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One two-day commercial job
A regional brand wants a 30-second spot and four cut-downs. An agency is in the middle. These are sample numbers.
| Line | Budget | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Director and DP, 2 days | $4,800 | Booked on a hold, then confirmed |
| Gaffer, grip, sound, 2 days | $4,500 | Rates from the roster |
| Producer, prep and shoot | $2,400 | |
| Camera and lighting rental | $3,200 | Purchase order to the rental house |
| Location, permits, insurance certificate | $2,100 | Certificate on file, expiry tracked |
| Edit, 6 days, and color | $5,000 | Time logged on the job |
| Music license | $800 | Added to the license register |
| Cost | $22,800 | |
| Bid to the agency | $34,000 | Payment schedule 50, 25, 25 |
| Margin at the bid | 33% |
Where a commercial job goes wrong
Almost never at the camera. It goes wrong in three places.
The bid. A proposal that does not say what is included gets argued over in post. In Cutvey the scope, the rounds and the payment schedule are in the document they sign. If the job grows, a change order goes for signature and it raises the contract value.
The middle. On day two the shoot runs long, and the overtime usually surfaces when the crew's invoices land three weeks later. In Cutvey each person's timecard works out the overtime the moment both times are in, so you see it coming on the day. The cost report shows budget, actual and committed while the job is live. A confirmed booking counts as cost at its agreed rate until that person's invoice is approved, and the approved timecard reaches the cost as a line on that invoice, so read the timecards beside the cost report until then. If you run double-entry Books, the bid format follows the sections of the AICP form, in style only, and the project's cost report sits beside the journal.
The end. The agency approves on a Friday, their client approves on Tuesday, and the final invoice goes out the following week on net-30 terms. Approval raises the invoice for you, and reminders run on the cadence you set. Masters wait on a delivery page until it is paid, or until you release them with a reason.
The paperwork on a job like this
| Before | During | After |
|---|---|---|
| Estimate and scope | Call sheets | Client approval record |
| Signed proposal and deposit invoice | Timecards | Final invoice |
| Certificates of insurance | Releases | Crew invoices and W-9s |
| Deal memos | Purchase orders | 1099 totals at year end |
| Purchase orders | Change orders | Cost report, final margin |
All of those are in Cutvey, on the project. The billing copy goes to the accounts address on the client's record.
Review across the client chain
Internal first: your team signs off, and a cut stays out of the client's view until it does. Then a package goes to several reviewers, with a due date and a signature on each. Notes land on the frame, and notes that were not resolved carry forward to the next version. When someone asks who approved v3, the record says who, when and on which version.
Where Cutvey is not the right fit
If your jobs run on union paper, you still need a payroll company. Timecards here are arithmetic, not payroll. There is no Camera to Cloud, and notes reach the edit as an export. Cutvey keeps one currency a workspace, so a job billed in a second currency does not fit neatly.
Frequently asked
Can an agency see our costs?
No. Clients see the proposal, invoices, review and delivery. Budgets, crew rates and margin stay with seats that have the money right.
Can we give a producer the crew list and hide the money?
Yes. Roles decide who sees money, and a seat without it never receives a contract value or a cost figure.
Do we need to change our accountant's setup?
No. Books can run as simple or double-entry, invoices and payments can go one way to QuickBooks Online or Xero, and an accountant gets a seat of their own.
For more on bids, read how to price video production and what a brand video costs. Crew questions are in 1099s for film crew.