compare order counts, ticket quantities and money separately. One order can contain several tickets. A partial refund can reduce the value of an order without cancelling every ticket in it. A refunded customer may still appear in a historical sales total. Check the meaning of each report field before combining totals from different screens.

Then connect the sales activity to the payment records and bank receipts. Identify fees already deducted, refunds already taken from a payout, money still held and transfers that cover several events. Our guide to reconciling ticket payouts with bank receipts explains that matching process in more detail. Here, its output becomes the verified ticket-income figure and the cash-position evidence for your partner settlement.

For the fictional show, assume 1,000 paid tickets were originally sold for $30 each, producing $30,000 of ticket sales. Completed refunds total $1,500, leaving $28,500 after refunds. The combined ticketing and payment costs in this example are an invented $1,500, leaving $27,000 available from ticket trading before the other agreed show costs. These are teaching assumptions, not a platform price or an industry benchmark.

The example has no sponsorship, bar income, merchandise or other revenue. All relevant tax amounts have been assessed separately and excluded from these simplified settlement figures. That assumption keeps the arithmetic readable; it is not a claim that ticket sales are untaxed. We'll return to the tax questions you need to resolve for your own show.

Keep the sales record and the bank record distinct even when they reconcile. The first explains what buyers paid and what changed. The second explains what money you hold or expect to receive. Both are needed before you promise your co-promoter a payment date.

Decide which other income belongs to the deal

A ticket-only agreement may exclude a bar operated independently by the venue. Another agreement may include the organiser's bar commission, sponsorship and merchandise profit. Don't add every payment associated with the night just because it happened at the same venue. Identify who earned it, what the agreement includes and whether there are costs or obligations attached.

Suppose a sponsor paid one co-promoter directly. Confirm whether that sponsorship belongs to this show, a series or the co-promoter's wider business. If the event agreement includes it, record the event's entitlement and the fact that the partner already holds the money. You haven't created a second sponsorship receipt by entering it in the shared account. You've identified income collected outside the central account.

Treat in-kind support according to its actual terms. A supplier discount can reduce a cost. Free equipment may reduce the amount you need to hire. Neither automatically creates cash you can pay to a partner. If you assign a value to contributed services for calculating a deal, label that contractual valuation and keep it separate from the bank reconciliation.

Include confirmed amounts and flag estimates. A venue's provisional bar statement may still need checking against its agreed deductions. A sponsor's signed commitment may remain unpaid. Decide whether the settlement recognises the amount now and delays the related cash distribution, or waits for collection under the agreement. The accounting treatment and the payment decision may require different answers.

Keep disputes visible at their actual value. If only one sponsor deduction is questioned, identify that deduction and its evidence. Avoid describing the whole sponsorship balance as either certain or worthless. This lets both partners see how much of the result can be agreed and how much remains unresolved, without pretending the uncertainty has already disappeared.

Check costs once, including costs paid by a partner

Collect the approved supplier invoices, receipts, credit notes and evidence of payment. Compare them with the budget and recorded changes. Ask whether each cost belongs to this show, whether it was authorised, whether the work was delivered and whether the figure includes any recoverable tax. Those are different questions, and one tick beside an invoice doesn't answer them all.

The US Internal Revenue Service's guidance on supporting business records identifies records such as invoices, receipts and payment evidence that support income and expense entries. Its tax requirements apply in the US. The practical habit is useful anywhere: keep enough evidence for the other business to establish what the cost was and who paid it, then follow your local recordkeeping rules.

In our example, approved show costs total $21,000. The central event account paid $15,000 of those costs. Partner A paid the remaining $6,000 directly to suppliers from its own money. All $21,000 belongs in the show's cost calculation once. The $6,000 also creates a reimbursement owed to A. That reimbursement changes who receives cash, without creating another show expense.

Here's where a settlement can go wrong. You deduct all $21,000 to calculate the profit, then deduct A's $6,000 again because A wants it back. That understates the profit. Or you calculate the profit correctly but forget to reimburse A, leaving A to fund an agreed event cost permanently. Keep a cost total and a separate record of the business that paid each item.

If a deposit was credited against a final invoice, record the full cost and the payments that settled it. Don't add the deposit to an invoice that already includes it. The same check applies to supplier credits and refunds. Follow the actual bill and its payment history until you can explain the outstanding balance.

