A strong business plan is a great starting point for your market, but financial planning is key to keeping everything running smoothly. Vendor booth fees, tracking sales, and bookkeeping can all seem like daunting tasks to manage, but there are programs that can help you manage your markets finances. 

Our friends at the Washington State Farmers Market Association sum it up nicely, “Sometimes a “break-even” fundraising event like a Harvest Dinner may also serve important, non-financial goals such as affirming ties with the business community, retaining or recruiting new volunteers, and building the market’s vendor and shopper base. And don’t forget to include your market’s fundraising expenses and revenue goals in the annual budget.

• Building a financial plan for your farmers market, from the Florida Farmers Market Association.
• Market budget scenario example.
• Here is an example of a farmers market budget, from “Considerations for Farmers Market Development” by La Semilla Food Center.

There are many invoicing and budgeting applications you can utilize for your farmers market. A few options that are utilized by small businesses and markets are:

• Intuit Quickbooks
• FreshBooks
• Wave Financial