For new artists preparing to go on the road, touring is one of the most exciting milestones in your career – but it also brings a range of financial, tax and admin considerations that are worth understanding early.
Good planning means fewer surprises, better cashflow, and a smoother touring experience for everyone involved.
We look at five of the key areas to think about when getting ready for your first tour.
How will you fund your tour?
Touring often means paying out costs before you receive any performance income. Consider:
• Asking your agent to secure deposits from promoters
• Whether your label can provide tour support based on an agreed budget
• Whether alternative funding is needed to bridge the gap between upfront costs and settlements
Good forecasting prevents you dipping into personal funds or using high‑cost borrowing.
Do you need insurance?
Touring carries risks, and you may be contractually required to hold certain policies. Key insurance types to consider include:
• Public liability insurance – often required by venues
• Non-appearance / cancellation insurance – covers cancellation due to illness or unforeseen events
• Equipment insurance – for both owned and hired instruments and tech
• Cyber insurance – relevant if you rely on digital systems or online sales
• Terrorism insurance – increasingly required by some international venues and festivals
We can help assess which combination is appropriate for your itinerary and risk exposure.
Payment cards for your touring party
Many artists now use e‑banking and fintech platforms to manage touring expenses more securely and efficiently. Instead of giving crew members access to your main business bank account, you can issue pre‑loaded debit or credit cards that are specifically set up for tour-related spending.
These platforms typically offer:
• Physical cards – useful for day‑to‑day purchases on the road such as fuel, accommodation deposits, venue float payments, tolls, and parking
• Virtual cards – these can be added to Apple Pay, Google Pay or Android Pay, making them ideal for quick payments, international travel, and situations where physical cards may be lost, damaged, or impractical.
Additional benefits:
• Spending caps and category limits for each card
• Freeze/unfreeze functionality for better control between tours
• Multi‑currency balances, helping reduce FX costs when touring internationally
• Real‑time transaction visibility, enabling your tour manager and accountant to track spending instantly
• Integration with accounting software, simplifying receipt capture and end‑of‑tour reconciliation
This approach supports better cashflow control, reduces the risk of overspend, and stops you from needing to reimburse large volumes of mislaid or undocumented receipts later.
Merchandise: are you planning to sell merchandise on tour?
Selling merchandise can be one of the most profitable elements of touring – but it brings its own accounting and tax considerations.
Key questions to ask:
Are you working with a merch company or handling it yourself?
• If you’re working with a merchandise company, they may handle production, distribution, reporting and sometimes even tax, but will charge commissions or take a revenue share
• If you’re handling it yourself, you keep more of the margin, but you are responsible for stock, reporting, tax compliance, and carrying more risk
Tour manager / tour accountant support and budgeting
If you’re working with a tour manager or tour accountant, clarify early whether they will be providing a tour budget. This budget should outline:
• Expected income (fees, guarantees, merchandise splits)
• Estimated costs (travel, accommodation, crew, hire costs, per diems)
• Projected profit or loss for each show or for the whole tour
A proper budget helps you see where financial risks may arise and ensures you know whether each show is sustainable before committing.
Alongside budgeting, it’s crucial to establish how expenses and tour floats will be recorded while on the road. Touring generates a large number of small transactions: fuel, per diems, backline hire, tolls, parking, consumables and more. Without proper record‑keeping, these can easily become disorganised and difficult to reconcile later, which can lead to:
• Missing deductible expenses
• Delays in settlements
• Disputes between artists, crew, and management
• Incomplete tour accounts at the end of the run
To avoid this, many touring parties now use digital accounting tools rather than relying on paper receipts stuffed into envelopes or backpacks. Cloud‑based software and mobile apps enable your tour manager or crew to:
• Photograph receipts the moment they are incurred
• Tag expenses to specific shows, legs, or budget categories
• Track daily tour floats and cash advances
• Sync spending automatically with your accountant
• Reduce the risk of lost paperwork and end‑of‑tour chaos
This gives you clearer visibility over your financial position while touring and makes your year‑end accounting significantly easier.
How BKL can help
Our team of music specialists support emerging and established artists with accounting, tax, VAT, international touring advice and overall tour financial planning. Whether you’re preparing for your first tour or scaling up to larger productions, we can guide you through the complexities and help you stay financially in control.
For a chat about how we can help you, get in with Danny Moss or send us an enquiry.
Look out for the second part of this article, which will explain the factors around performance royalties, withholding tax for international touring, and tax planning for growing tour operations.