Resolve fees, overhead and disputed spending openly

Agree how to treat a partner's own labour before entering a charge. If your deal includes a fixed production fee, use the agreed fee. If it includes documented hours at a stated rate, check the hours and rate. If the agreement says each partner contributes its time in exchange for a profit share, adding a new management fee after the show changes the deal.

The same applies to office rent, software subscriptions, travel and general company overhead. Some arrangements allow a defined allocation. Others allow only direct event costs. A cost can be a real expense of one business without being an agreed deduction from this event's shared result. Explain the proposed treatment rather than assuming your normal accounts settle the question.

Disclose related suppliers. If Partner B owns the lighting company, the lighting charge needs the approval and evidence required by the agreement. Record any agreed margin or fixed charge transparently. B's supplier payment and B's profit share are separate entitlements, and the other partner should understand both before signing off the account.

For a disputed cost, record the amount, the reason for disagreement, the supporting documents and the person who can decide it. Distinguish "we haven't received the invoice" from "we dispute the work" and "we never authorised this purchase". Each needs a different action. Don't use an unexplained deduction from a partner's payment as a substitute for resolving the underlying issue.

Continue agreeing the unaffected figures where possible. If both parties accept the ticket income and most costs, finish those checks while the disputed item is investigated. Whether you can release an undisputed payment depends on the agreement and remaining obligations. Put any interim arrangement in writing, including whether accepting that payment leaves the disputed item open.

Calculate the event result before the partner transfers

Now use the agreed income and cost figures to calculate the result that your contract says you share. In our example, $27,000 remains after ticket refunds and ticketing and payment costs. Deduct the $21,000 approved show costs. The event has a $6,000 profit for the commercial split used here.

Partner A receives 60% of that profit, or $3,600. Partner B receives 40%, or $2,400. The percentages are invented for the example. They aren't a recommendation about a fair split, and the fact that A paid more supplier bills doesn't automatically justify a different percentage. The agreement already sets the percentage; the settlement applies it.

Use the event profit and loss guide if you need help checking the full event result. Your statutory accounts may group or recognise some items differently. Keep the settlement's commercial calculation clearly labelled, and have the person responsible for the accounts reconcile it with the reporting your businesses must produce.

A useful check is that the partners' profit shares add back to the total profit. Here, $3,600 plus $2,400 equals $6,000. If the numbers don't match, check the calculation base, percentages and rounding. For more than two partners, use the same test across everyone rather than leaving a small unexplained balance for the person preparing the statement.

Don't divide the bank balance and call the answer profit. Our event account also contains money partners put in to fund the show, and some costs were paid outside that account. Those movements matter for cash settlement. They don't change the ticket income or make the partners' initial funding into revenue. The next step is to connect each partner's entitlement to those movements.

Return funding and reimburse expenses without changing the split

Before the show, Partner A transferred $4,000 into the central event account and Partner B transferred $2,000. The agreement treats these amounts as repayable funding, with no interest or extra fee, subject to the event's obligations and available funds. They aren't ticket revenue, and returning them isn't another operating expense. Your own deal may treat contributions differently, so establish that treatment before copying the calculation.

For A, start with the $4,000 funding return. Add the $6,000 reimbursement for approved supplier costs paid personally. Add the $3,600 profit share. A's total entitlement in this initial account is $13,600. For B, add its $2,000 funding return to its $2,400 profit share. B's total entitlement is $4,400.

Notice what those figures mean. A receives more money because A has more of its own money to recover. The profit split remains 60% and 40%. Comparing the size of the bank transfers without showing their components could make B think the agreed split has changed. Put funding, reimbursement and profit on separate lines so neither person has to infer the explanation.

An agreed priority repayment can matter when there isn't enough money to repay everything. If the contract puts certain funding ahead of profit, apply that order. If contributions are capital at risk rather than repayable advances, use that treatment. A surplus in our example allows the assumed repayments; it doesn't establish a general entitlement to recover every contribution before other obligations.

Also identify money a partner has already collected for the show. If a partner holds event revenue that belongs in the shared account, it must be brought into the cash calculation. Depending on the agreement, that can reduce the transfer they receive or require a transfer from them. Don't treat the same receipt as both money already held and a new payment still to be made.

