Hire a Yacht Purser

A yacht purser handles the administration and finances of a vessel — accounts, payroll, budgets, provisioning paperwork, customs and immigration documentation, and crew logistics. The role appears on larger yachts where the paperwork has grown beyond what a captain or chief stewardess can absorb.

What a yacht purser does on board

• Accounts, payroll and budget reconciliation
• Crew documentation, visas and travel
• Provisioning coordination and supplier accounts
• Charter paperwork, APA and guest administration

What separates a good yacht purser from a qualified one

Ask how they would reconstruct a month of accounts from incomplete receipts, because they will have to. Discretion matters as much as accuracy: the purser sees owner spending, crew salaries and personal details, and that information must go nowhere.

Certification and experience

Every yacht purser we put forward has current certification checked before you see them, and references taken directly with previous captains or owners rather than read off a page.

• STCW
• ENG1
• Purser training (GUEST or equivalent)

Typical experience sought: 4+ years · Reports to Yacht Captain

The mistake we see most often

Adding the workload to the chief stewardess to avoid a headcount. It works until the boat gets busy, at which point either the service or the paperwork fails, and the paperwork failing can mean a port problem rather than an inconvenience.

How we find the right yacht purser for your boat

1. Understand the yacht. Programme, crew structure and owner style, and how the yacht purser will work with your yacht captain.
2. Search and screen. A small number of genuine candidates, each spoken to individually, with STCW and ENG1 confirmed before you see them.
3. Reference in person. Direct conversations with previous yacht captains and captains, not a form sent by email.
4. Introduce and follow through. Introductions, then contact once they are aboard — the first eight weeks are when a placement either settles or does not.