Frequently asked questions
Short answers about how TrotBooks bills owners, handles expenses and day rates, and sends invoices. For plans and the free trial, see pricing. For a full walkthrough, read how harness racing stable billing works.
About TrotBooks
What is TrotBooks?
TrotBooks is billing and operations software for Standardbred harness racing trainers. It keeps your horses, owners, ownership percentages, expenses, day rates, and race results in one place, and it turns them into a monthly invoice for each owner.
Who is TrotBooks for?
TrotBooks is for Standardbred trainers and the stables they run. The trainer and stable staff manage the records. Each owner can get a read-only login to see their own horses, their ownership share, and their invoices.
How do I learn to use TrotBooks?
Watch the free setup tutorials on the TrotBooks home page. The video series takes you from an empty account to your first owner invoices. For other questions, email support@trotbooks.com.
Owner billing
How does TrotBooks split a bill between owners?
TrotBooks splits each charge by ownership percentage. You can enter a percentage with up to two decimal places. The shares always add up to the charge to the cent, and if a horse is only partly assigned, each owner pays only their own share.
How are day rates charged?
A day rate is charged for each day in the billing period that the horse is active. Days when the horse is laid up, retired, sold, or claimed are not charged. If the rate or the ownership changes during the month, the invoice shows a separate line for each part of the month.
What happens when a horse changes owners during the month?
TrotBooks bills each owner only for the days they owned their share. Day rates and recurring expenses are split at the date of the change. A one-off expense goes to the owners of the horse on the date of that expense.
What expenses can I bill to owners?
You can bill training, veterinary, blacksmith, dentist, equipment, shipping, registration, nomination, medication, paddock fee, driver fee, stall rent, starting fee, barn supplies, and other expenses. Record an expense once on the horse, and TrotBooks splits it across the owners.
Can I bill an expense every month or every day?
Yes. A recurring expense can be monthly or daily. A monthly expense is charged once per billing period and is prorated for a partial month. A daily expense is charged for each active day, the same way a day rate is.
Can I give one owner a discount or an extra charge?
Yes. You can add a discount or a charge to one owner, as a percentage of their bill or as a fixed amount. It can apply once, on the next invoice, or on every invoice from a start date, with an optional end date. A discount never takes an invoice below zero.
Does TrotBooks add sales tax to invoices?
Yes, if your stable charges it. You set one tax rate, a label such as HST, and your tax registration number. TrotBooks calculates the tax on your charges after discounts and prints the label and registration number on the invoice.
Invoices and owners
How do owners get their invoices?
You generate the month’s invoices, review each draft, and then send it. TrotBooks emails the owner the invoice with a PDF copy attached. Owners with a login can also see their invoices and payment status at any time.
Do purses show up on an owner invoice?
Race results can show on the invoice for reference, with the purse and the owner’s share. The purse does not reduce the amount due, because the racetrack pays purse money to the owner directly and the stable does not handle it.
How do I record that an owner paid?
Open the invoice and mark it paid. You can also record how the owner paid: check, cash, bank transfer, credit card, Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, or another method. Owners with a login see the invoice as paid.
Harness racing basics
What is a Standardbred?
A Standardbred is the horse breed used in harness racing in North America. Standardbreds race at a trot or a pace while they pull a light two-wheeled cart called a sulky, with a driver in the seat instead of a jockey on the horse’s back.
What is a day rate in harness racing?
A day rate is the fixed daily fee a trainer charges an owner to keep and train a horse. It usually covers the horse’s care and training at the stable. What it includes varies from stable to stable, so vet, shoeing, and race costs are often billed separately.