Subtract advances and prove the cash is there

Our partners have already received provisional profit payments: $1,000 to A and $500 to B. These payments reduce what remains payable. They don't reduce the event's $6,000 profit, because distributing profit isn't a cost of producing the show. Record the date, amount and purpose of every advance so it doesn't become an unexplained withdrawal.

A's initial $13,600 entitlement less its $1,000 advance leaves $12,600. B's $4,400 entitlement less its $500 advance leaves $3,900. Together, the remaining amounts total $16,500. Before transferring them, prove that figure against the actual central account and any commitments still outstanding.

The cash proof uses the same fictional facts. The account received $27,000 after the ticket refunds and ticketing and payment costs. It also received the partners' $6,000 funding. It paid $15,000 of show costs directly and $1,500 of advances. That leaves $16,500. A's separately paid $6,000 supplier cost has not already left this central account, which is why the account still needs to reimburse A.

Now compare the cash proof with the bank, explaining any timing difference. In this example every stated receipt has arrived and every stated payment has cleared. In your event, money awaiting payout, transfers in transit and unpaid bills may change what's available today. Keep those differences explicit. An expected receipt should have an expected date, not be presented as cash already available.

The fact that the arithmetic balances doesn't authorise an immediate distribution. You still need to check unresolved obligations and the reserve. It does establish that the proposed partner balances have a coherent explanation. If your payment totals exceed the money you can account for, stop and investigate the difference before either business sends a transfer.

Hold a reserve for specific unfinished items

A reserve is money you temporarily keep available for identified remaining obligations. Agree why it's needed, how much to hold, who controls it, when you'll review it and how you'll allocate any eventual cost. A vague instruction to "keep something back" leaves the same uncertainty that caused the settlement argument in the first place.

For our fictional show, the partners agree to retain $1,000 because a production supplier's final adjustment is still pending. They record that A's current payment is reduced by $600 and B's by $400, matching their agreed profit shares. A receives $12,000 now, and B receives $3,500. Together those transfers use $15,500 of the $16,500 available, leaving $1,000 in the central account.

The reserve doesn't create a $1,000 expense. At this point the commercial profit remains provisionally $6,000. The retained money delays part of each partner's distribution while the actual supplier adjustment is checked. If no further cost is accepted, the remaining $600 and $400 can be released under the agreed process.

Different obligations may need different treatment. An unpaid invoice already included in the $21,000 costs needs cash retained for payment, but doesn't need to be deducted again from profit. An estimated cost not yet included may require a provisional allowance and later adjustment. State which approach you've used so the reserve and cost schedule don't count the same uncertainty twice.

A reserve also needs a release condition. "Review when the supplier confirms its final invoice" is useful. "Wait until we're comfortable" isn't. Name the person who will obtain that confirmation and the date the partners will review progress if it hasn't arrived. If further money must remain held, explain the unresolved item and the next decision again.

Adjust the account when the late invoice arrives

The supplier confirms an additional $500 cost. Both partners check and approve it under the agreement. The central account pays it from the $1,000 reserve. Total approved show costs rise from $21,000 to $21,500, and the commercial profit falls from $6,000 to $5,500. The reserve now contains $500.

Apply the same split to the revised profit. A's final profit share is $3,300, which is $300 below the provisional share. B's is $2,200, which is $200 below its provisional share. The chart compares the two versions of each partner's profit share. These are alternative calculations for the same fictional event, not amounts to add together and not observed business results.

Recalculate each outstanding partner balance using the payments actually made. A's final total entitlement is $4,000 funding plus $6,000 reimbursement plus $3,300 profit, or $13,300. A has received its $1,000 advance and $12,000 initial settlement, leaving $300 due. B's final entitlement is $2,000 funding plus $2,200 profit, or $4,200. B has received $500 and $3,500, leaving $200 due.

Those final payments total the $500 left in the account. Over the full settlement, A receives $13,300 and B receives $4,200. Together they receive $17,500, consisting of $6,000 funding returned, $6,000 expense reimbursement and $5,500 profit. The different totals have a complete explanation, and the central event cash is fully accounted for under our simplified assumptions.

