How Centtrip supports history’s highest grossing Latin tour
Top tour accountant Kelly Macleod selected Centtrip card to avoid cash-handling headaches and improve efficiency on the record-breaking Luis Miguel Tour 2023-24.
Download the full Centtrip Story to read more, including how Centtrip saved the day in Spain.
Kelly Macleod, a California licensed lawyer, has worked as business manager and tour accountant for many of the world’s top touring artists. When she signed up for the 192 date, 20 nation, Luis Miguel tour, she chose to use Centtrip.
A better approach to cash-intensive touring
Music touring is traditionally a cash-heavy business with expense reimbursement and touring party per diems (daily allowances) typically all paid in notes and coins.
Counting out cash and getting signatures was time-consuming, especially for a major tour like Luis Miguel’s which had around 100 crew and musicians to be paid out.
“It would take hours each week to talk to everyone, get their signature and hand over their per diem,” Kelly explains.
It could also be stressful.
“In the past, I would regularly carry $50,000 to $70,000 cash in my back pack. I’ve had nightmares about leaving it in a bathroom stall.”
More recently, however, anti-money laundering regulations have made it much harder to travel with or withdraw large sums of cash.
“It’s challenging, especially in Europe and South America, because you can’t easily carry more than $10,000 cash across international borders,” Kelly says. “Even ordering that amount of cash from a local bank is almost impossible.”
Cashless touring with Centtrip
The solution was 100 Centtrip cards.
Every member of the touring party was issued with a Centtrip card which was loaded weekly, in US dollars, with their per diem allowances. Musicians and crew could then spend using the card or withdraw local currency from an ATM.
Kelly also ordered expense cards for the tour’s runners and advance team to cover costs ranging from guitar strings to hotel bills.
As personnel changed (or cards were lost) over the long tour, new and replacement cards were shipped ahead to meet the touring party at their next location.
Simplified tour accounting
Because Kelly could manage the cards centrally, she didn’t need to be on the road every day with the tour, meaning she saved time and travel costs.
“With Centtrip, everything is streamlined. The reporting is good and, overall, Centtrip has just made my life easier.”
In summary, Kelly says, “I can’t imagine doing a future tour without Centtrip. Working with cash has become so difficult. It just seems such a tedious waste of time. I would absolutely recommend Centtrip to any of my peers or colleagues.”
