Field notes › Counting merch at night without losing your mind

Counting merch at night without losing your mind

Field notes · October 7, 2026 · 3 min read

Merch can be the money that keeps a tour on the road, and the count at the end of the night is where it's won or lost. You're tired, the venue wants you out and the lights are coming up. A routine makes it fast and accurate.

Count in before doors

Count every item and size before you open. That's your count in. Write it down on paper or in a sheet, not in your head. If you restock during the night from the van, record it as adds. Anything given away (to the band, the opener, a radio contest) goes down as comps. Without those two columns, your sold numbers will never match.

Set up so counting is easy

Keep each size in its own stack or bin, in the same order every night (S, M, L, XL, 2XL).
Fold and stack in tens. Counting stacks of ten is much faster than counting singles.
Keep a display sample out of the count, or count it consistently.
Put hard goods (vinyl, CDs, posters) in a separate box. They're often split differently from clothing.

Count out after the show

Count everything left: that's your count out. Sold equals count in plus adds minus comps minus count out. Then multiply by price for each line and add it up for your gross.

If two people count, have each count different items rather than both counting the same ones. Recount only the lines that don't make sense.

Reconcile cash and card

Your sold units should roughly match your money: cash in the till plus card sales from your payment app. Small differences happen (a miscounted shirt, a discount someone gave a friend). Big ones mean something was missed. Count the cash twice, band it, and log it before you leave the venue.

Settle with the venue

Most venues take a percentage of merch sales, sometimes different for soft and hard goods, often after sales tax. Confirm the terms in the advance so there are no surprises. The merch settlement calculator does the counts, tax, venue split and card fees in one place, and the free merch count and settlement sheet works offline.

After settlement

Write down anything low for the next restock.
Log the cash for deposit. In TRMNGR, show cash goes in the show's settlement and bank deposits in Cash Deposits.
Pack stock in the same order you set it up.

If you sell through Square, TRMNGR's Merch page shows sales and on-hand counts by item and size for the whole tour (read-only), which makes spotting low stock easier. The merch settlement guide goes deeper on venue splits and card versus cash.

Merch split Hall fee Settlement