For another check, follow the central account across the complete example. Its receipts were $27,000 from ticket trading and $6,000 of partner funding, totalling $33,000. It paid $15,000 of initial show costs and the later $500 bill. Its payments to the partners totalled $17,500. Those uses add to $33,000. The partners' own supplier payment is explained by A's reimbursement, so no amount needs to be invented to make the account balance.

Keep the original statement and issue a revised version showing the added cost and changed balances. Don't overwrite the earlier numbers without a record. The reviewer should be able to connect the $500 supplier bill, the $300 and $200 reductions in profit, and the final transfers. If another item arrives later, use the same documented adjustment process.

Separate refunds, disputes and tax from a guess at the final balance

A completed refund reduces the sales income you retain, subject to how the reports present it. A chargeback is a payment disputed through the buyer's card provider. A pending dispute isn't the same as a completed refund or a final loss. Record its status, any amount already withheld, relevant fees and the action still required. Use your payment provider's actual records and terms to establish the treatment.

Avoid double counting a buyer's loss. If an adjustment has already reduced a payout, don't deduct it again from the available cash. If a refunded order later appears in another report, identify the transaction before treating it as another reduction in revenue. Keep a link between the original order and its adjustments so a reviewer can follow the history.

Agree who handles later refunds or disputes after the initial partner payment. Specify who receives notices, who supplies evidence, how approved costs are shared and how any overpayment is recovered. A reserve may cover some exposure, but it doesn't decide the partners' responsibilities. The agreement must do that, and your timetable should reflect the actual risks and obligations still open.

Tax needs its own review. Establish who sold the tickets, who must report the income, what taxes apply to admission and other supplies, and whether any inter-business fee or reimbursement needs particular documentation. Check whether a supplier amount includes tax that the relevant business can recover. Don't assume the account holder, event brand and taxable supplier are always the same entity.

For an ordinary UK business partnership, GOV.UK describes shared responsibility for business losses and bills, with partners paying tax on their shares of profit. Other structures and jurisdictions differ. Your commercial payment calculation doesn't establish a universal tax outcome, and a partner's final bank transfer is not automatically their taxable profit. Ask the accountant to connect the settlement with the reporting required for the actual entities involved.

If the show loses money, calculate the shortfall explicitly

A loss doesn't become simpler because nobody has profit to collect. You still need the agreed event income, full costs, partner funding and payment history. Calculate the negative result and then apply the actual loss-sharing rules. Don't assume a profit-sharing percentage also determines losses, funding priority or liability to suppliers.

As a separate fictional scenario, suppose available event trading income is $18,000 and agreed show costs are $21,000. The commercial loss is $3,000. If the agreement expressly assigns losses 60% to A and 40% to B, their allocated losses are $1,800 and $1,200. That calculation alone doesn't tell you the next bank transfer. You must also account for contributions, partner-paid costs, money already withdrawn and unpaid external obligations.

If A has already funded more than its final agreed burden, the settlement may show an amount due back to A. If B hasn't funded its agreed amount, B may need to contribute. Whether those amounts are recoverable, subordinated or limited depends on the arrangement and applicable law. Put the actual balances in front of the relevant advisers rather than promising that a formula guarantees collection.

Don't make a supplier wait while you debate the internal split without checking the supplier contract. Your agreement with a co-promoter doesn't automatically change what a supplier is entitled to collect or who it can pursue. Assign someone to communicate about the unpaid bill and agree a lawful response while the partners resolve their own allocation.

Don't hide a shortfall by postponing an agreed cost until the next event. That makes the next date appear less profitable and prevents the current partners from seeing what this show really cost. If you agree to carry a balance forward, record its origin, who owes it, the repayment terms and whether it can be deducted from future distributions. The new show's settlement should identify that earlier balance separately, so nobody mistakes it for a new production expense.

For the next event, test the loss scenario before signing. The important questions are how much each business can be required to contribute, when additional funding is due and who can stop new commitments. If one partner can't fund the agreed exposure, change the event or the deal before another deposit becomes payable.

Use a settlement statement the reviewer can follow

Keep the statement readable enough that the reviewer can explain the proposed payment without the preparer on a call. Start with the event identity, agreement reference, version, cut-off and status. Follow with income and costs, the calculated result, partner shares, partner funding and expenses, previous distributions, retained money and the payment now proposed.

