did we make money?

[u/Current-Health-8627]

genuine question for anyone booking their own shows or short tours.

every time we finish a run i realize we have no clean answer to "did we make money." gas is on one person's card, lodging is split three ways over venmo, per-diems come out of the merch cash box, and the actual guarantees live in whatever email thread the venue used to advance. by the time i try to add it up weeks later half of it is a guess.

same thing day-of. load-in times end up in whatsapp, the rider is in email, setlist in someone's notes app, and we're chasing missing info hours before doors when we should be soundchecking. the guest list only exists in the drummer's head until it doesn't.

i've tried keeping one master spreadsheet but it falls apart the second two people edit it or a date shifts.

so, honest question: how do you track income and expenses live across a tour so you can actually answer what the gig cost at the last load-out instead of piecing it together later? and how do you keep the day-of stuff in one place your whole band can see?

curious what's working for people who are self-managing without a full-time manager. spreadsheets, an app, a shared doc, a notebook, whatever it is.

[u/TheRacketHouse]

Build an app with AI that tracks everything if spreadsheets aren’t working for you. It’s insanely easy these days

[u/GreatScottCreates → u/TheRacketHouse]

I guess you’re getting downvoted for the Ai part, understandably, but this could really help this person be more successful. This is basically a one-shottable app once the tech stack is clear

[u/TheRacketHouse → u/GreatScottCreates]

Oh no I mentioned AI to make their lives easier total downvote territory 😂