AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Keep farm records by enterprise: each crop field, poultry pen or fish pond gets its own record of inputs, labour, output and sales, so you can see which one makes money. Tax law requires every business to keep records for at least six years, and lenders ask for bank statements and accounts, so run farm money through one business account.
A farm with maize, a few pens of layers and two fish ponds is three businesses sharing a gate. Put them in one notebook and the total may look fine while one enterprise loses money every season. Enterprise records separate them. They also give you what tax officers and lenders ask for, which is evidence.
Why records matter for tax and loans
Section 31 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 requires every person, including those exempt from tax, to keep books and records with enough information to determine tax liability, in English, for at least six years after the year of assessment. Under the 2025 reforms, a small company with turnover up to ₦100 million and fixed assets up to ₦250 million pays no company income tax, but it still needs records to show it qualifies.
Lenders ask for the same evidence. The Bank of Agriculture's published requirements include six months of bank statements for SME loans to individuals and three years' audited accounts, or a statement of affairs for a new society, for cooperative loans.
The records each enterprise needs
| Record | Crops | Poultry or fish |
|---|---|---|
| Unit | Field or plot, with size | Pen, batch or pond, with stocking date |
| Inputs | Seed, fertiliser, agrochemicals, with dates and quantities | Day-old chicks or fingerlings, feed by bag, drugs and vaccines |
| Labour | Days worked by task: clearing, planting, weeding, harvest | Daily care, cleaning, harvest |
| Production | Harvest weight or bags per field | Eggs per day, birds or fish harvested, weights |
| Losses | Pest damage, post-harvest losses | Mortality per day, with cause |
| Sales | Quantity, price, buyer, payment received | Quantity, price, buyer, payment received |
| Shared costs | Share of land rent, tractor hire, transport, diesel | Share of power, water, security |
Shared costs, such as a tractor or a generator that serves the whole farm, are allocated across enterprises on a fair basis (area, hours or number of birds) and the same way every season.
Worked example: gross margin for one field
Example figures for a 2-hectare maize field over one season. They are illustrations only, not market prices.
| Item | ₦ |
|---|---|
| Seed | 60,000 |
| Fertiliser | 180,000 |
| Herbicide and pesticide | 40,000 |
| Hired labour | 150,000 |
| Harvest, bagging and transport | 70,000 |
| Variable costs | 500,000 |
| Sales: 4,000kg at ₦300/kg | 1,200,000 |
| Gross margin | 700,000 |
| Gross margin per hectare | 350,000 |
Gross margin is sales less the costs that vary with that enterprise. Do the same for the poultry and the fish, then subtract the farm's fixed costs (land rent, salaried staff, depreciation of equipment) from the combined gross margins to see the farm's profit. An enterprise with a low or negative gross margin is the first place to look.
How to keep records without a bookkeeper
- One business account. Run all farm income and spending through it, separate from household money. The bank statement becomes half your records.
- A daily farm diary. One page a day: work done, inputs used, output, losses, money in and out.
- Receipts in one place. Keep every purchase receipt and sale record, filed by month. Write the enterprise on each.
- A weekly summary. Transfer the diary into a spreadsheet or record book by enterprise.
- A season or year-end summary. Gross margin per enterprise, and the farm's overall profit.
Record sales on the day, especially cash sales at the farm gate and in the market. If buyers collect on credit, record the amount owed, the buyer's name and phone number, and the agreed payment date.
Records that also protect the farm
- Land documents: lease or title, survey and receipts for rent paid.
- Asset register: tractors, pumps, generators, with purchase date and cost.
- Worker records: names, rates, days worked and payments.
- Mortality and treatment logs: useful if you claim on livestock insurance or need to trace a disease.
Related guides: registering a farm and accessing NIRSAL, poultry farm records, catfish costing per cycle and the small company tax exemption and the records behind it.
Common gaps in farm records
- Family labour left out: if family members work unpaid, note their days. Otherwise the gross margin looks better than a hired-labour farm could achieve.
- Own produce used: maize fed to your own poultry is a sale from one enterprise and a cost to another. Record it at a fair price.
- Stock at year end: bags in store and birds in pens at year end are part of the year's result. Count them.
- Cash sales not banked: bank market takings promptly so the statement tells the full story.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme Business Account gives the farm one place for its money, and through our partnership with VerifyDoc.ai you can generate a verifiable statement or receipt that a lender or buyer can check is genuine and unaltered.
Questions people ask
What records should a farmer keep in Nigeria?
Records by enterprise: inputs, labour, production, losses and sales for each crop field, pen or pond, plus receipts, a bank statement, land documents and an asset register.
How long should a farm keep its records?
At least six years after the year of assessment, under section 31 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.
How do I calculate profit on a farm?
Work out gross margin for each enterprise (sales less its variable costs), add them up, then subtract the farm's fixed costs such as rent, salaried staff and equipment depreciation.
What farm records do banks ask for?
Commonly bank statements (six months for some Bank of Agriculture products), accounts or a statement of affairs, and evidence of what the loan will finance and how it will be repaid.
Sources
- Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 (gazette copy) · accessed Oct 2026
- The Nigerian tax reforms: what it means for MSMEs and individuals, Mondaq (22 Jan 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- BOA Loan Requirement, Bank of Agriculture · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.