Straw sold on a handshake, collected on a Saturday
After harvest the phone rings with people wanting straw. A livestock farmer from over the hill wants a field's worth in the swath, and will bale it himself. A neighbour wants big bales delivered through the winter. Several horse owners want small bales of hay collected by the trailer load. Everything is agreed on the phone or in the yard, at prices that depend on who is buying and how.
Through the winter, loads leave the barn when buyers turn up. Someone helps load and makes a mental note. At some point someone should write an invoice. By spring, you know you sold straw and hay to a dozen people, but not exactly how many bales each one took, or which of them paid.
Why bale sales leak
Straw and hay sales are informal by nature, and the people selling are busy with other work.
- Deals are made by phone, in person or by text, with no written order.
- Prices differ by product, bale type, whether it is in the swath, in the field or in the barn, and whether it is delivered.
- Collections happen when buyers turn up, often at weekends, with whoever is in the yard loading.
- Some buyers pay cash, some by transfer, some at the end of the winter, some in kind with muck.
- Nobody counts bales in the barn after harvest, so stock only becomes known when it runs out.
The amounts on each load may seem small, but across a winter they add up to real income for the farm, and it is income that relies entirely on memory.
What informal bale sales cost
The main cost is income not collected: loads taken and never invoiced, invoices never chased. It is awkward to chase a neighbour months later for bales neither of you can remember exactly, so it often does not happen.
There is also a stock cost. Selling straw you need for your own livestock, because nobody knew how much was left in the barn, means buying it back later at the worst time of year. And your accountant sees irregular cash payments with nothing to reconcile them against.
A bale sales record from field to payment
What we build is a simple bale sales record that fits how straw and hay are actually sold on a farm.
- At baling, bale counts per field and type are recorded on a phone, with a note of which barn or stack they went to. For straw sold in the swath, the field and the buyer are recorded instead.
- Each deal is entered when agreed: buyer, product, bale type, quantity or field, price basis, delivered or collected. It takes a minute on a phone while still on the call.
- Each collection or delivery is logged by whoever is in the yard: buyer from a list, number of bales, trailer or lorry. A photo of the load is optional.
- Bale stock in each barn goes down as loads leave, and your own use for bedding and feed can be logged too, so you can see what is left before you sell more.
- Invoices are created from the collections, weekly or when a deal is complete, and sent from Xero, QuickBooks or Sage.
- Payments, including cash noted on the day, are matched, and unpaid deals are listed by age.
| Sale type | What gets recorded | When it is invoiced |
|---|---|---|
| In the swath | Field, area, buyer | When the field is cleared |
| In the field, baled | Bale count, buyer | When collected |
| From the barn, collected | Bales per load, buyer | Weekly or per load |
| Delivered | Bales per delivery, buyer | Per delivery |
A winter of straw sales, all invoiced
On Saturday morning two horse owners collect hay. Your son loads them and taps each collection on his phone: buyer, number of bales. On Monday you see the week's collections, check them, and invoices go out. In January you look at barn stock before agreeing another sale, and keep back what the cattle will need until turnout.
In spring, one buyer still owes for three loads, and the list shows each date and bale count, so the conversation is simple.
Do your straw sales run like this?
- Straw and hay deals are agreed by phone with nothing written down.
- Collections happen when buyers turn up, and whoever loads makes a mental note.
- You are not sure how many bales each buyer has taken.
- Barn stock is only known when it runs out.
- Some buyers have not been invoiced or chased.