Billing for Horse Boarding Services

Billing is the part of running a boarding barn that most horse people find least enjoyable. But a clean, consistent billing system protects your revenue, reduces disputes, and gives you the financial visibility you need to run the operation sustainably.

Setting Your Base Rate

Your base boarding rate needs to cover your fixed costs with margin remaining for variable costs and profit. Many barn managers set their board rate by what neighboring facilities charge without calculating whether that rate actually covers their costs. That is a path to financial instability.

Calculate what it costs to maintain one stall for one month including your fully loaded costs: mortgage or rent allocation, bedding, labor, utilities, insurance, facility maintenance, and your own compensation. Add a reasonable margin. If the result is above what your local market will bear, you need to either reduce costs, reposition your facility, or both.

Set the base rate in writing and state clearly what it includes. "Full board - $700/month, includes stall cleaned daily, hay twice daily, fresh water, one hour turnout six days per week" leaves no ambiguity.

Structuring Add-On Services

Every service beyond your base package should be a separately priced line item. This allows boarders to choose the level of service they need and pay accordingly, and it ensures you are compensated for everything you provide.

Common add-on services to price separately:

• Grain feeding: often charged per feeding per day, or a flat monthly rate for horses needing grain twice daily
• Blanketing on/off: typically a flat monthly fee during blanket season
• Holding for vet or farrier: a per-visit fee for standing with the horse
• Extra stall cleaning: a per-cleaning fee for horses needing more than once daily
• Tack care: cleaning, conditioning, storage services
• Night check: if not included in full board
• Fly sheet on/off: similar to blanketing fee structure

Itemized add-on pricing protects you. When an owner sees a blanketing charge on their invoice, they know exactly what it covers because it was agreed upon upfront.

Pass-Through Charges

Vet and farrier charges are typically passed through to owners at cost. Some facilities add an administrative fee for handling and coordinating these visits, which is reasonable given the time involved.

Define your pass-through policy in the boarding contract:

• Are vet and farrier charges passed through at cost or at cost plus a fee?
• What is the turnaround time for posting pass-through charges?
• What happens if the owner disputes a charge that was authorized under an emergency clause?

Post pass-through charges promptly, ideally within 24 hours of the service. Delays cause owners to lose the context for the charge, which leads to disputes.

Invoice Generation and Timing

Consistent billing cycles make financial management simpler for both you and your boarders. Most facilities invoice on the first of the month for the current month, or on the first for the following month depending on whether you bill in advance or arrears.

Pick one approach and stick to it. Communicate the billing cycle clearly when boarders sign on.

BarnBeacon generates invoices from each horse's billing profile, pulling in recurring monthly charges and any posted add-ons or pass-throughs for the period. This reduces the time you spend on billing each month and minimizes the manual data entry errors that create disputes.

Include on each invoice: billing period, itemized charges, any credits or adjustments, total due, payment due date, and acceptable payment methods.

Payment Collection

Decide in advance what payment methods you accept. Most facilities now accept some form of electronic payment. ACH bank transfer is common because it has low fees. Credit cards are convenient but carry processing fees of 2 to 3 percent, which add up on a $700 monthly board rate.

Offer multiple payment options but set a default. If ACH is your preferred method, set it up as the default in your boarding agreement and make it easy to use.

Late Payments and Policy Enforcement

Late payment policies need to be stated clearly and enforced consistently. A late fee that you never charge becomes meaningless and creates the expectation that late payment is acceptable.

Common structure: payment due by the fifth of the month, $25 late fee after the tenth. After thirty days delinquent, add-on services may be suspended. After sixty days, the boarding contract may be terminated.

See horse owner management for guidance on handling difficult conversations about billing with boarders.