7 Signs Your Label Has Outgrown Manual Accounting
The warning signs that your current royalty process is becoming a liability — and what to do about it before something breaks.
By RosterRoyalties · Published · Updated
insight
Manual accounting can become harder to manage as data, deals and review requirements grow. These seven warning signs can help you decide what to improve.
Key Takeaways
- Track statement preparation time across a full reporting period.
- Investigate calculation errors and their causes.
- Define the approved record when several people edit files.
- Keep recoupment balances explainable from supporting records.
The seven warning signs
1. Statement day takes more than half a day
At an illustrative four hours per month, statement generation takes 48 hours across 12 monthly periods, before corrections and questions. Track your actual time to assess the opportunity.
2. You've had at least one dispute
A calculation dispute is a reason to review the relevant inputs, formulas and approval steps. Use the findings to improve the process.
3. You're not 100% confident in recoupment balances
Can your team explain an artist's recoupment balance using opening balances, agreed costs, royalties applied and supporting history? If that takes significant reconstruction, improve the records and review process.
4. Multiple people touch the spreadsheet
When several people edit a file or maintain separate versions, use permissions, change history and review steps to identify the current approved record.
5. You manually normalise DSP data
Copying data from Spotify statements into a different format for Apple, then again for Amazon, then again for your distributor — this is repetitive, error-prone work that software should handle.
6. Artists ask for statements you haven't sent
Repeated requests for missing statements are a reason to review delivery, communication and access to approved records.
7. You've considered hiring someone for this
Compare the total cost of software, setup and review with the time your team spends on manual work. Test the workflow before deciding how it affects staffing needs.
The real cost
What happens when you switch
When evaluating dedicated software, test whether it helps your team:
- Reduce repeated data preparation and statement formatting.
- Explain calculations and resolve questions using supporting records.
- Find approved statements and artist reporting history more easily.
- Review advances, costs and recoupment balances together.
Results depend on your data, configuration, deal complexity and review process. Explore record label accounting software to compare the workflow with your current process.
Test it with your own data
Ready to get started?
Put this into practice with RosterRoyalties
Explore the supported workflows and access details in Roster. Start a usage-based workspace and see how it works with your own data.