Custom Royalty Statements That Match Your Brand
Most publisher royalty statements are ugly spreadsheet exports that confuse authors and embarrass the press that sends them. Familiar generates branded, clear PDFs that your contributors actually read and understand — from calculation through customization, delivery, and self-service access.
What Goes Into a Familiar Royalty Statement
Every statement PDF is built from the same structure, but the content adapts to each contributor's books, splits, and payment terms. Here's what each section contains.
Custom Message Page
The first page of the PDF. Publishers can write a personal note using Markdown — bold, links, bullet points all work. Use it for seasonal updates, announcements about new distribution deals, or explanations when royalty structures change. It's optional, but the publishers who use it say their authors appreciate the personal touch.
Author Summary Page
One page that shows the full picture: opening balance, a book-by-book earnings table, reserve balances, below-threshold notes, and total payout. If a contributor has twelve books, they can see all twelve earnings in a single table before diving into details.
Detail Pages (Per Book)
This is where the depth lives. Each book gets its own section with:
- Earnings waterfall: Gross revenue → Returns → Net receipts → COGS → Net royalties → Contributor royalty. No black boxes.
- Sales breakdown by distributor AND country: KDP, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Google Play, Shopify, ACX, and others — each with per-country detail.
- Advance tracking: Opening balance, period recoupment, closing balance, and a clear earned-out flag.
- Expense breakdown: Marketing, processing, and other deductions — if you've enabled expense tracking.
Glossary Page
Optional, auto-generated. Defines every financial term, format term, expense category, and reserve term that appears in the statement. The Authors Guild's surveys consistently find that "I can't understand my royalty statement" is the #1 author complaint. This page exists specifically to fix that.
Brand Every Statement to Your Press
Your statements should look like they came from your press, not from generic accounting software. Here's exactly what you control.
Beyond branding, your Royalty Settings also control what appears in the statement content:
- Show/hide FX rates
- Show/hide expenses
- Show/hide inventory breakdown
- Show/hide reserves
- Base currency (USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD)
- Payout frequency and months
Industry Standards Compliance
Publishing industry groups have spent years telling publishers what authors need from royalty statements. We built those recommendations directly into the product.
Authors Guild Recommendations
- Itemized by format (ebook, paperback, hardcover, audiobook) — every format broken out separately
- Sales broken out by channel/distributor — per-distributor, per-country detail
- Reserve caps and release tracking — configurable reserve policies with expected release dates
- Advance recoupment tracking — opening balance, period recoupment, closing balance, earned-out status
- Clear time periods — every statement shows explicit start/end months
- Understandable to non-accountants — optional glossary page explains every financial term
Society of Authors (UK) Recommendations
- Copies sold, returns, and net sales shown
- Subsidiary format breakdowns
- Statement frequency configurable (monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual)
EU Copyright Directive Article 19 (Transparency Obligation)
- Regular, timely reporting — configurable payout frequency
- Broken down by mode of exploitation — format + distributor + country breakdowns
- Revenues generated and remuneration due — full earnings waterfall from gross to net
Common Author Complaints We Address
"I can't understand my statement"
Glossary page + clear earnings waterfall. Every number traces back to something readable.
"I don't know when I'll get paid"
Payment threshold shown on statement + Self Service portal with next payment date.
"E-book pricing isn't shown"
Distributor/country breakdown with actual sales data for every format.
"Reserves are opaque"
Reserve holds, releases, and expected release dates — all itemized.
"Advance status is unclear"
Dedicated advance section with opening balance, recoupment, closing balance, and earned-out tracking.
Multi-Currency and International Sales
Familiar supports USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, and AUD as base currencies. FX rates are applied monthly. Publishers can show or hide conversion details on statements.
This matters for publishers with international distribution — and it satisfies the Society of Authors recommendation to show original currency and conversion rates. If you're selling through KDP UK, IngramSpark's European channels, or any non-domestic distributor, your authors deserve to see how their foreign sales translate into their payout currency.
From Calculation to Delivery — The Full Workflow
- 1
Upload distributor reports
KDP, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Google Play, Shopify, ACX, and more
- 2
Familiar calculates royalties
Using your tiered structures, splits, and advance terms
- 3
Review calculations and generate statements
Check the numbers before anything goes out
- 4
Branded PDFs are created automatically
Your logo, colors, and footer — applied to every statement
- 5
Statements are emailed to contributors
And their agents, if you've added agent emails
- 6
Authors download from Self Service anytime
Current and historical statements available 24/7 in the Contributor Portal
Regenerate Anytime
Found a calculation error? Updated your branding? Need to reissue a statement?
Regenerate any statement with one click. The new PDF replaces the original — same URL, updated content. You can optionally re-notify the contributor by email. No duplicate files, no version confusion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Statements That Actually Represent Your Press
Set up your branding once, and every statement you generate carries your logo, colors, and voice. Your authors get clarity. You get fewer emails.
Related Resources
Royalty Tracking Software
Upload distributor reports, calculate royalties, and manage payments across your catalog
Contributor Self-Service Portal
Give authors 24/7 access to their earnings, statements, and payment information
Publisher Transparency Guide
Build trust with real-time royalty dashboards and automated statement delivery
Book Royalty Calculations Guide
Understand tiered royalties, splits, advances, and how Familiar calculates every dollar