Recording manual transactions in Tone ensures that off-platform payments, advances, and adjustments are accurately reflected in your next royalty run. If you've already paid an artist directly — via bank transfer, check, or any other method outside of Tone — this is how you record it so their balance stays accurate.

💸 Adding a Manual Transaction

Use this process for any financial activity occurring outside of Tone—such as direct payments made outside of Tone, advances, or manual balance adjustments—to ensure they are added to a contract's balance.

💡 Paid an artist outside of Tone? Select Type: Payment and enter a negative amount (e.g. -500). This deducts from what Tone shows as owed, so the artist doesn't appear unpaid in your next royalty run.

1. Access the Transaction Section

Navigate to the Bulk-edit transactions page under the Contracts dropdown in the Library side panel to begin a new entry.

2. Enter Transaction Details

Fill in the following fields to ensure the record is clear for future reporting:

• Description: Give the transaction a clear name (e.g., "Advance" or "Direct Q3 2025 Payment").
• Type: Select the category that best fits:
  • Payment — royalties already paid to the artist outside of Tone
  • Advance — money given before earnings are calculated
  • Adjustment — a manual correction to the balance
• Transaction Date: Select the date the transaction occurred.
• Amount: Enter the numerical value. Note the sign of the amount:
  • Negative (-): Use this for payments already made or advances given. This deducts from the balance (most common). For example, if you paid an artist $500 directly, enter -500.
  • Positive (+): Use this for adjustments that should increase the total balance owed to the recipient.

3. Map to a Contract

Link the transaction to the specific contract it belongs to. This ensures the amount is pulled into the correct calculation during the royalty run.

<aside> 💡

Tone Tip: A transaction can't be saved against a contract that's still a draft. If you map one to an unsaved contract, the Contract cell will show: "This contract is a draft. Save the contract before saving this transaction." Save the contract first, then come back and save the transaction. (If your account's changes are reviewed by the Tone team before going live, you'll see a warning instead — the transaction can be submitted, but it won't sync until the contract is saved.)

</aside>