Line items bands miss

Guarantee vs. what actually paid: The contract guarantee is not always the check. Door deals, vs-door, and “guarantee plus a percentage” change the number. Enter the amount that landed, not the flyer. How a door deal differs from the guarantee.
Ticket / door splits and comps: Comps, promoter holds, and credit-card fees often sit under the door total. If the sheet shows a net door figure, that net is what belongs on the gig — not gross tickets.
Deductions that look like expenses: Sound, backline, hospitality overages, and “production” charges are frequently subtracted before you are paid. Those are gig expenses if the band ate them.
Deposit already paid: A deposit on the sheet is not extra income. It is money you already received. Recording it twice inflates the split.
Merch commission: Some rooms take a percentage of the merch table. That is not the same as the performance agent’s cut. Net merch after the venue’s take is what the band actually has to split.
The agent cut is usually off-sheet: Your booking agent’s commission rarely appears on the venue settlement. It still comes out of the band’s number before Equal Pay.

How those lines map into a BandTally gig

Guarantee / door deal / plus percentage → gig deal type, guarantee, and door %. Record the payment as income when it hits Zelle, Venmo, check, or cash.
Sound, van, hospitality overages → gig expenses tied to that night, not a leftover note in Messages.
Booking agent commission → agent on the gig; BandTally posts the cut from the agent’s rate.
Who is owed what → member deals or Equal Pay, then payouts against member balances. That is how bands split money.
Merch table → net cash can be estimated in the calculator; inventory and COGS live on Pro merch in the workspace.
Year-end → 1099 totals from the books. Not a substitute for a CPA.

Photograph or keep the settlement sheet.
Circle the net amount paid to the band — after venue deductions, before your agent.
Note deposits already received so they are not counted twice.
Write down merch: gross, venue percentage, cash in the lockbox.
List band expenses that were not on the sheet (fuel, lodging, extra player).
Run the gig settlement calculator so everyone sees the same split.
Save the gig in BandTally on the 30-day trial if you want the record to survive the van ride home.

This guide is educational. It is not tax, legal, or accounting advice, and it does not tell you how to file 1099s or treat deductions on a return.