Tour Accounting

Whether it’s setting up touring companies, budgeting or managing cashflow and international payments, tour accounting involves a plethora of financial logistics, accounting and cross border tax issues, which we manage daily for our touring clients worldwide.

An integral part of global touring operations

With decades of experience supporting well-known artists, bands and their management teams with national and international music tours, we have a wealth of expertise and contacts for financial issues that are relevant to the live touring industry.

Our work is incredibly diverse, covering all aspects of tour accounting, from managing incoming and outgoing payments, to selecting the right business structures and pre-tour planning advice across different tax jurisdictions.

Wherever they are in the world, our clients know they can trust us implicitly. Alongside their managers and lawyers, we become integral to their global touring operations, working closely with their advisors and record labels to ensure all financial aspects have been carefully considered and managed, right down to the smallest detail.

  • £4bn

    Value of the UK music industry's exports in 2022

    This is Music 2023
  • 66.4%

    Year-on-year increase in performance income in 2022

    This is Music 2023
  • Farewell Yellow Brick Road

    Elton John’s farewell tour (2018-2023) has been ranked as the highest grossing international tour of all time

    Wikipedia, 2023

Areas we cover:

  • Dedicated accounting support for touring entities
  • Pre-tour advice and tax efficient set up of touring entities
  • Cross border tax issues for international tours
  • Budgeting, credit control and cash flow management
  • Global withholding tax mitigation and reclaims
  • VAT reclaims
  • Central Withholding Agreements (CWAs) for North America
  • US social security exemptions
  • Management of FEU clearances through HMRC’s Foreign Entertainers Unit
  • All-round financial advice and business management

End to end tour accounting management

Weighing up all international aspects

Whether it’s UK musicians headlining US tours, or overseas musicians touring in the UK, we have full expertise on UK cross border tax and VAT issues specific to different countries. This includes liaising with international revenue and customs agencies to manage withholding tax certificate applications and VAT reclaims, and negotiating with HMRC’s Foreign Entertainers’ unit to minimise clients’ overall tax exposure.

As part of their tour pre-planning, we guide clients and their management through the different tax implications of international tour schedules, alongside managing payroll and PAYE compliance for artists, supporting musicians and tour crews, as well as dealing with any employment related issues.

Throughout all stages of their tours, we ensure clients have the fullest accounting and business management support back in the UK and we are always available to assist and answer queries or advise on any financial matter for peace of mind. The secure online payment systems we use can be accessed by clients’ management teams internationally, whenever required, whilst we ensure local suppliers are paid on time and all transactions are tracked against budget to provide timely and accurate financial updates and reports.

From Madison Square and the Hollywood Bowl to the green fields of Glastonbury, we have over 35 years’ experience of managing the international tax affairs of new and established music artists.

Whether it’s tour accounting, business management, life planning or advising clients moving overseas, our holistic approach ensures that all aspects of their financial affairs are fully considered and as tax efficient as possible. Whilst we’re able to advise on cross border issues from a UK tax perspective, clients can also access high quality, international consultancy for the different tax jurisdictions through our worldwide private client advisory networks.

Related Services

Our work is diverse, multi-disciplined and multi-jurisdictional. We provide a very effective accountancy service for our creative, entrepreneurial and owner managed business clients, along with specialist support and advice on a range of complex cross border tax and VAT issues.

Get in touch

If you’d like more information about this service specialism or have a particular financial issue to discuss, please do get in touch.