Modeled on IAVM venue performance reporting frameworks and standard concert settlement practice. No published standard chart of accounts exists for promoters, verified across AICPA, ESTA, IAVM and the Broadway League.

Download the event promoter chart

Pick a format. The file downloads immediately.

What is different

Settlement is the report, and most charts cannot produce it

A promoter’s real P&L is per event, not per month. The month is just a bag of events that happened to fall inside it, and a great festival can carry three bad club shows without anyone noticing which was which.

This chart exists to produce a settlement. Artist Guarantees & Fees, Event Venue Rental, Show Marketing and Ticketing Platform Fees are all cost of sales, coded to the event. The month still adds up, but now it is the sum of things you can each defend.

The chart

The full Event promoter chart of accounts

All 57 accounts, with the note that tells you what belongs in each one. This is the same file the download gives you, rendered here so you can read it without opening a spreadsheet.

Code	Account	Type	What belongs here
4000	Revenue	Income	Beverage-led revenue centres, following the USAR Sales (4000) series reordered so beverage leads.
4010	Ticket Sales	Income	Face value of tickets sold for your own events.
4020	VIP & Table Sales	Income	VIP packages, booths and table minimums.
4030	Sponsorships	Income	Cash and contra revenue from event or brand sponsors.
4040	Bar & Concessions	Income	Drink and snack sales at concession stands and satellite bars.
4050	Merchandise Sales	Income	Branded apparel, glassware and retail packaged goods.
4060	Vendor & Booth Fees	Income	Fees charged to vendors for a booth, stall or pitch.
4070	Streaming & Media Rights	Income	Fees for streaming, broadcast and media rights.
5000	Cost of Sales	Cost of goods sold	Beverage cost split to the level pour cost is actually managed at.
5010	Artist & Talent Fees	Cost of goods sold	Fees paid to performers and talent.
5020	Venue Rental	Cost of goods sold	Flat rent, house nut, early load-in fees and rent billed by phase for load-in, rehearsal, show day and load-out.
5030	Staging & Rigging Rental	Cost of goods sold	Staging, decking and rigging hired for an event.
5040	Sound & Lighting Rental	Cost of goods sold	Audio and lighting equipment rented for a show.
5050	LED Wall & Video	Cost of goods sold	LED panels, processing and video equipment for a show.
5060	Production Crew Labor	Cost of goods sold	Crew wages for the hours worked on a production.
5070	Security & Crowd Control	Cost of goods sold	Security and crowd management supplied for an event.
5080	Event Staffing	Cost of goods sold	Staffing supplied for an event, whether payroll or agency.
5090	Event Permits	Cost of goods sold	Permits required to run a specific event.
5100	Bar & Beverage Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Stock bought for the bar, including spirits, beer, wine and mixers.
5110	Catering & Hospitality	Cost of goods sold	Food and drink laid on for crew, artists and guests at an event.
5120	Ticketing Platform Fees	Cost of goods sold	Fees retained by the ticketing platform on tickets sold.
5130	Event Marketing	Cost of goods sold	Advertising spend attributable to a specific show, settled as a show cost.
5140	Artist Travel & Lodging	Cost of goods sold	Flights, ground transport and hotels for booked artists.
5150	Trucking & Freight	Cost of goods sold	Freight and trucking of equipment to and from a job.
5160	Event Insurance	Cost of goods sold	Event liability cover and cancellation or non-appearance insurance.
5170	Decor & Scenic	Cost of goods sold	Decor, drapes and scenic elements for an event.
5180	Merchandise Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Branded goods bought for resale.
5190	Site Services	Cost of goods sold	Fencing, toilets, waste and site infrastructure for an event.
5200	Sponsor Fulfillment & Signage	Cost of goods sold	Cost of delivering what you promised a sponsor, including signage.
6000	Operating Expenses	Expense	USAR Operating Expenses (7000), adapted for a beverage-led operation.
6010	Management & Office Salaries	Expense	Salaries for management and administration.
6020	Payroll Taxes & Benefits	Expense	Employer payroll taxes and the cost of employee benefits.
6030	Rent & Occupancy	Expense	Rent plus the occupancy costs that come with the building.
6040	Utilities	Expense	Electricity, gas, water and waste for the premises.
6050	Repairs & Maintenance	Expense	Repairs and upkeep of the building, plant and fixtures.
6060	Software & Subscriptions	Expense	Recurring software licences and subscriptions.
6070	Advertising & Marketing	Expense	Advertising spend and marketing programmes not tied to one event.
6080	Professional Fees	Expense	Accounting, legal and consulting fees.
6090	Business Insurance	Expense	General liability, property and business insurance.
6100	Card Processing Fees	Expense	Merchant fees on card payments taken from customers.
6110	Office & Supplies	Expense	Office consumables and general supplies.
6120	Telephone & Internet	Expense	Phone lines, mobile plans and internet connectivity.
6130	Travel	Expense	Agency travel not recharged to a client.
6140	Meals & Entertainment	Expense	Business meals and entertaining. Partially deductible, so keep it separate.
6150	Licenses & Permits	Expense	Operating licences and permits to trade.
6160	Dues & Memberships	Expense	Trade body memberships and professional dues.
6170	Training & Education	Expense	Staff training, certification and continuing education.
6180	Bank Fees	Expense	Account, wire and other charges levied by the bank.
6210	Warehouse & Storage	Expense	Warehouse, storage and yard costs for gear and stock.
8000	Other Income	Other income	Income outside representation activity.
8010	Interest Income	Other income	Interest earned on operating and reserve balances.
8020	Grants & Incentives	Other income	Grant funding and government or utility incentives received.
8030	Vendor Rebates & Commissions	Other income	Rebates and commissions paid back to you by suppliers.
9000	Other Expenses	Other expense	Below the line costs that are not part of operations.
9010	Depreciation & Amortization	Other expense	Write-down of tangible assets and amortisation of intangibles.
9020	Interest Expense	Other expense	Interest on notes payable and long-term debt.
9030	Penalties & Late Fees	Other expense	Fines, penalties and late payment charges.

Questions

Event promoter chart of accounts questions

What should a promoter chart of accounts make possible?

Settling a single show. Every direct cost of an event, guarantee, venue, production, marketing and ticketing fees, needs to sit in cost of sales and be codeable to that event. If those costs are spread across operating expenses, per-show profit is a guess.

How do I handle ticketing platform fees?

As cost of sales, against the event. The fee scales with tickets sold, so it belongs with the revenue it came from. Recording gross ticket revenue and the platform fee separately also keeps your true gross visible, which matters when you renegotiate.

Should sponsorship be revenue or an offset against costs?

Revenue, with the cost of delivering it recorded separately. Netting a sponsor's contribution against event costs hides both the size of your sponsorship business and what fulfilment actually costs you. This chart carries Sponsorships and Sponsor Fulfillment & Signage separately.

How do I account for a co-promote?

Record your gross share of revenue and the partner's share as a cost line, rather than booking only the net. Netting makes two very different deal structures look identical on the P&L and destroys year-on-year comparability.

See your own invoices coded to this chart

Send us a week of real vendor invoices. We will run them through Cleo, code each one to the right account, and show you the result posted in QuickBooks.

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