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The Agricultural - Stock Valuation: Livestock template is an account template used in the Farm Working Papers package to build up the year-end value of a farm's animals: cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, goats, horses, dogs, and two spare categories for anything else. You attach it to the relevant livestock account, list quantities and rates by type of animal, and the template reconciles its total to the trial balance figure on that account.
Table of contents
- When should I use this template?
- Before you start
- Background
- Steps
- What flows through to the rest of the accounts/workflow?
- What rolls forward next year?
- Where the data comes from
- Frequently asked questions
When should I use this template?
Use it on any account that holds livestock at the period end. It is part of the Farm Working Papers package and sits alongside the Agricultural - Stock Valuation: Crops and Other template, which covers harvested crop stock and general farm store items instead.
Before you start
- Confirm the account you are mapping the template to falls within the livestock range (see Where the data comes from below). The template reads the account number to decide which category and dropdown list to show.
- Have the client's year-end livestock count and valuation to hand, ideally broken down by type and age/class of animal (for example cows, heifers, calves) and by quantity and rate per head.
Background
Each account in the livestock range represents one species. For example, the cattle account shows a Cattle heading and a dropdown of cattle classes (cows, heifers, bullocks, calves, breeding bulls, and so on). The category and heading are set automatically from the account you are on.
Stock is required to be carried at the lower of cost and net realisable value, and for home-bred or home-reared livestock "cost" is rarely a figure that can be traced to an invoice. HMRC's long-standing accepted shortcut, used across the farming accounts profession, is a deemed cost of 60% of open market value for cattle and 75% for sheep and pigs. This template offers those same percentages as an optional toggle, so the workpaper matches the convention accountants already use for the client's stock figure. The deemed rate option is only offered for cattle, sheep, and pigs. Poultry, goats, horses, dogs, and the spare categories are valued at their full entered rate.
Steps
For the account you are on, add one row per lot or class of animal held:
| Column | What it does |
| Date of purchase | Optional date field, useful for purchased animals. |
| Quantity | The number of head. |
| Category | For cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, and goats: a dropdown specific to that species (for cattle, for example: Cows, Heifers, Bullocks, Calves, Breeding bulls, and more, or Other). The label switches to singular automatically when the quantity is 1. For horses, dogs, and the two spare accounts, this is a free-text field instead of a dropdown, since these do not have a standard class list. |
| Rate | The £ value per head. |
| Deemed rate | A tick-box, shown only for cattle, sheep, and pigs. Tick it to apply the 60%/75% deemed-cost factor described above. |
| Total rate | Shown alongside deemed rate (cattle/sheep/pigs only): the rate after the deemed-cost factor has been applied. |
| Valuation | Calculated automatically as quantity × rate (or quantity × rate × the deemed-cost factor where ticked). |
| Attachment | Upload supporting evidence for that line. |
| Comments | Free text. If you choose Other as the category, this becomes required. An amber warning appears next to the Comments heading until you fill it in. |
Rows are sorted by category (or, on the horses/dogs/spare accounts, by the free-text category you have typed) so like animals group together.
A note-and-attachment row at the top of the schedule lets you attach the client's own stock sheet (labelled "Stock sheet" by default) for your working-paper file. This can be hidden in the exported or printed version by your firm's configuration if preferred.
For the two spare accounts and for horses/dogs, type a name in the header field to label the category (it defaults to a placeholder of "Spare" until you do).
What flows through to the rest of the accounts/workflow?
The template continuously compares its total valuation to the trial balance balance on the account it is attached to. If the two do not match, an unreconciled indicator appears on the total line showing the trial balance value, the template value, and the difference.
Once reconciled, the category name, total value, and total quantity are passed through as results that other templates, including the notes to the accounts, can pick up automatically when building the stock or herd disclosure.
The balances on every livestock account (whether or not you have used this template on them) are also drawn together, alongside the crop and other-stock accounts, into the Agricultural - Stock Valuation: Lead Schedule, which the template links to directly.
What rolls forward next year?
When the next period is created by copying data forward, the rows you have entered (dates, quantities, categories, rates, deemed-rate ticks, attachments, and comments) carry forward as a starting point. You then update the quantities and rates to match the new year's count, add or remove rows as the herd or flock changes, and re-check the reconciliation. The prepared, reviewed, and locked review markers reset each period and do not carry forward.
Where the data comes from
All figures are entered manually from the client's own livestock count and valuation. Nothing is pulled automatically from the trial balance other than the account balance used for reconciliation. The category shown depends on which account the template is mapped to:
| Account | Category | Deemed rate available |
| 142000 | Cattle | Yes, 60% |
| 142001 | Sheep | Yes, 75% |
| 142002 | Pigs | Yes, 75% |
| 142003 | Poultry | No |
| 142004 | Goats | No |
| 142005 | Spare 1 (free-text category) | No |
| 142006 | Spare 2 (free-text category) | No |
| 142021 | Horses (free-text category) | No |
| 142026 | Dogs (free-text category) | No |
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I choose the category myself for cattle, sheep or pigs?
The species and its dropdown options are set by the account the template is mapped to, not chosen freely.
Why is there no deemed rate option for poultry, goats, horses, or dogs?
The deemed-cost convention this template follows only applies to cattle, sheep, and pigs, so the toggle is not offered on the other species.
Why do I get a warning next to Comments?
You have selected Other as the category on a row without adding a description. Add one to clear the warning.
Why is there still a difference showing at the bottom of the schedule?
The total valuation does not yet match the trial balance balance on this account. Check that every animal has been counted and that quantities and rates are correct.
Where do I see the livestock and crop totals side by side?
Follow the link in the template to the Agricultural - Stock Valuation: Lead Schedule, which lists every stock account across livestock, crops, and other stocks in one place.