Feed and expense tracking
Record the feed you use and what the farm spends
Dairy Vitals feed and expense tracking lets a farm write down the feed it uses and the money it spends. You list your feeds, each counted per bag or per kg with a price, and enter what was used every day or as one total for the month. You also record the farm's expenses, such as salaries, electricity and other bills, repairs and transport, and an optional cost on a treatment or an insemination, and then see a monthly summary of what was recorded. It is on every plan, including Free, and it records what you enter: it is not accounts, tax advice or business advice.
Free for up to 30 animals. No credit card required.
Feed used · one day
| Feed | Used |
|---|---|
| Concentrateper bag (50 kg) | 4 bags |
| Silageper kg | 400 kg |
| Wheat strawper kg | to log |
Expenses this month
- Electricity · Electricity board8,400
- Repairs · Milking parlour pump3,200
- Vet and medicine · Cow C-1011,800
If a month has a monthly total for a feed, it counts instead of the daily entries.
How feed and expense tracking works
Step 1: List your feeds.
In the Feed & costs tab, add each feed the farm uses with a name, whether it is counted per bag (and how many kilograms are in one bag) or per kg, and its price. When a price changes, add the new price from a date: older months keep the price they had. A feed that is no longer used can be switched off without losing its history.
Step 2: Enter the feed used.
Fill in the day sheet with what was fed that day, one box per feed, or enter one total for the month for a feed whose daily use you do not write down. If a feed has both for the same month, the monthly total is the one that counts, and the screen shows which daily entries were left out.
Step 3: Record the farm's expenses.
Add each one with a date, an amount, who was paid and a note, under salaries, electricity, water and other bills, rent, repairs, transport, vet and medicine or other. Copy last month's expenses instead of retyping the same salaries and rent.
Step 4: Add a cost to a treatment or an insemination.
The treatment and insemination forms have an optional cost box, so the vet's visit or the semen and technician are recorded against the animal. A vet visit that is not a treatment can be recorded as an expense linked to the animal, and the animal's page lists the costs recorded for it.
Step 5: Read the monthly summary.
Choose a month to see what was recorded: the feed used, then the expenses and the animal costs in groups, with the number of records behind each figure and a note when some feed has no price yet. A month with nothing recorded says so instead of showing zero.
Step 6: Keep the money private.
Workers can log the day's feed but do not see prices, expenses or costs. Managers see feed prices, expenses and costs, and only the owner sees and records salaries. The data export includes these records, and a manager's export leaves salaries out.
What you can do
Feeds per bag or per kg
Each feed has a name and is counted per bag, with the kilograms in one bag, or per kg. Give it a category if you wish, and switch it off when it is no longer used: its history stays.
A price that keeps its history
Set a price for each feed and add a new one from any date when it changes. Older months keep the price they had, and a feed with no price is left out of the cost with a note saying so.
Daily or monthly entries
Enter what was used each day on one sheet, or one total for the month, feed by feed, so a farm that writes some feeds down daily and others only once a month can still record them all.
The monthly total counts
When a feed has both daily entries and a monthly total for the same month, the monthly total is the one that counts and the daily entries are not added to it. The screen shows how much was left out.
Farm expenses
Record salaries, electricity, water and other bills, rent, repairs, transport, vet and medicine and other expenses, each with a date, an amount, who was paid and a note. Copy last month's rows instead of retyping them.
A cost on a treatment or an insemination
The treatment and insemination forms have an optional cost box. The cost stays with the animal, and an expense such as a check-up visit can be linked to an animal too.
A monthly summary
Pick a month and see the feed used, then the expenses and the animal costs in groups, each with the number of records behind it. It adds up what was recorded, and a month with nothing recorded says so.
Money kept apart
Workers can log the day's feed and never see prices, expenses or costs. Managers see prices, expenses and costs, and salaries are visible to the owner only.
On every plan, and in your export
Feed and expense records are on every plan, including Free, and they do not count towards the animal limit. They are part of the data export, which leaves salaries out of a manager's copy.
Worth knowing. Dairy Vitals records what the farm enters and adds it up, in the farm's own currency, with no conversion. It is not accounting and it is not tax or business advice. It does not say whether the farm is profitable, it does not recommend feeds or amounts, and it does not yet share feed or bills out across animals: an animal's page shows only the costs recorded on that animal. Feed is recorded as used, not as bought, so purchases and what is left in the store are not tracked.
Who it is for
Feed and expense tracking is for farms that want what they feed and what they spend written down in one place instead of in a notebook or in someone's memory: smallholders who buy a few bags of feed and pay a helper, farm managers who record the day's feed, and owners who want the month's bills and salaries together. It is a record of what you enter and does not replace your own accounts.
Also in Dairy Vitals
- Fertility trackingHeats, inseminations, pregnancy outcomes and treatments for each animal, with the status and the next dates worked out for you.Learn more →
- Weight trackingEstimate weight from two tape measurements or enter it yourself, save each with the animal and compare weights over time.Learn more →
- Milk productionRecord the litres from every milking per animal, or as the farm's total, then see the farm's totals, a chart of the last month and what is still to log.Learn more →
- Deworming scheduleWrite your farm's own deworming schedule once, see when each animal is due and record doses for one animal or the whole herd. On the Starter and Growth plans.Learn more →
Frequently asked questions
What is feed and expense tracking in Dairy Vitals?
It is a record of the feed your farm uses and the money it spends. You list your feeds, enter what was used each day or as a monthly total, record expenses such as salaries and bills, and add an optional cost to a treatment or an insemination. A monthly summary then adds up what was recorded.
Can I record feed per bag or per kg, daily or monthly?
Yes to both. Each feed is counted per bag, with the weight of one bag in kilograms, or per kg, and it has a price that you can change from a date. You can enter what was used each day on one sheet, or one total for the month, and you can mix the two: one feed daily and another monthly. If a feed has both for the same month, the monthly total counts and the daily entries are not added to it.
Which expenses can I record?
Salaries, electricity, water and other bills, rent, repairs, transport, vet and medicine, and a group called other, each with a date, an amount, who was paid and a note. An expense can be linked to one animal, for example a vet visit that is not a treatment. The treatment and insemination forms also have an optional cost box of their own.
Does Dairy Vitals tell me what to feed, or whether the farm makes a profit?
No. It records what your farm enters and adds it up. It does not recommend feeds or amounts, it does not say whether the farm is profitable, and it is not accounting, tax or business advice. It also does not yet share feed or bills out across animals, so an animal's page shows only the costs recorded on that animal.
Who can see feed prices, expenses and salaries?
Everyone on the farm team can log the day's feed, but workers do not see prices, expenses or costs. Owners and managers see feed prices, expenses and the costs on treatments and inseminations, and only the owner sees and records salaries: a manager's totals leave salaries out and say so.
Does it record the feed I buy or what is left in the store?
No. It records the feed that was used, not what was bought or what is left in the store. There is no feed group among the expenses, so a feed bill is not entered twice.
Are my feed and expense records in the data export?
Yes. The all-records export, a ZIP of CSV files that you can download at any time, includes the feeds and their prices, the feed used, the expenses and the costs on treatments and inseminations. The owner's export includes salaries; a manager's export leaves them out.
Is feed and expense tracking free?
Yes. Feed and expense records are on every plan, including the Free plan for up to 30 animals, and they do not count towards the animal limit. The paid plans add more animals and team members and the Basic reports.
More about the plans on the pricing page, or ask us a question.
Try feed and expense tracking on your own herd
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