On this page
How to use it
- Fill in the company, crew member, role, project, dates and locations.
- Set the day rate and the hours it covers, and whether lunch is paid.
- Write the overtime multiple, the kit fee and the mileage terms.
- Choose the cancellation pay and the payment days.
- Both sign it before the shoot, and keep it with the job.
The terms that start arguments
| Term | The question to settle | The sample's answer |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | How many hours does the rate cover? | 10, call to wrap |
| Meal | Is lunch paid time? | Not paid, 30 minutes |
| Overtime | At what multiple, in what steps? | 1.5x, in half hours |
| Kit | Is the kit fee a day or for the job? | None |
| Mileage | Paid, at what rate, past how far? | 76 cents past 30 miles |
| Cancellation | What is paid if the day goes away late? | 50% under 48 hours, all under 24 |
| Payment | When is the invoice due? | 14 days |
The money, worked through
Jo is booked at $650 for a 10-hour day, and the day runs to 11.5 hours with an unpaid half-hour lunch, so 11 paid hours. That is 1 hour of overtime at $65 times 1.5, which is $97.50, for $747.50 in all. The marina is 50 miles from the city center, past the 30-mile line, so Jo is paid for the 100-mile round trip. Mileage is 100 times 76 cents, $76. The invoice is $823.50, due in 14 days. The crew day rate calculator does the same sum.
The 76 cents is the IRS business standard mileage rate for July 1 to December 31, 2026, and it was 72.5 cents from January 1 to June 30 (IRS standard mileage rates). A deal can pay any rate the two of you agree.
Union and payroll jobs
This sample is for an independent contractor on a non-union job. Union crew work under their agreement's own rates, overtime, meal penalties and fringes, and an employee goes through payroll with its own rules for overtime by state. The memo is not those, so ask a payroll company or a lawyer when they apply. In the US, a contractor paid $2,000 or more in 2026 generally gets a Form 1099-NEC, explained in 1099s for film crew.
How Cutvey does this
In Cutvey you book crew on the project and the deal memo is written from the booking: role, dates, rate, overtime terms and kit. You always read it before it goes, and crew sign it from the emailed link, with no account needed. Timecards count overtime with the same terms, and the approved day lands on that person's invoice. Book crew and crew timecards show how.
Frequently asked
Is a deal memo a contract?
It is meant to record an agreement both sides sign, which is why the terms need to be clear. Have a lawyer check your standard wording once.
Do I need one for a friend who is helping out?
Especially then. The memo is what keeps a favor from becoming a falling-out over a late payment.
Who sends it, the crew member or the company?
Usually the company, with the booking. A crew member can send their own terms first, and the two get reconciled before anyone signs.
Goes with this stage of a job: Plan the shoot. More free paperwork on the templates page, and free tools that work in your browser.