Farm Accounting Doesn't Have to Be Complicated: Here's How Banks Are Helping

Running a farm business takes grit, patience, and careful planning. Between managing your herd, watching markets, and keeping track of inputs, it can feel like there’s never enough time to focus on finances. For many producers, farm and ranch accounting ends up at the bottom of the list until tax season rolls around.

But what if your bank or lender could help you simplify it all? Across the agricultural sector, banks, credit unions, and farm lenders are beginning to help farmers and ranchers pay for FarmRaise Tracks, a powerful farm accounting software designed specifically for agriculture.

With the right tools and partnerships in place, farm accounting doesn’t have to be complicated.

Why Banks Are Investing in Producers’ Financial Health

Many lenders have started recognizing that healthy farms mean healthy communities. When a farmer’s books are clean and current, it benefits both sides. Farmers make better decisions about cash flow and financial management, while banks save time and reduce paperwork when loans come due.

Some community-focused institutions, like BTC Bank, are leading the way by offering FarmRaise Tracks to their farm clients. These banks understand that when farmers can confidently organize their financial records and financial statements, they’re more likely to qualify for credit, expand operations, and stay resilient through market swings.

FarmRaise Tracks gives farmers and ranchers the same kind of financial clarity that large agribusiness operations rely on. With its simple design and agriculture-first approach, it bridges the gap between farm work and office work, helping families stay organized year-round.

The Problem: When Farm Finances Get Messy

Every farmer knows how easy it is to lose track of receipts, fuel logs, or invoices during a busy season. Some still rely on spreadsheets, notebooks, or even boxes of receipts waiting for the CPA in March. But when your financial records aren’t current, it can make everything else harder, especially:

• Applying for or renewing a loan
• Completing your Schedule F for the IRS
• Tracking liabilities and depreciation for tax purposes
• Assessing your liquidity and overall financial health

Without clear bookkeeping, it’s tough to know if your operation is profitable or where you could cut costs. Many producers only find out at tax time that their expenses were higher than expected or that their cash flow dipped midseason.

This lack of real-time insight can also affect risk management. Without accurate numbers, it’s difficult to plan for crop losses, weather events, or changing interest rates.

That’s where banks are stepping in to help.

How FarmRaise Tracks Simplifies Financial Management

FarmRaise Tracks is designed for everyday use. You can log expenses, track income, and view your balance sheet anytime from your phone or computer. Because it connects securely to your bank accounts, it automatically imports transactions and updates your books in real-time, saving hours of manual data entry.

You can also categorize transactions using IRS Schedule F line items or create custom categories for your specific farming operations. This makes financial reporting more accurate and eliminates the guesswork when it’s time for tax preparation.

Here’s what farmers can do inside the app:

• Instantly generate financial statements like Balance Sheets, Income Statements, and Schedule F reports
• Track inventory, assets, and liabilities
• Calculate depreciation for equipment and buildings
• Monitor cash flow to ensure liquidity throughout the year
• Stay prepared for tax season and loan renewals

For ranchers and crop producers, that means more time focusing on the field, less time stressing about paperwork, and fewer surprises come April.

Why Lenders Are Getting Involved

Banks and credit unions are realizing that helping customers with financial management tools like FarmRaise isn’t just good service, it’s smart business.

When farmers use farm accounting software, lenders receive cleaner, standardized reports. That means fewer missing details and faster turnaround during the loan process. Instead of sorting through old QuickBooks files or handwritten spreadsheets, loan officers can review accurate, organized reports in minutes.

By supporting farmers’ access to FarmRaise Tracks, lenders are helping to streamline financial documentation and reduce risk for both sides. Well-organized financial records make it easier to assess a borrower’s profitability and repayment potential.

For example, a producer who keeps detailed, real-time books can quickly demonstrate how rising interest rates or changing subsidies affect their operation. This makes for more transparent conversations about loans, credit lines, and crop insurance options.

In short: When farmers succeed, lenders succeed.

The Step-by-Step Approach to Simpler Farm Finances

FarmRaise and its banking partners make it easy for producers to get started. Here’s how it typically works:

Step 1: Talk to your bank or lender.

Reach out to your loan officer, credit union, or community bank to ask if they can cover your FarmRaise Tracks membership. Many institutions now include this as part of their financial services for agricultural customers.

Step 2: Set up your account.

FarmRaise’s team helps connect your bank accounts to the platform, pulling up to two years of transaction history automatically. This eliminates hours of manual record-keeping.

Step 3: Customize your categories.

Set up categories that match your farm management needs, whether that’s feed, seed, fertilizer, repairs, or equipment payments.

Step 4: Review your reports.

Generate a balance sheet, check your cash flow, and analyze your financial statements. You can share these reports directly with your banker or CPA at tax season without any extra formatting.

Step 5: Keep tracking in real-time.

With automation doing the heavy lifting, you can log expenses from the tractor or the truck. Your reports stay up to date, so you always know where your farm finances stand.

This step-by-step process turns what used to be hours of frustration into a few minutes of clarity each week.

The Benefits for Farmers and Ranchers

Partnering with your bank to cover your FarmRaise Tracks membership offers several advantages:

1. Less Stress at Tax Time

Your IRS Schedule F and financial statements are already formatted and ready to go. That means faster tax preparation, fewer errors, and no more late-night spreadsheets.

2. Stronger Financial Health

With updated financial records, you can spot trends, track profitability, and plan ahead for equipment purchases or land leases. You’ll always know your liquidity and where your money is going.

3. Better Risk Management

When you can see your numbers clearly, you can better plan for unexpected expenses, crop insurance adjustments, or rising interest rates.

4. Easier Conversations with Your Bank

FarmRaise makes it simple to share reports directly with your lenders. You stay in control of your data, and they get the accurate information they need to make quick lending decisions.

5. Long-Term Growth

Consistent record keeping leads to smarter financial decisions. Whether you’re expanding your herd, purchasing new equipment, or transitioning the family farm to the next generation, FarmRaise gives you the financial clarity to plan confidently.

Why Banks Love This Too

When farmers bring organized books and updated reports, loan officers save hours of review time. Clean financials make underwriting smoother and faster.

For banks, it’s also a way to strengthen relationships. Providing access to farm accounting software shows a genuine investment in customer success. It helps lenders position themselves as partners in their clients’ farm management, not just as financiers.

It also builds loyalty. Farmers who feel supported with useful technology are more likely to keep their bank accounts and credit lines with the same institution year after year.

Bringing It All Together

Farming is one of the most unpredictable industries in the world. Between weather, markets, and costs, there’s already enough risk built into the job. Financial technology like FarmRaise Tracks helps reduce that uncertainty.

By linking your bank accounts and automating bookkeeping, you can take control of your farm finances, without needing to be an accountant. The result is greater profitability, cleaner records, and smoother interactions with your lenders and CPA. And when your bank or credit union helps pay for your FarmRaise membership, it’s not just covering a subscription. It’s investing in your financial health and the long-term success of your agricultural business.

So the next time you visit your bank, ask them if they’ve partnered with FarmRaise. If not, let them know how FarmRaise Tracks could help streamline their lending and make tax season a little easier for everyone.

Farm accounting doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right tools and a supportive bank by your side, you can spend less time crunching numbers and more time doing what you love: growing your farm, your family, and your future.