You can copy the following structure into your shared working document. Add rows where your actual deal needs them, and identify each supporting report or invoice. A field left blank should mean "not completed", rather than quietly meaning zero.

• Event, date, legal businesses and agreement version.

• Statement version, reporting cut-off, currency and preparer.

• Included sales and other event income, with adjustments and source references.

• Agreed costs, paid or unpaid status, payer and evidence references.

• Commercial result, definition used and profit or loss allocation.

• Each partner's funding, approved personal payments and money already collected.

• Each partner's previous distributions and remaining entitlement.

• Reserve purpose, amount, allocation, controller and review condition.

• Proposed transfers, payment date and authorised approvals.

• Open items, named owners, next review date and later adjustment procedure.

For the worked example, attach the ticket-income reconciliation, the $21,000 cost schedule, A's $6,000 payment evidence, both funding transfers and both advance payments. The revised statement adds the $500 supplier adjustment and the evidence for the later transfers. The numbers in the summary should lead directly to those records.

Record disagreements beside the affected entry. "Production adjustment awaiting approval" is useful only if it identifies the supplier, amount and decision owner. Avoid a long comment thread that leaves the total unclear. A reviewer should see which figures are agreed, which remain provisional and what can be paid under the interim arrangement.

Give people the information their settlement job requires

Your co-promoter needs enough information to verify the account. That doesn't automatically require an unrestricted copy of every buyer's personal details. Start with financial reports, order references, aggregate counts and the evidence needed to investigate specific exceptions. Restrict sensitive documents and share personal information only where there is an appropriate purpose and lawful basis.

The UK Information Commissioner's Office explains data minimisation as keeping personal data adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the stated purpose. The ICO flags this guidance as under review following legislation changes. Apply the rules relevant to your event, and review any proposed attendee-data sharing separately from the agreement about money.

For day-to-day operations, Loopyah's event software gives team members their own accounts and roles, with different access for different event jobs. Choose roles based on what each person actually needs to do. That supports controlled access to the event's operations; you still need to prepare and approve the commercial settlement between the two businesses.

If you also use Loopyah's promoter tools, the live product supports individual sales links and fixed or percentage commission terms for promoters. Use the recorded sales and commission treatment for that sales arrangement. A co-producer's broader share after supplier costs, funding returns and reserves needs the separate agreement described here. Don't promise a custom joint-production split on the strength of a per-ticket commission feature.

Keep useful access until the account is checked, then remove permissions that are no longer needed. Preserve the records your businesses must retain, with an agreed contact for a later query. Closing access should finish an orderly handover rather than prevent the other partner from checking a payment you've asked them to approve.

Approve the account, verify the recipient and close the open items

Send the statement with the evidence available and ask each authorised reviewer to approve the figures, open items, reserve and specific transfer. An approval of the event result alone doesn't necessarily approve a change to the bank destination or a new disputed cost. Make the action being authorised clear enough that the person making the payment can follow it.

Verify bank details through a trusted route, especially if a message asks you to change them. The FBI's business email compromise guidance recommends verifying payment requests and changes to account numbers or procedures with the person making the request. Use a number you already trust or establish independently. A familiar email thread can still contain a fraudulent instruction.

Once paid, record the transfer reference and confirm receipt. Keep "approved", "sent" and "received" as distinct statuses. If a payment fails, investigate it before issuing another, so a delayed transfer doesn't become a duplicate. Reconcile the actual bank movement with the statement and leave the retained balance visible until its agreed release condition is met.

Schedule the next action for every unfinished item. In our example, the first settlement ended with a supplier adjustment still open and $1,000 held. The final statement closes that item, records the $500 bill, releases $300 to A and $200 to B, and shows no unexplained cash remaining. Your event may take longer, but each unresolved amount should still have an owner and a defined next step.

Before you book the next show together, compare the settlement problems with the original agreement. If you argued about staff charges, add a clear rule. If one partner repeatedly paid suppliers privately, decide whether to fund the central account earlier. If nobody could verify the door takings, change the collection and reporting process. Use what you learned while both businesses can still remember the decisions, then agree the next event's money before announcing its date.